Chapter 13 #2
“I got lucky tonight.” Liv kept her face down as she removed the balls from the corner pocket.
“I would’ve bought that after our first game, but not after this one. No one is that lucky. You lied when you said it had been a while since you played.”
As Matt expected, his brother sounded more annoyed than angry.
Liv moved on to the next pocket and removed the solid purple ball. “I didn’t lie.”
He’d never seen a more innocent-looking expression on someone’s face, and he cleared his throat to keep from laughing.
“But I guess my definition of ‘a while’ is different than yours.” A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
Theo followed Liv’s lead and emptied the pocket closest to him. “And when was the last time you played?”
If Matt didn’t know better, he’d believe she was actually trying to remember when they last played. Maybe Liv should consider an acting career.
“Probably sometime last week or the week before.” She looked at Matt. “Does that sound right?”
“Last Tuesday, I think.”
“That explains why my brother played so much better than usual. You’ve been helping him.”
This time, Liv didn’t try to suppress her smile. “Guilty as charged.”
Theo returned his pool cue to the rack. Rather than sit, he walked toward the bar. “I won’t have time tomorrow, but I want a rematch before I leave.”
“Tell me when, and I’ll be here.”
She hadn’t said as much, but he’d known Liv had been anxious about meeting Theo and Brianna, although he didn’t understand why. It was only his brother. But it sounded like whatever anxiety she had was long gone.
“Can you grab me one too?” Matt asked before Theo closed the refrigerator. “What time is the wedding tomorrow?” If his brother had shared the information, he didn’t remember.
Shrugging, Theo handed him a beer. “Sometime in the afternoon. I don’t remember the exact time.”
“We’re serving dinner at five.”
“What are we having? Anything good?” Theo asked.
Before she could sit in the chair she’d vacated earlier, Matt grabbed her hand and tugged her onto his lap. “Everything Ocean View makes is delicious.”
“Gina has us serving four different dishes. She wanted the guests to have options,” Liv explained.
“That’s the first I’m hearing about it. Brianna better not have requested a vegetarian meal for me.”
His brother’s tone told him more than his words did.
“We are serving a vegetarian meal, but I don’t remember how many.”
“Any chance you can prepare an extra nonvegetarian meal just in case? I don’t care what it is as long as I don’t have to eat a tofu chicken breast or a soybean filet.”
Matt didn’t know if soybean filet existed, and he had no desire to find out.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t starve.”
“I owe you one. Brianna’s been trying to get me to become a vegetarian for weeks. She even tried to convince Dad.”
“And how did that go?” Matt asked. Their father liked nothing more than a rare filet paired with his favorite merlot.
“Let’s just say Dad told her in the most polite way possible what Brianna could do with her opinion of his diet when she refused to let the matter go.”
Matt could easily picture the scene. His father was an expert at telling someone where they could stick their opinions without the other person realizing it. And if Brianna did something similar to him during her stay, he’d be following his father’s lead.
“This doesn’t leave the room, but I got the impression Mom and Dad didn’t care for Brianna.”
Matt wasn’t surprised by Theo’s comment, especially if she’d acted the same way as she had today with them.
Although their parents had never technically disapproved of the women Matt and his brothers dated, they’d clearly liked some more than others. And a good indication of their feelings was how often they invited the two of you over or inquired about the person when they called.
“What about Aiden?”
Unlike their parents, Aiden would share his thoughts about the women they dated with either of them.
“He’s not a fan.” Theo raised his beer toward his mouth. “But he hasn’t spent much time with her.”
Matt hadn’t expected Brianna and Theo’s relationship to last, but if Aiden didn’t like her either, it definitely wouldn’t.
On his lap, Liv went rigid. Clearly, something they’d said bothered her. While he wanted to ask her what it was, it seemed like a better conversation to have when they were alone.
“Aiden’s been traveling a lot for work, and our schedules haven’t aligned well. I’ve only seen him two or three times in the past two months.”
While Matt might go months without seeing his brothers, the same wasn’t true about Theo and Aiden. Of course, it was much easier for them to hang out with each other since they only lived about twenty minutes apart.
“Is he still with Lilian?” At least, Matt thought that was her name.
“Man, when was the last time you talked to him? Aiden hasn’t been with Lilian for at least six months.”
He didn’t remember the last time he’d had a conversation that lasted longer than three minutes with his brother.
“I called him about two weeks ago, but he was heading out and couldn’t talk.”
“Unless something changed in the last week, Aiden’s single.”
When Matt’s phone buzzed, he didn’t bother to check to see who was at the door because it had to be his brother’s girlfriend.
“Brianna’s back.”
Theo chugged the rest of his drink as he stood. “I’ll be back.”
Kissing her neck, Matt ran a hand down Liv’s back. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“I’m not buying it. You’re so tense I could use your back as an ironing board.”
“Do you even own an ironing board?”
“I might have one somewhere, but that’s not the point. You’re upset about something we said.”
Liv moved off his lap and into the chair next to him. “Are your parents like your aunt and uncle?”
She needed to be a little more specific. “In what way?”
“You told me your aunt and uncle disapprove of your cousin’s fiancée. Are your parents overly critical of the women you and your brothers date?”
While his parents had some things in common with his Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Shannon, thankfully, that wasn’t one of them.
“God, no. They haven’t liked all my girlfriends, but they’ve always been welcoming to them. The same is true of my brothers’ girlfriends.”
Rather than appear relieved by his answer, Liv’s frown deepened.
“You don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but when was the last time you or Theo dated a caterer who waitressed on the side?”
Well, she had him there.
“Your last girlfriend was Jasmine Locke. She’s a huge movie star. And Brianna’s probably a high-priced lawyer or business executive who graduated from Harvard. Theo met her at a charity event. I’m sure it wasn’t the type of event people like me go to.”
“Liv—”
“Am I wrong?”
Matt leaned closer. “Brianna’s a lawyer, but I don’t know what type of charity event it was.
However, I know my parents won’t care about what you do, and except my Aunt Shannon and Uncle Benjamin, no one in my family will.
” Cupping her face, he pressed his lips against her forehead.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about. Got it? ”
Liv nodded, but the uncertainty remained in her eyes. Unfortunately, he knew nothing he said would completely reassure her. When she met his parents, she’d see he’d been right.