Chapter 15
Fifteen
Rolling over for what seemed like the hundredth time Friday night, Liv stared into the darkness.
Most nights, she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
But for the third night in a row, sleep refused to come.
She wished she could blame it on drinking coffee too late in the day or because she’d taken a nap in the afternoon.
She couldn’t, though. Her inability to fall asleep was the result of the other side of the bed being empty.
Over the past few weeks, she’d gotten too accustomed to falling asleep with Matt’s arm around her.
If she’d known insomnia would be a withdrawal symptom when he wasn’t around, she would’ve thought long and hard before spending so many nights with him.
Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Since sleep seemed impossible, Liv switched on the bedside light and grabbed her phone. Checking out social media wouldn’t help her fall asleep, but it would pass the time.
Most people used social media to keep in touch with friends or to see what their favorite celebrities were up to. While she certainly used it for both, she also used it for new recipe ideas.
A quick scroll through her friends’ profiles showed most hadn’t posted anything since the last time she checked their pages. She was about to switch over to her favorite cooking page when she noticed a new post on Sylvie’s profile.
“Now, that’s what I call eye candy.” Her post was followed by a link and a picture of Matt with his cousin Jake Sherbrooke.
Well, her college roommate wasn’t wrong. Both men were gorgeous. Then again, everyone in that family had hit the genetic jackpot.
Nothing about the picture indicated whether it had been taken recently or even where. Curious about what information might accompany the photo, Liv clicked on the link.
Immediately, the Star Report’s website popped up. An extremely popular celebrity magazine, it prided itself on getting celebrity news out first. While Liv questioned the accuracy of everything they printed, she did occasionally enjoy reading the magazine or its website.
Tonight, the first story on the website’s main page was about Matt.
“Matt Sherbrooke Spotted at Cormac’s Brewery,” the headline read.
Sources familiar with the event shared that he was attending a bachelor/bachelorette party for his cousin and that following the tasting at Cormac’s, the party enjoyed a private dinner cruise.
The guest list included several family members, including President Sherbrooke’s son, Jake, Senator Brett Sherbrooke, and Juliette Belmont.
Notably missing from the group was the woman seen with Matt numerous times over the past few weeks.
Although pretty in a girl-next-door type of way, she can’t compete with the beautiful women usually attached to Matt’s arm.
Was her absence yesterday a clue that Matt is once again single?
Or has the new mystery woman photographed with Matt last night already caught his attention?
Women around the world, including this reporter, are dying to know.
She had a mirror and perfect eyesight, so she knew the reporter was telling the truth. Still, the sentence insinuating she wasn’t attractive enough to be with Matt stung.
She’s probably a relative.
Despite the mental reminder, unease settled in Liv’s chest as she scrolled down to the photos, the first being the one she’d seen on Sylvie’s page.
The next one featured Matt chatting with his cousin Juliette.
Since the man standing next to her had his arm around her waist, she assumed they were a couple.
When she reached the third photo, she stopped scrolling. In it, Matt had his arm slung over the shoulders of a gorgeous brunette, one she didn’t recognize.
That doesn’t mean she isn’t a relative or family friend.
Four more pictures accompanied the article.
While she recognized Matt’s brothers, she didn’t know anyone else in those photos.
Whoever they were, she doubted they catered retirement parties at the local VFW hall or waited tables when their family’s restaurant needed help.
Although she didn’t own one and never would be able to afford one, she recognized the Louis Vuitton purse the blonde in the last picture was holding.
Scrolling up, she studied the first two pictures. When it was just the two of them, it was easy to forget that not only did people around the world know who Matt was, but also what family he belonged to. These photos did an excellent job of reminding her.
How would the people in these pictures react if Matt brought her to an event like the party last night, wearing a dress she’d purchased off the clearance rack at Macy’s?
He insisted his parents were nothing like the aunt and uncle who disapproved of his cousin’s fiancée.
That they would accept her, no questions asked.
Maybe that was true. It was also possible he’d just never introduced them to women they didn’t like.
And even if they didn’t object, Matt’s parents weren’t his only family.
At gatherings when his cousins or siblings were talking about their stock portfolios or their vacations to exclusive locations, what would she have to share?
She didn’t imagine they cared or even thought about how the cost of milk or seafood affected her small catering company’s profit margin.
“I should’ve checked yesterday’s baseball scores.” Liv dropped the phone on the bed and focused on the ceiling fan.
Yep, if she’d looked to see if the Red Sox won last night’s game against the Yankees instead of reading the Star Report, she wouldn’t be second-guessing her and Matt’s relationship.
The sound of her phone vibrating against the bed pulled her thoughts back to the here and now. She found a text from Matt when she picked up the device.
Matt: Are you still up?
Still up? I never went to sleep.
Liv: Yep.
Matt: Okay if I call you?
No sooner had she replied with a thumbs-up than the device rang.
“What’s up?”
“Just got back to the hotel. After the rehearsal dinner, a few of us went back to Adam’s house.”
She knew Adam was the cousin getting married tomorrow, but she didn’t know if he’d appeared in any of the pictures she’d seen.
“I’m not sure why they needed me at the rehearsal. All I need to do is stand there and hand Adam the ring at the appropriate time and then lead the maid of honor down the aisle. It’s not exactly rocket science. A trained monkey could do it.”
An image of a monkey in a tuxedo materialized, making her smile. “I think it’s kind of one of those ‘everyone shall suffer’ scenarios.”
“You’re probably right. At least it was quick. We were sitting down for dinner by seven.”
In her experience, rehearsals were usually short, but she imagined the wedding Matt was attending tomorrow was more elaborate than any she’d been to.
“Have you finished your speech?” When he’d left on Wednesday, he’d only had the opening lines.
“Yeah, early this morning. I couldn’t sleep, so I worked on it. I haven’t slept well since I’ve been here.”
Were his sleep problems caused by the same thing as hers? As much as she’d love to know, that was one question she’d never ask.
“What have you been up to today?”
She’d planned to experiment with a new chicken recipe, but her day hadn’t gone as she’d hoped.
“I ended up working the lunch and dinner shifts at the restaurant. Maggie called in sick. And before your text, I was checking out the pictures from your cousin’s bachelor party. It looks like everyone had fun.”
“Damn it. I’d hoped to avoid that. I didn’t see anyone outside of our group taking pictures. Where the hell are they posted?”
Was he so upset because he was worried he’d been photographed with another woman?
“I saw them on the Star Report’s website.
I don’t know if they are anywhere else.” Until now, she hadn’t thought to look.
Curious now, she grabbed the tablet she mainly used for reading off the nightstand and typed “Today Magazine” into the browser.
She wasn’t surprised when a similar headline to the one on the other site appeared.
“How the hell did someone find out about the dinner cruise afterward? What new mystery woman?” It sounded like Matt was on the Star Report website. “Liv, that’s my cousin’s wife. I didn’t take anyone with me last night.”
A tiny voice wondered if he was telling the truth, but she stifled it. He sounded sincere; not to mention, he’d never given her a reason to not trust him.
“I know you didn’t.”
Scrolling down the page, she looked for any other pictures of Matt with the woman.
“There’s a similar piece on Today Magazine’s website. The pictures aren’t the same, though.”
The website displayed a picture of Matt standing near the woman from the other page, but in this one, he didn’t have an arm around her. Instead, it appeared as though Matt, the woman, and a man she didn’t recognize were having a conversation. A humorous one at that, judging by their expressions.
While the set on the Star Report’s site had all been taken at the brewery, it was clear that a few on the second website were taken somewhere else. Liv assumed it was during the dinner cruise.
The ones at the brewery could’ve been shared by an employee there. But an employee from Cormac’s wouldn’t have an opportunity to take pictures at the dinner cruise. “I think a guest at the party sent in at least the ones in Today Magazine.”
“It had to be.”
There was anger in Matt’s voice. While she understood it, she found it a little odd that he hadn’t realized beforehand that it was a possibility.