Chapter 17 #2
“As long as it isn’t moving, I’m happy,” Aiden answered before getting into the back seat.
“There’s a sushi restaurant on Lowell that Chase and I love. Let’s go there.”
While he didn’t love sushi, Matt didn’t mind it occasionally, and he had told Sophie anything was fine.
“Just tell me which way to go.”
When Liv slipped between the sheets the night before, her plans for today had been simple and downright lazy.
Unfortunately, the universe hadn’t gotten the memo, so instead of sleeping until her body decided it was time to get up, a deafening clap of thunder woke her at four.
The storm then proceeded not only to keep her up with its drum solo and dazzling light show, but also to plunge the street into darkness.
Eventually, once Mother Nature grew tired of partying and Liv finished the book she had started—thank goodness her Kindle had a backlight—she fell back asleep.
However, the outside world once again decided that she didn’t need a lazy day at home.
This time, though, the culprit wasn’t Mother Nature but rather her ringing cell phone.
And even before she picked it up, she’d somehow known it was her dad asking her to help at the restaurant.
Sure enough, Francine had called in sick.
Thankfully, though, the lunch rush was winding down, and once she returned the credit card to table ten, she could take a break and eat before they needed to get ready for dinner.
“I had a feeling you were here when you didn’t answer my texts.”
Removing the credit card from the reader, Liv turned toward Emma.
“Francine was supposed to work until three, but she called in early this morning, and Nancy just called out too, so I’m stuck here until closing.
I lost power last night, and my phone was about to die when I got here, so I left it in the back to charge.
It’s been so busy all day, I haven’t had a chance to check it. ”
Actually, to say it had been busy was an understatement.
Starting with when they unlocked the doors until about thirty minutes ago, there hadn’t been an empty table in the restaurant.
No sooner would one party leave than another would take its place.
While great for business, the constant stream of customers made it difficult to even take a bathroom break.
“Well, that answers my question about hanging out again tonight.”
“Sorry.”
Emma shrugged as she sat at the bar. “No big deal.”
“I’m on a break as soon as I return this credit card, if you want to hang around.”
“I’ll never pass up a free meal.”
“What do you want to eat? I’ll put our order in before I return this.
” She already knew what she wanted. She’d heard nothing but rave reviews about the swordfish dish on today’s specials list. And if it tasted as good as it looked and smelled, she suspected it would soon be a regular item on the menu.
“Any suggestions?”
Her friend knew the regular menu as well as she did, so it was easy to decipher her question.
“I’m going with the swordfish, but the fried pork chops have been a hit today.”
At the words “pork chops,” Emma shook her head. “I’ll go with the swordfish. The last time I ate pork chops, I also had one too many mojitos, and I spent the rest of the night in the bathroom. Every time I try to eat pork or taste mint, I get sick to my stomach.”
“One swordfish special coming up.”
“Can you also bring me an iced tea?”
After placing their order and returning the credit card, Liv made a quick pit stop in the office, where she’d left her phone charging.
Not surprisingly, she walked in just as her mom sat behind the desk.
Like most restaurant owners, the woman rarely stopped working.
If she wasn’t overseeing things in the dining room, she was checking in on the kitchen staff or doing paperwork in the office.
“Thanks again for working today. I know Matt’s coming back today, and I’m sure you’d rather spend time with him.”
“Family first.”
Her mom’s fingers paused over the keyboard. “Family is important, but it doesn’t always need to come first, Liv. It’s okay to put yourself first.”
She appreciated her mom’s concerns, but she didn’t need a lecture today. “I know, Mom. But Matt’s not coming back today anyway. He flew out to California this morning to see his mom. She was in a car accident.”
Unplugging her phone, Liv checked the device. Sure enough, she had messages from Emma as well as two from Matt and one from Sebastian. The ones from Matt and Emma made sense, but she hadn’t seen or heard from her ex since the day he’d shown up at her apartment out of the blue.
“Oh, dear. I hope she’s okay.”
“Matt said she’s going to be fine.”
Before her mom decided to continue her lecture, Liv moved toward the door. “I’m going on my break. Come get me if you need me.”
Since Emma sat at the bar waiting for her, Liv deleted the text from her and moved on to Matt’s.
The ones from him had been sent hours apart, with the most recent coming two hours ago.
Usually, she answered messages from everyone soon after receiving them, so Matt asking if she’d been called in after she didn’t respond to his first one made sense.
Liv: Sorry. Yeah, working a double today. Did you see your mom?
Unlike many of the restaurants in town, Ocean View Grill brewed its iced tea rather than using a mix. Before rejoining Emma, Liv poured them each a glass and replaced the now-empty container with a new one.
“Any word from Matt on when he’s coming back?” Emma asked, squeezing the lemon into her tea and adding sugar as soon as Liv set it down.
“Nothing yet, but I just responded to his messages.” Following her friend’s lead, she squeezed lemon into her tea and added two packets of sugar before taking a much-needed drink. A new text from Matt appeared on the screen before she put her glass down.
Matt: Saw her earlier. Aiden and I are going to visit her again later.
Liv: How is she?
Three tiny dots appeared, indicating Matt was typing.
“How’s Brian feeling?” If Emma had wanted to hang out again tonight, Brian must still not be up for company.
“I talked to him before I came here. He managed to keep down some crackers this morning.”
Brian might not be ready to eat the swordfish special, but keeping crackers down was preferable to kneeling before the toilet.
“Did you know Sebastian moved back?” Emma asked “I went to Hometown Brews because my power was still out, and he was there for the same reason. He bought a house on Viking Terrace.”
Nodding, Liv read the newest message on her phone.
Matt: Mom’s doing okay. I think she’ll be home soon.
An invisible weight she hadn’t even realized was there disappeared from her shoulders.
Although she’d never met Violet Sherbrooke, thanks to all that Matt had shared, she felt as if she knew the woman.
Not to mention how devastated Matt would be if his mom’s injuries were more serious than he’d been led to believe.
Matt: Call you later. Out right now.
Although not the message she wanted to send, she replied with a simple Okay and set the device down.
“Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah.”
So what if his message was a little dismissive? He said he was out. Sometimes, when she was busy, she sent short, clipped messages too.
“Matt was letting me know his mom is doing well and he thinks she’ll be home soon.”
William, a college student who’d recently returned from school in New York and started working there again last week, approached with their meals. “Russ asked me to bring these over before I take my break.”
“Thanks. Are you working tonight too?”
“Yeah, I need to get in as many hours as I can before I go back to school.”
Liv waited until William left before digging into her meal. After hearing the customers rave about the dish all day, her expectations were high. And her first bite didn’t disappoint.
“Swordfish never tastes like this when I cook it.”
Emma could whip together beautiful floral arrangements, bring any plant back from death’s doorstep, and had a singing voice that left people wondering why she’d never pursued a music career. Her talents in the kitchen, though, were limited.
“Dad’s a genius when it comes to seasoning.”
“You won’t get an argument from me.” Emma cut into the carrots that came with the meal. “If Matt’s mom is doing well, do you think he’ll be back soon?”
Unable to answer because her friend conveniently waited until she had a mouthful of food to ask her a question, Liv shrugged as she chewed.
“He didn’t say, but that was his original plan.” Liv reached for the freshly baked roll on her plate, but her hand froze as soon as her fingers touched it. “Did you say Sebastian bought a house on Viking Terrace?”
Her grandparents lived on Viking Terrace. Back in the winter, the house across the street had gone on the market. The last time she visited them, she’d noticed that the For Sale sign was gone, but as far as she knew, no one had moved in yet.
“Surprised me too. He hasn’t moved in. He’s having the inside remodeled.”
“Seb mentioned that, but he didn’t tell me he bought the house across from my grandparents.”
Well, at least now she could tell them they didn’t need to worry that whoever purchased the house intended to use it as a vacation home and rent it to tourists to help cover the mortgage.
They’d been concerned because a couple who’d purchased a house on their street two years ago was doing just that.
Most of the people who rented the house kept to themselves and respected their neighbors.
However, there had been a handful of times when the tourists staying there had been anything but respectful.
Instead, they’d thrown loud parties in the middle of the week, left the yard littered with trash, or blocked driveways with their vehicles.
“So you’ve seen him?” Emma asked before eating a forkful of rice.
As if just remembering her intentions, Liv’s hand picked up her roll. “He showed up at my apartment one night as Matt and I were leaving. He said he’d just closed on a house in town and was having renovations done before he moved in.”
“Now it makes sense why he asked if you were still seeing anyone.”
Liv gestured toward her phone. “He sent me a message today.”
“I have a feeling I know the answer, but what did he want?”
“Don’t know. I haven’t read it.”
“Well, check.” Emma nudged her arm before reaching for her iced tea.
Ignoring the message wouldn’t make it disappear.
Sebastian: Love to catch up. Are you free tonight?
He’d mentioned catching up the day she’d seen him too. When he didn’t reach out again, she’d assumed he’d either not truly meant it or had changed his mind. The text message on her phone proved both theories wrong.
Next to her, the sound of a transporter from Star Trek came from Emma’s phone. Liv didn’t need to ask to know the text was from Phoebe. Emma had unique notification tones assigned to everyone in her contact list. She’d assigned her friend that tone because she was such a huge Star Trek fan.
“He wants to get together.”
“This is my shocked face.” Emma pointed toward herself as she picked up her phone. “What —” Instead of continuing, she replied to the text message.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“It’s a message from Phoebe.”
The transporter sound came from Emma’s phone again.
Placing a hand over her heart, Liv did her best shocked look. “Really, wow, I never would’ve guessed. You stopped midsentence when you read it, though. Is everything okay?”
“Phoebe wanted to know if I was with you and if you’d seen the new photos of Matt trending on CHAT.”
She’d barely had time to use the bathroom today, never mind check the social media site. “No, I haven’t seen anything.”
Sighing, Emma pushed a stray piece of hair over her shoulder. “The first couple are on the Star Report’s page. The other ones are posted to an Eclipse fan group page.”
Even before Liv took Emma’s phone, she knew she wasn’t going to like what she was about to see.
Still, her heart plummeted when she saw the photo of Matt with his mouth close to a woman’s ear.
The following picture showed them dancing.
Much like in the first, she couldn’t see the woman’s face, but there was no missing Matt’s hands on her waist.
For a second time this week, Eclipse’s frontman, Matt Sherbrooke, has been seen in the company of a beautiful woman. Does that mean his summer romance is over, or is he taking a page from fellow bandmate Carter Wheeler’s playbook?
“The ones the Star Report posted could be from his cousin’s wedding. And the woman with him could be a relative.”
Emma made a valid argument. While Liv couldn’t see the woman’s face, her hair was styled in an elaborate updo, and her strapless dress was one you’d wear to a more formal occasion, such as a wedding.
Matt was clearly wearing a suit. But according to Matt, the guest list consisted of family and friends.
Would a relative or close friend leak photos to the media?
“What fan group page are the photos on?”
“ForeverEclipse.”
Something about Emma’s tone sent her heart further south, which she hadn’t thought possible.
A treasure trove of photos occupied the page.
Some were of fans posing with different band members, while some had been taken during various concerts.
Others, though, clearly had been taken without the subject’s knowledge.
The three most recent ones fell into that category.
The first one featured Matt and a woman talking near a vehicle.
The second showed the woman getting into the car while Matt stood by, waiting to close the door.
The final one showed Matt opening the driver’s side door.
Liv read the post that accompanied the photos.
“Matt Sherbrooke is in town. Just saw him leaving Omakase. Anyone recognize the woman with him?”
A multitude of comments followed the post, with a few mentioning what she’d already noticed. The woman in the photos had the same hair color and body type as the one from the Star Report’s page. They even seemed to be the same height.
If it was the same person and the Star Report’s photos had been taken at the wedding, why was she also in California with him?