Chapter 18 #2
She hadn’t seen the magazine cover, but she assumed it featured the same pictures as the website. In those photos, he’d been with a pretty brunette whom he claimed was his cousin’s wife. Liv had accepted his explanation. Now, though, she wondered if he’d lied.
“He appeared to be spending time with a friend.”
Based on the way Seb said “friend,” he suspected Matt and the brunette were more than that.
“So why can’t you?”
Liv slipped her hand out from under his. “I appreciate the offer, but Emma and I have plans.”
He knows I’m lying.
“If your plans with her fall through, you have my number. And when things with Sherbrooke don’t work out, you know where to find me.”
She hated how confident he sounded, but she couldn’t deny that he might very well be right.
Rather than wait for a response, Seb stood and left.
Ten minutes later, Liv remained seated, staring off into space as Seb’s comments and the pictures of Matt with other women bounced around her mind.
She didn’t believe he’d lied about his mom so he could put off coming back and spend time with someone else.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t seeking out companionship while away—not that he’d have to do much seeking.
For him, it would be more like choosing from the line of females his smile alone would summon.
Before Liv could stop it, an image of Matt looking over a long line of gorgeous women formed. Somehow, each one was more beautiful than the one before her. When he reached the last woman, one who looked like the individual he’d helped into a car, he kissed her.
The vibrating cell phone jolted Liv from her ugly daydream. Unlike earlier, she found a message from Matt when she picked it up.
Matt: Do you have time to talk?
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she considered her answer.
Thanks to the photos from last night and Seb’s visit, she was in a crappy mood.
It might be better if she waited until her mood improved.
At the same time, though, she wasn’t sure that would happen anytime soon, especially now that Seb had brought all her concerns to the surface again.
And if they spoke now, maybe he’d explain the newest photos and put her concerns to rest.
Liv: Sure.
No sooner had she sent the message than the opening of “Loving You” came from her phone.
“Sorry I didn’t call last night. By the time we got home, it was almost three o’clock where you are,” Matt said after greeting her.
“I was definitely asleep then. Are you staying with your brother?”
“More like the other way around. Aiden lives almost four hours from the hospital, so he’s staying with me.”
Liv hadn’t known Matt had a home in California, but it made sense. It seemed like every other celebrity owned a home there, and he certainly had the means. Hell, he could afford to own as many houses as he wanted.
“How’s your mom doing?”
“Okay. The surgery on her leg went well, according to her doctors, but she’ll be in a cast for a while, and she’ll need physical therapy eventually. She has a broken wrist too.”
“Any idea of when she might go home?”
And you’ll be back?
“The doctor didn’t give an exact day, but it should be before the end of the week.”
“That’s good. Are you heading back to the hospital soon?”
“Some of my mom’s friends are visiting her this morning. Dad’s going to call when they leave. Aiden and I might just hang around here until then. What are you up to?”
“I have another client coming in soon. Until then, I’m working on the bills. And tonight I’m finishing the laundry I started yesterday.”
“Laundry. You really know how to have fun when I’m not around.”
“What can I say? I go wild and crazy when you’re away.”
What kind of fun kept you out so late last night?
While he’d given her no reason to not trust him, she couldn’t seem to help it.
“Besides seeing your mom, what have you been up to?”
She sounded suspicious to her own ears, but if Matt noticed, he didn’t comment.
“Aiden and I went to our cousin’s house last night. Sophie was at the hospital visiting when we got there, and I hadn’t seen her in a while.”
If Matt and Aiden visited a cousin last night, how did he explain the photos she’d seen? Aiden hadn’t been present in any of them. And what about the similarity between the woman seen getting into his car and the one he’d danced with at the wedding?
“You have more cousins than anyone I know.”
“Don’t remind me. No matter where I go, I run into them.”
“Sophie didn’t go to the wedding?”
Okay, so she was a chicken and afraid to ask the questions she wanted answers to.
“No, she and her husband had plans already, and he wasn’t willing to change them. Chase can be inflexible.”
“Were there a lot of guests at the wedding?”
“About a hundred, I’d say. For a Sherbrooke wedding, that’s tiny.”
Over the past six years or so, members of the Sherbrooke family had been getting married left and right.
Photos of many had graced magazine pages and been splashed all over the internet, so she had an idea of their typical size as well as the well-known guests usually in attendance.
She didn’t know anything about the bride and groom but assumed their guest list had been similar.
“Everyone wondered why you weren’t with me, including my mom when I saw her yesterday.”
The second part of Matt’s comment caught Liv’s attention. “You told your parents about me?”
Maybe she was letting her insecurities get the better of her. If he’d told his mom and dad about her, perhaps he really did see their relationship lasting.
“I didn’t have to. Mom saw the pictures of us together. Michayla has worked for my parents for years and makes sure to share every headline or article she finds with my mom.”
There goes that optimistic theory.
“She wants to meet you. I told her we’ll hopefully visit in the fall. When I get back, let’s pick a date that works for you.”
Right now, she wasn’t convinced he’d remember her name by the fall.
“Uh, yeah. We, um, can probably do that.”
She’d sounded off since she answered the phone. Liv’s answer just now, though, convinced Matt he wasn’t imagining things. Something was wrong.
“Are you not ready to meet my parents?”
Liv hadn’t blinked an eye when he’d proposed the idea before he left. But it sounded like she was having second thoughts now.
“Of course I am.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“There isn’t one.”
Bullshit.
“Your answer when I mentioned picking a date says otherwise, Liv.”
He never should’ve told her about his aunt and uncle’s treatment of Adam’s wife. Liv probably worried his parents would be the same way toward her.
“My parents are going to love you.”
Liv cleared her throat, a time-honored stall tactic by people when they needed to fabricate an answer. “The fall might, um, be too busy. Already we have something booked for every Saturday in September, and the weekends in October are starting to fill up.”
“We can wait until winter. Or I can invite Mom and Dad to visit us.”
Now that he thought about it, she might be more comfortable meeting them in familiar surroundings.
“They’ve never visited me in Maine.”
“That, uh, sounds like a better idea.”
She still sounded uncertain about the meeting, but for now, he’d let the matter go.
“Who’s the client you’re meeting with this afternoon?”
“Someone who attended the retirement party we did in May. She doesn’t live in town, so I’ve never met her. She wants us to cater her company’s holiday party. Hopefully, it all works out.”
“If she contacted you because they attended the other party, they’ve already decided they want you to do the event.”
“We haven’t talked numbers yet.”
Not only was Ocean View Catering the only catering company in the area, but they also had a website. He’d checked it out. More than likely, the potential client had as well, and it listed approximate costs for events. If she wanted to worry, there was nothing he could say to change that.
“I’m sure it will work out.”
“So, I know you’ll visit your mom today, but do you have any plans tonight?”
Stepping outside, Matt sat and propped his bare feet up on the railing. “Not sure yet. Aiden wants to check out Covert. It opened in April, and neither of us has gone, but I’m hoping to find a way to change his mind.”
Matt watched a sailboat glide across the ocean. He preferred boats with an engine to those with sails, but an evening out on even a sailboat sounded better than one spent at Covert. But he didn’t get many opportunities to spend time with his brother, so if Aiden really wanted to go, he’d join him.
“I’ve never heard of it. Is it a restaurant?”
“No, it’s a nightclub.”
“I’ve never been to one.”
“You’re not missing much.” If he never stepped inside another, he’d be okay.
“Since one won’t be opening in Orchard Harbor anytime soon, I’ll take your word for it.”
In his opinion, Orchard Harbor didn’t need one.
“When I get back, we can go to Boston for the weekend. There are plenty of options there that we can check out if you’d like. We can even take the boat down.”
Matt would rather take her to Newport or Sanborn Island, but he’d go wherever she wanted.
“Nah, I don’t think I’d enjoy one.”
“Then let’s plan to visit Sanborn Island or Martha’s Vineyard before the summer ends. If we take the boat to Martha’s Vineyard, we can stop in Newport too.”
“I’m not sure when I’ll have a full weekend off.”
“Then we can go during the week.”
Since they’d been together, she was busiest on the weekends.
“Yeah, that might work.”
Behind him, the glass door opened, and Aiden stepped outside with a coffee in one hand and his phone in the other.
“I need to go. My appointment is approaching the door. But I’ll check my calendar later and see when I have some days off so we can go somewhere.”
Was her tone the same as when he’d mentioned meeting his parents, or was he imagining it?
“I’ll call you later,” Matt said before ending the call.