Chapter 20
Twenty
Matt: Can you talk?
Liv started a reply and then deleted it. Yesterday, she’d avoided talking to Matt by lying and telling him she was working at the restaurant. If she sent a similar response now, he’d believe her. But avoiding him wouldn’t solve anything.
Liv: Sure.
“Loving You” filled the room. Yeah, she needed to change her ringtone. Perhaps she’d return the device to its default tone. The last thing she needed was a reminder of Matt every time someone called her.
“Sorry I didn’t call earlier.”
Two weeks ago, she would’ve smiled at the sound of Matt’s voice. Today, it had the opposite effect.
“I was with my parents until after lunch, and I just left my meeting with Ryan.”
Maybe he had been with his parents and then in a meeting. Liv didn’t know if she believed him anymore.
“How’s your mom?”
“Glad to be home and already sick of the casts, especially the one on her leg.”
“I bet. I broke my ankle when I was fourteen. The cast made everything ten times harder.”
“I talked to them about visiting. They’re going to come as soon as the casts come off.”
“That’s great. Hopefully, they come in time to see the fall foliage. How did your meeting go?”
She was stalling, and she knew it. Last night she’d scripted out everything she intended to say. If she were smart, she’d tell him and get it over with.
“More or less, he’s pushing for me to release a solo album. He wasn’t happy when I told him I wasn’t ready. But since I agreed to accept the role in Coldblooded, he forgave me.”
Yep, she never should’ve ignored her conscience. Matt never planned to stay in Orchard Harbor.
“I’m looking forward to working with Anderson and CJ again.”
Just tell him.
“With the three of you in the movie, it’ll be a huge hit.”
When had she become such a chicken?
“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. I land in Bangor at four. I should be home around five. Do you want to meet me there or for me to stop by and pick you up?”
I can’t put it off any longer.
“Neither. You actually don’t need to come back. At least not to see me.”
She’d rather he never set foot in town again, but since he owned not only a home but the building she lived in, he was bound to visit occasionally.
“Is this the opening to a joke? Because if it is, it’s not funny.”
The confusion she heard left her wishing she’d sent him a text message ending things instead.
“It’s not a joke, Matt.”
Silence followed her answer, and she wondered if he’d hung up.
“What’s going on? We were making plans to go away yesterday, and now you don’t want to see me.”
“Nothing. I just don’t want to see you again.”
“Something happened, and I deserve to know what.”
She’d debated telling him she knew about the other women.
Ultimately, the voice that kept telling her Phoebe and Emma might be right convinced her to just end things without accusing him of cheating.
The anger coming from him now had her reconsidering her decision.
After all, she wasn’t the one who’d been photographed with other people.
“Fine. I saw the pictures, Matt. So maybe you’re the one who owes me an explanation.”
“Liv, I already told you that was my cousin’s wife.”
“And I’m sure the woman you danced with and the one you were seen with on Sunday were also married to your cousins. And I must have missed the announcement. Which one of your cousins married Jasmine Locke?”
“I don’t know what pictures you saw, but I can explain.”
So he intended to play dumb.
“Even if you can, there’s no point. You would’ve eventually gotten bored here with me. I’m just saving us some time.”
“Damn it, will you listen to me? I haven’t been with anyone else. And yeah, I saw Jasmine the other night, but she just sat down. I didn’t ask her to join me.”
That photo is a single moment. Phoebe’s words repeated in her head. But so what if it was. Ending this now was better than waiting for him to do it in a few months.
“Goodbye, Matt.”
The dam holding back her tears broke as she put the phone down.
I did the right thing.
Maybe if she told herself that a few hundred times, she’d believe it.
Matt snagged the first empty spot he saw and once again wondered why he’d listened to his brother last night.
If he’d changed his departure time and left last night as soon as a crew could get to the airport, he would’ve gotten here hours ago, before Liv even had her first coffee.
But no, he’d listened to Aiden, who insisted it was better to wait so he wasn’t angry when he confronted Liv.
He’d also pointed out that if he waited, he could use the time to figure out what pictures Liv was talking about and find a way to prove they weren’t what she thought.
It hadn’t taken them long to solve that mystery.
Unfortunately, waiting hadn’t lessened his anger.
If anything, it was worse, only now it wasn’t all directed at Liv.
The photos on Eclipse’s CHAT fan page and the Star Insider website looked bad.
He couldn’t deny that, but he deserved a chance to tell her the truth.
More than one person walking by looked his way as he stood there deciding where to try first. At almost five o’clock, she could be anywhere, including the restaurant. If she was covering a shift there, he’d have to wait until she finished.
A few raindrops hit him as he passed Fireside Pizzeria, and by the time he reached Ocean View Catering, what was supposed to be a gentle shower had turned into a downpour. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the door to the catering company was locked and all the lights inside were off.
Why did I listen to you, Aiden?
With the dinner rush starting, it was pointless to check the restaurant, so Matt walked around to the back, to the entrance to the apartments upstairs. If Liv wasn’t home, he’d wait for her.
Even though her car was in its usual spot, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she wasn’t home. However, he wasn’t prepared to see a man standing outside her door. Although he couldn’t see his face, the man’s height and hair color ruled out Liv’s brother.
The floor creaked under Matt’s foot, and Liv’s visitor looked his way just as he knocked. While he didn’t remember the guy’s name, he recognized him from earlier in the summer.
“Get lost,” Liv’s ex said.
“Excuse me?”
Liv’s door opened before either spoke again. Bloodshot eyes looked from her ex to him. “Seb, Matt. What are you doing here?”
Now he knew the dude’s name, but it didn’t explain what he was doing there.
“We need to talk,” Matt answered first.
“Does she look like she wants to talk?”
She looked like she either wanted to cry or hit him. Maybe both.
“Get lost. You’ve done enough damage.” Seb said.
“Not happening.” Under different circumstances, Matt would walk away rather than provoke the man. Tonight, he wasn’t going to let an ex-boyfriend get in his way.
Seb stepped closer, one hand clenched. “If you don’t leave, I’ll help you.”
“Knock it off.” Liv grabbed Seb’s arm and Matt’s shoulder. “Seb, I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m not in the mood for visitors.”
“I wanted to —”
“Go home.” Liv turned her attention to Matt. “And you shouldn’t have come. We said everything there was to say yesterday.”
“You might have said everything you wanted, but I didn’t. You hung up on me before I could.”
This wasn’t going how he’d hoped.
“Liv, you —” the ex tried again.
“Seb, go home. I don’t need or want your help.”
Seb’s jaw twitched, and Matt knew the guy wanted nothing more than to punch him. “Call me if you need anything. It doesn’t matter what time it is.”
They both watched Seb walk down the hall. Once he started down the stairs, Matt focused on Liv.
“Can I come in?”
Her eyes searched his face before she sighed and took a step back into her apartment. “I guess, but not for long.”
He’d told Aiden he knew what he was going to say. He’d lied.
“Are you going to speak or stand there looking at me?” Liv asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“I’ve never cheated on anyone, including you.” Matt pulled out his phone and opened the photo app. “The woman I danced with is my cousin Vivian. This is a picture of us last Christmas.” He turned the phone so she could see the group picture.
“And the woman you saw me helping into a car was my cousin Sophie. She’s Vivian’s sister.” He swiped down to the next photo in the folder he’d created while on the plane. “I don’t remember when this picture was taken, but that’s her husband standing with us.”
Again, he turned the phone so she could see the picture of him with Sophie, her husband, Aiden, and Theo.
“I already told you the woman I was standing next to on the harbor cruise is my cousin’s wife. This photo was taken at their wedding.” He showed her the last picture.
“None of that explains you and Jasmine.”
He’d seen the photos, and they looked bad. Unfortunately, he didn’t have concrete evidence to hand her.
“Nothing happened. I didn’t know she would be there. When she asked if they could join us, it didn’t seem like a big deal. When she suggested we get back together, I made it clear I was with you.”
“She looks unconvinced in those photos.”
“I know how it looks.” Matt raked his hand through his hair. “But I went home alone. Aiden will tell you the same thing. Do you want me to call him? Anderson will too.”
Liv frowned and shook her head as she sat. “I don’t want you to call anyone. If you say nothing happened, then fine, I believe you.”
If she believed him, why was she frowning?
“But it doesn’t change anything. You’re still going to get bored with me and Orchard Harbor and leave. Maybe you’ll stay until you start filming the new movie. Once you leave, you won’t come back. At least not for anything more than short vacations.”
“The only reason I agreed to do the film is because it’s being filmed in New England.”
“Oh, that still —”
He already knew what she planned to say. “Doesn’t change anything, right? That’s what you were about to say.”
Nodding, Liv looked down at her hands.
“What can I do to convince you I’m not going anywhere?”
Until tonight, he hadn’t realized how stubborn Liv was.
“You can’t change the facts. You’re used to traveling around the world and going to exclusive clubs.
You’re happy here with me now because it’s a novelty.
When that goes away, you’ll be looking for a change.
Please just accept my decision and go home.
I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I’m tired. ”
Matt recognized a stalemate when he saw one. She’d made up her mind, and at the moment, nothing he said would change it. And she did look as exhausted as he felt.
“I’ll go, but this isn’t over.” Somehow, he’d convince her she was wrong.
The downpour ended before he left the center of town. Then, as if mocking him, a rainbow appeared over his house.
Once inside, he made a pit stop in the kitchen for a can of Coke and then went in search of his brother. Since he’d left Aiden playing pool earlier, he started with the game room.
“How did it go?” Aiden asked when Matt walked in.
What a stupid question.
“I’m here with you. How do you think it went?”
“Sorry. Is there anything I can do?” Aiden asked as he sent the last ball on the table into the corner pocket.
“Not unless you’ve got magical abilities that can change a person’s mind.”
“Skipped that lesson at school.” Aiden nodded toward the table. “Are you up for a game?”
Matt removed a pool cue from the wall. A game would help pass the time. “We’re not making any bets this time.” Maybe if he hadn’t made that bet with Aiden, he wouldn’t be in this mess.
“Do you want me to call her? Maybe she’ll listen to me.”
He appreciated his brother’s offer but knew it wouldn’t help. “There’s no point. She’s got it in her head that I’m going to get bored and leave. I need to prove her wrong.”