Chapter Eighteen
He woke up alone, and he didn’t like it. Not after knowing what it felt like to wake up beside her. Sheer contentment. Utter bliss. Peace.
Her scent lingered. Wrapped in sheets that smelled of warm earth and sex, Matt held the pillow she’d slept on to his chest. This house wasn’t a home until Gina walked into it.
It’s where she belonged.
And right where he needed her to be.
Patience, man. Six hours.
But that wasn’t soon enough.
Eager to get the day started, Matt reached for his phone and, after sending Gina a ‘good morning’ text, he reluctantly stripped the sheets off his bed.
If she weren’t coming over later, he would have left them on to keep her scent with him, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
And so, his beautiful bunny would return to an inviting bed made up with freshly laundered linens.
Once he was showered and dressed, with the sound of water cascading into the washing machine down the hall, there wasn’t much left for him to do but kill time. He’d just pulled two rib eyes out of the freezer for dinner when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Matt jumped, and the frozen meat slipped from his grasp. “Jesus, dude. Anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people like that?”
“It’s not my fault you didn’t hear me come in.” Kit leaned against the island and snickered. “You gonna grill us some steaks tonight? Good choice, man.”
“Gina’s coming.”
“Oh.” And the smirk left his face. “That’s cool, I guess.”
Matt just stared at him, not sure what to make of the statement. “So, what’s up?”
“Not a fucking thing. Just bored,” Kit said, and tapped out a beat on the quartz countertop. “Thought we could grab drinks or something later, but it looks like you’ve got other plans.”
He did indeed.
“Sorry, bro.” A flutter of guilt swept through his chest. Matt took a step forward and laid a hand on Kit’s shoulder. “Another time?”
“Yeah, sure.” Kit wet his lips, and rubbing them together, his chin dipped once. “You really like this girl, huh?”
“Told you, I do.” He glanced at the ceiling, and releasing a breathless chuckle, his gaze landed on his friend’s gentle puppy-dog eyes. “But see, I don’t just like Gina.”
“What are you saying, man?”
“I’m in love with her, Kit.” With emotion gathering in his throat, Matt drew in a much-needed breath. “I swear I’m gonna marry that girl someday.”
Yeah.
The startled look on Kit’s face when he said that was burning in his brain as Matt walked along First Avenue.
He hadn’t planned to say it out loud; the idea of making Gina his wife only just beginning to take root.
She was his person, and he knew it, but their relationship was still too new to speak of such things.
Kit was his person, too, though. He always had been. There’d never been a time either hadn’t felt safe confiding in the other. So, while Matt wasn’t quite ready to give voice to his thoughts with anyone else just yet, it was natural for him to share them with Kit.
He stopped at the drugstore to ditch his single electric toothbrush for a duo model so Gina could have one at her disposal, too, and stocked up on condoms. They hadn’t used them on Saturday.
Maybe she was on the pill. The unprecedented, exquisite sensation of taking her raw had stopped him from asking though.
Besides, he got off on the thought of breeding her, of his baby growing in her belly.
But while he’d welcome it, Gina might not.
They had a lot to talk about.
Dreams. Desires. A future to plan together.
And he knew they would.
Bright summer sunlight assaulted his eyes as he exited the shop. Matt rubbed at them, catching a flash of white on a mannequin in a storefront window. The dress wasn’t like the one he’d torn from her body, but he could see her in it, the silky fabric clinging to her curves.
“Excuse me,” he said, approaching a middle-aged saleswoman who was busy arranging shirts on a display. “I want to get that dress.”
“And which dress would that be?” She looked over at him with a ready smile.
“The one in the window.”
“It’s lovely. You have excellent taste.” Elegant, confident, and poised, the woman approached him. “What size?”
“Uh, I don’t know,” Matt replied, glancing at the racks of colorful clothing. How was he supposed to know such things?
“I see.” The woman’s smile widened, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Let’s see if we can figure this out. How tall is she?”
He held his hand level, midway between his pecs and his chin.
She giggled. “And her shape?”
Perfect.
“Slender, but not skinny.” Lucious breasts. Plush bottom. Gesturing with his hands, he tried to show her silhouette. “She’s got curves, you know?”
“I think I do.” The saleslady winked, then went to the rack, and returned holding the dress he’d seen in the window. “If it doesn’t fit, you can exchange it for the proper size.”
“It looks like it will, but I’m just a dude, so what do I know?”
“It seems to me you know how to make a girl feel special.” She smiled at him, her glossy lips shining under the overhead lights. “She’s just going to love this dress.”
By the time Matt got out of the high-end boutique, the saleswoman, who was damn good at her job, had added shirts, pants, a couple of sundresses, and God only knows what else into the shopping bags.
He couldn’t stop himself. Didn’t want to.
Gina deserved the world, and he wanted to be the one to give it to her.
His cheeks aching from a smile he couldn’t contain, Matt cut through Coventry Park to make his way home. The sky looked bluer. The sun shone brighter. Old ladies taking their afternoon stroll smiled back at him.
Juggling shopping bags, he punched the code to the park gate, then latched it closed behind him. Except for the music wafting out of Kit’s open upstairs windows, Park Place was quiet. He whistled along to the tune until he reached the walkway to his front door and glanced up.
Shit.
Arms folded across his chest, Tony stood waiting.
And he didn’t look happy.
“You motherfucker!” Tony thrust his pointed finger at him, taking a slow step down the porch stairs. “And you’re supposed to be my friend.”
Matt met him on the second step. “C’mon, man. I am your friend—have been since kindergarten.”
“She’s my baby sister,” he fumed, spittle flying from his mouth with every word.
Gina was going to be here in an hour.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you.” Matt led him toward the door. “Let’s do this inside, all right?”
She came bearing bags of groceries, her brother not five minutes gone.
He hoped he appeared unruffled because the talk with her brother did not go as he’d imagined it would. Not at all.
“Let me get that.” Matt kissed her cheek, relieving Gina of her burden. “I’ve got steaks to throw on the grill.”
“Perfect,” she said, following him into the kitchen. “We can have dinner out on the patio.”
He watched her unpack ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and olive oil in a dark glass bottle.
She wore a pair of drawstring khakis similar to his own.
A crop top in warm cream bared her summer skin.
Matt couldn’t stop looking at this girl who’d captured his heart.
He pushed every angry word Tony uttered from his head.
If he lost him as a friend, so be it. Gina was worth fighting for.
“What all do you have there?” He moved in beside her, his lips dipping to her neck.
“That tickles.” She giggled, scrunching up her shoulder. “Just stuff to make Caprese salad and Pasta al Pomodoro.”
“I see.” Matt chuckled, emptying a bag that held vanilla gelato and a bottle of prosecco.
“What?” She snagged the ice cream and put it in the freezer. “That’s for dessert. I’m going to put your espresso machine to good use.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“C’mere.” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his chest. Hazel-green eyes looking up at him, Matt held her for a moment. “God, I love you.”
Then, with his fingers sliding into thick, silky-soft strands, he lowered his lips to hers. Gina opened for him without hesitation, her sweet tongue slipping inside his mouth, and an overwhelming sense of peace came over him. She was his, and he was hers. That’s the only thing that mattered.
They sliced tomatoes together. Chopped garlic. He found joy in the simple domesticity of it. After seasoning the meat and brushing it with olive oil as Gina instructed, Matt took the steaks out to the grill while she boiled pasta and assembled the salad.
He could get used to this. More than that, it’s what he wanted. Gina in his house, in his heart, in his bed.
“How’re the steaks coming?”
Matt glanced over his shoulder. She looked so happy setting a cozy table for the two of them. He had to tell her about Tony, but he didn’t want to see that smile disappear.
“Five minutes.”
With her arms wrapped around his middle, Gina kissed his shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You seem… I don’t know, preoccupied?” Fingertips strummed up and down his abs. “Like your mind is somewhere else.”
He turned around, gripping her by the shoulders. “Believe me when I say this, no matter what I’m doing, or whatever else I might think about, my mind is always on you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” And he kissed her. “If you like medium-rare, I think these steaks are done.”
After filling their bellies, they sipped on Aperol spritzes in the waning twilight, a candle flickering between them. Matt reached across the table, and taking Gina’s hand in his, he raised her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “We need to talk, bunny.”
“See? I knew it.” She pulled her hand away. “Something’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong, baby, I swear it. Now, c’mere,” he said, patting his lap. Gina went to him and sat. “Tony came to see me today. He knows about us.”
“You told him?”
With his cheeks puffed out, Matt released a breath. “No, but somebody did.”
“Who?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
But I’ve got a pretty good idea.
Worrying her lip, Gina gazed at him. “He’s mad, isn’t he?”
Heh. You could say that.
“Don’t worry, he’ll come around.” Matt tightened his arm around her and sighed. “But I need you to be prepared.”
“For what? My mother’s wrath?” With a shake of her head, she turned her face away.
He touched her chin and brought her back to him. “Yeah, and for what’s likely to happen next.”
“And what’s that?” She wet her lips. “You’re scaring me.”
Matt tipped his head toward her, smoothing Gina’s hair down her back. “There are photos of us together, so expect to see them circulating out there.”
“Oh, I don’t care about that.”
She didn’t understand. Not yet. He’d protect her as much as he could, but like Ava and Chloe, Gina would need a thick skin to deal with the media and the parasocial dissection of their relationship.
“You will. The media can be… let’s just say they don’t always play nice.” Matt adjusted her on his lap so she straddled him, then lowered his forehead to hers. “You’ve got to tell your parents before Tony does, or before they see it in The National Enquirer.”
“Okay, now I’m scared for real,” she said, rubbing the khaki that covered her thighs.
“You have nothing to fear, baby.” He stilled her fidgety hands, covering them with his own. “I’ll tell them with you if you want me to.”
Gina pulled her head back, giving him a pointed look.
“Or not.” With a chuckle, Matt tucked a wave of dark chocolate behind her ear. “Do you know what I love most about you?”
“No, what?”
“You’re fearless. Independent,” he said, tipping her chin up. “You don’t need me. You want me. There’s a difference.”
“I don’t feel all that fearless at the moment.”
“I know, but you are.” He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.
“You’re free to be yourself with me, bunny, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I don’t want to stifle you ever. I don’t want to change who you are or what you feel, but I want to watch you grow.
Because growth can’t change who a person is at their core. ”
“But you have changed me, Matt. In all the best ways.” She collared his neck, clasping him against her. “I’m not the same girl who carried a pizza to your door.”
“I’ve changed, too, Gina.”
He kissed her.
I’m a better man, and it’s all because of you.