Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
S eeing Daisy curled up against Matt’s side had stunned Scarlet. Daisy . The girl who took forever to warm up to people. The girl who was so shy that she rarely made eye contact. But there she’d been, sound asleep, practically on top of Matt.
Scarlet knew Daisy recognized him as a friend of Poppy and Cade’s, but she was certain that prior to Daisy breaking her arm, they’d only interacted once. That time, months ago, when he’d stepped in when Poppy’s ex was being an asshat at the playground. The day that Scarlet’s crush on the man had grown to astronomical proportions.
Now here she was, with the sunrise less than an hour away, standing in her destroyed living room waiting for Matt to return. Well, destroyed was a bit strong. The front and sliding doors were wrecked, but the rest of the place was just super messy, like a little tornado had touched down.
But that wasn’t what had her heart threatening to beat out of her chest. No, that was her agreement to stay with Matt for the next couple of days. At least.
Mr. Wayland wasn’t returning from vacation until Sunday, and she had no clue how long it took to repair stuff, but she did know that getting the rental apartment back in shape before the next guests arrived on Friday would be his priority. It had to be since he charged her so little for rent. Once that was done, he could focus on her place.
“Hey,” Matt said, reentering her apartment. “Quinn and Chase have secured the main door downstairs. The back door—which is how they think whoever did this got away—wasn’t damaged. The locks are good on that one.” He gestured toward her bedroom. “Quinn will get your slider boarded up before he takes off, but he said we’re good to go. You ready?”
Was she ready? Probably not, but she nodded anyway.
Giving her living room one last look, she sighed. A part of her wanted to clean up, but the other figured that was a chore for another day. “Do you mind carrying our bags? I can get Daisy.”
“No problem.” He reached for her bags, then hesitated. “Wait. Daisy’s car seat. If you give me your keys, I can transfer it to my truck before you bring her down.”
Car seat. Right. She hadn’t even thought of that. You’re a shit mom.
Scarlet rubbed her temples as she scanned the room for her keys. She spotted them on the table by the door and pointed, sending up a prayer of thanks that whoever had done this hadn’t taken her car.
“Be right back,” Matt said, grabbing the keys and both of her bags.
He returned in under five minutes. She scooped up Daisy and followed him down the back staircase.
“Chase boarded up the main door. So until that’s fixed and secure, you’ll need to use the back entrance. Also”—he glanced over his shoulder—“I had Quinn double-check to make sure I installed the car seat correctly.”
Of course he had. “Thanks, Matt. I really appreciate you taking us in. For being here.” She wasn’t used to leaning on others, wasn’t used to having people to depend on. Hell, in her old life, she’d been the dependable one, the one people had gone to for help. Which was a complete joke and absolutely stupid, because her old life had been a train wreck.
Matt stopped and turned. He was standing a couple of steps below her, so they were nearly eye to eye. “You don’t need to thank me, but you’re welcome. We’re friends, remember? You and Daisy are welcome to stay as long as you need.”
Until this moment, she’d never noticed how his eyes were a rich chocolate brown. He was staring at her so intently, yet so... tenderly... that she was having a hard time thinking straight.
“Well, Matt, I still appreciate it.”
The corners of his lips lifted. “Well, Scarlet, you’re welcome. Now watch your step.”
Quietly exhaling, she descended the remaining stairs. They exited into the alley, and he led her to his truck, a burly black GMC Sierra, and opened the back door. With the dome light on, she saw he’d placed Daisy’s car seat in the middle.
Scarlet frowned. She claimed she was five-three, and most of the time, people believed her. In truth, she was just shy of five-two. There was no way she was getting Daisy into that truck. From where she was standing, it was logistically impossible. The truck didn’t have running boards she could use to boost herself up.
With a soft chuckle, Matt approached. “How about I put her in, and then you can buckle her?”
Carefully transferring Daisy, she muttered, “I’m not even sure I can get up there.”
“Sure you can. After I get Daisy in, I’ll enable the running boards.”
“You can enable the running boards?” Holy crap, that was fancy.
Matt nodded. “Obviously, it doesn’t matter to me, but my mom’s short. So, unless I wanted to get an earful—which no son wants—I had to make sure there was a running board option.”
He placed Daisy in her car seat, then hustled to the driver’s side and pressed a button. The running boards dropped with a low buzz. Scarlet climbed up to secure Daisy, shaking her head. The more she got to know Matt Alvarez, the more the man surprised her.
Twenty minutes later, Scarlet stood in Matt’s guest room, her mouth hanging open. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d expected, but it hadn’t been this . The room was opulent—and probably bigger than her entire apartment. There was even a fireplace and a seating area. In the bedroom.
Matt approached the massive king-size bed with a sleeping Daisy in his arms, and she pulled herself out of her stupor to help him.
“She can sleep with me,” Scarlet said as she removed her daughter’s sneakers—she needed her little girl close tonight—and pulled back the bed covers. Matt placed Daisy down with a gentleness that was at odds with his size.
Pointing out the attached bathroom, he promised to show her more of the house later in the morning. Then he squeezed her shoulder and said, “Get some sleep. We can visit the cats in the afternoon when you guys are rested.”
After he closed the door, Scarlet tucked a pillow on either side of Daisy to prevent her from rolling around. Then, unhooking her bra and pulling it through the armhole of her top, she climbed into the opposite side of the bed, not bothering to change out of her leggings and T-shirt.
Comfy in the soft sheets, with the clean scent of laundry detergent filling her nose and the beginnings of the kaleidoscope of sunrise peeking through the window, she sighed and stared at the ceiling. She’d gone from a lazy Friday evening to a night of sheer terror, panic, relief, and everything in between. There was no way she could fall asleep. She was completely wired from all that had happened.
Focusing on her breath, she listened to Matt walking down the hallway, murmuring in his deep voice. He was probably on the phone. She closed her eyes and pictured him in her mind. His handsome face. His impressive and somewhat-imposing figure. His soft smile. She thought of how he’d helped her tonight, how he’d talked with Daisy.
How he’d been there for her. For them .
Before Scarlet knew it, she had drifted off into a dreamless sleep.