I felt his hand slide around my back, squeezing me against him for a brief moment. “I’ll park and come find you. Call me if you have any trouble.”
I pulled away and opened the door. “Thanks. I’ll see you inside.”
There was a moment before I stepped out—a break of time where our eyes met and I felt the undercurrent of chemistry still taut between us.
Stepping out of the vehicle, I couldn’t help but smile.
CHAPTER 29
NEENA
Matt was awkward in the car. His cast was too bulky, bumping into the door with a loud clunk as he tried to adjust the seat belt. From the back seat, I watched him fumble and swallowed a sharp remark.
“Thanks for the ride,” he said to William, then turned his head in an attempt to see me. “Neena, why didn’t you drive your car?”
I looked out the window, grateful that he couldn’t see me from his position. “I was so worried about you. We thought it’d be safer if William drove.”
Matt bought it as easily as every other lie I spoon-fed him. I listened as he went on and on, re-creating the yawn-worthy scene for us.
Coffee in hand. Black, like always.
The weather almost too cool to be out on the porch.
Saw a hawk on one of the trees.
Was leaning against the railing, as he always did, when it gave way.
“I swear, I’ve never cursed those high first-floor ceilings in my life. What do you think they are, eighteen feet?”
Silence hung, and I realized he was talking to me. “Uh ... yeah. Eighteen feet.”
Matt chuckled, and I don’t know why he found that funny. “Thank God I hit the grass. You know, they say you should go limp when you fall, and Iknewthat, but I stuck out my hand like an idiot. Good thing I didn’t land feetfirst. I’d have snapped my weak ankles like twigs.”
He did have weak ankles. We used to laugh about it. I once put an anklet of mine on him and it fit, though a bit snugly, the gold chain tight around his hairy leg.
“Doc gave me three weeks of staying at home and letting my ribs heal.”
I made a face at the thought. Three weeks of tripping over him in the house? I’d go mad. And it was his right arm, of all things. He was high maintenance already—would be much more so with a crippled dominant hand. I reached forward and rubbed his good shoulder, making sure that William caught the action. “I’ll take good care of you, baby. Spoil you rotten. You’re going to hate it when you finally heal enough to get back to work.”
He turned his head and kissed my hand, and he really was sweet. It would be hard to re-create the amount of love and naked trust that Matt had for me, paired with his ability to overlook all my flaws.
William’s cell rang, and I saw Cat’s name light up on the dash. He hit the screen, and her voice broke through the speakers.
“Hi, love. Where are you?”
I hated the way she spoke to him. It was filled with such ownership, such familiarity and confidence. I’d been with Matt since high school, yet somehow—whenever I saw them together—it felt as if we were inadequate. I couldn’t wait to knock her off her perch and destroy that casual arrogance.
“We’re headed to the house now.” The stoplight ahead turned yellow, and William gunned the engine, slipping through as it flashed red.
“Great. I’ll head over and meet you. I threw the pieces of the balcony in the trash and put some tape up between the posts.”
“That’s great, Cat.” Matt craned forward, as if he needed to get closer to the delicate speaker in order for it to hear him. “Thank you so much.”
Oh yes. Thank you so, so, so much.I thought of her passing through our bedroom and onto the balcony. She probably judged us with every step through the house. Thank God I’d made the bed.
“I’ll put up a temporary railing,” William offered. “I can do it tomorrow evening. That’ll tide you over until you can get a replacement piece.”
“That would be great.” I reached forward and squeezed his arm, letting my hand trail over his bicep. “That’s so kind of you, Will.”