Close Your Eyes (10 page)

‘Thank you
.
’
She
sipped some of the tea, almost choking as the strong taste of alcohol hit her throat. ‘
Matt
,
exactly
how much
did you put in here?’
she
asked, her eyes wary. ‘I said a bit, remember?’

‘Yes
,
madam
.
’
He
grinned unrepentantly, sitting down in front of the fire and stretching out his long, muscular legs. With a satisfied sigh
,
he
watched her
.
She hesitated to drink any more
.

‘Go on,
Meg
,
’
he
prompted, his eyes sparkling mischievously. ‘I swear I won’t get you drunk, if that’s what you
’re
worr
ied
about.
Just a wee bit to get you warmer
.
Y
ou look like death, you know.’

‘Thank you very much.’ Indignation colored her voice as she took another sip
. This
time
, she was
already prepared for the taste. ‘It’s a
lways nice to be compl
i
mented,
Matt
.’

He laughed
.
T
he rich
,
warm sound curv
ed
her lips in an
instinctive
response.
His dark
ened
hair was beginning to dry, returning to the
dirty-blond
it usually was.

It was impossible to be serious around
Matt
.
His
aura of fun and freedom made him a perfect accomplice in crime.
Rarely and for a very short time
,
she would allow herself
to
wish
that some of it
would
rub off on Ry
an
. Afterwards
,
she
would feel
guilty and convince herself it was nothing more
than
a lapse of judgment.

Ry
is
absolutely perfect the way he
is
,
she assured
herself,
her cheeks burning with shame.
Ryan
was warm, smart
,
and responsible,
and
the list of his
positive
attributes
went
on and on.

‘So what exactly happened to send you into the moor in this weather?’
Matt
asked.
He
watched
her cautiously, his blue eyes veiled and impossible to read.
She was
used to reading him and his expressions like an open book
, having known him for so many years and having watched him through the drama of his life. She found his uncharacteristically unyielding features
unsettling
.

Ever since
Matt had
finished high school and decided to study
in Edinburgh and then
in the S
tates, something
had
changed, though
Megan
couldn’t really put her finger on it. The first time she
’d seen
him after a few months of his absence,
she’d been completely unprepared for his transformation
. The lanky boy she remembered
had
returned changed,
an
air of independence and self-assurance replacing his teenage angst.
And for some reason, she’d considered the disappearance of the young Matt
a massive
loss,
though
Ry
an
and the rest of the family seemed very happy to see him
a bit
less wild and unpredictable.

‘We had an argument
,
’
Megan said
, her voice low and husky. ‘
Ry
asked me to not be upset
while
he spends some tim
e with Helena di
Monti
.
’

Matt burst out laughing, his eyes merry.

‘
What?’
she
snapped
.
How he
could
laugh about something so serious was beyond her understanding.
But maybe a man who change
s
his girlfriends as often
he
change
s
socks
has a
different perspective on what
is
appropriate
and what
isn’t.

‘Sorry,
Meg
.’ He was serious again, only the quivering around his firm, masculine mouth betraying his
amusement
. ‘
It’s
just that I
was imagining
poor
Ry
with her. Have you ever met Helena?’

‘I don’t think so.’ She shook her head
. Her
voice
was
bitter
when she continued
. ‘
But
th
e
n again
,
I don’t know too many of your family’s friends, do
I?
’

‘
Meg
, Helena isn’t someone you should be worried about.’ Sipping his drink, he smiled at her
, and Megan’s
anger melt
ed
under the assault of
his charm
. ‘
She
is rather serious and
extremely
opinionated.
Ry
will be suffering through every second of his sentence, I’m sure of
it
. He couldn’t stand her when we were kids and her family came over for a visit, and I don’t think too much
has
changed since. She bossed us around and bragged about her other
friends
non-stop
. Mom had to bribe us with a promise to take us to the zoo to get us
to cooperate
.’

Matt
shrugged
. H
is face smooth
ed
again,
but Megan’s
noticed
the fleeting sadness that
crossed
over his expressive features. She knew that
Matt
missed
his mom, Elisa
. Ever since she
had
divorced her husband and remarried a
co-star
from
her
latest
historical movie, she had become persona non grata in the
Harper
house.
She visited rarely and stayed
only
for short
periods
. Her lifestyle didn’t really allow her to care for them properly, she explained to
anyone who would
listen
. T
he movies,
on-site filming
,
and trips abroad
made
it practically impossible to fulfill her duties as a mother. The
children
needed stability
and a
place to put their roots. A
place like the
Harper
s
’
house, welcoming
them
with open arms
,
offered
a stable home forever.
Plus,
staying at their paternal home
offered
other
perks, such as money, contacts
,
and
social acceptance, which she had lost after splitting up with
Rupert
.

‘I am just sick and tired of being the third wheel, that’s all,’
Meg
an explained, her eyes stormy. ‘
How
do you think it feels to know that
Ry
is there, chatting up some girl under the approving eyes of your family,
Matt
? Do you have any idea how humiliating that feels?’

‘It must suck big time,’ he agreed, nodding and taking another sip of his drink. ‘
Ry
is only doing it as a
favor
to
G
randpa, you know? He doesn’t want to disappoint the old man,
Meg
an, nothing more. They will leave soon, the whole stuck
-
up family, and things will be better.
’

Matt
is
the only perso
n who call
s
Henry
Harper
‘
G
randpa
,
’
she thought with morbid amusement
.
E
ven Ry
an
referred
to the old man with a respectful and stiff
‘
grandfather.
’
Matt
had no qualms
about being
the exception, cheerfully referring to his formidab
le and intimidating grandparent
with endear
ing nicknames
that were
disagreeable
to the rest of the household.
Matt obviously
couldn’t care less
that everyone else disapproved.
Ry
an
’s attempts to rein him in a bit
had failed
miserably.