Close Your Eyes (17 page)

Will
Ry
and I be the same?
The question arose in her head, against her better
judgment
.
Will we
be able to have fun together and look at each other the way Rosemary look
s
at
Rupert
?
She should be confident about it.
Isn’t
that exactly what
I want from
life? To be at his side, aging together and facing whatever life might throw
our
way?

Deep in her thoughts
,
she didn’t even notice that the song
had
ended.

‘May
I?’ T
he question startled her
,
and she looked up
.
Matt
’s smiling face
was
the first thing her eyes
landed on
.
She noticed right away that he was without Sonia
.
Megan
gazed
past him
,
and she spotted
Sonia,
a glimpse of silver flashing in the crowd,
dancing with someone else
.

‘I mean, until
Ry
returns from his mission to get
G
randpa safely out of this wild room
.’ H
e laughed
. H
is good mood
was
contagious
, and
everything seemed brighter and livelier
. Megan’s
body lift
ed
almost without her brain’s command. She put her hand into his, the warmth of his skin dispersing the last of the tense coldness she
hadn’t been able to
completely shake during the course of the evening. He was fun, safe
,
and solid
. As
he led her to the floor, the swaying people around them fad
ed
into background.

‘
So
how do you like it so far?’
His
eyes sparkled
mischievously
as he pulled her closer
. His
easy
,
fluid motion
made
it perfectly natural for her to accept it. ‘
Aren’t
our parties a
bsolute
ly
killer,
Meg
? I mean, once you get through the boring
,
official stuff, of course.’

‘
Half
as
bad
as what I anticipated
,
’ she admitted honestly, finding it impossible to be polite and
proper
with him.
This
is
Matt
, for
G
od’s sake.
He
probably
wouldn’t bat an eyelash if she confessed she
’d
hated every moment of it. But she didn’t, surprisingly. Henry was much nicer than she expected
once they
’d
actually had time to talk properly
. H
is invitation to show her around later
was
still fresh
in
her mind. As for the rest of the family, they seemed surprisingly normal once she
’d gotten
to know them a bit better.

‘Good, I am glad nobody sent you running away
. I know
Ry
was concerned
that might
happen.’ They swayed to the music, the slower tune allowing
them to
carry a conversation. ‘He was all worried you might find us a bit too overbearing and bolt.’

She
hadn’t known
about this side of Ry
an
, and it delighted her
.
He didn’t usually come across as someone
with
insecur
ities
, no
m
att
er the
predicament
—quite the
opposite, really. But to know that he wanted her to enjoy herself and
that he
cared
about
her opinion made the evening so much better.

‘I like it
.
’
She tilted her face
to see his eyes. He was much taller,
and
her high
-
heeled sandals
were
un
able to make up for the difference in their size
s
. ‘You seem to be having a blast,
Matt
. Sonia seems like a
really
great dancer.’

Shoot,
I
shouldn’t have said
that.
She
regretted
it
instantly as his grin deepened. She was only inviting one of
Matt
’s overly honest confession
s
,
and
she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear
it
.

‘
She
is very good at whatever she does
.
’
He
shrugged one shoulder
. T
he corners of his beautifully sculpted mouth lift
ed into a smile
. ‘
And
she really wanted to come, so I figured to hell with all those polite warnings I
’
ve been receiving all week. I thought
G
randdad would
have
a heart attack the moment he saw her, but he got over it quickly. I guess
I’ll probably
have to hear
about it
afterwards, when we are alone.’

‘
Well
, it’s only fair for you to bring your girlfriend, after all
.
’
Megan’s voice caught
ever so slightly. ‘I know how she must feel,
Matt
.’

They danced in silence for a moment, the beat of music surrounding
them
like a cocoon.
Meg
realized she liked it this way
. The
silence that hung between them
was
far from being tense or awkward.
This is
the good thing about
Matt
,
she thought gratefully
.
He
makes
everything easier.
For some unknown reason
,
he seemed to be able to calm the atmosphere,
and
his easygoing
,
laid
-
back attitude rubb
ed
off on her.

‘You look absolutely beautiful
.
’
Matt
broke the silence
,
and she looked up once more, only to see him watch
ing
her with surprisingly serious expression. ‘Your eyes seem even bluer in this dress
than
I would have ever thought poss
ible. They’ve always reminded me
of bluebells. Just like those we picked in the
Widow’s Lane
when we were kids. Do you remember?’

How could
I
not?
Bluebells
were
Elisa
Harper
’s favorite flowers,
and
both boys pick
ed
huge bouquets each spring and deliver
ed
them to their
fairy-
like mother. The
Widow’s Lane, as
Matt
called it, was
actually a strip of old forest, filled with old oaks, beeches
,
and
birches.
S
mall meadows and streams crossed the
area, merging with the
Harper
s
’
property
. The
moist, rich soil
prompted
a riot of blooms each spring. The forest ended with a
crumbling wall
that had been
erected a good three
or
four
hundred years ago
to surround
the old church
’
s grounds.
Meg
an and some other kids used to join the
Harper
boys in their adventurous escapades
while
the
Harper
household
was
blissfully unaware of their little
trespassers
.
Playdates
and kids
’
parties weren’t really a part of their childhood
. T
he divide between the richest family in town and the rest of the folks
was
obvious
even to children.