Close Your Eyes (29 page)

She forced herself to smile, unable to tell him
about the dream that had
freaked her out so much.
When she thought
about it, she wasn’t even
really sure why she’d reacted that way
. The girl, Alice,
hadn’t even done
anything bad or scary. Just
her being
with Ry
an
was enough to set off
Megan’s
panic button
. She was
embarrassed with her own paranoia
when she made this realization
.

‘I just had a long day, that’s all
.
’
She
smiled again, eager to disperse the last unpleasant remnants of her dream. For whatever reason
,
Matt
’s presence seemed to be enough to do just that
. H
er world
fell
back
in
to perfect order.
‘
Where are we meeting them,
Matt
?’

‘Just this little restaurant around the corner
.
’
When
Matt
leaned
closer to
her to
point it out, the faint scent of his eau de cologne reach
ed Meg’s
nostrils. He smelled like a fresh sea breeze, the mix of sun, salt
,
and freedom
,
a
perfect combination for his rebellious spirit. ‘
Mom
didn’t want to
meet
at
Aunt
Beth’s house.
Beth
really doesn’t like our
paternal
side of the
family too much
,
and
Mom
worried she
would
make her usual snappy comments about
G
randpa and
D
ad. Last time
,
I told her how I felt about it, so I guess
that
option was off the table.’

‘
Your aunt
doesn’t talk to you at all?’ S
he was amazed at the
split’s
ripple effect on the family, even years later. She tried to remember if
Ry
had
ever talked about it, but couldn’t.
He
had
mentioned
Aunt
Beth a few times, mostly
in
short, unrevealing
comment
s
. They were on friendly terms,
of
that she was sure. But then again, Ry
an
was much more diplomatic than
Matt
.

‘She does, since I am
a
part her family
.
’
He responded wryly
as he watched her confused face. ‘
She
is just a bit too protective of
Mom
, I think. As
close as they are
, I don’t think it gives her the right to be nasty to
G
randdad or
D
ad. But enough of that, otherwise you’ll
get freaked
out by our dysfunctional family
,
and
Ry
will be mad at me. Come on, let’s do it.’

Before
Megan
could protest
,
Matt
took her hand and pulled her towards the restaurant
. She struggled
to keep up with his effortless pace.
She glanced in the window
.
T
heir reflection
was
perfectly
detailed
in the glow of electric lights
from within
. She
looked
appallingly plain
. She cringed at her
dark, wavy hair pulled into a
simple ponytail and
casual
clothing when she thought of
how glamorous
Elisa would
look
.

H
er eyes lingered on the
reflection
for a moment longer
;
Matt
’s tall, dark figure at her side
was
disturbingly handsome and
strangely
easy to accept. In his dark jeans and t-shirt, he looked lethally masculine
. T
he strong planes of his chest and muscular arms
balanced
perfectly
with his
narrow hips and long, strong legs.
Still,
this wasn’t the most
alarming
discovery
as she
felt a sudden
wave of
heat rising in her face. She had known he was handsome for a long time now
. His attractiveness wasn’t what bothered her.
She was surprised by
the way he held her hand
.
T
heir bodies joined by this innocent gesture looked… right
.
The thought horrified her.
Their f
ingers clasped together in this subtle affirmation of belonging
made them one of the countless couples of wandering lovers
.

But
we don’t
belong to each other
. We never have, and we never will.
She felt
as if she
’d
let
Ry
down by even thinking that way.

Thankfully,
entering the restaurant required them to
walk
in
single file, so he let her through
first
. Her
reclaimed
hand provid
ed
a freedom
less thrilling than she would have expected. The skin of her palm still tingled from the brush of his fingertips, their warmth stored deep in the memory of her nerve endings.
She vowed to erase it as soon as possible
,
and she
suddenly regrett
ed
coming here
with
Matt
. She should have avoided any time alone with him
. These distressing
thoughts and feelings that he
stirred
in her were
not to be tolerated.

‘Over there
.
’
His
voice reached her ear, intimately close as he pointed to
a
table
at
the far end. ‘Thanks for helping
,
Megs
. I really appreciate it. If
Ry
could be here, he’d be happy
,
too.’

That was exactly what she needed
.
A
sense of relief
restored her peace of mind
as they walked to the table. It seemed that she
had
worried over nothing
.
Ry
an
’s presence
had been
with them every step of the way. She didn’t want to think that it was
Matt
who mentioned him first
. She pushed
aside the tiny tendril of something scary and unpredictable that sprouted in the deepest recess of her heart and refused to die, however hard she tried
to stamp it out
.

Elisa Wright looked even better than Elisa
Harper
.
Megan
needed
only
  five
seconds to establish this fact as she shook the other woman’s hand
after
a rather lukew
arm grip from her husband. Tall and
elegant in her
casual
shirt and beige pants,
Elisa
filled
Meg
with the same awe she remembered from her first day of kindergarten.
Elisa’s
hair was longer now, piled up in a
n
artistically disarrayed chignon
.
A
nd she wore less ma
ke
-
up
than before
. T
hat was pretty much everything that was different about the woman who
had
provided gossip for the whole town for years
.
Her large blue eyes remained the same, as did the sweet
,
shy smile
that made
her look girly even though she was in her late forties.

‘
Meg
an? What a nice surprise, darling
.
’

Suddenly
,
Meg
found herself in
Elisa’s
embrace
. T
he faint scent of lilac and irises reach
ed
her delighted nostrils. There was nothing artificial or fake about Elisa’s exuberance
. He
r
usual
warmth and spontaneity
hadn’t
changed. ‘I re
member you playing with
Ry
and
Matt
, sweetheart. It’s so nice that you are still in touch, dear.’