Close Your Eyes (31 page)

‘I have to really thank you for coming along
.
’
Matt
turned to her
with
earnest
eyes
. ‘I mean, if I
’d
been
there alone, it would
have ended
badly. I swear
,
Bill just gets
worse and worse
every
time I see him. You’d
think
that once he was over his midlife crisis, he’d improve.’

‘No problem,
Matt
.’ S
he smiled back
. T
he peaceful interior of the car
took
away some of her stress. ‘I would have to lie to say it was the best evening
of
my life, but I was glad to see your mom. She is as lovely as ever. Did I tell you my whole family idolized her in the parts she played
on
TV when we were little? I grew up with my grandma and mom discussing her characters at the breakfast table.’

‘I just wish she was so lovely somewhere
a little
closer to us
.
’
H
e sighed, looking defeated. ‘
Each
time I see
her,
I have to think how much time will pass between now and her next visit. Well, I guess
that’s
life.
I did try to see them more often when I was in the States, but they were usually too busy.
’ His face
brightened
as he watched her sitting neatly in the seat, buckled up and ready to go.

‘You were amazing, you know that
?’
He started
the car,
and
the soft purr of the engine muffl
ed
his words. ‘I was right to drag you along,
Megs
.
If things with
Ry
don’t work out
,
there is always a care
er in diplomacy waiting for you
.’

‘I’ll keep it in mind,
Matt
.
’
Her laugh was tired
,
but pleasant.
She
, too,
was glad she
’d come
along
. Her reaction
surprised
her
. The day had been
unusually
stressful and eventful, more so than any other she could recall. Finishing
off
the day
with
Matt
brought things back into p
erspective
, and his
presence soothing her better than sitting in front of the computer screen in the back room of her store
would have
.

‘I
’
m serious,
Megs
.’
His face stubborn, h
e refused to be sidetracked. ‘
You
walk into a room
,
and everything seems brighter.
Ry
has it
,
too, you know. Maybe that’s why you guys found each other
.’

‘Well, I guess we will have to avoid blinding people with our combined brightness from now on
.
’
She chucked softly as her mood improved even more
. ‘
You’re
not so bad yourself,
Matt
.’

The ring of his phone interrupted
their pleasant
conversation
,
S
he recognized
the catchy tone
as
Londonbeat’s
hit from years ago
,
‘I’ve been thinking about you.’ It was
funny,
since she liked
that song
a lot
. The
simple tune and easy lyrics
were
still appealing after many years.

‘
Yes
?
What’s up?
’
He answered the phone,
glancing at the dashboard clock. It was past eleven
,
and
Meg
had to wonder who could be trying to reach him at such
an
ungodly hour.

‘
Matt
?’
As c
lear
ly
as if she
were
sitting between
them
,
Sonia’s voice filled the car through the speaker. ‘Where are you?’

Well, of course he knew it was
her
.
Meg cursed
her own
silliness
as she wondered why he hadn’t asked who was calling
. He’d seen the caller on the display.

‘Driving home
from meeting
M
om
,
’
he
answered
good-
naturedly
.
Sonia’s impatience
had
little impact on his mood. ‘I thought you said you were going to a party after our
s
fell apart
.
’

So that
’s
it
.
A sudden bitterness rose in Meg’s throat.
Probably he asked her first to come with him, but she refused, leaving him with not too many options
,
save finding
me
.

‘I have,
Matt
. That’s why I am calling.’ Sonia’s voice
slowed into a seductive drawl
.

Meg
’s toes curl
ed
with embarrassment as she listened to
the
voice meant only for
Matt
.

‘I thought you might come over, now that
everything’
s calm again. It’s really fun
,
and you should relax, baby.
I
could
even
give you a hand
. That’s what friends are for, Matt. Even though you seem so
intent
on keeping things neatly separated
.
’
A
guttural laugh followed
.

Hoping to be as unobtrusive as possible,
Meg
turned her face to the window.
She knew i
t wasn’t Sonia’s fault that she was
in the car
,
but she was embarrassed to be
trespass
ing on
this private moment.

‘I’ll have to pass tonight
. S
orry.’

Meg’s spirits lifted. Matt didn’t sound sorry at all, a
nything but sorry
. H
e smiled at her
while
he talked
.

‘
I am taki
ng
Megs
home
,
and
then I
better head
home to see dad and the rest of the gang.’

‘
Well
, I wouldn’t like to stand in the way of your taking
Ry’s
precious
Meg
home,
Matt
.’ T
he other girl laughed a silvery giggle dripping with irony. ‘
Enjoy
your five minutes, baby. Once
R
y
is back on his feet,
you’ll be
on the backburner
again
.
I just thought we could have some friendly fun, that’s all.
’

The call ended before he could answer
.
Meg
’s cheeks burn
ed
with humiliation.

‘
She
got annoyed you declined to come
.
’
Megan stated the obvious,
glaring at
Matt
as she tried to remain calm. ‘
That’s
why she got upset, I guess. You didn’t have to take me home, you know. I could have taken
a
cab,
Matt
.’

‘I really didn’t feel like it
,
anyway
.
’
He
shrugged dismissively
.
‘
Partying
all night while my brother lies in the hospital and my family worries at home isn’t really on my list of priorities right now. Sonia just has to get over the fact
that
some of us actually have feelings.
And truth to be told, she takes the term friendly
breakup
in a totally wrong direction.’