Close Your Eyes (36 page)

‘
May
I joi
n you?’

She
looked up
.
Matt
’s
tall frame
blocked the bright morning sunlight that filtered through the paper blinds
.
She nodded,
then
saved
herself from having to come up with an answer
by
hiding her face in her cup. She wasn’t really sure if she wanted to talk to him after all
. T
he images
of
last night’s dreams flood
ed
her memory and
brought
blood to her cheeks.

Snap out of it
,
she told herself firmly
.
You’re being childish.
It wasn’t
Matt’s
fault she had dreamt about him this way
. O
nly
her own
treacherous mind
was
to blame.

‘Sure, sit down
,
’
she said when she realized he was still standing above her.
She gestured to the opposite chair
. He sat,
his
folded body
looking rather uncomfortable in the smallish, plastic chair.

‘
I was wondering if you were coming back,
Megs
.
’
He
watched her carefully
.

H
is playful tone
didn’t fool
her for a moment.
She might have been able to fool someone else
,
but not Matt, not really
. He could see through her pretenses with an ease that made her uncomfortable.

‘Of course I was coming back. I just needed a quick shot of caffeine.’ In the end
,
she decided to play it cool and act as if everything was just fine
. She prayed
inwardly that he would play along and not call her bluff.
Sadly, s
he had no answers, none whatsoever
,
if he decided to ask her the
difficult question
.
She was a mediocre
actress,
and
it wouldn’t end well.

‘
They
make a big deal of Alice because she did sa
v
e
Ry
, you know. But it doesn’t mean by a long stretch
that
anyone
’s forgotten
you and how important you are to him
, e
specially Ry.
’

H
e wouldn’t be
Matt
if he didn’t go for the jugular right away
; there was never any chance of him
being diplomatic
or
vague.
Honesty had always been his prominent feature
.

‘Of course, you’re right.’ She nodded and took another cautious sip of her coffee
. It burned
her lips
, but she didn’t
even
bat an eyelash. The pain was actually welcome, offering her some reprise in its surprising intensity. ‘I’m very grateful
,
too.’

‘I mean, once he’s out of this hospital bed, things will be definitely back to normal,
Megs
.’
Matt
sighed, running his fingers through his strawberry
-
blond hair
, a
gesture he usually reserved for situations
when
he was feeling uneasy
. H
er stomach
tightened
into an even denser knot of nerves
. I
f
Matt
was worried about the whole thing,
she should be, too
.

‘Does it make me a total bitch?’
She
looked up, straight into his eyes
,
as she dropped all pretense
s
and followed her heart
. ‘I was sitting here, wondering what kind of a crazy maniac would hold a grudge against a woman who saved her man.’
She was eager to hear Matt’s opinion.

‘Nope, it makes you human,
Megs
.’ He leaned forward
intently
. ‘Jealousy is a part of loving someone as much as anything else, I think. And yes, the way she looked at
Ry
was annoying. He might be very well the only person
oblivious
to her infatuation.’

‘I wish
.
’
T
he words were out before she could stop herself
. Her bleak tone alarmed even her own ears
. ‘I mean, you know Ry. He must feel very responsible for her now. She was doing him a favor and got hurt, both things surely affecting him much more than I would like
them
to. I
guess I
am
a bitch.’
She swallowed hard
. The
bitter taste of tears
rose
in the back of her throat.

‘Come on
,
Megs
.’
He placed his large hand over hers
.
H
is skin
was
pleasant
ly warm
against her
s
. He pressed her fingers in his,
and
the slightly rough texture of his
finger pads
was
achingly familiar. ‘
Don’t
worry about things that don’t
m
att
er.
Anyway, as we speak,
Ry
is being inspected by
M
om,
making sure every inch of him is
in
perfect order. She arrived together with Bill
just before you
, so I
decided to
use the first opportunity to skip the reunion. Otherwise
,
we might need more hospital beds.’

She smiled at his
rebellious voice
, which
remind
ed
her of days gone by. This was the
Matt
she remembered growing up, stubborn and challenging. He
had caused
his family more trouble in a year than Ry
an
had
in his whole adolescence
. T
he tight ring of misery around her heart loosen
ed
ever so slightly.
‘
I think I will say good
-
bye then.’

She
’d
hoped
that Ry
an
would
be able to
leave the hospital today
,
but it turned out the doctor preferred to keep him
another night
before
letting him
leave for good.
Ryan’s
wound was already healing nicely
,
and the blood loss
had
proved less substantial than expected.
It
was better to be safe than sorry,
though.
S
he could hardly wait for him to leave this place.

‘Do you want to come up with me?’
She
looked
at Matt
expectantly
.
He shook
his head. Somehow
,
she
hadn’t expected
anything else.

‘I have some errands to run,
Meg
.’
He shrugged
in a dismissive gesture. ‘I was never good with family
gatherings
, where everyone walks on eggshells and acts like everything
is
perfect. Now that I know that
Ry
is fine and he’s coming back, I feel way less pressure to stick around.’

Matt
might
be
one
hundred percent loyal to his brother
, b
ut
if
he wasn’t
needed
,
he preferred to stay in the background, away from the spotlights and
meddling
of his extended family.

‘
Well
,
see
you later
then.’ She finished her coffee, savoring the delicate aroma of cinnamon lingering on the bottom of the cup. ‘I’d better run to see
Ry
and everyone else.’

‘Wait
.
’
Matt brushed his
thumb against her upper lip in a swift caress. ‘You’ve got a mustache,
Meg
.
’
With a smile, he leaned back in his seat.
Then
he lifted his
thumb
to his
own
lips, his smile widening.