Close Your Eyes (44 page)

A
sense of
déjà
vu
came
over her as she let her eyes travel all the way from the top of his strawberry
-
blond hair to the dark shoes he was wearing.
Sarcastic amusement escaped in
a bubble of laughter
that rose
in her throat.
Did
Ry
sen
d
his brother to watch over
me
while he moved on to his new lover?
Is
this
his way of taking care of business,
like
all things in the
Harper
family
,
swiftly solved
in the most
efficient way?
Each of
the family members supported each other and never hesitated to provide a lending hand.
Strangely
,
Meg
would have th
ought that
Matt
would be the only exception to this rule
. E
ven family obligations
were
unable to tame
his independent spirit.

Megan, unaware of the note of hysteria lacing her giggles,
was still laughing as she pulled
open
the door
.
I
n her
drunken
stupor,
she thought the whole situation was too hilarious.
She blinked
hard
, trying
to see him properly.

‘Well,
this is
a surprise,
Matt
.’ She made an exaggerated gesture for him to enter and moved aside, stumbling slightly as her foot caught on the edge of the runner. ‘Why on earth are you here?’

‘
Megs
, are you ok
ay
?’ H
e sounded anything but cheerful, which was very confusing.

At that moment
, everything
, including herself,
seemed to be blissfully carefree
.
S
he didn’t care to try solving
the mystery of why Matt looked so worried
.

‘
I am simply g
reat,
Matt
. You can go home and tell
Ry
not to worry. His dumped girlfriend is absolutely splendid.’ She laughed again, hiccupping as she gasped for air. Her head was spinning slightly
. Matt’s face
came and went from
focus.

‘Come on
.
’
Suddenly
,
his strong hand was under her elbow, leading her to the sofa. Carefully
,
he made her sit down, never once leaving her side. ‘I am not going anywhere,
Megs
. Especially when you
’
re like
this
.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ She felt invincible
. Her
cheeks burn
ed
with indignation. ‘I
’
m fine,
Matt
. Just a bit tipsy, that’s all. You of all people should understand. I’m still nowhere near
the stuff you used to do
, before you became so responsible and all…’

‘Fair enough
.
’
A
ghost of his usual grin appeared around his
lips
,
and
his eyes soften
ed
. ‘Still, you
shouldn’t be alone,
Meg
.’ He looked around
. His
eyebrows
pulled
together in a line of disapproval as he noticed the
half-
empty bottle and her empty glass,
where
the remnants of the ice cubes sparkl
ed
in the
lamplight
. ‘How much of
this
did you drink by yourself,
Megs
?’
The look on his face
made
her think of his grandfather.

‘
All
of it,’ she admitted cheerfully
.

He got
up and put the bottle away.
Then h
e took her glass and finished it off
.

H
er eyes
clung
to his throat
as he swallowed the
amber-
colored liquid. ‘You look a lot like your grandpa,
Matt
,
’
she
stated
in a blissful, husky voice
.
‘W
ow, I can’t believe I just called him that. I
guess it makes sense
that I lived in fear of the man when I was hoping to become a part of your family, but right now, after
it’s all been
screwed up, I don’t really care.’

The
poignant
music in the background caught her attention, distracting her from his answer.
Meg felt
just like
the girl in the song,
begging for love and unable to accept her broken heart
.
This story was as old as the world itself. Over and over again, someone’s heart was broken
into pieces
,
swept away by an impatient foot before anyone could put it back together.
Meg’s carefree happiness slowly dissipated.

‘I’ll make us some coffee
.
’
Matt
moved around with ease
that was surprising for a guy that
tall and well built. The little kitchenette at the back of the store was microscopic, barely more than two cabinets,
a
single sink
,
and a mini fridge. The
two-burner
cooker was stacked on top of one of the cabinets, the other occupied by a small microwave.
It seemed that no time at all passed when she heard him again, his inquisitive voice breaking through the haze of her indifference.

‘Should I pour some sugar into yours?’
He
leaned back to her. ‘
You
might need some sugar,
Meg
. Just to think straight.’

‘I don’t want to think straight
.
’
With h
er lower lip stubbornly caught between her teeth
, she rose to her feet
. ‘But you go ahead
.
I am sure
Jenna
h
as a huge pot full of sugar hidden
somewhere
in there. Good luck.’

He hesitated for a second, only to make up his mind
and go searching for the sugar.
After finding it, h
e spooned
two heaping teaspoons
of the
white powder
into
her cup.

Meg
knew she should have been mad at him
for
so visibly
ignoring
her wishes, but
she wasn’t
.
The
pleasant haze of indifference still hung in place, making concentrating all but impossible.

‘
Here
, have a sip,
Megs
.’
Matt
brought two steaming cups to the table
. His
strong fingers wrapped
themselves
securely around the white
cup with a
wildflower patter
n
. ‘Just don’t burn yourself, ok
ay
?’

‘
Yes
, sir.’ She nodded playfully
and
reach
ed
for her drink
.
She burned
her lips in her eagerness.
The coffee tasted good,
both
strong and sweet.
Plus, deep down, hidden
underneath
the bold fragrance of coffee beans
,
the subtle
hint of something
she recognized as cinnamon
waited
for her to be discovered
. It lingered on her tongue, assaulting her taste buds and making her remember the last time they
had dr
u
nk
coffee together
a
t the hospital.

Other m
emor
ies
accompanied this one
,
and
her happiness evaporat
ed
faster than snow in July.
D
esperate to occupy her lips and prevent them from quivering
, she kept drinking
. Gulping down the fragrant brew was safer, even though the
scalding
coffee
hurt
the back of her throat and
brought
tears to her eyes.