Sweet Contradiction (10 page)

“I’m almost disappointed in that answer,” he murmured huskily. I could feel my cheeks flush from the desire burning from his gaze. “I’ll call you and let you know when I’ll be coming to get you.” I nodded my head and he turned to leave the room.

“This will never work. We’ll only end up hurting each other,” I whispered softly. Matt stopped with his back to me and his hand on the door handle.

“I’m willing to take that chance … you’re worth it,” he said without looking at me. I closed my eyes as he left the room. I sure hoped he was right.

t had been a week since Jen had gone out with Hunter. She seemed so nervous and slightly excited when she left, but when she got back, she just flat out refused to talk about it. She grumbled around saying she was an idiot and that they were too different from each other. Matt had called me every day since he’d been a brute and man handled me into my bedroom. Four days after that incident a large bouquet of daisies showed up at our front door with a note attached.
Have you named our purple snake yet?
That’s all it said and yet I couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off of my face for the rest of the day.

The day of reckoning had finally come though, and Matt was calling in his win. I was more nervous than I cared to admit and I only had to shoot Jen a dirty look half a dozen times to get her to stop poking fun at me.

I stood in front of the mirror and groaned at my reflection. Matt said casual … but there were levels of casual and not knowing where we were going was making me crazed. My jean shorts were good enough for any “casual” situation … I yanked off my Lynyrd Skynyrd tee shirt with a huff and pulled on a lacy, vintage style, dusty rose and cream colored blouse. It had a wide, scooping neckline that would hang a little off one shoulder—making it sexy, but not trashy. I decided against my usual cowboy boots and instead wore a pair of slip on strappy sandals. I added a gold, dangly anklet, pulled my hair up in a soft twist and checked the mirror. I bit my lip and wondered if I should have gone with a skirt instead. I was just about to jerk off my shorts when I heard a knock on the front door down stairs. I took a deep breath and grabbed my boho bag off the bed before heading downstairs.

Matt was wearing dark blue jeans, a pair of black cowboy boots, and a black and turquoise plaid shirt. His black cowboy hat made my mouth water. Matt was hot and I was suddenly surprised that no local girl had snagged him up yet. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Matt was staring, his gaze hot and open and Jen was grinning like a proud parent on prom night. I walked over to Matt and smiled shyly.

“We better go before Jen breaks out a digital camera,” I mock-whispered. Matt took my hand and tingles raced up my arm, causing a giddiness to rush over me.

“Be good, children. Have her back before too late.” Jen giggled and I rolled my eyes as Matt pulled me through the front door.

“You’re having too much fun with this.” I hissed over my shoulder. She stuck her tongue out at me and then winked before shutting the door.

Matt held the door open to the passenger side of his truck for me. I slid in and was suddenly nervous. We drove in easy silence, listening to Matchbox Twenty play softly in the background. We chatted about normal things—light conversation topics, silly, little things. I relaxed after I realized Matt wasn’t going to launch into full out interrogation mode. When we had gone quite a ways out of town and Matt pulled down a dirt road off the main highway, I lifted my brow in question. Matt just beamed over at me. We didn’t go very far before Matt pulled his truck off the side of the road and parked next to an old wooden fence. Matt jumped out of the truck and jogged around to hold my door open for me.

“What are we doing here?” I asked, perplexed. I glanced around at the miles of country in either direction. Matt shut the door to his truck before going to the back and lifting out a large, old blanket and a huge picnic basket from truck bed. He smiled shyly at me when I stood there speechless. He shrugged and reached for my hand.

“I thought you’d rather stay out of town and do something outdoors,” he said. I smiled widely and placed my hand in his. His eyes shifted instantly, going from shy and questioning to dark and determined. I swallowed nervously as he led me over to the wooden fence.

“Up and over, Babe.” He sat the picnic basket down and came over to stand behind me, his hands resting softly on my waist. “Let me give you a boost.” His voice deepened as he whispered in my ear. I grasped the board of the fence with a shaking hand, put a foot on the bottom plank, and then throw my leg over just as Matt gave me a heave-ho up. I made it over with my pride still intact. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl. I beamed over the fence at Matt like I’d just braved bungee jumping. He smiled warmly at me and then handed over the basket and blanket. His long legs swung over the fence gracefully, landing right next to me without any effort. He took the basket in his hand and then twined the fingers of his free hand through mine. The gesture felt so very right just then.

“Aren’t you worried we’ll get in trouble for trespassing?” I asked as we traipsed across a field and up a pretty steep hill.

“Nah. I’m allowed on all this land since my family owns it,” he said with a shrug. My jaw dropped and my mouth made a little “o” in surprise. The land was acres upon acres of sprawling, gorgeous fields and tree lined hills. When we crested the hill we’d been climbing, I sucked in a breath through my teeth. A small lake, surrounded by dogwood trees in full bloom, made the view a spectacular sight to behold. I sighed and closed my eyes just as a breeze wafted the scent of the blossoms to my nostrils. It was heavenly. Matt’s eyes were shining as he watched my reaction.

“Come on, I’m starving.” He pulled me down the hill and over to a lovely spot right next to the lake. We spread out our picnic blanket directly under one of the larger dogwood trees. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when I shooed Matt’s hands away to unpack the basket he’d brought for us. A bottle of blush colored wine and two wine glasses, A loaf of freshly baked bread, cold cuts and several cheeses, strawberries, blackberries, and a bowl of crisp veggies and ranch dressing. Finally, a beautiful berry parfait packaged in two lovely glass containers. I smiled over at Matt and began making us both a plate. I was enjoying my strawberries after eating more than a girl should on a first date, and watching a flower petal float down from the tree above us when I sensed Matt’s eyes on me.

“What?” I asked as I licked the left over strawberry juice from my lips. He shook his head and the side of his mouth turned up in a grin.

“You have no idea how absolutely beautiful you are, do you?” His voice was soft and sensual, desire burning from beneath his full lashes. I felt a blush work its way over my cheeks. I was amazed that Matt could so easily make me feel more than desired, he made me feel
cherished
. Matt got up and stretched lazily, I enjoyed the view from where I was reclining on the blanket.

“C’mon, I want to show you something.” He had a boyish enthusiasm and my curiosity was immediately peaked. I put my hand in his, reveling in how thousands of little tingles zinged up my arm when he helped me to my feet. Instead of letting go of my hand, he tucked it under his arm and led me to a small dock on the lake. When we made it to the edge he let go of my hand and squatted down and rubbed his hand over an engraving on the boards of the dock. I bent down next to him to get a closer look. The initials MW, HW, DW, and AC were etched into the dock along with the symbol of unity. I ran my hand over the carvings, wondering what they all stood for.

“MW and HW? You and Hunter?” I asked as I ran a finger over each of the letters.

“Yeah, we used to come here as kids every summer before my granddad passed away. Then my dad inherited it and we moved here a few years back.” He had a crooked little smile on his lips, his thoughts obviously on thinking back to all the shenanigans he used to get into each summer.

“And DW? That’s your older brother, right?” Matt nodded his head.

“Daniel,” he answered.

“What does AC stand for?” I asked, my brow furrowed in thought. Matt’s eyes clouded over as he looked down at the initials and his mouth settled into a straight line.

“Someone we all loved, someone we all lost way too early in life,” he murmured softly. My palms felt clammy as I sat there looking at the pain behind his eyes as he gazed at the dock.
It must have been someone he loved dearly,
I thought. A first love maybe. I reached out and placed a hand on the side of his face. He sighed deeply as he shut his eyes and leaned his face into my palm. He placed a soft, lingering kiss in my palm that made my pulse flutter. We sat there a little longer before Matt started taking his boots and socks off. I smiled, and took my sandals off as well, excited to dip my feet into the water off the side of the dock. It had been a long time since I’d indulged in such a simple pleasure. Matt’s smile widened and his eyes held mine as he began unbuttoning his shirt. I watched for a minute, struck speechless by the sight of his toned chest. He was tanned and his abs were ripped. I could tell he definitely worked outside without a shirt on. My mouth began to water before I shook myself and tried to keep from drooling. His smile turned wicked when he reached down to unbutton the top of his jeans.