Close Your Eyes (11 page)

‘I’m terrified of your grandfather,
Matt
,
’
she
admitted, her voice trembling
slightly
. ‘
He
seems so… distant and critical
. I
t gives me the goose bumps just to think of being around him, I swear. I guess spending my whole life in this town
,
where every building has something to do with your family
,
hasn’t helped
,
either
.
’

‘But that’s exactly the point
.
’
Matt
lean
ed
closer, the faint fragrance of his
aftershave
reaching her sensitive nostrils. She recognized it
as
a gift from his
father
, who had given an
identical bottle to Ry
an
.
Rupert
Harper
had no clue what kind
s
of presents would be suitable for young men,
and
his rather expensive
and
old
-
fashioned choices usually
missed
the mark by a mile. Last Christmas was
apparently
no exception.

‘
Gramps isn’t scary at al
l
,
trust me
. He just has
this
way
of coming
across as such,
Meg
an. Actually
,
he can be a lot of fun when you get to know him. I mean, he does some crazy things for sure, but underneath it all
,
there is a big softie.’

She would have to take his word for it
.
Meg
an
bit
her tongue to stop herself from
responding
. She could tell that
Matt
really adored his grandfather, just as much as Ry
an
did.
However,
Ry
an
went about it
differently;
he was
never one to wear his heart on the sleeve, but
his affection
was apparent in the way his eyes softened when he mentioned the old man.

‘I’m sure
Ry
told you so himself,’
Matt
continued, a smile playing around his mouth.
‘
We are both very lucky to have him, even though
,
at times
,
I could positively strangle the old man with my bare hands.’

Leave
it to
Matt
to make
such
a statement
.
Megan tried
very hard to remain serious. Ry
an
had told her about
several
instances when his brother
had
scandalized a soiree with his
starkly
honest remarks, leaving the rest of the guests
frantic to find
an
other topic to cover the awkward silence that followed.
Matt
didn’t really care what people thought of his honesty
,
though
. H
is handsome face
was always
indifferent to the looks thrown his way.

‘
Well
, we disagreed on that matchmaking project, though,’ she admitted, the lump in her throat rising once again. It was easy to forget her m
isery with
Matt
around, but it was there, lurking just under the surface and ready to break through at any given moment.
‘I… I told him what I thought of being on the proverbial backburner all the time.’

‘He’ll come around
.
’
Matt
seemed unfazed,
keeping
his face reassuring. ‘
He
usually does. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for things to settle into the right slots
in his head
, if you get what I mean. I would bet my bottom dollar that he will mull it over and ask you to forgive him by tomorrow.’

‘I hope you’re right
.
’
S
he sighed,
momentarily
forgetting he was there as she spoke softly, mostly to herself. ‘I just hope it’s not one of those
times
when
the
guy get
s
cold feet and run
s
off…’

‘That would make him a total idiot
.
’
Matt’s reassurance was
cheerful
,
if unorthodox. ‘
He
knows what he’s got in you,
Meg
. D
on’t you doubt it for a second.’ He finished his drink, his eyes going to her hand still holding the half
-
full cup. ‘
Are
you going to finish it off or not?’
He
grinned, glancing at his watch. ‘
We
will have to run
soon
. O
therwise
,
they’ll start looking for Lucifer and me. I
didn’t tell
anyone I
was
going
to take him out, to be honest. But we have a dinner tonight with the guests, and my presence ha
s
been requested.’ He pulled a comical face and
winked conspiratorially.
‘I guess
G
randdad wants to show us off as the perfect family, if only to rub it into the di
Montis
’
faces. There is some good old competition streak going on between the old birds, ever since they were kids and shipped o
f
f to Canada together
during the war
. Gramps never really talks much about it
,
but I
have a feeling something there made them the best of friends and enemies at the same time. I will have to get all dressed up and ready to converse politely about the weather and the prices of apples. They
’ve
only
got me for half an hour
,
though.
Any longer
,
and
I would get suicidal.’

Also typical Matt.
He was like a cat, Ry
an
would say exasperated
ly
,
and this was
one of those plentiful moments where he
would choose
his own path
that was
independent and
out of
sync with the rest of the family.

She hurriedly gulped down her drink.
‘I’m sorry to keep you,’ she said huskily
,
regret t
a
inting her voice
. ‘I didn’t think I’
d run into anyone
on
the moor,
Matt
. You should have just let me be.’

‘No way
.
’
His
teeth flashed again, and he rose to his feet
to take
the empty mug from her fingers. ‘
Saving
damsels in distress is in my job description, didn’t you know?
The ones that are as
pretty as you are, anyway.’

I suppose that’s another thing I’ll have to get used to.

Matt
had grown up,
and
his multiple affairs with all kind
s
of women
had turned
the awkward, shy boy with
an
easily blushing face into
a confident young man
. Apparently
,
he had a way with girls, if she were to believe all the gossip
. S
he bit her lower lip, surprised
by
the resentment
the
thought had evoked.
It
isn’t my
business, for god’s sake. He should happily date half of the town
,
plus all the surrounding areas,
she decided acidly, watching him with speculative eyes.

He was back, just in time to stop her thoughts
from
going in
a
confusing direction she wasn’t eager to pursue. A strong, lean hand came down to pull her up, and she put her palm into his without any hesitation.
Matt
had been around for all those years, and she wouldn’t let their friendship be spoiled by her sudden
,
untimely awareness of his
masculinity
.

‘Do you want me to chat up Helena to get my brother off the hook?’ he asked, impossibly innocent
,
as he watched her from under his long, golden eyelashes. ‘I can try my charm on her if
you’d like.
’

‘I don’t think it should be necessary
.
’
S
he
grimaced, reaching past him to grab her jacket, drying slowly by the fire
.
‘Aren’t you seeing someone at the moment,
Matt
?’