Close Your Eyes (58 page)

‘Well, I wouldn’t run for sure. In fact, I’d
have been
even more interested. So it’s a good thing you didn’t do it.’ She laughed, pausing as she heard some louder burst of music come from the direction of the library.

‘S
houldn’t we be heading
over
there?’
she
asked hesitantly, twisting her head to the side, as far as his arm would let her. ‘I mean you didn’t dress up for nothing,
Matt
. You look absolutely smashing in this outfit. And this dress is very itchy.’ She grimaced as the
ivory-
colored lace scratch
ed
the sensitive skin of her cleavage. ‘
Thank
G
od for jeans
,
I say.’

‘Ditto.’ He grinned, getting up and offering her a hand to pull her up. ‘
Though
you look adorable
dressed
like that,
Megs
.
Very
lady-
like.
Grandpa will be thrilled.
And I have to warn you, even though you know it already very well
, that t
here is some dressing up involved in living with the
Harper
s. That’s why I avoid as many of the official occasions as possible,
Meg
. Still, sometimes one has to show up and try
to
look all fancy.’

Living with the
Harper
s.
She did like the sound of that
. She swallowed hard as her
heart soar
ed
. She’d dress up every day if it meant having him around
. T
he
forbidden thought of all the moments without any clothes
that would
compensat
e
for the inconvenience
came
to her head and
made
her blush.

Matt
’s cheerful voice saved her from
total embarrassment.
‘I’m not going to the States after all.’ His
distraction work
ed
very well. ‘I decided to stay in our London office
,
instead.
Or rather to juggle between the London office and the Edinburgh one.
I just realized I could not stay away for that long and told
G
randpa to send Amelia
,
instead. She had been dying to live in New York
,
and I know she would like to prove herself to everyone. She’s got a degree in business, did you know?’

She
remembered
vaguely that
the
Goth
aspiring
cousin
was
hiding a surprisingly smart brain behind her rather dramatic exterior.

‘
She
promised not to wear black all the time and
to
smile more often
,
’
Matt
continued, taking her hand and helping her across the crumbly wall. ‘
Rosemary offered
to
take her shopping to get her some more acceptable outfits. Still, if you or
Alice
can join them
, I think that Amy would appreciate your help. Rosemary is great for
D
ad and all, but
I don’t think styling women is really her thing
, if you get what I mean.’

She did. Rosemary didn’t even try
to pretend
that
she cared much about her looks. She would tell anyone
who asked
that
she met
Rupert
while joining a local gardening group, both of them up to their elbows in compost. They
had
apparently clicked over the earthworms and soil,
and
their
four-
year relationship
was
based on common interests and love of nature.

‘And coming back to my stay in London, I put a deposit on a flat I really like. It’s on a very quiet street
,
and it even has a garden on the back, not much
,
but enough to plant a nice perennial border.’ He smiled and slowed down
to peer
at her slyly. ‘
See
, I can learn a thing or two about plants
,
too. I just need someone to check it out with me and give it
the
stamp of approval. I was wondering if I
might
interest
you in the
job?’

‘Why don’t you ask your father?’
She
grinned
. Her
whole body
tingled
with anticipation. ‘
He’s
got the biggest green thumb I’ve ever seen,
Matt
.’

‘Well, mostly because I’d rather not have him move in with me,
Megs
.’ He came to a complete stop.
He took her hand in his as he added with a husky voice,
‘
That
would be a major part of the job description, if you chose to take it.’

‘
You
didn’t even interview me yet,
Matt
.’ She tried to joke, but her
shaking voice betrayed her
. ‘
Maybe
I
’
m not the right candidate for what you’re looking for?’

‘You are the only candidate I’
ve ever looked for
.’ S
uddenly
,
she was in his arms
with
his face looking down at her with infinite tenderness. ‘I can’t promise you perfection
,
but I know that I will do anything to make you happy. If you give me the chance, that is.’

‘
You
really want me to move in with you?’

He nodded.

Tears stung
her eyes. She was almost there, at the finish line of
a painfully long
obstacle course
. It didn’t
matter
that the game
had
changed along the way
. W
hat she
had
thought
was
important for a very long time
was
gently moving aside and making space for her new goal
, which
wasn’t that new. Try as she might, she
never reall
y
could ignore the fact that her feelings for
Matt
were a far cry from what
they should have been for her boyfriend’s younger brother
. He
’d been
there all along, hidden in Ry
an
’s shadow
.

‘Well, that’s the beginning of what I want for us, really.’
Matt
grinned and kissed her swiftly on the nose
.
H
is lips
were
soft and gentle. ‘I want us to be together,
Megs
. To live together, to work together,
to
have a family if you
’d like
. I want to marry you and bring you home,
so we can be there for each other
no
m
att
er what else gets screwed up. But I do realize you will want to take it slow, so I figured I
would
break it up into a
step-by-
step plan, getting you there in just a bit more time.’

‘
Matt
hew James David
Harper
, did you just propose to me and
then immediately un-propose
,
using the
excuse of me needing more time?’
She
looked at him with a smile
and watery eyes
. ‘I have to disappoint you, really. I want to be with you
,
too. And all the time I need is a month or two before I can feel comfortable being with you around your family. After all
,
they must be wondering what
it is
with me and the
Harper
boys?’

‘I can wait a month, two is too long.’
H
e kissed her again, this time on her lips. ‘I don’t think it’s really necessary with my moping around ever since you disappeared. It wouldn’t take a genius to put two and two together, and my family is pretty clever. Crazy at times, but clever.

‘Still, you could come to London to supervise me when I set up the business,
Meg
.
I was also thinking that if you wanted to, we could open a sister location for your flower shop
t
here, in town. But it’s up to you
,
of course.’

He
had
thought of everything.
Meg
smiled, touched by his thoughtfulness. He
had
change
d
in so many ways since the days they were younger and carefree. There was still a wild and free edge to him, and she suspected that it was here to stay, no
m
att
er if he was
twenty-seven
or
eighty-seven
. It was just a part of who he was, now and ever.