Something Wonderful (9 page)

When his eyes met mine, I broke away, but that didn’t stop my heart from hammering in a delicious way. Jenna didn’t tell me Matthew was coming. But then again, she didn’t plan this dinner so I couldn’t really be mad at her. Besides, she didn’t even know how I felt about him, and neither did I.

“Hey,” Matthew greeted everyone with a nod. Placing his beer bottle on the table, he took off his suit jacket and draped it behind his chair. Either he had been at the bar waiting for us, or he went there first, before looking for us.

“Hi,” I said quickly and hid behind the menu so I couldn’t see him sitting in front of me. Boy, this was going to be awkward. I had to stop acting like a child, pretending I didn’t have this secret crush on him. After gathering myself, I placed the menu down. Thank goodness he had shifted his attention to Jenna.

“Did you tell Max that I was a great boss?” Matthew asked Jenna, grinning at her.

“Of course. Although we were so busy today, you didn’t really have a chance to boss me around,” Jenna teased. She looked so relaxed and happy. It was great to see her this way. Ironically, I was the nervous one.

“See, Becca? I actually do have a job and I actually do work,” Matthew murmured, placing his elbows on the table, leaning closer toward me. At the same time, he tapped his shoe against mine to get my attention. Before he could do it again, I moved my leg. “Did Becca tell you that I ran into her at the mall at Victoria’s Secret?”

I don’t know why, but glaring heat touched my cheeks, especially when I saw the look on Jenna’s face; the kind of look that was filled with questions and amusement.

“No.” Jenna whipped her head to me. She plastered a huge giddy smile on her face. “Why didn’t you tell me,
Becca
?”

Great…now she was calling me by that name, too. I arched my brow with a smirked expression, making her think a little, but think about what? Thank goodness for the waitress. After we’d ordered, Max held up his glass of wine, Jenna held her glass of water, and Matthew and I held up our beer bottles.

“To Jenna, and her new position. Hope it is all that you want it to be,” he said and winked at her.

After a “clink” from each glass, we each took a sip. During dinner, my heart managed to stay calm. Matthew was actually cordial and talkative. The four of us talked about our jobs, family, and Christmas plans. Jenna’s parents were coming in a couple of days. She was really excited about that. Her parents were staying for a week at a hotel nearby. Due to Jenna’s work schedule, they planned to leave right before New Year’s Eve.

Jenna told me last week that Max wanted to pay for her parents’ plane tickets, but she threatened she would never sleep at his place again if he did. I had a feeling he was going to pay for their hotel though. After all, he was the one to convince Jenna not to fly home. He was always concerned for her safety. It was something that I’d never experienced with the men that I had dated. It was great to see that happening for Jenna. Max was a truly swoon-worthy, real life “book boyfriend,” just like one would read about in a novel. God…I had to stop thinking about those damn novels with their book boyfriends.

Max convinced Jenna to spend the night at his place. He actually didn’t have to try hard, he just pouted and she gave in, but only after Matthew offered to take me home, making it a done deal. Though I was hesitant, I had to be an adult about it and stop acting like a schoolgirl who couldn’t even think around her crush.

After Max and Jenna departed, Matthew told me he would wait for me at the bar while I went to the restroom. Though the restaurant was packed, it wasn’t hard to spot him, especially when giggling females surrounded him. Boy…did he work fast. I don’t know why, but a part of me was jealous. I wanted to throw them off their barstools.

Instead of heading toward him, I sat on the opposite end of the bar. Not wanting to interrupt the barrage of females by his side by telling him I wanted to go home, I decided it was best to stay away for a bit. If he decided to ask one of them out, I didn’t want to be in his way. When he spotted me, his body stiffened; then it stiffened even more when a male leaned into me.

Knowing Matthew couldn’t hear our conversation, I gave him a taste of his own medicine and hugged Craig.

“Hey, Craig.” I gave him a warm hug. Craig was tall and lean, but not as tall as Matthew or built as well. He had short, blondish hair, his eyes were a pretty shade of blue, and he had the cutest dimples.

“Where’s Nicole?” I asked, slightly flirting with my body, twirling a strand of my hair around my finger. Craig was clueless as to what I was doing, but Matthew caught on. His eyes were deadpan as he stared at Craig and me. It made me feel good that he looked jealous. Wow! What was I doing? I had to stop this.

“Nicole went to the restroom. Are you here by yourself?”

“No. Actually, Jenna and Max were here, but they’ve already left. Max’s brother, Matthew is taking me home.” When I turned my head to the direction where Matthew was, he had already diverted his attention back to his companions. I don’t know why, but that panged my heart a little.

“Becky,” Nicole squealed, giving me a tight squeeze. She was in her work attire like Craig. With her hair curled, pencil skirt and a purple sweater, she looked stunning. “Are you here by yourself?”

After explaining again, she told me they had already finished with dinner. They had sat on the opposite side of the restaurant, which explained why we missed each other.

“Do you need a ride home?” Nicole asked, looking at my line of vision. “Craig and I are headed home. Come on. He looks busy anyway.” Nicole looped her arms around mine and led me away from where we were standing.

When I felt the phone vibrate in my purse, I took it out.

“Let me get this,” I said to Nicole.

Where are you? Are you ready to go home?

Who is this?

Matt

Surprised to get a text from him, I flashed my eyes to him. He was gazing around, searching for me.

Why don’t you stay? My friend Nicole is here. She’ll take me home.

No. I promised Jenna and Max that I would take you home.

I don’t need a babysitter. I can go home with anyone I want. You can stay and entertain your friends. I don’t want to intrude.

Jealous?

What? No!

I was.

What?

“Sorry about that,” I said to Nicole, but she wasn’t looking at me. She was staring at something or someone behind me. When I turned out of curiosity, Matthew was standing in front of me with that killer smile.

“Hi,” he said to Nicole, extending his hand to shake hers, then Craig’s. “I’m Matthew, the one who will be taking her home.”

“Max’s younger brother,” I intervened with a roll of my eyes.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Nicole replied, looking baffled, most likely thinking she had seen him flirting with those other women and now he wanted to take me home.

Turning to Nicole, I hugged her and whispered in her ear. “Don’t ask. I’ll call you later.” After we said our good-byes, I started to walk out the door while Matthew paced right behind me. I wasn’t going to walk beside him and pretend we were a couple. When I felt his hands on my shoulders, evidently not wanting to lose me, I slapped them. I heard a chuckle and then his hands were on me again. I slapped them again, but he didn’t give up. Grrr! Then he wrapped his arms around me from behind so I couldn’t move my arms as he led us toward the exit.

“Oh my God! Get off me!” I yelled over the loud music. Feeling like a puppet and unable to escape, I had no choice but to give in. I didn’t mind it so much. He felt good holding me.

“Just keeping myself safe, Becca. These women are trying to throw themselves at me. But you don’t mind saving me, right?” His warm breath brushed the side of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

Yeah, I had to admit, feeling his hard body against mine not only made me wither, I liked it way too much. “I don’t think it’s you that needs saving, rather the ladies, instead.”

His chest vibrated against my back from his laugh, and he squeezed me tighter as he led us out.

I
HAD TO ADMIT
, I liked how Matthew was so protective over me, but at the same time, I had to bring myself back to reality and remember that he did it out of obligation. After he walked me to the door, which was totally unnecessary but very gentlemanly, I thought he was going to leave. Instead, he took off his suit jacket, slung it over the sofa and asked to use the bathroom.

“Why can’t I use
your
restroom,” Matthew asked with a challenging tone.

“I…umm…” Due to his unexpected question, I spurt out the first excuse I could think of. “Because I’m going to use it.” I really didn’t need to though.

“Then I’ll wait here, but hurry. I need to go.” He plopped on my bed.

“You can use Jenna’s.” I pointed, closing my bathroom door as I entered.

“No, thanks. I want to use yours.” I heard him say.

Seriously? He had to use
my
bathroom. Why?

“Hurry Bec…ca,” he sang, whistling a tune.

After I took care of business, I came out to find Matthew sprawled out on my bed. I knew he wasn’t trying to look seductive, but the way he was lying on his side with his hand tucked underneath his head for support, he looked like one of those GQ models on a steamy photo shoot. Now if only he had his shirt off.

Snapping out of my thoughts that could get me in trouble, I paced toward my closet to look for a change of comfortable clothes and gestured to Matthew that the bathroom was all his. Instead of heading there, he went to my bookshelves. Hmmm…he wasn’t in a hurry to use the restroom now. He was just being a pest.

“Is that a picture of your family?” he asked, pointing to a picture frame.

I walked to where he stood. “Yes. That’s my mom, dad, and my sister.”

His eyes flickered to my face, back to the picture, then to the bookshelf again. “You read all these books?” A sincere tone rang from his question.

Feeling proud and slightly embarrassed, I nodded. “Some of these books are my clients.” I pulled one out. “This one is one of my favorites. It’s about a nephilim, half-angel and half-human, who falls in love with a human. They love each other so much, but it’s forbidden. They go through struggles and tribulations, especially from the evil angels; but his love for her conquers the darkness. It is undeniable, unbreakable, unconditional; a love that stands through time. Anyway, Michael is wonderful,” I gushed.

“May I see it?”

Before I could answer, he placed his hand over the book. Unable to register what he was asking fast enough, his hands were over mine. Peering up to his eyes from feeling the warmth of him, an electrical sensation ignited through me. As his eyes were set on mine, not even a breath released; we stood there in silence, just staring…searching…connecting.

“Here,” I said, breaking away from this hypnotic moment. Dropping my hand, I headed toward my dresser.

“
Crossroads,
huh?”

“Excuse me?” I twisted to him, and leaned my back against the dresser.

Holding up the book, he was reading the title aloud. “
Crossroads.
”

“Yes,” I confirmed.

Matthew’s eyes fell back to the cover. “I’m at a crossroads myself.” His tone was somber and low, hardly audible, but I heard the pain. I wondered why he had said those words. I wanted to ask him, but I knew he wouldn’t share. If he did, our friendship might deepen, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted go there, so I tried to lighten our conversation.

“Yeah, everyone is at a crossroad at some time in their life, don’t you think? And when we have to decide, we just have to make sure we don’t regret the road we choose since the other road may not be available if we change our minds.”

Placing the book back into its slot, Matthew moved toward me. His expression and mood changed drastically. Flexing his muscles, he planted his hands on the dresser on either side of me, creating a cage around me. There was no escape as his eyes pulled me into him and held me captive as he spoke. “True. I only wish there was no crossroads and our journey in life was a straight line.”

“That would be very boring. No drama, no love triangle—”

“No make up sex after a fight?” he said quickly, lifting one corner of his lip.

I paused, registering what he’d said. From his unexpected words, I stuttered, “Uh…I guess…uh…” Boy, was that a lame reply. Producing that sexy grin again, he shifted his eyes to what I was doing. I didn’t realize it until now, but I was twisting my hair with my finger. I slowly released it.

“I’ve always wanted to do that to mine. Obviously, I can’t. I’d like to try it on yours,” he chuckled lightly. Not waiting for my answer, he twirled a strand of my hair just like how I had done it. It made me sizzle in places I didn’t want to. Unexpectedly, with lustful eyes, he ran his fingers through my hair, melting me to the floor. My legs became weak and my breath hitched. Panic! Then, without a word, whatever connection he tried to produce died when he turned to head into the bathroom.