A Game of Hearts

by Tigris Eden

  Mateo stood when I reached the table.

  “Zori, I’m glad you came.”

  “Well, I didn’t have much choice. This is the trip that I booked, after all. It would have been nice if you’d told me where you went last night.”

  Instead of answering me, he tossed me a lopsided grin. I knew what that meant. Whatever he’d been trying to do had worked. He wanted me worried about him.

  “Well, are you going to tell me where you were last night?”

  The blonde cleared her throat. “I can answer that question for you. Mateo was with me.”

  I looked between him and the blonde and sneered. I had a horrible poker face. I wore my feelings on my sleeve. It was a flaw I’d never be able to overcome.

  “I’m Portia, by the way.”

  Portia didn’t even stand, but she did offer her flawlessly manicured hand to me. I didn’t want to seem like a baby, so I took her hand and shook it. Or at least tried to. She barely touched me. So then why offer the hand?

  “So, you and Portia…?” I asked, taking a seat at the table. I propped my elbows up with my hands folded in front of me, and placed my chin on the top, as I waited for an answer.

  “Yeah, but not like that, Zori. I was out walking around, and we bumped into each other and got to talking. Next thing I knew, it was morning.”

  Was I nowhere on your mind? I wanted to ask.

  “Quite the conversation you two must have had to end up here. You could have at least responded to my text, Matty.”

  “Matty?”

  Mateo turned to look at Patricia, who was also seated at the table with us. Mateo blushed. Actually blushed.

  “It’s what Zori calls me.”

  Yeah, bitch. Only me.

  “I like Matty, may I call you that, as well?” Portia piped in.

  He didn’t even hesitate. He smiled widely and told both women they could call him Matty.

  “Really?”

  “Oh, come on, Zori, it’s just a name. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  Doesn’t mean anything? It did mean something. It meant something to me.

  “I guess it doesn’t.” I sat quietly and dug into the fruit salad that sat in front of me.

  “You ladies get settled into your rooms?”

  Everyone nodded their heads in response to Mateo’s question.

  “Tonight we will have dinner out on the beach, and then we can all spend some time getting to know each other. The whole purpose of this is to see if we’re compatible. And at the end of the week, I’ll be able to decide which of you lucky ladies has the honor of winning my heart.”

  I almost choked on my drink. Instantly, Mateo was there, slapping me harshly on the back.

  “Are you okay, Zori?”

  I turned and looked over at him with a glare. How dare he highjack my fantasy? How dare he come here and put me through this? First, he wanted me, and now he had his pick of the litter? This was so not gonna happen. If he wanted to play a game. Fine. I’d play.

  “Okay, so tell me this, Matty,” I emphasized his name. “What happens if one of us wins your heart?”

  His lips tilted up into a sexy grin, and my mind flashed back to yesterday. Those lips had been on my body, doing delicious things to me. We could have gone all the way if not for me opening my mouth and ruining it. Was I prepared to play this game to win my best friend’s heart? He’d turned me down once before, who was to say he wouldn’t do it again?

  “Then I’m yours.”

  The way he said it, his voice got lower, and he looked at me. Not them. Me. Patricia smiled widely, and Portia, well, her dainty little blonde ass got up and parked itself right in Mateo’s lap.

  “Matty,” she said in a pouty voice. “Where is your room? I only saw three.”

  He placed his hands on her hips to hold her steady before saying, “I’ll sleep in one of the three rooms with one of you. It just depends on how I feel. But tonight, we’re all downstairs.”

  Great. He got to bed hop during this little adventure... An adventure that was supposed to be mine.

  Chapter 9

  Mateo

  I’d thought this was a crazy idea when I’d spoken to Kenderly early this morning, but I wanted Zori to be happy, and I knew I was the one who could make that happen. But until she pulled her head out of her ass to see me for who and what I was to her, she’d always want the wrong things. So, when Kenderly suggested I do a sort of Bachelor thing on a secluded island with two other women along with Zori, naturally, I was a bit hesitant.

  Kenderly had gone on to explain that sometimes people make what they deem the right choice for all the wrong reasons, and Zoraida just needed a little shove in the right direction. Her parents loved her but had set a bad example. They wanted materialistic things to prove their worth and give them happiness. Which wasn’t real. Happiness was where your heart was. It was that place that was always warm no matter how cold the situation. I just needed Zori to see that.

  The blonde, Portia, who sat in my lap, was playing this thing up. I couldn’t tell if she was acting or serious. I didn’t know what Kenderly had told the other two women, but I was sure she’d made them think all kinds of things about me. My goal was Zori. She was the reason I was here. She was the one I wanted. But if she was gonna play stupid, well, I could, too.

  I squeezed Portia’s hips and then leaned in to smell the column of her neck. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Zori. She was seething. Great. This could have all been avoided if she’d just accepted what was right in front of her.

  “All right, sweetheart.” I lifted Portia off my lap. “Let’s have lunch, and then we’ll all go down to the beach for a swim.”

  “I’m not going in the water. I’ll mess up my hair,” Portia protested.

  “Then you can watch the rest of us. I’m sure we can get someone to bring you drinks, doll.”

  Portia. Definitely high maintenance. That was a mark against her right there. Did I want to spoil my woman? Of course, I did, but I wasn’t about to treat her like a baby either, or kiss her ass in the process to make her happy.

  “We are getting into the water?” Patricia asked. She didn’t look like she wanted to join us either.

  “He just said that,” Zori said with a dramatic sigh. She was frustrated.

  “Well, then I must go to my room and change. I’m not dressed for the beach.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Zori mumbled under her breath. I had to hold back my chuckle. Zori, when pissed, was the cutest thing ever. Adorable.

  “What about you? Do you need to change?” I asked, looking at Zori’s black bikini top. Any man would be a fool not to want her, and I was glad Clinton von douche was out of the picture.

  “No, Matty, I don’t need to change. I’m ready for the water whenever you are.”

  That’s my girl. No complaints. She was always down to hang out with me. It was one of the reasons I loved her so much. Back in high school, I wasn’t ready. But neither was she. Neither of us had thought about life after school. She’d gone on to college, and I’d started working at the shop. When I’d wanted to enroll in online classes, she was there to help me. She’d been there every step of the way for as long as I could remember. I wanted to do the same for her, but in a different capacity. I wanted to provide for her. But I also wanted a relationship built on something solid, unshakable.

  Zori, in her current state of mind, was not any of the things I wanted; she’s focused on all the wrong things. But she was smart, and I hoped that our time here would introduce her to what being with me would entail. She had to be stripped down to the barest bones, the most basic of needs. It was the only way she’d realize that all the things she thought she wanted were things that didn’t mean much. They didn’t make the meat of the relationship. They were just the accents.

  I felt a deep sense of relief knowing that I would be the one to take care of her. She was mine, and I was hers. Even if she didn’t realize it yet. Zoraida Lemes was my true north. My heart had bee
n hers all along, I’d just been too young to realize that the love I felt for her was deeper and stronger than I realized. There were plenty of times I could have gone to her and told her the truth. But every time seemed like a bad time, and then when I thought the time was right, some other shit would go down, preventing us from connecting. Whether it was me and some other girl, or her and some other douche. There hadn’t been anyone who was admirable enough. Which just went on to prove my point: we were perfect for each other.

  I’d been content with us just being friends at one point, but all that had changed. She’d gotten wasted and started talking about the things she wanted in life. Outer Zori thought she needed money and materialistic things to define her, make her happy. Inner Zori knew it was the deep love of a true friend, and the security and safe haven of knowing that the person you’d spend the rest of your life with would love you, all of you, above all else. Not just pieces of you. Everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Her words, not mine. Although they’d been slurred, they were true.

  I remember thinking then that I loved all of her. Every single thing about her. From her smile to her kind heart, and I especially loved how she couldn’t hide her feelings. They were out in the open for all to see. I’d made a promise to myself that night, that I’d be the one to protect all that was her. But then, two days later, she’d come to the shop saying she’d found Mr. Right. Again.

  He was more like Mr. Right Now.

  The fucktard.

  “After lunch, I’ll meet you ladies out here on the veranda, and we can head down to the beach.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Portia cooed, leaning over to kiss me on the mouth. I moved at the last moment and offered her my cheek. I gave her points for her aggressive behavior, but that was it. I was here for Zori.

  * * *

  Zori

  The time at the beach wasn’t at all what I’d thought it would be. It was way worse. Patricia and Portia were all over Matty. When his shirt had come off, I thought for sure they would faint. With all their sighing and hard breathing, you’d think he could induce their orgasms right there on the spot. Give me a break. I rolled my eyes and watched as Portia asked him to rub suntan oil on her body, while Patricia tried to rub oil on him. It was quite comical, and yet disturbing. If I had to put up with their posturing for the rest of the week, I was going to shoot someone.

  As she’d already proclaimed, Portia did not get into the water. Patricia did, and she all but molested Matty in the waves. It was ridiculous. He soaked up every bit of attention she threw his way. I could have done that. Pretended I needed help, or claimed the waves were too strong. But it wasn’t like me to play the damsel. I stood on my feet. As did Matty. He didn’t need a helpless woman. What he needed was someone who would stand beside him, not behind him or in his arms. Well, at night being in his arms wouldn’t be so bad....

  Portia and Patricia had to go.

  We were all back in the big, open living room. There were no windows, just the open—literally open—floor plan, and the breeze from the ocean mixed with the scent of the flowers in the garden outside and in vases inside made the house smell amazing. Mateo sat on a large sofa big enough to fit us all. I knew that the two Ps would ensure that they sat next to him on the couch. And I knew I needed to step up my game. Do something. But I didn’t like putting myself out there. What if he rejected me? He’d been awfully friendly with Portia this afternoon during lunch, and then again with Patricia in the ocean.

  I was the only one who had yet to gain his attention.

  “I’m gonna go and grab something to drink,” I said. No one acknowledged me, and I didn’t ask if anyone wanted anything, I just needed a moment to myself to regroup and figure out what I was doing.

  The last two days on the island had been an eye-opener for sure. I saw that things weren’t as black and white as I’d thought. I loved Matty, and I loved the time we spent together. I also loved the way he’d made me feel yesterday when he had his hands all over me. His warmth, his strength, all of it, comforted me in a way that no one else had ever been able to do. He allowed me to be me, and accepted me for who and what I was. Even if I’d been nothing but a brat the entire time. He’d always been there for me.

  Every time I needed him.

  My hands went to my mouth as realization punched me in the gut and knocked the breath out of me. I’m so stupid. So very stupid. The things I thought I wanted weren’t necessities. An expensive car and home, none of those things meant anything if I couldn’t share them with the right person. And the right person wasn’t someone who made money or offered me financial security. The right person was the one who made me laugh every day. Or danced with me when no one else would at the eighth-grade fall festival. Or kicked Derek LaRoque’s ass for calling me a bitch.

  Clinton would have never done those things. All he cared about was his image and his position. Mateo could care less about that. He didn’t care if there was dirt on his face, or oil in his hair. He gave people the finger and told them to go screw themselves if someone tried to put him down. He didn’t care. And not because he was okay with what life had dealt him, but because he was truly happy with what he had. His happiness isn’t measured by his wealth, but by the people who surrounded him that were lucky enough to call him friend.

  Damn.

  I was in love with Mateo Vargas.

  Chapter 10

  Zori

  Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I knew those hands. They were his hands. I could feel the warmth of his lips against the back of my neck as he coaxed a moan from my throat with just his touch. A wave of lust rushed over me, and I couldn’t help but be pulled into its embrace. His arms tightened around my waist while he nibbled the back of my neck.

  “I missed you in there,” he rasps against my skin. My head leans forward to give him better access. “You taste like sunshine and salt.”

  “I was in the water.”

  “Mmm, you were. Now, come and sit. Talk with me.”

  “Is it just you and me, or are P one and two with you.”

  “They’re there. But it’s you I want sitting in my lap.”

  Holding me the way he was, I didn’t want to say no. Couldn’t. I could do this. We did this all the time back home, but never this intimately. Never in his lap.

  “I don’t know if there is enough room for me.”

  “We’ll make room.”

  “You sure this is what you want, Matty?” I was breathless, and my heart rate had officially completed a marathon of sorts. I couldn’t look him in the eye when I asked him, and I was glad I was faced away. But I was anxious to hear his response.

  “Since forever.”

  “Really? Don’t play games with me, Matty. I remember there was a time when that wasn’t the case.”

  His body shook with his soft chuckle.

  “I’ve always wanted you. It just took me a while to figure it out, Zori. Now come and talk with me. Dinner will be served soon.”

  Matty walked us backward into the living room. Both women looked over at us as we entered the space. There was only the spot between them that Mateo had vacated, but there was also a comfy chaise that sat adjacent to the sofa. He sat there and pulled me into his lap.

  He still nibbled on my skin, not caring at all about Patricia and Portia. Portia eyed me with interest. She didn’t see me as a problem before, now she did.

  “Mateo, what is it that you do back in the States?” Patricia asked.

  He lifted his head from my shoulder before he explained his job back home. “I’m a mechanic. I do custom alterations to bikes and cars. But I’m looking to expand and open my own shop.”

  That was news to me. I turned in his lap and placed my hands on his shoulders, gaining his attention.

  “You never said you had plans to expand.”

  His eyes locked on mine, and I wasn’t sure what I saw in their depths. I’d thought I knew everything there was to know about Mateo Vargas. I wasn’t angry, just curious.


  “Yeah, well, you never asked. Why do you think I wanted to take the online courses?”

  I shrugged. I’d thought the reasons he wanted to do the classes were to say he’d at least tried his hand at college. I’d never even once asked how the classes were going. Way to go, Zori.

  “I just thought you wanted to go back to school.”

  “I did, but for a notable reason. Can’t manage my business if I don’t know how to run one.”

  Matty turned to look at the other women. “What about you, Patricia, what do you do?”

  “When I’m not on the island with my father, I teach at a local school inland. Usually when they are short on staff, but for the most part, I am here.”

  “Same question. Portia?”

  “I don’t work. My father left me a trust fund.”

  “That must be boring,” I muttered, and Mateo jostled me in his lap. He wanted me to behave.

  “It’s not boring. I get to meet some pretty interesting people along the way. I also don’t have to worry about things like money or bills. If I want something, I just buy it. If I can’t buy it, I make it my goal to obtain it. I can be very persuasive.” The way she eyed Matty told me what she thought she could do.

  “What about you, Zoraida?” Patricia asked.

  “I’m an executive assistant.”

  “So you executively assist someone?” Portia asked, giggling. And Patricia gave me a look as if what I did was less important than what she did.

  “If that’s what you want to call it. But I ensure that my employer’s travel, meetings, and anything else that needs handling runs smoothly.”

  “Zori is pivotal at what she does. She’s great at everything.” Matty’s voice held affection as he said it, and I couldn’t help it, I had to taste him again. I wanted the rush I’d gotten when our mouths connected. A tiny flutter of lust began to uncurl inside my belly at the memory of our kiss. There was a tingle in the pit of my gut that felt as if a million butterflies flapped their wings against my belly. I needed to keep my composure. I didn’t want Mateo to think I was one of those girls who wanted him only because two other women were suddenly interested.