Matchmaker (Empire High Book 4)

by Ivy Smoak

  I stared at the painting on the easel. I was best at capturing Brooklyn’s eyes. Sad yet full of warmth. Full of love. For me.

  She’d given me paints, brushes, and an easel as an early Christmas present the day before she passed away. I’d told her I used to love to paint with my aunt. She’d been worried about how stressed out I was and thought painting would help. It was the sweetest present I’d ever received. And I’d promised her I’d use it. I tried my best to keep all my promises to her. Even when they killed me.

  But she was right. Painting was a great escape from stress. I wasn’t sure I was ever as calm as I was when I painted. Until grief took over. I’d slept on that tarp. I’d fallen apart on that tarp. This room was the most lived in. Because it held all the memories of her.

  I looked down at the photo album opened next to the easel. Brooklyn’s best friend, Kennedy, had given it to me. It was meant to be a present for our wedding. Instead, she’d given it to me on the day of Brooklyn’s funeral. The photos inside were the only pictures of her I had.

  It was one thing to stare at my paintings. It was another to see her actual face smiling at the camera. It felt like a knife in my chest. She’d been so happy. We were supposed to be so happy together.

  Fuck. I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes and turned away from the image of her. I needed to go pretend everything was fine for the rest of the afternoon. Pretend I wanted to be on some stupid dating app. Pretend that hanging out with Penny was anything like hanging out with Brooklyn.

  My phone buzzed as I closed the door behind me. It was another text from Tanner.

  “And make sure to wash last night’s failure off. Or your surprise won’t be impressed.”

  God no. My surprise was a person? If Tanner was sending over another round of women to my place, I wasn’t freaking answering the door.

  Chapter 10

  Sunday

  Penny and I were meeting at some little coffee shop near her place. She loved coffee shops. Which was weird, because I’d only ever seen her drink tea. I think it had something to do with how she and James met. But none of that mattered. What mattered was that she was waiting for me, and I was going to be late. Again. I knew how much she hated sitting alone. And how much she hated thinking I’d stood her up. I ran my fingers through my wet hair and grabbed my car keys.

  I closed my front door and when I turned around, I almost ran straight into someone. I grabbed the person before I knocked them down the front steps.

  “Sorry,” I said. And then my voice caught in my throat. Penny. I’d wanted fresh air this morning. Penny smelled just like fresh air. Like a bouquet of spring flowers. And for the first time all morning, it felt like I could actually breathe.

  “Hi,” she said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just about to knock.”

  I let my hands drop from her arms when I realized that she was here. At the one place she should never, ever be. The one place where I didn’t want to hang out with her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Tanner called me this morning. He mentioned that you were sad that no one threw you a housewarming party.” She raised both her eyebrows at me. “Do you not remember when I asked you a dozen times about that very thing?”

  I remembered. I nodded.

  “He made me feel like a monster. He said you were super insulted that none of your friends had even come by. I’ve tried so many times and you’ve always turned me down.”

  “Penny…”

  “And he hinted around that you’d be really happy if we hung out here for our matchmaking session today.”

  Fucking Tanner. So this was my surprise? Penny showing up on my doorstep? “Oh…um…”

  “You know I would have thrown you one. We’ve all been dying to see your place. What does a girl have to do to get an invitation? Get down on my hands and knees and beg you?”

  I could picture her doing a lot of things on her knees. Stop. “Great. You can throw me a housewarming party at my new place. I’m selling this one. So there’s no reason to warm it. You said you loved that coffee shop, though. Let’s hang out there like we’d planned.”

  “You’re seriously not going to invite me in?”

  “Nope.” I tried to step around her but she blocked me on the steps.

  “But I had Ian drive me all the way here. I can’t just call him and make him drive me back across town. That would be so rude.”

  “Penny, it’s his job to drive you wherever you want to go.”

  She waved her hand through the air. “Ian’s family.”

  “Hardly.”

  “What do you mean hardly? He’s engaged to Jen. He’s going to be my brother-in-law.”

  Jen was James and Rob’s sister. And one of the many women in New York whose body I’d used to try to numb my pain. It hadn’t worked. I still wasn’t sure how James and Rob had forgiven me for that one. I guess I had a get out of jail free card for everything after Brooklyn died. “Well, it’s Ian’s fault for being awkward and insisting he still works for you when he’s shacking up with Jen.”

  Penny raised her eyebrows. “Are you jealous?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Oh my God, Matt. You’re jealous. That Ian’s with Jen. Is that it?”

  What? “No.”

  “Don’t even pretend to deny it. I know that the two of you hooked up years ago. Jen told me.”

  “Then Jen also told you that it was just a casual summer fling that meant nothing.”

  “To her.”

  “To either of us.”

  Penny stared up at me. “You sound awfully defensive.”

  “Come on, I could really use a cup of coffee.”

  “I can do you one better.” She lifted up a wrapped box that I hadn’t seen in her arms. “A housewarming present.”

  “You bought me a present?”

  “Mhm.”

  I reached for it but she pulled it away. “It’s a present that someone gives to someone while touring their new house.”

  “You’re not going to move from this step, are you?”

  She smiled. “I’m really not. At least not for another two hours when Ian’s supposed to pick me up.”

  I didn’t really have a choice. It wasn’t like I was going to make her sit out here. We both knew it. I sighed and grabbed the box. “Fine.” My mind was filled with everything that could go wrong as I turned around and unlocked my front door. We could accidentally fuck on the couch. She could find the room filled with paintings of Brooklyn. There could be something besides coffee in the stupid box.

  But it was easy to forget about all the reasons why she shouldn’t come in when I saw her face light up.

  “Wow.” She spun in a circle in the small foyer, her skirt lifting higher on her thighs, as she took in the family room and kitchen. “Matt, this place is so…” she looked up at me.

  “So what?”

  “So not what I expected.” Her smile grew as she stared at me.

  I laughed. “What did you expect?”

  “A bachelor pad of course.” She walked into the kitchen.

  “And that’s not what this is?”

  She shook her head as she looked at the dishes in the drying rack. “Nope.” She turned back around. “It’s a home.”

  Something twisted in my gut. “Well, not a home for me.”

  “Really? I can’t understand why you’d want to sell it. The street is so peaceful. It almost feels like you’re not even in the city. It’s like an escape from all the chaos.”

  Is that why she was here? To escape from the chaos? From James? I made myself stay on the opposite side of the kitchen island from her. “I like the chaos.”

  She rolled her eyes. “What is it with you guys? I love New York, but only because it’s where everyone I care about is. If we could all pick up and move literally anywhere else together, I’d do it in a heartbeat. The suburbs are…”

  “Boring.”

  She laughed. “Fair point. Here.” She slid the present acros
s the counter at me.

  I caught it and just stared back at her.

  “Open it.”

  I pulled the bow on the top and ripped the paper. The box staring back at me was absolutely not coffee. “You brought me a teapot?”

  “It’s a kettle. I figured you didn’t have one.”

  “Yeah, because I don’t drink tea.”

  “It’s for guests, Matt. Like me. And maybe for a special someone in your life after I set you up. Here, I’ll show you how to use it.” She opened the box and started washing the teakettle. She moved around the kitchen with ease, humming some tune I didn’t recognize.

  And as I watched her, I felt the strangest sensation. Familiarity, maybe. My mom always hummed in the kitchen too. But it wasn’t really that. Maybe it was more of a…longing. Because I could get used to this. A woman in my kitchen. A woman in my house. It felt warmer with her here.

  Penny placed the pot on the stove and turned back to me. “I figured you didn’t have any tea bags either, so I brought some.” She pulled out some more boxes from her purse and put them on the counter.

  “You promised me coffee,” I said.

  “Coffee is for people who don’t lie to their Tanners about their friends being rude and not wanting to see their place.”

  “Please stop calling him my Tanner. It’s just Tanner.”

  She laughed. “But it’s so fun to mess with you.”

  I was the one that was supposed to be messing with her. That was our thing. I didn’t like when the tables were turned.

  “It’ll whistle when it’s ready.” She walked around the island. “Give me a tour?”

  It was actually cute that she didn’t realize how suggestive she always sounded. A tour usually meant straight to the bedroom. Or is that what she meant? I tried to shake off the thought as I showed her the family room and downstairs bathroom.

  She peered out the window to the back yard. “You have grass?” She opened up the door before I could stop her. She laughed as she spun around in a circle, her hands lifting in the air. “It’s like a little slice of Central Park!”

  It was such a small yard that I couldn’t help but laugh. But I’d made it look nice. There was a small stone patio with a grill and some chairs. And some flowerbeds along the back fence.

  “Scarlett would love this,” she said.

  “You can bring her next time if you want.”

  Next time? Bring another person? What the fuck was I doing? I didn’t want anyone here.

  “You’re inviting me back?” She looked so happy.

  “I don’t know how to say no to you.”

  She laughed. “Show me the rest.”

  I didn’t know how to feel as I showed her up the stairs. She peered into my office and into the hallway bathroom.

  “What’s in there?” she asked, pointing to the closed door.

  I stepped in front of her. “The only room that’s still a work in progress.”

  “You can show me next time then.” She wandered down the hall and into the master bedroom. “Wow, it’s so much bigger than I expected.”

  “That’s what she said.”

  She laughed. “Perve.”

  “The first thing you said when you stepped foot in my bedroom was that it was bigger than you expected. You walked right into that one.”

  “Fair enough. I can’t believe you make your bed. I absolutely hate making my bed, knowing I’m just going to mess it up at night. But James always does it or has Ellen do it. Is that like a rich person thing?”

  “Penny, you’re rich too now.”

  “Not like you guys.”

  “Exactly like us. You’re one of us.” I made a point to make sure all my friends’ wives felt like they were a part of this world. Because I’d failed on that before. I wasn’t naïve. I knew we weren’t untouchable. But I wanted them to know that they belonged. Especially Penny.

  Her smile suddenly looked shier. “Thanks, Matt.” She peered into the bathroom. “You’re very…neat.”

  “That’s probably the worst description after nice.”

  “Too bad. Because you’re also nice.”

  Maybe it was just me, but it felt like the air crackled between us. The bed was literally four feet away. What would she do if I backed her up until her thighs hit the mattress? Or if I pushed up her skirt? Or if I kissed that shy smile right off her face? Would she tell me to stop? Beg me for more? Because I couldn’t stop picturing her on her knees begging ever since she’d graciously put the image in my head outside.

  The damned teakettle started whistling.

  “Which is why I’m going to find you a nice girl.” She patted my chest as she walked by. “Come on, we have teatime and plans to discuss.”

  That sounded like the gayest thing ever. What were we, two women at a 1900s luncheon? But I followed her out of the bedroom anyway. I wasn’t sure why. But I’d follow Penny anywhere. Maybe it was the smell of her perfume. Or her subtle Delawarean accent that reminded me of Brooklyn. Or maybe something else entirely.

  I watched her pour the boiling water into mugs and place tea bags into each.

  “Do you have any honey?” she asked.

  I shook my head.

  “Oh, first time tea drinkers should really have honey. What about sugar?”

  I shook my head again.

  “I guess I was wrong before. This is a bachelor pad. You’ll just have to tolerate it without any sweetness.” She sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island and blew at the steam coming off her mug.

  God, those lips. My cock twitched to life.

  “Matt?”

  “Sorry?” I hadn’t realized she’d said anything.

  “Do you want to see some of your matches?”

  “What? How can there be matches already? I barely told you anything the other night.”

  “But I already know you. So I typed up the rest of your profile and filled out all the necessary info. Minus the fact that you suddenly love redheads,” she said with a laugh.

  I’d teased her enough about that the last time we’d talked about this stupid app.

  She tapped the stool next to her so I’d sit down. “Here. You just swipe when you see someone you like. Oooh, this girl is pretty.”

  “She doesn’t have red hair.” I tried to hide my smile.

  Penny hit me in the ribs with her elbow as she swiped past the girl. And the next girl who looked like her face was half human half horse. She paused on another woman who looked fully human. “What about her? She looks really sweet. And lots of the women I’ve seen you with have blonde hair.”

  It felt like she’d elbowed me in the stomach. I didn’t think I’d made a habit of dating blondes. But maybe I had. Brooklyn was blonde.

  Penny passed by a few more girls. And by a few I mean…dozens. And I never said a word. Because I didn’t want to date any of them.

  I tilted my head so I could stare at her instead of at the screen.

  “Yes or no?” Penny asked.

  I didn’t bother looking. “Pass.”

  This kept going for a while. Penny was super patient. She didn’t seem to care that I literally hadn’t liked one match. I was pretty sure I’d said the word “no” more than I ever had in my life over the next hour.

  “Oh.” She stopped. “She sounds perfect. Her profile is cute. She seems really fun.”

  “Then why don’t you date her?”

  Penny looked up at me. “Why are you suddenly acting so hostile? This is supposed to be fun.”

  “How would you feel if I forced you to look at a bunch of men you weren’t interested in?”

  “Confused. Because I’m married.” She smiled, waiting for me to laugh, but I didn’t. “Matt, you asked for my help. Why do you always get so mad whenever I follow through?”

  Because I don’t want any of this. I hadn’t expected her to have already finished creating my dating profile. I thought we’d spend today joking about ways to describe me. And telling her things she didn’t know ab
out me. Fuck, I didn’t know what I expected. But I didn’t feel like swiping through a bunch of blondes that I wanted nothing to do with. “Can I at least see the profile you made for me?”

  Penny pressed her lips together. “But it’s more fun to look at the matches…”

  “You did something weird.”

  “What?” She looked shocked. But in an over the top way. She was definitely lying.

  “You put something weird in my profile, didn’t you?”

  “I did no such thing.”

  I grabbed the phone from her and she squealed. I clicked through to my profile and laughed. “The most eligible bachelor in the city?” I looked up from the screen. “That’s the corniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

  “You’re a Caldwell. Everyone’s going to recognize you from your picture anyway. I thought we might as well lean into it.”

  I shook my head as I read through all the nonsense. “Great with kids? Are you kidding me?”

  “You are great with kids. Scarlett freaking loves you.”

  “But you made it sound like I’m looking for divorcées with children.”

  “Well you are over thirty…”

  I glared at her.

  “Would that be so bad? To have a family?”

  Yes. Yes, it would be. I couldn’t have a family. I couldn’t have a wife. I’d promised Brooklyn it would only ever be her. I’d promised. “I’m good with your kids. Not with my own. Take that part out. And also get rid of the part about me volunteering at Empire High.”

  “But you do volunteer at Empire High.”

  I thought about the woman in the hotel room this morning. Tanner had told her I was a nice guy. I needed to lower expectations here. “It makes me sound like too much of a nice guy.”

  “Matt, you are a nice guy. What do you want it to say in your profile? That you’re looking for a one-night stand?”

  Yeah, kind of. But that didn’t exactly work with the false pretense of why we were hanging out. “Get rid of all that crap. And take down my picture too. I don’t want people to say yes to a date with me because they know who I am.”