Matchmaker (Empire High Book 4)

by Ivy Smoak

  We started to follow him.

  “Sugar tits?” I whispered to Poppy. “Really?”

  “I panicked. It was the first thing that popped into my head. And we’re stuck with it now, so just roll with it.”

  I shook my head as we walked into the hotel kitchen. There were only a few people inside. Caterers refilling their trays with little desserts.

  “Out,” Mr. Pruitt said to them.

  One of them looked up. “But…”

  “I said get out!” He picked up one of the half full trays and threw it against the wall.

  The caterers scattered, running out of the kitchen.

  I tried to bite my tongue, but I couldn’t. “You know who would have hated you talking to them like that?” I asked. “Brooklyn.”

  Mr. Pruitt turned to me. “I don’t think you knew Brooklyn as well as you believe you did.”

  What was that supposed to mean? I opened my mouth but Poppy grabbed my hand.

  “Uncle Richard, you seem a little upset,” Poppy said.

  A little upset? He just threw a bunch of miniature cheesecakes at a wall. If this was a little upset, I didn’t want to see what really upset was.

  Mr. Pruitt ignored her. “I’ve always thought of you as family,” he said to me. “Despite everything. Despite my past with your father. But I should have known. Maxwell put you up to this, didn’t he?”

  What did my dad have to do with any of this? “No.”

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  “I’m not lying to you. My dad has nothing to do with who I do and don’t date.”

  Mr. Pruitt glared at me. “He’s been trying to ruin me for decades.” Mr. Pruitt started pacing. “End this, Poppy. Matthew’s just trying to con his way into our family to get inside information. He doesn’t love you. He only loves himself.”

  What the actual fuck? “I loved your daughter.”

  He stared at me.

  “I never see you leaving flowers on her grave,” I said. “Fake crying once doesn’t count. You basically harvested her organs. So don’t you dare stand there and say she meant nothing to me when she meant everything.” I could feel myself cracking. I was saying everything I wasn’t supposed to say.

  “Are you finished?” he asked.

  God I wanted to punch his smug face. I clenched my hand into a fist and then unclenched it. Over and over. “Yeah, I’m done.”

  “So you loved Brooklyn? And you expect me to believe that now you love Poppy? The two of them couldn’t be more different.”

  “Opposites attract.”

  “I know that. That’s why Brooklyn liked you. She was pure and wonderful and good. And you’re cruel and cold and uncaring.” He turned to Poppy. “Poppy dear, he doesn’t love you. Cut him loose.”

  “Are you saying that I’m cruel and cold and uncaring too, Uncle Richard?”

  “No, that’s not what I meant. You know I think the world of you.”

  “Then why don’t you trust me?” she asked. “It’s like you have no faith in me at all. Uncle Richard, this isn’t some big con. I’m in love with him.”

  Love? I tried to smile and nod when all I felt like doing was throwing up. I didn’t want to talk about Brooklyn. I didn’t want to be standing here with her dad and Poppy. I wanted my fresh start.

  Mr. Pruitt nodded. “Truly?”

  “Truly, madly, desperately in love with him. Why aren’t you happy for me?”

  For a second Mr. Pruitt said nothing at all. But then he cleared his throat. “Of course I’m happy for you, darling. And Matthew. You feel the same way about Poppy?”

  “Yes.” My voice sounded strange as the lie twisted in my throat.

  A smile spread across Mr. Pruitt’s face. “Well, this is wonderful then, yes?”

  The fact that he was suddenly so happy was somehow more terrifying than when he was throwing food. I nodded.

  Poppy smiled up at me with pretend sweetness. “So wonderful, isn’t it, sugar tits?”

  Stop calling me that.

  “I have to say, I’m surprised,” Mr. Pruitt said. “But relieved.” He slapped me on the back. “I’ve been worried about you over the years.”

  “Right. All your texts. I’m sorry I didn’t respond, but I wasn’t in the right…headspace.” I hate you and I always will, murderer. “You said you wanted to talk to me about something?”

  “Not necessary now.” He shook his head. “Not necessary at all.”

  What did that mean? Not necessary now that I was…dating Poppy? Happy? What? “The last time we spoke, you mentioned that I was in danger.”

  “Ah, yes. A little unrest in the family again. But there’s nothing to worry about now. It’s been taken care of.”

  “Tit for tat,” Poppy said. “And I got to find out that car bombs are delightfully fun. Boom.”

  My stomach rolled. I honestly had no idea what she was talking about, and I wanted to keep it that way. In less than 48 hours I’d be out. I had to be. I couldn’t be pulled into car bombings and evil plots. I didn’t want any part of that.

  “It warms my heart that you’ve found happiness again, Matthew,” Mr. Pruitt said. “Warms my heart indeed. If the two of you love birds will excuse me, I don’t want my absence to be noted.”

  He hugged Poppy and then turned to me. “Just so we’re clear. If you hurt her, I’ll kill you. Slowly. Understand?”

  I nodded.

  “And I’ll have a relationship contract sent over to your residence immediately. Please return the signed copy as soon as possible.”

  Just like that I’d been pulled back in. This was worse than just a lie with Poppy if I had to sign a contract. I couldn’t let it get that far.

  Mr. Pruitt nodded and then strolled back out of the kitchen.

  As soon as he was gone, Poppy elbowed me in my side. “What were you doing, purposely antagonizing him?”

  “He…”

  “And don’t you ever bring Brooklyn up again in front of my uncle. The last thing we need is for him to think you’re still in love with her.”

  “I’ll always love Brooklyn.”

  “Keep saying idiotic things like that and I’ll kill you slowly myself.”

  “I’m sorry, Poppy.” I didn’t want to end up six feet under when I finally felt like I was living again. “It won’t happen again.” But only because this would be the last time I’d be seeing her before I had a way out of this shit show.

  “Good boy.”

  How many times was she going to make me throw up in my mouth tonight?

  “Shall we get back out there?” she asked.

  “Actually…you’re right. I’m completely underdressed. And we already chatted with your uncle. I should probably just head out.”

  She assessed my outfit again. “You’re probably right. You’re certainly not making my ex jealous tonight.”

  I’d take that as a compliment.

  “But let’s go out again tomorrow night. There’s this new restaurant…”

  “I have dinner plans tomorrow with a friend.” I wasn’t going to put off this dinner with Penny. I’d been putting off telling her about Brooklyn for years. Enough was enough.

  “You can’t keep blowing me off, Matthew.”

  “I’m here tonight, aren’t I?”

  She sighed. “But you were late. Who are you having dinner with tomorrow?”

  “A friend.”

  “Be more specific, will you?”

  “Penny. Scarlett’s mother.”

  “Is there something there I should know about?”

  “We’re just friends. And you better add her to the list of people you’re not allowed to hurt. All my friends, actually. And my family.”

  “I won’t touch any of them. I promise. I need to get back out there.”

  I caught her arm before she could leave. “I want to be very clear here. I don’t just mean touch. I mean harm in any way. Including your newfound love for car bombs.”

  She pouted. “You’re no fun.”

  �
��Promise me.”

  “I promise.” She pulled her arm away from me. “Make sure to clear your schedule next weekend for only me.”

  Nope. I’ll be out of your clutches by then. “Sure thing, sugar tits.”

  “Don’t call me that. It’s your nickname, sugar tits.” She pushed through the doors, leaving me alone.

  I rubbed the back of my neck. All this stress was really starting to mess with me. I thought about the bath that was most likely waiting for me back at Tanner’s place. Honestly? A bath sounded pretty great right now. And I assumed I’d have to have a bath if I wanted any updates from Nigel. It was a win-win scenario, minus the whole him ogling me thing. At least he didn’t call me sugar tits. Yet.

  Chapter 43

  Saturday

  Penny said she had a surprise for me tonight. I had no idea what that was about. But it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was what I needed to tell her. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.

  I handed the valet my keys and walked up to the restaurant. It had been a while since I’d been out to dinner with anyone other than Tanner. And it would be nice to not have to pretend to be gay for a meal.

  But there was still a sense of dread in my stomach. All Penny knew were my lies. For years I’d told her I’d never been in love. Half the time I was lying to myself about it. But I was done lying. In a lot of ways, Penny had been the closest person to me the past few years. Well, her and Tanner. And Tanner knew the truth about my past. Penny didn’t. I owed it to her to tell her. She deserved that much for putting up with me.

  I also needed to apologize for flirting with her. I owed that to her and James. And I’d tell her about Kennedy too. After tonight, everything would be out there. I’d be an open book. For once in my life.

  I took a deep breath and tried to get rid of my nerves. Penny would understand. She was very understanding, that was one of the reasons why we got along so well. I got this.

  Instead of walking up to the hostess stand, I scanned the restaurant looking for Penny for a moment. She was usually easy to spot with her red hair. But I didn’t see her.

  “Hi,” I said to the hostess. “I’m meeting someone here. I’m pretty sure the reservation is either under Caldwell or Hunter.”

  “Ah, yes. Hunter. Right this way.”

  It felt like I was just a few steps away from my fresh start. Especially because Nigel had told me last night that he was pulling together some great dirt on Poppy. He refused to share any of it yet, but he looked really happy. And as Tanner liked to say, Nigel was happiest when he was serving others. I considered his gleefulness a sign of the job being done well.

  The hostess stopped at a table where someone was sitting. Someone that was definitely not Penny. Because that someone was a man.

  I stared at him. “Justin?”

  He looked back up at me. Yup, it was definitely Justin.

  He recognized me. I knew he did. But then he shook his head and pretended to be confused.

  “Sorry, do I know you?” he asked with way too much extra sass for someone who 100% knew me.

  “Justin, cut it out. Why do you always pretend you don’t recognize me?”

  He stared at me. “It’s just…you’re not ringing any bells, honey.”

  The hostess smiled. “I’m just going to leave you two on your date.” She placed the menus down and hurried off.

  Damn it. The one night I wasn’t going on a pretend gay date and the waitress thought I was gay anyway. “Come on Justin, stop messing around.” I sat down across from him, leaving Penny plenty of room to join us.

  “What’s your name again?” Justin asked, squinting at me. “To be perfectly honest with you, I need reading glasses. But I don’t like to admit that to anyone. Especially strangers.”

  “It’s me. Matt.”

  “Matt?” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry, I just have zero clue who you are. Well, I mean, I know you’re friends with Penny and James. Obviously. Or else we wouldn’t be sitting here together.” He laughed. “Wait a second, were you at their wedding?”

  “Justin, what the hell? You know who I am.”

  He patted his index finger against his lips. “No. I have a stellar memory. And I have no recollection of a grown man that’s so poorly dressed.”

  I looked down at my suit. Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with how I dressed? And why did everyone keep bringing it up? I got it when I was in my coach gear. But I’d dressed up for tonight. Nigel had even pressed my suit for me. “I’m well dressed.”

  His eyes ran up and down my body. “Oh no.” He leaned forward. “Are you colorblind? I know that makes things excruciatingly difficult. For matching purposes.”

  “I’m not colorblind.”

  “Oh my. Well that’s shocking. I don’t even know where to start. And it seems harsh to critique a stranger’s poor outfit selection.”

  He was one to talk. I was pretty sure he was wearing a parka or something. It didn’t seem fashionable at all. “I’m Matthew Caldwell. Brooklyn’s…”

  “Don’t.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Can you please not bring her up?”

  I stared at him. “So you do know who I am?”

  “Fine. Okay?’ He sighed. “Of course I know who you are. And I always try to avoid you. Because I get very emotional when I hear Brooklyn’s name.”

  Oh. “I’m sorry.”

  Justin sniffled. “It’s fine. I just…like to pretend I don’t recognize you. Because I don’t like talking about her. Not because I didn’t love her. The opposite, really. She was such a dear friend of mine. And I…I miss her. You know?”

  I nodded.

  “You may not know this, but she was so kind to me. She believed in me when no one else did.”

  “Yeah. She believed in me too.” I could feel myself getting teary eyed because he was getting teary eyed.

  “I don’t even think I’d be a wedding planner if she hadn’t told me I could do it. I owe that girl everything. And she never got to see me living my dream.” He grabbed a napkin and blew his nose. “See!? Now I’m a blubbering mess. Oy vey.”

  “It’s fine, Justin. Trust me, I understand.”

  Justin blotted away the rest of his tears and smiled. “And here we both are. Crying over a girl. Whoever thought two gay men would be doing that on a date? We’re acting like straight guys.”

  “Uh…what now?” Was he talking about me? Were we expecting a fourth person? “Where’s Penny?”

  “How should I know?”

  “Because we’re meeting her here?” It was a guess. Because I honestly had no idea Justin was going to be here. I guess he was the surprise? A blast from the past. Shit, did this mean Penny did know about Brooklyn?

  “No, honey. This is a date. Penny set us up. She told me all about how you’ve been hiding in the closet all these years…”

  “I haven’t been hiding in the closet.”

  “Oh. Oh, no. You’re not out yet? I swear to God, that girl promised you’d be excited about this.”

  “I’m not gay, Justin.”

  “Of course you are. I mean, I totally get it. I heard what you said at the funeral. That you’d love Brooklyn and only Brooklyn until you died. And hopping onto the other team doesn’t really feel like breaking that promise. Because at least it’s not another woman. So technically it’s kosher. We’re all good. I’m not judging you. I’m actually really happy that you’re here.”

  “Justin, I’m seriously not gay.”

  “Penny told me everything.” He reached out across the table and grabbed my hand. “She said she was out to dinner the other night with James, and she saw you kissing a man.”

  “I never kissed a…” my voice trailed off. Fucking Tanner. I pulled my hand away from Justin. “This is a big misunderstanding. That wasn’t a kiss. It was just a celebratory peck between two male friends.”

  “Yeah…that’s not a thing,” Justin said.

  “He’s foreign.”

  “Oh. Well then.�
� Justin shrugged. “Maybe it’s a thing. But the question is…did you like it?”

  “No.”

  “You seem awfully defensive. And a tad too sassy for a straight man if you ask me.”

  “Justin, I’m not gay.”

  “Someone maybe needs to spend a little more time in the closet,” he whispered.

  “I’m not gay!” I yelled. Oh fuck. People were staring at us. “Not that anything is wrong with that,” I said. “I love gay people.” Shit, this was coming out so wrong.

  “I am so sorry,” James said.

  I looked up. Where the hell had he come from? He seemed out of breath like he’d just run here from his apartment. “James, what are you doing here?”

  “I came as soon as Penny told me what she’d done. I’m so sorry, man. I had no idea what she was planning. Hey, Justin. Nice to see you again.” He put out his hand for Justin.

  “Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” Justin said. “Are you joining us too? This is seriously my lucky night.”

  “Um. No. I’m just here because…”

  “Stop,” Penny said. She was just as winded as James. “You run so freaking fast, James.” She put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. “Don’t ruin this for Matt. He needs space to find himself.”

  “What the hell is going on?” I asked.

  “We support you, Matt,” Penny said. “No matter who you love. And I know you love men. And Justin’s one of the greatest guys I know…”

  “I’m not gay.”

  “James.” She turned to him. “Don’t stifle him.”

  “I’m not stifling him, baby. Matt isn’t gay.”

  “Of course he is,” she said and turned to me. “I’ve finally put the pieces together. It makes total sense. You passed on so many great options on the dating app. And then someone from your past literally falls into your lap and you pass on her too. I’ve rarely seen you with the same girl more than once. And everyone I’ve ever met that’s slept with you says you’re an emotional brick wall. That’s a quote straight from Jen.”

  “Oh God,” James said. “Please don’t bring up my sister banging Matt.”

  “It’s important,” Penny said. “You’re an emotional brick wall during sex because…you know…you wish you were having sex with men instead.”