He'd mentioned the engagement, but I didn't remember him specifying a date.
"September Fourth," Matt said. "It's a Saturday. By the way, I'm probably going to need that day off."
"Probably?" Lilly demanded from across the room. "It's a lot more than 'probably'."
I giggled. "You can have the day off," I acceded. "I'll manage without you for one day."
"You should come."
I didn't immediately recognize the deep, smooth voice. Then I looked over to find Adam smiling at me. It was the first thing he'd said since I arrived and his lopsided grin had me smiling back at him.
"Oh, I can't. I'll have to be at the shop. Besides, I'm sure your guest list has been complete for months."
Lilly nodded. "It has. But Matt hasn't found a date yet. You can come with him." She turned to Matt and gave him a dazzling smile. "Felicity can be your date, can't she?"
An awkward silence fell over the room as everyone waited for Matt's response. He probably had a date already lined up but just hadn't told Lilly yet. It's not like Matthew Tanner ever had a hard time finding a date. Ever.
Matt cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. I'm sure he thought the stance looked nonchalant, but I sensed how defensive he felt.
"Yeah, I can bring Flick."
My heart soared and crashed in one second. I'd daydreamed about my first date with Matt for so long and now the moment had come. Only he'd been forced into it.
"You know how busy Saturdays can be at the shop," I put in, hoping to give him a way out. "And I wouldn't know what to wear. I don't have anything to wear to a wedding."
"Ah, well that's where I come in," drawled Rhiannon from the doorway as she studied me. "I have the perfect dress in my store for you. I don't know anyone else petite enough to pull it off. On you, it'll be hot!"
I'd never been into Rhiannon's store in the city, but I knew of it. It was pricey and there was no way I could afford anything she sold.
"I'll get Matt to swing by and pick it up for you, if you'd like," Rhiannon continued on.
I fumbled with a polite way to turn her down when Matt shook his head. "Actually, I do owe Flick a birthday gift or two. You better pick out a pair of shoes to go with that dress Rhi, and maybe one of those tiny little purses all girls seem to like."
Adam rose to his feet and clapped his soon-to-be brother-in-law on the shoulder. "Well then, that settles it. You have a date. Flick has an outfit. Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to get a bride with a big, poofy dress on the back of my bike and the wedding can happen." Adam gestured out the window to where a red and black motorcycle was parked beneath a tree. In my nervousness I hadn't noticed it earlier.
Violet laughed. "It's not that poofy."
"It's a little poofy," Lilly admitted at the same time.
I vaguely heard them because I only had eyes for the bike.
"Is that a Bonneville T120R?"
Adam groaned. "Oh, she speaks bike." He elbowed Matt. "That's sexy as hell."
The compliment barely registered. "Six-hundred-and-forty-nine cc's?"
"Yup," Adam said with a chuckle.
"Please tell me its pre-unit construction," I gushed.
"I wish." But there was pride in his voice when he added, "It's a sixty-five, so it's not."
"What the hell are they talking about?" Violet whispered to Lilly. Chuck, Adele and Rhiannon laughed in the background.
"It's a motorcycle thing," I explained as I moved to the window where I could see the bike better. "Pre-unit construction is where the engine and gearbox are in separate casings which made the bike go fast, but unfortunately also made it wobble at high speeds. In nineteen sixty-three Triumph switched to unit construction, where the engine and gearbox are in a single casing. It made the bike sturdier and safer, but a little slower."
Adam whistled under his breath. "That's so hot," he mused mostly to himself. "Wanna check it out?"
My eyes lit up. "Can I?" Then I remembered Lilly. Her fiancé had just announced that he found my bike knowledge sexy and I didn't know how she felt about that.
Lilly's eyes twinkled as she gestured towards the door. "Go," she urged us. "Talk bike. Better out there than in here. We're going to talk wedding." She had a heck of a lot more confidence in her fiancé than I would have in similar circumstances.
I practically bolted from the cottage, leaving Adam and Matt to trail behind me. From the sunporch I heard the chorus of women deep in wedding chatter.
I knelt in front of the bike and trailed my finger over gleaming chrome. Adam kept the bike in pristine condition. I was jealous.
I ran my hands over the still-warm engine as I admired every detail. "Six-hundred-and-forty-nine cc air-cooled, overhead valve parallel-twin, four-speed gearbox with chain final drive... this is a brilliant bike."
Adam knelt at my side. Laugh lines surrounded his emerald eyes. "Oh, Flick where have you been all my life?"
His dramatic delivery made me smile. It had been a long, long time since a man had flirted with me. Most men looked right past me, including the one I wanted to notice me most of all.
"In the garage," I joked back. "Dreaming about getting my hands on a bike like this."
"Any time you want to take it for a spin sweetheart, you just give me a call."
I sat back on my heels and brushed away the dirt on my knees. "Actually I've never even ridden one."
Adam slapped his hand over his heart and looked stunned. "Well, just say the word and I'll take you for a ride."
His offer sounded so wicked I found myself laughing much more than I usually did. Adam looked like sex personified and catching just a fleeting second of his attention felt flattering and overwhelming all at once.
I glanced over my shoulder and caught Matt scowling down at us. In one blink, his expression returned to neutral but those blue eyes had already drenched me in ice cold guilt. The rationalizing began: Adam was merely joking. We'd only shared a moment of innocent flirting. It didn't mean anything. The explanations sounded plausible, logical, but under Matt's scrutiny I still felt like I'd done something wrong.
Even Adam's playful demeanor had disappeared when he stood. "I'm glad you like the bike, Flick," he said in a reserved tone.
I nodded, not sure of what to say.
"Well, I better go help Joe with the barbecue," he said to no one in particular. He jammed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and began whistling. Matt and I watched in silence as he meandered towards the cottage where wisps of smoke billowed behind the building.
I averted my attention back to the bike, glad for a reason not to look at Matt. He didn't say anything for what felt like minutes. It was the quietest I'd ever seen him.
After the drawn out silence he said, "Glad you're fitting in here."
I didn't dare look up at him, not when I couldn't be sure if I'd heard sincerity or sarcasm in his voice. I wasn't used to this serious, aloof vibe coming from Matt. I touched the motorcycle's engine again, gently. Why couldn't everything in life be as straightforward as the mechanics of the parallel twin engine?
"Thank you again for bringing me. It's nice to get away from the shop."
"It's great to hear you laugh," Matt offered. "You don't do it much anymore."
I glanced up, surprised.
"Look, I'm sorry..." I began, although I was unsure what I was apologizing for. Whether it was for letting him in on the financial troubles at the shop or for flirting with Adam I couldn't be sure.
Matt shrugged. It was something he did a lot, but this time it was as if the gesture had sloughed off his grim expression.
"Dinner'll be ready soon. Whadda you say we work at rounding off some of those corners of yours?"
Laughter bubbled over my lips—the kind of laughter only Matt inspired in me.
"Sure," I told him. And then I followed him back inside.
I would have taken his hand if I thought I could get away with it. But the Matt who walked me back to the cottage wasn't the Matt who invited me here
. His jovial mask had fallen off over the course of the afternoon. I wracked my brain trying to pinpoint what had triggered the change but came up with nothing. Had I overlooked a side of him that had been there all along?
Chapter Three
After the mountains of food were demolished and the clean-up completed, Joe, Adam and Matt got to the business of building a campfire on the beach. They had a blaze going by sunset. Rhi tucked Sophie into bed and with the baby monitor nestled next to her in the sand, the bunch of us sat around the fire, laughing and telling stories.
For the most part I kept quiet, content to listen to everyone recount the events of their week. The conversation drifted to tales about the Tanners as children and when Lilly told the story of how she and Matt once filled a large cardboard box with water to make a swimming pool in her bedroom, I laughed so hard tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Matt and I were in our swimsuits," Lilly recounted through her own giggles. "And I think we both thought we were pretty clever for coming up with the idea. Everything was going fine for about three minutes, until the box became so saturated with water that it disintegrated into a pulpy mess. We were just sitting in a huge, sloppy puddle in middle of my bedroom and Mom starts yelling from downstairs... Our swimming pool had leaked clear through the ceiling and started dripping on her."
Matt was sitting beside me and in the dancing firelight I saw his grin grow. "It was your idea Lil, and yet I somehow took the blame. Dad made sure I couldn't sit for a week after that!"
"Matt was always taking the blame," Lilly confided in me.
"To be fair, it was usually his fault," added Joe in his languid voice.
"Why am I not surprised?" I said with a laugh.
"I'm sure there's a lot you don't know about Matt," Violet chimed in. "But we'd be happy to fill you in on every gory detail. Let's see... Hmm... He's annoying,"
Lilly said, "He has a big mouth."
"And a big heart," Adam pointed out.
Chuck grinned. "And he always has to have the last word."
"And he tells bad jokes," Joe said.
"He loves babies," Rhiannon put in.
Adele smiled over at me. "He's always the first person to offer help if you need it."
"He always sees the bright side in things," came from Nate.
"And he makes eyes at all the women," Violet added, keen to go around again. "Why this one time I watched him try to pick up two women at the same time! The first one shot him down, so he just turned to the other and said—"
"Don't you dare!" Matt blushed as he pointed at Violet. "I'll tell them all about Rob Harvey."
Violet, already so fair, blanched before she glared at Matt. "You wouldn't!"
"Wanna bet?" He gave her a mean frown but couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice when he spoke.
"Hey!" Joe called out in a big-brother tone which brokered no argument. "That's enough."
There was silence for a moment as Violet and Matt sat like chastised children.
"Why don't you play somethin' for us Rev?" Joe suggested, effectively changing the subject.
Matt had once mentioned in passing that Nate was a musical fellow, but I had no idea just how much until he reached for the guitar resting nearby and strummed a couple of chords. I sat mesmerized like the others when Nate began to sing. His rich baritone sent shivers down my arms.
"Cold?" Matt asked in a low whisper.
I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapped my arms around them and nodded, not wanting to interrupt Nate's singing. The warmth of the fire touched my face and arms but provided little comfort from the chilly breeze at my back. Had I known we'd be sitting outside in the dark, I would've brought a jacket with me.
Matt reached back and without waiting for me to protest, he draped his sweater over my shoulders. His scent, a potent combo of fresh air and soap, enveloped me.
"Better?"
I nodded again, feeling very, very warm as I pushed my arms into the sleeves. My fingers barely peeked out from under the cuffs.
I glanced up to find Adele watching me with a shrewd smile. Nate played a few more songs, building from a slow start to more raucous tunes. He played everything from rock to folk to country, without prejudice. He'd treated us to several songs when all of a sudden everyone froze, including the Reverend. All eyes turned to me as the melody halted mid-note.
I realized in horror that I'd been singing along without meaning to.
In my panic, I looked up at Nate.
"You can sing?" he asked, his voice gruff with use.
"I can?"
Nate chuckled. "Sounds like it." He struck up the chord he'd paused on and began singing the song from the middle. With a dip of his head he encouraged me to join him again.
It was an old Beatles standard, a song I loved. I tried to ignore the myriad of faces around the fire and concentrated on the lyrics.
"Keep singing," Nate said softly to me as his fingers danced over the strings. "Can I make a suggestion?"
I kept my eyes on him and nodded.
He tapped his sternum in-between notes. "You sing from here. That makes it hard to breathe. Sing from deeper down, from your diaphragm."
I did as he advised and succeeded in sputtering. "Sit up straight," he told me then took his hands off the guitar. "Keep singing." Nate reached over and tapped me, just below my ribcage. "From here," he suggested. "Feel the note here and you'll sing it from here."
I did. The next three words came out at twice the usual volume. I was so surprised I stopped.
Nate laughed. Lilly, Rhiannon, and Violet applauded.
"You should practice that," Nate said gently. "You're really very good. Want to do another?"
I glanced over at Matt to my right, expecting to see him grinning at me. Instead, he wore the same blank expression I'd seen before dinner. I turned my attention back to Nate, all the while feeling confused.
"What would you like to sing?" he asked.
"Whatever you want. Play whatever you like, I'll know it."
Nate's brown eyes lit up. "A music aficionado?"
"Not really," I admitted. "I just listen to the radio a lot when I'm in the shop, which is pretty much all of the time."
"Probably drowns out Matt's yammering," Violet remarked to Lilly. The two sisters giggled. I half expected Matt to say something droll in return, but he remained uncharacteristically silent.
The Reverend laughed. "Okay then," he said as he strummed a few chords in succession. I smiled as I recognized the tune. We both took a breath and began to sing.
After more than five songs, my throat felt sore. Nate must have heard the strain in my voice because he tucked the guitar away.
"I think that's enough for one night," he suggested softly.
Everyone around the fire looked like they'd drifted off into their own private universe. Violet sat cross-legged with her chin in her hands, staring into the fire. Chuck had his back against a piece of driftwood, his head tilted upwards while he studied the stars. Adele had her long legs tangled with Nate's as she lovingly nudged his toes with hers. Joe had slid down to lay his head against Rhiannon's thigh and she had her fingers buried in his thick auburn hair. Lilly sat curled up between Adam's knees while he rested his chin against the top of her head; I watched as he planted a little kiss there.
For the first time in all the years I'd know him, Matt didn't command the centre of attention. He hadn't even cracked a joke in more than an hour.
A discontented squawk came from the baby monitor on Joe's chest and cut through the silence.
Rhiannon poked his shoulder. "I think that's my cue. Move it big guy, I'm being summoned."
Adele rose too, stretching her legs. "I should go actually; I have to be in the office early tomorrow."
Nate came to his feet beside her and slung an arm over Adele's shoulder. "That's not a bad idea. It's late."
I glanced at my watch. It was after midnight. Where had the time gone?
"I'll take you home," Matt offered in
a low tone.
I nodded, suddenly exhausted because I wasn't used to late nights. I slid Matt's sweater off my shoulders but he put a hand out to stop me just as the brisk ocean breeze swept in.
"Keep it. You need it more than I do."
"Aren't you cold?" I asked in between goodbyes as we left the fire and headed towards his car.
Matt shook his head but said nothing. He didn't say anything on the ride back to the house either. Even when he pulled into my driveway and I opened the passenger door, he responded to my, "Good night" with nothing more than a nod. I had a sinking feeling about what had changed his mood since before dinner.
Just His Type (Part Four) Page 4
