by Bird, Peggy
Jade spewed coffee all over the counter. “No! I didn’t say that!” For some reason Jade felt compelled to defend Matt’s sexual prowess.
“Ooooh, he was great, wasn’t he?” Meg grabbed a paper towel and handed it to Jade with a smile and an eyebrow waggle.
“Meg! Focus here. Matt is a jerk! He lied to me! You’re supposed to be supportive and sympathetic.” Jade waved the paper towel around in between mopping up her mess.
Meg sighed. “Oh, okay. Do you want feminist outrage or just maternal compassion?”
Jade narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. “Hmm, let me think … How about outright pity?” Jade dropped the act, waving Meg off instead. “Forget it. You’re just no fun to whine to.”
Meg smiled. “Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Jade, why do you think Matt chose to tell you who he was now?” Meg walked back to the butcher block to work the dough.
Jade thought about it for a moment. “Overwhelming guilt?”
Meg smiled. “Okay, maybe. Maybe he is basically a decent guy with a conscience who didn’t want to keep lying to you … ”
“Or … ?”
“Or he actually likes you and wants your trust.”
Jade frowned. “That’s a stupid way to get my trust. How does lying to me earn my trust?”
“Think about it. He’s Riley McLaughlin working on a new project in a place where he can have relative anonymity. He books under a fake last name. He doesn’t know us, doesn’t know if he can trust us. Probably has people bugging him all the time in New York. Not because they like or even want to know him, but just because they want to get close to Riley McLaughlin, the celebrity. Meanwhile, he just wants to write and live like Matt. Can you imagine trying to get to know people and never really knowing if they’re for real or just putting on an act?”
Jade stared up at the ceiling, avoiding Meg’s gaze. “I hate you.”
Meg smiled and cocked her head to one side. “Do I have to buy you another Chia Head?”
Jade thunked her head down on the counter and groaned.
• • •
Matt spent the rest of the day writing and nervously running Sam’s words through his head. He had enough provisions in his little kitchen to avoid going to the main house, but by the next day, he was tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and oatmeal. He went out in search of food and perhaps a little advice from Meg. She seemed to know Jade better than anyone else, and Matt figured he could get some information and maybe even plead his case to Meg. If he could convince her of his honorable intentions, maybe he would have an ally in his court. At this point, it couldn’t hurt.
When Matt got to the kitchen, Meg was nowhere around. He was just about to leave when the Kent sisters came bursting on the scene.
Adele was shaking a long bony finger in the direction of Bea’s face. “No, you can’t.”
“Why not?” Bea came gliding in, wearing a diaphanous dress and looking like she would slide into an arabesque at any moment.
“Because they have feathers, you dolt. Hello, Matt!” Adele smiled coyly at Matt.
“So what? Hello, Matthew.” Bea floated over to Matt and bussed his cheek.
Then Adele asked: “Matt, can you shave a penguin?” She thrust her angular hip to the side and placed her hand there, jutting her elbow out. She looked like a tall glass pitcher of mint julep.
“Umm, is this a trick question?”
“No, no. No trick, dear.”
Matt mused for a moment. “I’m going to go with plucking, but it’s just a guess.”
Bea sighed. “Oh, well. You can’t win them all.” She paused a moment and looked closely at Matt. “You don’t look well.”
Adele paused in her gloating and leaned toward Matt. “Oooh. You’re right, Bea. He looks … strained.”
Oh, great. Just the look I was going for, Matt thought.
Bea looked a bit closer and tsked at him. Then she spoke to Adele as if he wasn’t even there. “He hasn’t been sleeping.”
Adele’s head bobbed on her narrow neck. “Mmmm. Must be a woman.”
How could they know that? Bea clucked and ushered him to a seat. “Come here, dear. We’ll work this all out.”
Adele had already worked her way over to the stove, snatched the teakettle off the burner, and brought it over to the sink where she was filling it with water.
“So, what did you do?” Adele winked at Bea.
Bea snapped back at Adele. “Oh, stop. Can’t you see he’s suffering?” She turned back to Matt. “Now, how did she find out?”
Matt’s gaze shot to Bea and then to Adele. “Find out …?”
Adele nodded. “Mmm hmm. You went on a date last night.”
“It seemed to be going well. We were just returning to our cabin after a lovely game of Canasta with the Bellamys.”
“They’re a lovely couple,” Adele smiled.
“Yes, quite. And we happened to overhear you.” Bea nodded.
“You were walking through the parking lot.”
Bea practically sighed then. “You seemed so … ”
Adele got a faraway look on her face. “Yes.”
“But this morning, not so … and so naturally we assumed she found out.”
Adele nodded furiously. “Your secret.”
Matt looked from one sister to another. “But how did you … ?”
Bea and Adele exchanged a grave look. Adele moved over to the stove and turned the burner on under the kettle. She nodded at Bea to go ahead. Bea patted Matt gently on the shoulder. “Oh, we have The New York Times delivered here. Special delivery.”
Then Adele piped in, “We just love the society pages. You photograph very well.”
Matt shook his head. “You never said a thing.”
Bea smiled. “Certainly not. You were entitled to your privacy.”
“Even if it meant hurting Jade?” Matt would give anything for it not to have happened the way it had. Anything to go back in time so that Jade wouldn’t get hurt. Now it was too late and his privacy or any other reason he may have had for lying seemed insufficient.
Bea smiled down at Matt where he was sitting. “We knew you’d eventually put things right.”
Matt wasn’t one to dwell on past mistakes. He was more of a man of action. “Yeah, about that … I don’t suppose you have any ideas.”
Bea gasped softly and placed an open palm on her chest. “We wouldn’t dream of interfering in Jade’s,” she cleared her throat daintily, “affairs.”
Adele had moved over to the cabinets to pull down some mugs and a box of tea. She turned away from Matt and coughed. Bea shot her a dirty look and then smiled down at Matt. “Jade was always such a competitive young girl, wasn’t she, Del?” Adele nodded as she put tea bags into the mugs and poured water over them. Bea continued, “Very territorial.”
Adele carried two of the mugs over and set them on the counter in front of Matt and Bea. She picked up the thread of the conversation. “Oh, yes. I remember this one time she had a GI Joe doll and her sister Libby wanted to play with it.”
Matt mumbled something. Adele stopped and asked him, “What was that dear?”
“It’s an action figure. Not a doll. GI Joe is not a doll.”
Adele’s left eyebrow shot up. “Riiiight. Okay then, she had this GI Joe … action figure … and Libby wanted to play with it. Well, would Jade loan it to her? Goodness, no. You would’ve thought it was the key to the kingdom the way she went on about it.” Adele went back to the opposite counter for the honey and some spoons.
Bea was nodding and smiling. She jumped in. “Oh yes, I remember that. The funny thing about it was that Jade wasn’t even playing with the doll … er … action figure … when Libby asked to borrow it. Jade wasn’t all that interested in him until someone else wanted to play with him.”
“Yes, she’s always competitive that way, and very possessive.” Adele set the honey and a spoon down in front of Matt. “There you are, dear boy. Drink your tea.”
Bea was dunking her tea
bag in and out of her mug and nodding in time. “Indeed, you’ll feel better after some tea.” Bea sighed. “I just wish we could have been more helpful to you, Matt. But, you’re a clever man. I’m sure you’ll figure it all out.” She took a sip of tea and smiled at him over the rim of her mug.
Chapter 15
Jade and Matt skillfully avoided one another for the next five days. Jade knew she owed Matt an apology for trying to pummel him with vegetation and was slowly working herself up to the task. She worked tirelessly the entire week and when she wasn’t taking care of Lakehaven, she was holed up in her cabin designing jewelry and working on her website.
She avoided thinking about Matt during the day, but nighttime was a different matter. She had strange dreams where he was standing outside her door, knocking incessantly in the cold with no shirt and bare feet. It took her three nights to realize there was a low-hanging tree branch knocking against her bedroom window. She cut it down on Thursday. Thursday night, she dreamt they were swimming in the lake together at night. The images were vivid: moonlight glinting off of his wet shoulders as his strong, sure strokes broke the silvered surface of the lake. But no matter how long he swam, he didn’t ever get any closer. In the dream, Jade could tread water easily but couldn’t remember how to swim. She could see Matt swim, but her brain couldn’t tell her muscles how to do it. They were stuck, separated by the expanse of dark water. Though the air was cold in the dream, the lake temperature was a balmy 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
By the time Friday afternoon came around, Jade was ready to talk to Matt again. She still didn’t trust him and hadn’t forgiven him, but she was at least ready to act like a civilized adult and say she was sorry for throwing the Chia Head at him. She showered and spent the extra time needed to do her makeup and hair. She put on her best fitting jeans, the ones that hugged her hips and ass, and she picked out her favorite push-up bra and a tightly fitted Henley shirt. Unbuttoning an extra button on her top, she smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She looked great, but he probably wouldn’t even notice. She stuck her tongue out at herself and headed out the door to do battle.
Jade walked to his front door, took a deep breath, and then knocked. She waited, but there was no answer and she wondered if she had knocked too softly. She knocked harder this time and waited again. She could feel her heart-rate speeding up and tried to give herself a pep talk. You can do this. It’ll be fine. She waited another minute, but there was still no response. She blew a breath out. Okay, no problem. I can apologize later. He’s probably just out on a hike.
• • •
“I’m just pulling down the driveway now.”
“Watch out for potholes.”
Sam laughed. “Is that what you call these craters of suffering?”
Matt smiled to no one in particular since he was in his cabin alone. He grabbed his jacket off of the back of his chair. “I’ll meet you in the lot.”
“Are you nervous?” Sam sounded surprised.
“Yes. I hope you’ve come up with something.”
“Will she be around?” Matt could practically hear the gears turning in Sam’s head as she thought through the situation.
“Somewhere, but I think we can avoid running into her long enough to strategize. I’m pretty sure she’s been avoiding me.”
“Okay, that’s good. Don’t worry. We can turn this around. See you in a sec.” Sam hung up.
Five minutes later, Samantha Parker pulled into the lot behind the wheel of her silver Aston Martin. She currently embodied what Matt thought of as her “Hot Secretary” persona. Her hair was twisted artfully at the back of her head, and she wore a tight business suit skirt and a precisely fitted white button down shirt with one button undone. She slid out of the front seat of the car, and when she spotted Matt her face broke into a wide grin. “Matty!” She started to run toward him, but her heels were not made for running on gravel, and she pitched forward as one heel got stuck in the rocks and she struggled to keep the shoe on. Matt was quick and closed the gap between them with one long-legged stride. He caught her by the waist to keep her from face planting in the driveway. Sam was pure elegance to look at, but to Matt she would always be a scruffy eleven-year-old klutz. He looked down at her face, all smooshed up into his shoulder, and started to laugh. It was the first time he had laughed this week. “Nice one, Parker.”
Sam’s hands went to Matt’s shoulders so she could leverage herself into a less awkward position. “Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up now, Mr. Smooth. Just remember, I came all the way out here to the other side of this godforsaken mountain to help you win back your ladylove. So quit being an asshole.”
Matt chuckled. Seeing Sam was like sunshine (maybe acerbic sunshine, but sunshine, nonetheless), and he instantly felt the tension he had been holding onto all week seep away.
She smiled back up at him and brought her hand up to his face. “You look like shit on a stick, buddy.”
Matt grinned down at her. “Not sleeping much.”
Sam sighed. “Oh man, this is worse than I thought.”
Matt nodded. “I’m afraid so. The situation is dire.”
“I was thinking catastrophic, or maybe even cataclysmic. Speaking of which, your mother asked about you again. She wants to know when you’ll be back. Mostly to set you up with Amanda Carmichael.”
Matt was about to respond when Samantha’s cell phone went off. It played the first two bars of “Live and Let Die.” Samantha pulled out of Matt’s arms. “Shit, sorry, it’s the office. Gotta take this one.” She flipped the phone open with one hand and handed Matt her keys with the other. “Hi, Camille, what’s up?” She dismissed him with a wave toward her car and an upper crust eyebrow raise. He swatted her tush but headed for the trunk of her car to grab her luggage. She flipped him the bird as he walked past.
Matt just laughed. He pulled her weekender out of the trunk and turned to head back to the cabin, gesturing for Sam to follow. She took a careful step on the gravel, and Matt offered her his arm for balance. She spoke into the cell phone, “Right, well, they can play it that way, but in the long run it’ll cost them, and then we’ll step in to snatch him up.” She smiled up at Matt, nodded, and rolled her eyes all at the same time. Sam was a one-woman army in Jimmy Choos. Matt smiled at her and felt lighter than he had in days. Until he glanced up to see Jade stepping out of the woods ahead. Shit.
• • •
Jade made her way down the path toward the main house. She was still in the woods when a sleek silver sports car pulled down the drive. She watched as it glided to a stop in the graveled clearing that served as a parking lot. There were already eight vehicles parked there, ranging from Jeff’s POS truck to a minivan to Jade’s serviceable Honda Civic. None of them were particularly sleek. Perhaps that’s why the driver of the sports car parked slightly off to the side of the lot. There were no scheduled checkins for today. In fact, all of the cabins were occupied, so if the owner of the sports car was a drop-in, they were out of luck.
Jade moved forward to get a better look, but her view of the car and driver was partially blocked by the trees to her left. It was then that she noticed Matt approaching the car, his long legs eating up the distance. Jade froze. She stared as a tall, blonde Bond girl emerged from the driver’s side, squealed at Matt, and threw herself at him. Matt caught her in an embrace. Jade could hear his rich, warm laugh as he smiled down at her.
Jade sucked in a breath and narrowed her eyes. Everything about the blonde was perfect and polished. She looked like her car: sleek, refined, and fast. Matt and the woman were at ease with one another. Matt’s hands rested comfortably on Miss Sports Car’s waist, and her hands were on his shoulders. The blonde was a tall woman, and since she wore heels, was only a few inches shorter than Matt. They fit together in a glossy magazine way. They were smiling and talking with one another and though they weren’t exactly hugging anymore, they were still holding onto each other. Jade felt pure jealousy heating her cheeks. The blonde paused to take a phone call an
d handed her keys over to Matt. Matt smacked the valkyrie on the butt. Jade shoved her hands into her pockets to keep them from tightening into fists. She continued to watch as Matt pulled a weekend-sized bag out of the trunk of the sports car and turned back toward the path where Jade was standing.
Jade stood rooted to the spot while she debated the pros and cons of stepping out into the clearing to face Matt or running back to her cabin to avoid them. She barely noticed as Matt approached his guest and offered her his arm. They started toward her and Jade was just about to run when Matt looked up and caught her eye. Crap!
• • •
Jade looked amazing in a pair of jeans that was more fitted than what she usually worked in. Her tight shirt was unbuttoned at the top, and Matt instantly wanted her. He wanted to undress her right there, to have the taste of her on his tongue, to feel her hairbrush against his skin and her body surrounding his. He stopped short, and Samantha stumbled against him. He looked down in surprise. For the space of a second, he had forgotten she was there. She looked up at him and mumbled something into her phone before snapping it shut. Matt watched as Sam turned to look at Jade. Sam tilted her head and gave Jade an assessing gaze. Then she smiled and elbowed Matt hard in the ribs.
He couldn’t think of a single thing to do or say. He turned back to Jade and looked. It had been almost a week since she had kicked him out of her cabin and he had spent the time thinking, writing, calling Sam, and thinking some more. Plus doing his best to follow Sam’s instructions to give Jade some time and space. But here she was right in front of him and she was so heart-stoppingly beautiful that he couldn’t breathe. How had he forgotten? Her eyes glittered large in her face. Her black hair moved in the air, brushing against pale pink cheeks. Her shoulders were squared, and her hands were shoved deep into her pockets. She looked fierce and proud. He wanted to cup the back of her head in his hand and drag her into a deep kiss.
Sam moved forward with bright smile and a hand extended. “Hi, I’m Samantha Parker.”
Jade took the hand and shook it. Hard. “Jade Sawyer.” Jade shot a look at Matt. “I’m so sorry. No one told me you were coming or I would’ve arranged for … ” Jade trailed off.
