by Ava Miles
“Snails? I tried them once, but couldn’t stop thinking of putting salt on the slugs that used to feed on the plants in my mother’s garden.”
That made Jane laugh again. The server poured both of them more of the delicious Grand Cru, and she found herself relaxing again. Matt regaled her with a story about an elderly woman coming into his office to set up an education trust for her grandchildren. How she’d baked him a dozen chocolate chip cookies to welcome him back home to Dare.
“It must be nice to have roots here,” she said as the server cleared their first course and scraped the baguette crumbs off the tablecloth.
“It is. Coming back with my brother and nephew, not to mention my mom, is just about perfect. We’re hoping to talk my sisters into coming too. Denver’s great, but the work/life balance sucks. Not to mention the traffic. What about where you lived before Dare? Was there a lot of traffic?”
Gads, he just wasn’t going to give up. “Ah, some,” she commented and reached for her glass again.
“You’re going to have to tell me something, Jane.”
Right. Or this wouldn’t go any further. She could almost hear the hidden message behind his words.
“We can only talk about dogs so much. Or stocks. Come on. You can trust me.” The earnestness in his gaze confirmed what she already knew, but there were some secrets—not all her own—that she just couldn’t share.
“I lived in Nevada,” she said, feeling like she was navigating a minefield. Plus, he was a lawyer, so she could all but feel him circling the conversation back to what he truly wanted to know.
More about her.
On any other date, she would have been flattered.
“Are you going to make me guess?” he asked as the server set their entrées in front of them.
“Las Vegas,” she said and was delighted to see how clear the color of her fish’s eyes were. You could always tell how fresh a fish was by its eyes, and this Branzino looked like it had just been caught, packed in ice, and shipped to Brian’s back door.
“Ah, so that’s the poker connection,” Matt said. “Did you meet Mac there?”
How to answer? She’d known Mac for a long time. She concentrated on her dish, edging back the fish’s skin and then slicing through the middle and lifting it off the bones in one fell swoop.
“You look like a pro,” he commented, gesturing to her plate.
“I…ah, ate a lot of fish growing up,” she commented.
“And where would that be?” he asked, cutting a piece of steak, perfectly served to order medium rare.
“Back east.”
“Jane.”
“Fine. Connecticut.” She bit off, happy now? Then she realized she was being a bitch. “I’m sorry for being so querulous, Matt. They just aren’t good memories—not like yours with your family.”
“That’s definitely a Harvard word,” he mused. “Querulous.”
“You’re a lawyer. I bet you use those five-cent words pretty often yourself.”
His mouth tipped up. “Only to intimidate witnesses.”
“Nice.” But she knew how it worked. Her father had wanted her to go to law school, but she’d managed to convince him an MBA would be better for the family manufacturing business. She’d feigned an interest in taking over, even though she’d had no intention of doing so. She apparently did have something from him inside her, but it wasn’t a part of herself she liked.
“Jane,” he said, giving her a few French fries. “I’m not trying to unsettle you. I’m only trying to get to know you better.”
“I’ve told you all the important things. I love dogs and wine and stocks and…” Even to her it seemed lame.
“Can you tell me about what you did at The Grand Mountain Hotel? Before you started working with Rhett?”
She looked down in her lap. God, this whole date was falling apart. Without the dogs, she had no way of distracting him, and by withholding information about herself, she was making him think she wasn’t interested.
“Matt,” she said, “I’m glad you want to know more about me. I want that too, but honestly, there’s a lot I don’t want to talk about. The past is in the past, and I want it to stay there. Can you understand that?”
He set his fork aside. “Of course I can, but sometimes it’s good to trust other people, Jane.”
“I can’t talk about the hotel and my work there.” She lifted her glass and took another sip, not tasting the wine at this point. “I signed a non-disclosure agreement.”
Something flickered in his eyes. “I see. I remember Mac made Jill sign one when she first started working for him.”
Whew! Well, that helped her case. She wasn’t about to correct him by saying she’d signed one for Rhett, not Mac, or that she and Elizabeth had been the ones to make him draw one up for them. They’d done it to protect him from any questions that might arise if it should become known they were more than his poker babes. Their disguises had allowed them front-row access to the tables at some of the bigger tournaments, which could potentially cause trouble for Rhett.
Of course, the main tourney for the World Series of Poker was now happening in two stages, beginning in the summer. Since the final table was now played in the fall, there was ample time for all the final contenders to study tape and scout their competition. But it hadn’t always been that way. Some troublemaker could raise a fuss about how close Vixen and Raven had gotten to the other players while they were posing as Rhett’s pretty companions.
Matt wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Okay, Jane. We’ll do it your way. For now.” His gaze was steady, but she saw steely determination there. “How’s the fish?” he asked, and for the rest of the meal he didn’t pepper her with any more personal questions.
Sated on a dessert of fresh strawberries, chocolate ganache, and Chantilly cream, she walked back to the car with her arm linked through Matt’s. He’d grown quiet after paying the bill, and part of her feared she’d ruined everything with her silence.
When he arrived at her place, he came around and helped her up the stairs. As she unlocked the door, the dogs pranced out, nudging her ankles. She leaned down and petted them both, glad to be home.
“Hey, guys,” Matt said, scratching them behind their ears when they headed over to him for a greeting.
When she turned toward the door, he grabbed her arm and steered her inside, closing the door behind him.
“It’s too cold outside to give you a proper kiss,” Matt mused.
“You’re going to kiss me?” she baldly asked.
“That’s what usually happens after a date,” he commented, a wry smile appearing on his lips. “Why are you surprised?”
Her chest grew tight, and she realized she had to give him some sort of honesty, even if it was only about how she felt, not who she was or who she’d been.
“I was afraid…that you wouldn’t want to…you know, since I didn’t answer all your questions…”
He drew her to him and tipped up her chin. “Not want to kiss you? Did you not see what you were doing to me while you sampled that wine in the restaurant?”
“But that was before…” She gestured with her hands.
He captured one and brought it to his lips, the gesture totally disarming her. “I can be patient.”
Her breath rushed out then. “I need you to be, Matt. I don’t want to mess this up, but there’s so much I don’t want to say. Can’t say. It doesn’t mean I don’t like you.”
He dropped her hand and gently cupped her cheek. “And just because you can’t answer my questions doesn’t mean I don’t like you too.”
“Matt,” she said, searching his eyes. “Trust is…hard for me.” It was such a meager confession, but it was so hard to say the words.
“I know that, sweetheart,” he said. “That’s why I’m being patient. Because I meant what I said earlier… You can trust me, Jane. With whatever it is that you can’t—or don’t want to—talk about.”
She had to bite her lip at that.
“You really are a good man,” she whispered.
“Hush,” he said, leaning down, just a hairsbreadth from her mouth. “Now kiss me.”
Her arms wrapped around him, and her fingers fitted into his thick hair as she rose onto her tiptoes and brushed her mouth to his.
This at least she could be honest about. His tongue traced the seam of her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth to him. That first heated, silken pass had her moaning, and he pressed her closer to him, his hands settling on her hips. Their clothes were bulky, but even so, she could feel the heat of him, the hard lines of muscle in his back as she ran her hands over them.
He broke their connection to kiss her cheekbones, her eyelids, and then moved lower to her jaw line.
“Your scarf is in my way,” he said, tugging it off and tossing it aside.
When his first kiss settled on her neck with such gentleness, her head fell back. “Oh, Matt,” she whispered.
His mouth came back to hers, continuing to arouse, tease, and tantalize her. When he finally pulled back, he ran a finger down her cheek.
“Now, I should probably go.”
She rubbed her tingling lips together. “You’re not even going to ask to stay?”
He tugged on his gloves, which made her realize she hadn’t noticed him pull them off. “I’d like to, but I can sense that you need more trust between us first.”
His insight was keen and a little alarming. She might have rushed things tonight, wanting to give him at least that much of herself, but she would have regretted it. Sex wasn’t casual to her, and he already meant more to her than the couple of partners she’d had before. Moving too fast would be a mistake.
“Okay, then. Goodnight. And thanks for a lovely evening, Matt,” she said, taking a few steps to walk him to the door.
He held his hands out. “Best stay where you are. I can be a gentleman, but that doesn’t mean I’m a saint. I’ll see you later, Jane.”
And with that, he let himself out the door.
As his car pulled away, she realized she was in dangerous territory. She couldn’t continue to withhold everything about herself, but she just wasn’t at liberty to talk about certain matters. What if their relationship didn’t work out? He’d know about the true nature of her work with Rhett. Hadn’t she seen perfectly reasonable and nice people do insane things after a breakup? All she had to do was think about what Elizabeth had gone through at Harvard to remember that lesson…
Well, she’d have to come up with something.
Because so far, he was the best man who’d ever come into her life.
And for now, she was planning on keeping all the cards in this perfect hand she’d been dealt by the Universe.
Chapter 12
Henry was doing his darndest to drive Matt up the wall. The dog raced around the couch in circles until Matt was sure he would make himself sick or run into something. But he wouldn’t quit. It was as though he were an alien dog, making invisible crop circles around Matt to alert the mother ship that it was time to take over Earth. When his doorbell rang, he was grateful for the interruption from Henry’s insanity…and his own. Crop circles! He was definitely losing it.
He jumped up and followed a barking Henry to the door. God, the house was a wreck—Henry’s squeezie toys were scattered everywhere. And was that dog slobber on his cherry hardwood floor? Cripes. Oh well, nothing could be done now.
When he opened the door, his friend, Robert Preston, stood on the other side, looking very much like Matt used to look, from the black wool coat to the brightly polished Johnston & Murphy Oxford shoes and shiny briefcase.
“Still a killer?” Rob asked, gesturing toward Henry, who was barking and leaping beside Matt.
“Yeah, he thinks so,” Matt said, keeping hold of the dog’s collar. “Come inside. I’m going to put him in his crate. Then we can talk in peace.”
Rob edged over, clearly not wanting to have his nice coat pawed by a dog. “It’s crazy, you keeping that dog.”
“It might be, but you know why.” When he got back from crating Henry, Matt took Rob’s coat. “How was the drive up?”
“Traffic was a bitch. Everyone was heading out to the mountains for some rec time.”
“Andy and I went running during the work day not too long ago. Just up and left the office to hit a pristine mountain trail.”
His friend shot him a withering glance. “Don’t be mean to those of us who still live in the big, bad city.”
“Did I mention the new ski resort up here at The Grand Mountain hotel? No wait time to get on the lifts.”
“I’m going to kill you, Hale, and blame it on your dog.”
Matt laughed. “Want a beer?”
“Sure.”
They headed into the kitchen, which he had yet to clean up. Dirty dishes filled the sink. Oh well. It wasn’t like his friend cared.
“Great place. Amazing what you can afford outside of the city. Damn, makes me want to buy my own cabin in the mountains.”
“But you work too much, traffic’s a bitch, and you’d never get to it,” Matt finished for him. They’d talked about it before.
“You’re seriously not bored?” Rob finally asked as they both popped open a microbrew and then sat down on his couch in the den.
“Nope. It’s a change of pace, I grant you, but I’m loving it. It’s fun to make my sisters cry by telling them about all the downtime I have here.”
“And now you’re going to run for mayor,” Rob said. “Isn’t it handy we worked together at Lexington, Kirkland & Rice before I started to work as a political consultant?”
“You’re my man. Of course, I insist on paying you.”
“Of course, and I’ll happily take your money for that cabin I’ll never buy. I’ll just have to get a Maserati or something when I hit forty.”
Rob always had been a smart ass, and that’s why they were still friends. “With a blond half your age.”
“God, what a thought. I barely have time to sleep, let alone date someone steadily. What about you? Anyone filling up all the new downtime you have in Dare Valley?”
He thought of Jane. She certainly had become one of the highlights of his day. “Yes, there’s someone.”
His friend tipped his beer toward him. “Oh, ho. It’s serious. I’ve always been able to tell when you really like someone. You go all quiet.”
There were so many things about Jane he liked, but he worried about the roadblocks between them. Like trying to get her to tell him about her father, the politician, before he told her about his run for mayor. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she and her parents weren’t close, and until he knew why, he didn’t want to risk running her off with news that might upset her.
“It’s early days,” he responded, “but I’m hopeful. Let’s head into the den, and I can run you through some ideas. I talked with my cousin, Jill, the other day, and she gave me a lot of great advice about how to connect with the local community.”
They talked about his platform, which Rob helped him refine with his sharp insights. His friend was a speechwriter too, so he knew how to weave political concepts into a compelling story.
“People vote for someone they can have a beer with. Or lunch. Someone approachable.” Rob set his legal pad aside for a minute. “You are all that, Matt, but I agree with your cousin. You need to talk about your last case, and why it inspired you to run for political office. It humanizes you, and that’s what we want.”
Matt’s gut still clenched at the thought even though Jill had advocated for the same thing. Feeling like a failure was bad enough, but talking about failing in front of everyone in town? It was his worst nightmare. “What happened with Patricia was personal.”
Rob leaned forward. “There’s one thing you need to realize if you’re going to go through with this, Matt… Politics is as personal as you get. There are going to be questions. About what you eat for breakfast. About this new woman you’re dating. Even in a small town like this one. People are going
to talk about you, and they’ll want to know the person they’re entrusting their city to. If you can’t take that, I think you need to end this right now. The higher the office, the more invasive it gets.”
Matt studied the fire blazing in the hearth. His mind took him back to Patricia’s bedside the night in hospice. Suddenly there had been a rattling breath, the kind that shredded the heart into a million pieces, and then silence. His mom and sister, Natalie, had been there too. He hadn’t asked Andy to come. They’d all kept vigil around Kim as a family, and seeing his sister-in-law pass away had left an open wound.
Seeing Patricia pass with no one around her but him and some of his family had somehow felt worse. No one should die without family. But at least she hadn’t been alone.
“I want to make things better,” he finally admitted, “but the rest of it…I don’t like it. Some things really should be private.”
Rob kicked his feet out. “I know. That’s why I like you. Matt, I work for a lot of powerful people. Most of them crave the attention we’re talking about like a heroin junkie. They get off on people wanting to know their dog’s name and what they eat for breakfast, what their thoughts are on every single issue you can imagine. Maybe some of them started out like you and got corrupted, but I know it wouldn’t happen to you if you were to serve people as an elected official.”
He thought about those last moments in the courtroom when the judge’s gavel had come down, dismissing the case. The shock of failing Patricia, just when she was barely holding onto life, had sent a sharp, sudden pain through him.
“Fine. Then I’ll do it.”
“Great. Contact this Tanner McBride and set up the interview. Be nice to have it run the day you file the papers for your candidacy. We have a week.”
Rob picked up the legal pad again, and they bandied around a rough draft of an introduction letter to all the members of the Chamber of Commerce.
When he told him about Jill’s idea about Uncle Arthur’s Bingo night, Rob didn’t act in the least surprised. “My last client attended the Denver Scrabble club since one of his campaign promises was an increase in vocabulary and spelling scores in grade school kids.”
