Matchmaker (Empire High #4) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,125

I could say anything else she slapped me again.

Damn, she was stronger than I thought she was. I rubbed my jaw.

“I’m such an idiot,” she said. “No. Actually, you’re the idiot. What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you still playing the same games you did as a teenager? We’re not in high school anymore!”

“I can explain.”

“You made Brooklyn feel like a dirty little secret, Matt. And I won’t give you a chance to make me feel the same way.” She turned back to the taxi.

I caught her hand so she couldn’t leave. “Please just let me explain.”

She turned around. It looked like she wanted to slap me again but she didn’t. “Explain how you were making out with someone else on the cover of every tabloid in the city? Or the fact that I found out because I overheard two of my employees gossiping about the city’s most eligible bachelor being taken off the market? What could you possibly have to explain? Because it seems quite simple to me. You’re a cheater. You’re disgusting. And I want nothing to do with you.”

I’d been called a lot of bad things over the past 16 years. But never with such vehemence.

“Kennedy, please just let me explain what’s going on. This is a huge misunderstanding. Can I just talk to you inside for a minute?”

“Why? Because you can’t let anyone in the city know about your mistress?” She grabbed the flowers out of my hand and whacked my arm with them like she was brandishing a sword.

“Would you stop yelling for one second?” I grabbed the flowers from her and threw them on the ground.

She pulled the taxi door open, ignoring me.

I slammed it shut. “Kennedy….”

She shoved my chest. “Puta mierda.”

I grabbed her hands so that she’d stop hitting me. “Look, I agree with you okay? I’m an idiot.”

“You’ve got that right.”

I tried to lower my voice so that no passersby would hear us. “But that kiss in the tabloids? It wasn’t real.”

“Your lips were on hers.”

“Just so the photographers could snap a stupid picture to spread the rumor. I swear it meant nothing. I had to enter into a fake relationship with Poppy Cannavaro in order to ensure the safety of James’ daughter. It’s a verbal contract that will expire when Poppy acquires Mr. Pruitt’s business holdings.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“Poppy is Mr. Pruitt’s niece. And she thinks being with me will somehow show Mr. Pruitt that she’s serious about taking over the company. That’s it. It’s basically a business transaction. And believe me when I say that there is nothing real about the relationship at all. Because I’m falling for you, Kennedy. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

She just stared at me.

“You changed everything, Kennedy. I was fucking drowning before you came crashing back into my life.”

A tear slid down her cheek.

I risked her slapping me again and reached out to wipe her tears away. “So please just come inside. And we can talk this through.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it again. She shook her head. “I can’t do this with you, Matt.”

“Do what?”

“Get tangled up in whatever you just said. If you owe some kind of debt to Brooklyn’s dad…”

“I don’t. I swear I don’t. Scarlett was in danger. And I’d do anything to keep that little girl safe. This was the only way. I swear if I think of something else, you’ll be the first to know.”

“So James has a kid?”

I smiled. “Two actually.”

“I can’t picture him being a dad. When did we all get so old?”

“You look anything but old.”

She looked down at her shoes.

“That’s what the date is, by the way. Mason, Rob, and James are all inside for guys’ night. I was kinda thinking I could surprise them with…you. And the fact that we’re dating.”

“So they don’t even know I’m coming?”

I shook my head.

“And they don’t know that we’re dating?”

“Not yet.” I smiled down at her. “That’s kind of what tonight was for.”

She took a deep breath. “I think maybe we should keep it that way.”

“You want to do something else tonight?”

“I mean the dating thing. We’re not dating, Matt. Not anymore. I’ve been in a toxic relationship before. And I’m not putting myself in a situation to get stepped all over again. I can’t.”

“Kennedy…”

“We’ll be friends. Until you get this sorted out with Poppy. Okay?”

“Just friends?”

She nodded. “Just friends.”

I was so close. So close to getting to be happy. So close to getting the girl for once. I didn’t