this late summer day in a pair of slim blue pants, a white shirt with the shirtsleeves rolled up in the heat, and a matching blue jacket draped over a small duffel bag and a briefcase. His black tie flapped over his shoulder as he walked, and he had to clap his fedora to his head to keep it from blowing away in the wind. But the sun gleamed off his aviators and bright smile alike.
It honestly felt like my heart stopped right there on the street. What in God’s name was he doing?
“Well, this is a sight for sore eyes,” he greeted us as he came close enough to deliver a warm kiss to Jane’s cheek. “The three most beautiful women in New York, waiting on a sidewalk just for me.”
“Hey, Zola,” Jane replied as she returned his kiss.
Like always, a brief arrow of jealousy skewered me at their intimacy, even though I knew Jane was entirely devoted to Eric. But when Matthew took off his hat and darted a kiss to my cheek in the same, casual way, the jealousy turned to something else entirely and sent shivers to my toes despite the heat. It sizzled in my belly long after he had offered the same to Olivia.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me without the pool.”
Olivia shook her head shyly and nudged against my hip. Matthew winked at her and grinned again.
“Why are you here?” I demanded, unable to stop myself again.
He looked up and removed his sunglasses so that his dark green eyes could sparkle along with the rest of him. I bristled, even as my heart beat a bit faster. Good lord, would he always have this effect on me? I didn’t even have to pretend to be annoyed with him—his cocky presence made that easy enough.
“Hello to you too, duchess,” Matthew said mildly. “I’m sorry to crash the party, but Jane said I could hitch a ride with you all to Boston.”
I turned to Jane, who shrugged, as if she hadn’t just last week been asking me about a connection between me and Matthew.
“I told Zola he could avoid the bus,” she confirmed. “Turns out Brandon got tickets to the Sox-Yankees game this weekend.”
“We’ve been planning this for months,” Matthew added.
I looked back and forth between them, amazed that neither of them seemed the slightest bit perturbed by the obvious line being crossed here. Hadn’t Jane been a lawyer too before moving here? Hadn’t Matthew and I just established that we needed to stay as far away from each other as possible.
“Jane,” I said once I was able to control my features again. “Would you mind helping Olivia into the back seat, please? Matthew, might I have a word?”
“Come on, kiddo.” Jane turned to Olivia and began shuttling her into the car. “Let’s let the grownups fight for a second.”
“What?” Olivia asked as she crawled in. “Why would Mama and Matthew fight? I thought they were friends?”
“They fight because they’re friends, love bug,” Jane said. “Some of us are weird like that.”
Olivia glanced curiously between me and Matthew before Jane closed the door. I stepped behind the open trunk, which helpfully hid Matthew and me from view once he followed.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said quietly.
“You shouldn’t look so beautiful.”
I looked up and huffed. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
I sighed. “Matthew…”
His smirk disappeared. “Look, it’s just a weird coincidence, all right? Brandon and I have been friends a long time. We always go to this game together. We really have had these tickets for months. And don’t worry, I got a hotel near Fenway, so I’ll be nowhere near you guys, all right?”
I tipped my head. “You must think I’m an absolute idiot.”
At that, his mouth turned slightly grim. “I think you are a lot of things, doll. An idiot is definitely not one of them.”
We stared at each other for a solid minute, trying very hard to stay angry. It was difficult, though, with the way his eyes continued to drop to my lips, and the way I couldn’t stop noticing the perfect, stubbled line of his jaw.
Matthew’s mouth twitched. He knew exactly what I was thinking. I exhaled, and all the tension wrapped in my shoulders seemed to go with it. I couldn’t stay angry when he was looking at me like that, green eyes wide and guileless.
I tried again. “You’re the one who keeps saying we need to stay apart, Matthew. If you need to get to Boston