Chapter 39

MATT

* * *

Reapers won six to three, with Cole hitting a home run in the fifth inning. I didn't have a bad day with a single, double, and two RBIs. Now that the game is over, Cole texts me an address and time to meet.

Cole and Ashleigh are staying at her family's house and invited me for dinner. Even though we won, I'm bringing dessert as a peace offering.

"Sure beats my hotel room," I say to Ashleigh as she greets me at the door. It's a large home close to the Reaper's facility. Do the Decker's do anything on a small scale?

"Yeah, Jules and Trevor stay here every year, so we're crashing," she offers.

Great. Julian and Trevor too. Fuck.

She senses my apprehension. "Look, I know you two need to talk. We're all headed out for a bit while you guys catch up and grill the steaks. Everything else is ready. We'll be back in time for dinner." She hugs me. "Love you. And I knew you were a liar." She kisses me on the cheek and makes her way out the door. Julian and Trevor are in the car waiting for her.

"Hey man, come on in," Cole says. "What's this?" He eyes the bakery box in my hands.

"Cannoli from this great little place I found near the strip."

"With pistachios?"

"Your favorite."

"Damn, I missed you." He wraps me in a hug, crushing the cannoli box.

"Same. Look, I'm sorry," I start.

"Nope. We're going to do this properly. Come on in, throw that in the fridge, and grab a beer. Let's go sit by the pool and start from the beginning."

I do as he says, and we sit by the pool, watching the sunset. I've missed him.

"Good game today," he starts. "You look good. And buff. What's up with that?" He laughs at me as he gestures his beer bottle at my chest.

"It's called the Mexican workout plan. A great gym and nothing but time." I shrug. My attempt at a joke isn't really funny.

Cole chuckles anyway. "Yeah, if you're gonna lay low, that's a good place, I suppose. So, what's up with that?"

"Well, you see." Where to start? "There's this girl. But it's complicated. She's my best friend's sister. I know I broke the code, but damn, she's so fucking amazing. She's funny, kind, beautiful, talented, and so many things. I couldn't help it. I tried to resist it, but I couldn't." I look at Cole for a reaction, and he has a faint smile on his lips.

"I wanted to tell you, but we wanted to see where it went first. I didn't want to keep it a secret. She's not the kind of girl you want to hide, you know? Then I was going to talk to you after the party, because I was planning on, well, things didn't quite go as planned."

"What were you planning?" Do I tell him? Does it matter now?

"I hadn't told her yet. I was going to tell her I was in love with her."

"Was?"

"Am."

He lets that hang between us. I've known Cole my whole life, and I can see the wheels turning in his head. He's thinking, planning, plotting.

"Yeah, I know my reaction wasn't the best. Trust me, Leigh has let me know her displeasure on more than one occasion. I'm sorry for the shiner. And for not answering your calls. I should've listened."

"I didn't mean to cause issues with you two." And there's another consequence of my poor decisions.

"Oh, we're fine. She tells me I'm an idiot and I finally listen. We're good. But you aren't."

"What does that mean?"

"I reacted without thinking. Matt, I know you. You would never hurt her. At least not deliberately."

"Never."

"But you have."

I flinch. Of course, I've hurt her. I ghosted her. I ran away. I hate myself even more.

"How is she?"

"Not great. She barely talks to me. She was here, and everyone was watching her, but then she bolted."

"Bolted? Where is she?" My heart stops. Is she okay? She's run away from her family?

He shrugs. His relaxed expression turns tense. "We don't know." He runs his hand down his face. "Chance texted and let us know she's safe but wants to be left alone."

"She's with Chance?" Of course, things get rough, and she goes to Chance, who takes better care of her than I do.

"Down, boy." Cole pats me on the shoulder. "She's not with him. He just knows where she is because she reached out to him. He assures us she's okay. Chance is a protective fucker, like all these Decker bros. If he says she's safe, she is."

"What made her take off? Why would she do that?" I'm worried. My stomach is in knots. Where is she? Should she be alone? What does she need?

"I'm not sure. But I think she saw your text to Leigh. My guess is it upset her." He shrugs.

I finish my beer and look at his. He gets up to grab us another one. I bury my head in my hands and tug at my hair. What have I done?

Cole comes back and hands me a fresh beer. "Look, I'm worried too. We all are. She's miserable and heartbroken. And by the looks of you, I'd guess you are too." I nod in agreement.

"I fucked up."

"Yep." He agrees way too fast. "So, how you gonna fix it?"

"I'm not sure I am."

He turns in his chair to look at me. "What the fuck does that mean? Don't you want to?"

We sit in silence for minutes. Seems like hours.

Finally, I break the tension. "I'm not sure that's what's best for Darcy."

Cole gives me an appraising look. "Okay." His tone says he doesn't care, but I don't think that's the case. He said that earlier, too. What's up with saying okay? Is it his version of a female fine? Like when girls say fine, but it's really not.

He gets up to go back inside. He returns with a platter of steaks and puts them on the grill. He sits back on the lounger, letting the steaks' sizzle fill the silence. After a few minutes, he gets up to flip them. When he turns back around to sit down, I can't stand the okay comment.

"What do you mean by okay?" That is not the expected reaction, and I'm a bit thrown.

"We both want what's best for her, right?" He shrugs.

"Of course."

"And if you think there's another man out there better suited for her, then…okay. She'll hurt for a while, sure. But she'll get over it. I mean, we'll try to keep things from getting awkward at the wedding, but… okay. If she's not worth fighting for…"

I jump up from my chair and grab him by the shirt. We are nose to nose again.

"Of course she's worth fighting for." I practically growl at him. "She's fucking everything." The blood courses through my body like I'm stealing home. I'm pissed. How dare he say she's not worth it? Her own brother.

A smile spreads across his face, and he puts his hands on my shoulders. "You bet your ass she is."

Julian, Trevor, and Ashleigh come out on the patio and find us about to go to blows. I hear Ashleigh, "Tsk, tsk." Julian practically giggles.

"Looks like the official Team True Love meeting is about to begin," Julian says.

Trevor sighs. "Great, another Decker family meeting. I'll start the margaritas." He turns and goes back into the house.

I step back from Cole, and for the first time in weeks, I can finally breathe.