by H J Welch
“Sweetheart? I’m going to speak to the nice lady at the checkout and see if they rent any bows, okay? But everything is fine. Uncle Matty is gonna make sure you’re all set for class tomorrow, so you can show all those instructors what a star you are!”
He carefully set the girl down, bit his lip, and turned away to walk toward the cashier.
And somehow, Cas found himself stepping away from the display to block the guy’s path.
For a second, they just stared at each other. And…dear lord…Cas hadn’t even been looking properly before. Not by half. He’d completely missed the sharp square jaw and piecing blue eyes that bore through him like plunging into the ocean. Matty’s hair was a mess of tousled curls that he’d definitely been running his fingers through due to stress.
Cas’s hands itched to do the same, but for far more pleasurable reasons.
They were still staring at each other.
Cas cleared his throat and flashed his best crowd-pleasing and reassuring smile. “I’m so sorry,” he said, easily switching into English. He spoke several languages, after all, but English was undoubtedly the one he used most aside from Rosavian. “I couldn’t help but overhear your predicament, and I was wondering if I could help?”
Matty blinked slowly, taking a few seconds to glance down at the girl, then back up at Cas. “You…want to help us?” he asked. “How?”
Cas almost snorted a laugh. How would he help this caring, gorgeous man and adorable kid?
Any way he could.
Chapter Three
Matty
Matty’s new friend, Shommie, had described Rosavia as a fairy tale back at the airport. And now Matty had to question if he hadn’t fallen into some kind of wonderland.
He risked taking a glance over at the guy – Cas – who was currently driving him and Finley from the shopping district to the fancy boarding school on the outskirts of the city. Finley was due for registration to start her training tomorrow. Cas, who had not only bought Finley a bow to tide her over until her beloved one came back to them – bought, not rented – but he’d suggested they visit a clothing store, and purchased them both a clean outfit to keep them going until their bags returned. He’d also insisted they go to a drug store to get the essentials like toothpaste and deodorant.
Matty would have slummed it. But thanks to the kindness of a stranger, Finley didn’t have to arrive at her first day of archery academy feeling like a swamp monster.
“Honestly, it’s my pleasure,” Cas had insisted more than once, especially at the cash registers. Matty had promised to pay him back, but Cas kept insisting he had a wealthy family and “more money than I know what to do with.” He made it sound as if Matty and Finley were the ones doing him a favor, not the other way around.
What the hell was this place Rosavia?
Well, from the view out of the windows, he could tell it was a stunning country to look at. Breathtaking landscapes seemed to stalk them wherever they turned, especially once they ventured beyond the city limits. Picturesque mountains peeked up in the distance from fields of lush green grass, until they passed through a forest where the foliage seemed to run wild in a way that suggested it was protecting a sleeping princess from a terrible curse.
In his jet lagged state, Matty finally dragged his eyes away from the window long enough to glance at Finley in the back seat. She was sleeping, again, and Matty was almost painfully envious. She needed the rest, no doubt, but if Matty didn’t put his head down soon he was going to start hallucinating. If he wasn’t already.
He looked over at their mysterious charitable benefactor, half wondering if he was just a figment of Matty’s imagination. Surely no one was that handsome and kind? But his divine aftershave certainly smelled real enough, and when they’d shaken hands earlier after introductions had been made, Matty was sure he’d felt flesh and blood.
Had Matty made the right decision to trust a total stranger, though? He’d been so overwhelmed and desperate for help, he’d clung to the first offer that had come along like a barnacle. But what if this guy wasn’t what he seemed? What if he was a serial killer or something?
Matty rolled his eyes at himself. That was ridiculous. But he couldn’t help but notice that Cas wasn’t using any kind of map to get them to the school, and in Matty’s sleep-deprived state, that suddenly seemed suspicious. Cas could be taking them anywhere. Had Matty let himself be conned by a pretty face in a foreign country, only to end up in serious trouble? Wasn’t this how several Liam Neeson films started?
Cas caught him staring, and Matty blushed. “Uh,” he said uncertainly as they continued to speed along the twisty, turny highway. “You’re, um, not using a map?” he eventually managed to stammer.
Cas laughed and smiled briefly at Matty before gluing his eyes back on the road, despite there being very few other cars around now they’d left the city. “I did say earlier,” Cas reminded him gently, “Elm Willows was my old boarding school. I spent seven years there. I know this route like the back of my hand, I swear. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
He bit his lip, letting it drag slowly between his teeth, making Matty practically whimper. Damn. He hadn’t lusted after any guy like this in a long time. He blamed the jet lag for it, as well as his complete blip on recalling Cas talking about this being his school.
“Oh, cool,” Matty said when he realized Cas was probably waiting on a response from him.
Cas looked briefly over at Matty, though, with a slightly concerned expression. “But if you’re anxious, please feel free to follow along using your own navigation. If your network doesn’t cover you here, you can hotspot off my own phone, it’s fine.”
Matty studied Cas’s side profile as the other man kept his beautiful brown eyes diligently on the road. His skin was tanned a light coppery brown, and the hair on his head and jaw was dark, with a hint of auburn when the sunlight hit it.
Okay, Matty could admit it. There was a chance he’d said yes to a serial killer, just because he was drop-dead-fucking-gorgeous.
But every bone in his body was telling him that Mr. Cas NoLastName was on the level. Which was probably the first ticket to Liam Neeson-ville, but Matty was only human. There was also a chance that Cas was just a nice guy, and Matty was lucky enough to get to spend even just a little bit of time with him.
“N-no, that’s cool. I trust you,” Matty stammered. Moron. “Is it much further?”
Cas flashed that smile again, and Matty’s heart flipped. “Not long now, I promise.”
And Matty believed him. Which he shouldn’t. Because handsome men who said ‘I promise’ were lying liars who lied. Matty pushed his tongue against the back of his teeth until it got painful.
Jeremy had made a lot of promises. He’d seemed so right. Like Matty might have found The One. They’d had fun, the sex had been good, and Jeremy had been employed at a decent firm in the city, so he had that all-important stability Matty always craved. But when push came to shove, Jeremy had laughed at Matty for thinking they were truly serious (after two fucking years, thank you very much) and vanished quicker than a tear on a rainy day.
Because Matty’s sister having her cancer relapse was “just, like, way too much right now, baby.”
Asshole.
So Matty chewed his lip and stared out at the scenery that looked like it belonged on the top of a chocolate box. Jeremy is a long, LONG, way away from Rosavia, he reminded himself. Cas was not Jeremy, as evident by him taking two seconds to look beyond his own needs.
“Do you have a job?” Matty blurted, apropos of nothing. He clutched the edge of the leather seat of the beautiful, very sleek and fancy car Cas apparently owned, and felt his face burn. So smooth. “Sorry. I mean, uh, I’ve lost track of what day it is, but I work shifts myself, and I was suddenly worried we’d pulled you from your job, and, uh…”
Cas grinned at Matty’s sleep-deprived attempt at small talk. “I do have a job,” he said in a measured voice that sounded pretty much British to Matty�
�s ears, but had a lilt over the odd syllable every now and again. “Although I’m very flexible, and on something of a vacation right now. I’m genuinely honored to introduce a couple of travelers to the wonders of Coniston Street.” He winked at Matty. “So wild and exotic,” he teased.
Matty wasn’t used to being teased. A little part of his brain worried that Cas was mocking him. Looking back on it, Jeremy used to love making Matty feel dumb and foolish. But the rest of Matty’s brain, along with his belly and his cock, were tingling with the gentle ribbing, basking in the attention.
“You’ve been very kind,” Matty mumbled, mortified at the wetness that prickled at the back of his eyes. “I mean, uhh…above and beyond, really.”
He and Cas glanced over at each other at the exact same time, their eyes locking for a second that seemed to want to stop Matty’s heart. But then they looked away just as quickly. Cas flicked his eyes toward Finley in the back, whose mouth was hanging open as she very gently snored.
“It seems like you’ve been through a bit of a time,” Cas said softly.
To his horror, Matty sniffed, swallowing down a whole sob as those tears threatened to spill again. “Uh, sorry,” he stammered, hastily rubbing at his eyes. “Yeah, it’s been a bit of a shit show. I’ve literally never left the country before, and to lose our luggage? Urgh. I wasn’t even supposed to be on this trip.” He scrubbed at his face, staring doggedly out of the window. But of course Cas still asked.
“What happened?”
Matty inhaled another shuddery breath. Cas was an almost total stranger, but Matty didn’t have Jeremy to talk to anymore (not that he’d ever given a shit anyway, apparently) so why not offload for a second? Cas was offering, after all.
“My big sister – Finley’s mom. She had breast cancer. We thought it was all gone, but a couple of weeks ago it reared its ugly head again.” He swallowed and bit his tongue, determined not to cry. “Her friends were amazing, and started a crowdfunding campaign in days, and she’s already started treatment. She’s still got a real fighting chance, but…”
He trailed off, looking at sleeping Finley in the backseat.
“But traveling was too much,” Cas supplied. “So brilliant Uncle Matty stepped up to the plate, and saved the day.”
Matty offered Cas a sheepish smile, trying not to let his warm words into his heart, because Matty didn’t deserve them. “I lost our luggage,” he whispered.
Cas raised a very stern eyebrow at Matty, which made his insides squirm for more reasons than one. “You did, huh? Personally? You jumped off at Heathrow and mucked around the loading bays, throwing your bags into the dumpster?”
Matty went weak thinking of their stuff in the trash, but then he realized Cas was obviously kidding. “Uh, yeah,” he said weakly. “I totally did. You caught me.”
Cas snorted and grinned over at him as they took another curve through the seemingly never-ending countryside. “Just as I suspected,” he said, like he’d caught a thief in a cheesy mystery show. “I can see why you’re taking all this guilt on yourself.”
“All right, shut up,” Matty mumbled, lightly slapping at Cas’s thigh…which was a mistake, because dear god those muscles. He snatched his hand back and cleared his throat. “Okay, I’ve never left the country before. I’ve never looked after Finley for more than an evening of babysitting while Reghan and Lola went out for dinner or whatever. I am so in over my head, and that was before we lost the uber-duber expensive bow and arrows and their case. Then you swoop in and save the day…I just really need you to understand what this means for us, I guess?”
Cas licked his lips – which really didn’t help the developing situation in Matty’s jeans – and glanced over at him for just a second. “You’re very welcome,” Cas said in a velvety voice that made Matty want to curl up and cry with longing.
This guy was going to kill him before he was done rescuing him.
Okay, Matty had to admit it.
He was jealous.
“Nibblet!” he admonished. “You never told me you were going to Hogwarts for this thing!”
“I didn’t know,” Finley whispered back.
They both stared up in awe at the old reddish building and all its cream towers and turrets. The enormous square structure was surrounded by lush green grass and woodland, with birds tweeting and the sun shining down. A clock tower stood in the middle of the school’s front, and as Matty and Finley gaped up, it chimed the quarter hour. The bells resonated through Matty’s bones, and he suddenly felt a part of something much larger than himself.
For him, high school had been a terrible endurance test to simply survive. But looking at this place, he felt like he was a part of history, even though he wasn’t even going to be attending. But Finley was. Even if it was just a couple of weeks. This was going to be epic for her.
“You really went to school here?” Matty asked Cas. They were standing beside his sleek BMW, and Matty had Finley’s shopping bags and new bow case in hand. Cas raised his eyebrows.
“I really did,” he said faintly. Then he rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “I’d love to walk down memory lane with you both, but I remembered I have to make a work call in about five minutes.” Then he turned those smoldering brown eyes on Matty and quirked his lips. “But I can wait for you out here, Matty?”
Matty forgot how words worked for a second. What reality had he stepped into, where this super-hot guy was sounding almost anxious for Matty to come back to him?
“Uh, sure,” Matty managed to utter.
Cas beamed, then crouched down to address Finley directly. “It was wonderful meeting you, young lady. I hope you have the most amazing time and learn loads of cool things.”
Finley bit her lip, then rocked on her toes. “I’m going to be the best one there!” she announced, as if she couldn’t believe her own daring. “I’ll do it for Mama and Mommy, and Matty, and you too, Cas, for being so nice. I promise!”
Cas smiled at her and squeezed her skinny shoulder. “Just so long as you do your best, I know your family is going to be so proud of you.”
She ginned, showing off the gap from the last tooth she’d lost near the back. Matty’s heart ached to see her smiling like that again. “And will you look after Uncle Matty?” she asked Cas sincerely. “He doesn’t know anyone here apart from our airport friends, but they might be busy.”
Oh, shit! Danger! Danger!
Matty was mortified at the idea that Cas might feel obliged to do any more for them. He’d already been so kind.
But Matty knew what he was really terrified was the idea of spending any time with Cas without having Finley there as a buffer. He was stunning, and Matty was…not. They’d run out of conversation in two minutes flat. Nope, it was just a very bad idea that Matty needed to squash immediately.
“Oh, well,” Matty spluttered, shaking his head. “That’s not – I mean – uh…” He took a breath and smiled at her. “Why don’t we get you registered and settled in, okay? I’ll be fine.” He threw an apologetic look at Cas, who just smiled faintly.
“Okay,” said Finley, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have to be weird about it.”
She skipped off, leaving Matty with his cheeks flaming. When he looked over at Cas again, though, he just smiled brighter. “I’ll be here,” he said with a nod.
Matty readjusted her bags and the bow he was carrying, nodded once in understanding, then fled. He jogged from the parking lot to catch up with Finley. “Do you know where we’re going?” he asked, consciously changing the subject and scanning the area as they approached the school.
He realized belatedly he shouldn’t ask her that kind of thing. As the adult, he should just know or find out. But Finley pointed to a temporary sign up ahead with Junior Archery Association – Registration This Way written on it.
“That looks good!” she proclaimed, skipping along the path. “Cas is nice.”
Matty hummed, trying to look for any more signs.
“A
nd he’s pretty.”
“Men aren’t pretty,” said Matty automatically, then he winced, realizing he’d been parroting his dad.
Sure enough, Finley stopped walking and jammed her hands on her hips with a huff and a scowl. “My mommies say that guys can be pretty if they want! And ladies can be handsome!”
Matty rubbed his eyes, suitably scolded by an eight-year-old. God, he was jet lagged and rattled by Cas, if that old nonsense had come out so easily.
He hadn’t thought about his parents for so long. It had been years since they’d talked to him or his sister, since they’d both come out together in solidarity. Turned out, they’d needed it when their folks had kicked them out of the house, cut all contact with them, and refused to attend Reghan’s wedding. Fuck them. Reghan, Lola, and Finley were his family now.
“You’re right, Nibblet,” he said contritely. “Sorry. Cas is very kind, for sure.” And apparently, Matty didn’t want to talk about him so badly he’d resorted to the first nastiness from his old man that had fallen out of his mouth.
“Oh totally, he’s nice.” Finley crossed her arms, a dangerously smug look on her face. “And handsome-pretty?”
Matty urged her to get walking again with a hand on her back. It was perhaps best not to say anything at all right now.
Mercifully, they were soon distracted as they found the courtyard where registration was taking place, and several very friendly staff members were coordinating the arriving kids efficiently. They seemed perfectly fine as he explained their luggage situation and handed over Finley’s shopping bags and bow case. Logically, Matty felt confident leaving his niece with the chaperones, despite his irrational fears trying to tell him that if he let her out of his sight, the school was definitely going to get attacked by a pack of wild lions or be flattened by a tornado.
He bit his tongue and told his brain to shut up as he hugged Finley goodbye for the third time. Then he double-checked that she had the cell phone Reghan had bought her especially for this trip, as well as the charger and European adapter that had thankfully also been in her carry-on bag.