by Raven Scott
Tiredness weighed down my lids, but I couldn’t stop looking at him. I couldn’t stop hearing his beautiful baritone in my ears, and I couldn’t stop touching him. Mateo didn’t move despite his deep, stable breaths, and I traced his slightly parted lips. Now, I realized how much it hurt him . . . how hard he was trying to fake it. He was lying when he said he thought it was best I went back to Tennessee by myself and forgot about him.
Even then, we both knew I couldn’t forget, and obviously he hadn’t either. How awful it must’ve been for Mateo that he considered killing himself. He had his dogs, but they couldn’t fill the void in him. If I wasn’t so filled with loathing for my mom, Seth’s mom, my situation in general, I probably wouldn’t have lasted so long, either.
“Oh . . . ” Sitting up so gingerly, I sniffed back the tears that clogged my nose and throat, and I rubbed my eyes as they stung fiercely. I slid off the bed to shuffle into the living area, and Marshal lifted his head from the sofa. Ketchup sprawled on top of him, snoring lightly, and I wrapped my arms around myself as a small smile tilted my lips. The all black mass on the loveseat guffawed lightly, stretching his legs and paws before pulling them back in. Would this peace last?
The thought dried my mouth, and my tongue stuck to the roof as I made my way to the telephone on the end table by the sofa. Marshal tried to wiggle out from under Ketchup, but the gray-black pile of muscle just grumbled rolled onto his back. Patting Marshal’s head and scratching behind his ears, I walked to the door to peek out, but I had to step out into the hallway to see the room number.
“Lucy.” My heart jumped in my throat, and I whipped around as Mikayla came rushing down the hallway. Holding a hand to my chest, I heaved a sigh of relief, and she paused when she saw what I was wearing before shaking her head. Still in her dress for the ceremony, she practically shoved me back in the room and closed the door to sag dramatically against it. “We gotta hide! They’re everywhere! They’re nowhere! Oh, the horror!”
“What? Who?” She peeked through the peep hole, and I scrunched up my face when I realized I hadn’t gotten the door number. “Did you see what room number this is? I’m starving.”
“What do you mean ‘who’? Those nasty old hags are telling everyone you got the jitters and shacked up with some random surfer douchebag! They’re holding the officiant in a cage made of bones while they look for you, and someone called the cops because they sacrificed their wretched souls to summon a demon Pitbull from Hell!” You’re having way too much fun with this, Mickey. Arching a brow when she turned to me, I crossed my arms over my chest, and Mikayla frowned as her shoulders slumped a little. “Okay, but, seriously, the officiant is waiting downstairs because your mom and Seth’s mom convinced her that you just got cold feet, and you’ll be ready soon. Seth’s not even here! Him and his buddies all left. He told me to tell you he’s sorry and he hopes you two can be friends, by the way.”
“Did you tell the justice that I’m most definitely not getting married today, and that she’s free to leave and enjoy her free hour and a half?” This was turning into more a hassle than I expected. I mean, chaos was a given in this circumstance, but if Seth wasn’t here . . .
“I couldn’t get close. She’s being guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. I tried to sneak up behind them, but she almost got me with her claws.” Mikayla shivered in faux disgust and fear, and I couldn’t help but giggle a little as she flipped her hair back. “Anyway, the receptionist lady had a video on her phone of Meredith spitting on you, and you gotta know she shut up real fast after the cops saw that. Most of the guests are already gone doing whatever. I mean, this is still a vacation for them. Also, yes, I did. This is room 3B.”
“Oh, thanks. I’d go out, but Mateo’s sleeping, and I don’t have a room key.” Surprise rose her perfectly sculpted brows, and I wandered back to the archway to the bedroom to grab the phone on the nightstand. Mateo was out, but I still creeped around so I didn’t accidentally wake him up on my way back to the sofa. “We gotta keep it down, okay?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” The dogs took up almost the whole couch, and Marshal finally made a concerted effort to get out from under Ketchup. The pit woke up with a noticeably annoyed expression before noticing there was someone else in the room for him to befriend, and I dropped into the overstuffed recliner as Mikayla squeezed onto the sofa. “I’m not judging, but, like, why aren’t you two, you know, banging?”
“That’s not really the important thing right now.” Mickey shrugged carelessly, and she gave a little oof when Ketchup flopped his muscular, broad body into her lap. Marshal climbed into the recliner to sit on my lap, and my stomach gurgled greedily as I tried to think of what I wanted to eat. “I’m thinkin’ pizza . . . a lot of pizza.”
“I guess you’re not going to the reception? Just stick it to that crusty bitch since she paid for it all just to lord over you. You don’t even like salmon. It’s so stupid.” I couldn’t really argue with that since it was true— Meredith had planned the meals, and I never even bothered to tell her I hated salmon. Dialing the number to the kitchen, I held the phone to my ear as I stroked Marshal from head to hip, and he dropped his head on me to sigh heavily. “I guess it makes sense— Mateo was surfing with this dog, and that scary one was guarding his stuff. Why are you awake, though?”
I didn’t answer when the call picked up, and I placed my order before specifying that I’d cover it and give the guy my name. Two medium pizzas might’ve been enough, one extra cheese and one pepperoni and sausage, but I hadn’t eaten in two days. I ordered some soda, too, just for something to drink, and the guy spouted out the cost and the time before we hung up.
This hotel got their food from the two restaurants on the left face of the building, just a sidewalk away. One was a straight up pizza joint, and the other was more ‘everything’ kinda place that had an outside lounge and a band in the evenings. For a moment, I stared at my bare feet, and I almost forgot Mikayla was there until she cleared her throat gently.
“Oh, um, I just can’t take a nap, I guess. I don’t want to wake up and . . . I don’t want this to be a dream.” Gulping down the dense lump that formed in my throat at the confession, I laid my head back to stare at my best friend, and she patted Ketchup’s head absently. “I don’t really know. I hoped and hoped, but I don’t think I ever thought past this point.”
“I wish some half-naked, dripping wet dude would tear my clothes off and then whisk me away.” Smiling faintly, I didn’t deny it was as close to perfect as it’d get. Even if Meredith did sue me, she’d signed everything, so there was no getting out of the fact that she willing paid for everything even knowing Seth and I didn’t want to get married to each other. “So, what are we gonna do now? There’s no way I can get away with going downstairs and telling the officiant the wedding’s off.”
“I’ll do it.” Twisting at the raspy, deep declaration, I frowned as Mateo sauntered heavily into the living area, and he yawned hard as he rubbed his head. “I heard you say ‘pizza’.”
“Did I wake you up? Sorry.” He stretched his arms above his head, muscles shifting under taut, tanned skin, before dropping his palm on my head, and guilt clawed at my throat. “Were we talking too loud?”
“No, I heard you say ‘pizza’ and I didn’t eat lunch.” My lips quirked up even as Mateo frowned, and warmth suffused every single cell in my body. I may not have had a strong conviction against my family and peer pressure, but Mateo made up for that in spades. He would back me up in anything as long as I made a concerted effort. Nothing was more important for me to fight for than him.
17
Mateo
When the elevator doors slid open, there were several cops waiting for us, talking to that dusty bitch in her too-tight, frumpy dress, and I reached to scratch my scruff roughly. As glad as I was that Lucy had magically appeared back in my life, I was kinda pissed at these antics. Casting her friend a questioning glare only to receive a confused shrug, I scowled lightly, and I hiked up my jeans as w
e shuffled off the elevator.
“Who got kidnapped?” Lucy gasped at my loud question, and I would’ve smiled if that woman didn’t jump up, pointing a manicured finger at me in rage. The last hour or so had been exhausting. I wanted to eat and sleep and wake up to her without worrying about what drama lay beyond the hotel room door. Pointing to myself, I pulled a face, not being able to help myself. “Me? I’m right here. I’m pretty sure I didn’t kidnap myself.”
“That’s him! He’s the one who punched me and forced Lucy onto the elevator! Arrest him!” I rolled my eyes with a scoff, and Meredith turned to the two officers to start blabbing. Holding Lucy’s arm to keep her quiet, letting this bitch dig her own hole, I shook my head slightly when big blue eyes flickered to me. “He tore off her wedding dress right here in the lobby and forced her onto the elevator, and he’s been doing God knows what for the past forty-five minutes! I spent a lot of money on this wedding, and some punk isn’t going to ruin it! I want him arrested for assault!”
“Ma’am, you admitted to and were caught on video spitting in her face, which is why he punched you. Do you want us to arrest you for assault?” Meredith didn’t even have a black eye— proof of her thick-ass skull— and she bristled as the older of the two cops hooked his thumbs in his belt to glower at her. “In case you didn’t know, that happened after he tore apart her dress, which she seemed fine with. She also willingly went into the elevator, and everything seemed more than consensual in the video. Are you saying the video was lying? Is there another angle that can prove your claims?”
“She’s under coercion! She’s supposed to marry my son!” Obviously, this wasn’t this cop’s first round with angry in-laws and botched attempts to marry, and he frowned darkly. “I won’t have this day ruined for me, damnit!”
“Listen, lady, the last officer here spoke to a few people outside, and they all said the same thing— your son was getting married because you pressured him. He’s not even here anymore, so I don’t know what you think is going to happen. Not only that, but this ain’t your wedding— it ain’t anybody’s wedding anymore. If you want to get married at your age, go for it, but don’t ruin your kid’s life because you’re not satisfied with your own.” Meredith gasped in shock, and I clamped a hand on my mouth to stop myself from cackling. “This is the second time you’ve called the police for nothing in less than half an hour. If you do it again, I’m arresting you for harassment and misuse of an emergency service. If I get any calls mentioning your name, I’m going to arrest you. If this hotel gets a noise complaint about you, I’m going to arrest you. Is that clear?”
“What! You’re supposed to arrest him!” Meredith pointed at me, and the cop glanced between Lucy and me through shrewd eyes. “Besides, his dog attacked us! I want animal control here and that beast put down!”
“You mean that dog who sat on her feet and didn’t do anything discernably aggressive at all in the entire six-minute surveillance video we watched twice? Or the secretary’s phone video that proved he had control of the dog until Lucy yelled in what was clearly a distressed voice? Even when you were the one that got aggressive, the dog didn’t do anything anyone with eyes would consider ‘attacking’. If you ask me, it’s the opposite way ‘round— that dog was protecting her because you’re obviously nuts.” Today was just not Meredith’s day, and I came all way the down to the lobby for nothing, which was disappointing. She shrieked in frustration, whipping around to storm toward us, and Lucy tensed against my side.
“I’m going to sue you for everything! Everything!”
“Go ahead.” Pride bubbled up in my chest at how stern and strong Lucy’s voice was, and Meredith was positively taken aback. Sputtering a little, she stepped back, and I let go of Lucy’s forearm to rub her back reassuringly. “You signed everything. Go ahead and try to tell a judge that every single arraignment from the flowers to the venue to the debit card you used to book tickets I didn’t know about was a fluke. You’ll sound even more stupid than you do now. You insisted on paying for everything, so you’d have a say, and now you’re out, what, almost forty grand? It’ll cost half that to take me to court because you’re going to drag it out trying to get something you can’t.”
“You bitch! How could you throw away seven years with a good man! Seth is a good man, and you ruined the best years of his life!” I didn’t know Seth at all, but he didn’t seem that bad. At the very least, I wanted to introduce myself to him. His mom was certifiably nuts, though, irrationally supped up on self-importance, and Meredith looked about ready to pop a vein in her forehead. “He loved you, and you go and break his heart because you’re a selfish whore who can’t keep your legs closed! Everyone knows you cheated on him nine months ago, and you probably did it more than once, but Seth stuck with you anyway.”
“In that week, I found a better man than Seth will ever be for me.” No matter what she said about him, Lucy never explicitly called Seth an asshole of a person. He was just wrong for her. They just weren’t compatible. Meredith shook with the force of her rage at Lucy’s almost gentle declaration. “He is a good man, but he’s not good for me. The only reason we got back together is because you and my mom were making us miserable. We were together because it was easier than dealing with our mothers. The problem wasn’t us, Meredith— it was you.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I grabbed Meredith’s hand when she raised it to try to smack Lucy. Behind her, the younger cop sprang into action, and I sidestepped between the two women as Meredith screeched like a banshee. Crumpling to the floor, she cradled her wrist and screamed that it was broken, but the policeman behind her clearly didn’t believe her as he grabbed her arms and held them back. The clink of cuffs was overly loud in my ears, and Meredith instantly switched to panic mode despite her broken wrist.
“Here.” Hoisted onto her low heels, Meredith panted furiously, and Lucy took off her engagement ring to give it to the older officer. “She picked it out. She should have it.”
“We’re not done talking! I wasn’t going to do anything! She instigated me! I’m on the Jackson school board, damnit!” My brows rose, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter as she struggled against being led away. The lobby suddenly became still, but her shouts seeped through the glass doors before she got her ass shoved in a cruiser.
“So, that happened.” Lucy rocked back against my palm, and I wrapped my arm around her as she glanced around the lobby. “Where is my mom, anyway?”
“Actually, the last time I saw her was when Meredith spit at you. I don’t know where she went.” Mikayla’s voice was laced with humor but muted, and she shrugged carelessly while Lucy raked her hand through her luscious, blonde hair. “Everyone scattered. I think they all had backup plans, so they’re doing that.”
“I hope you have a backup plan. I’m gonna eat to make up for the past two days and then sleep to make up for the past nine months.” It seemed like everything rose and fell so quickly, too quickly, and I glanced over at the officiant still sitting on the sofa. She had her head buried in her phone, but I guess she saw drama all the time, and this was nothing new. Reaching to punch the elevator button, I only shook my head slightly at the fact that Meredith got herself arrested.
“I do. I’m actually gonna meet up with Roger and Seth. We’re all going to a karaoke bar. I’d invite you, but you just said you have plans.” Puffing out her lips, Mikayla shrugged again, and she stepped out of the way to give a mock salute when the elevator doors slid open. “Relax. Have fun. I’m gonna go get drunk.”
“You, too, Mickey.” Gesturing Lucy into the metal box first, I nodded politely when she waved at me, but as soon as the doors shut again, I pulled my fist to my teeth to stifle my yawn. Lucy rubbed my bare chest, leaning her head on my shoulder, and I shook my head a little harder to clear the fog that muddled my thoughts. “I hope I never see Meredith ever again.”
“She really said she was on the school board.” I didn’t bother to hide my chuckle, and I squeezed Lucy to my
side to sigh in pure bliss.
18
Mateo
Cuddling against my side, Lucy twirled my chest hairs around her finger, and I grumbled lowly as I breathed in her smell. I’d felt her wake up with a start, like she was worried this wasn’t real; to be honest, I felt the same way. This was just far too perfect to be true. Stretching my legs, I flexed my feet and toes before rolling over to wrap her up against my chest, and all of my senses tingled wildly.
“You know, I’m an only child. I think my mom just thought I wasn’t going to get any better than Seth. I think . . . I thought I probably wouldn’t, either.” Her hoarse confession wrapped around my heart and squeezed, and I cracked my eyes open to lean back. Lucy’s baby blues focused on my chest under furrowed brows, and she frowned slightly as goosebumps followed her fingertips. “I wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t unhappy, either.”
“I had a sister, Sonja. She killed herself when I was ten.” It wasn’t like Sonja was a touchy subject, but shame thickened my tone and soured my tongue, and Lucy’s breath hitched softly. “I spent every moment after that using money to make up for how miserable I was, and it worked for the most part. I mean, I had the means, so why shouldn’t I? After what Carlyle put me through, everything changed. In an instant. Not because I killed her, but because I realized that was my life— being ordered and stepped on and despised for not being invested in the business.”
“But you’re different now. You’re gentle and warm.” Humming softly, I reached to stroke her cheek, and Lucy covered my palm with hers as her eyes flickered up to mine. “You’re a wonderful man, Mateo.”