Seaside Whispers: Matt Lacroux (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers)

by Melissa Foster

  Chapter Five

  MIRA BOLTED UPRIGHT in her bed and grabbed her phone. Two o’clock? Shit. She’d told herself she’d only sleep for an hour. She hurried into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, listening intently for Hagen and Matt. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a week! She quickly ran a brush through her hair, washed up, put on a little blush so she didn’t scare Matt away, and took care of her bathroom needs. She scrubbed her armpits with a washcloth—a shower would have to wait—and five minutes later, donning a clean sundress and a little perfume, she went in search of her little man.

  And my big man.

  Her mind careened back to their kiss. She could live forever with the memory of that one perfect kiss.

  A breeze swept through the screen door that led to the deck, and she heard Matt’s voice. She peered outside, but didn’t see Matt or Hagen. She crossed the deck and saw them sitting on the dunes side by side—with Serena and Drake. Great. They’d probably already interrogated Matt.

  She crossed the warm sand, hoping they hadn’t completely scared him off—or turned him on, considering Serena looked like Rachel McAdams. Mira and Serena had grown up together, and when her brothers needed someone to temporarily manage the resort, Serena, who was between jobs, had been the perfect choice. She could be tough as nails or sweet as pie, depending on what a situation called for, and unlike most women, she didn’t fawn all over Mira’s handsome brothers. She’d gotten that out of her system when they were teenagers.

  As Mira approached, Serena turned and mouthed, I love him, making Mira even more nervous.

  Hagen jumped to his feet and darted across the sand. “Mommy!” His brown hair stood up every which way, and his normally serious blue eyes—the one physical trait he had of his father’s—were gleaming with joy.

  Matt rose to his feet with a warm and alluring smile, looking even more gorgeous in the light of day than he did last night. His hair was tousled, as if he’d run his hands through it. His cut had scabbed over and a peppering of whiskers had darkened on his chiseled cheeks, adding an edge to his normally clean-cut appearance. The sight of him brought goose bumps to her flesh.

  Hagen launched himself into her arms, pulling her from her reverie.

  “Hi, baby. Did you have fun?” She carried him to where Matt and the others were standing as Hagen chattered on about his slumber party.

  “We had pizza and watched the movie Robots and stayed up until ten o’clock! Matt’s going to make a robot with me. We got all the stuff, and Uncle Drake said he was jealous because no one taught him to make robots when he was my age. I wanted to build a boat, but Matt said I had to wait until he learned some things from Pete. Matt’s going to talk to Pete, and maybe one day we’ll build a boat with Pete’s help. That’s okay, right, Mom? You know Pete. He’s nice, like Matt. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, and guess what?”

  His chirpy voice was music to Mira’s ears. He and Matt were going to make a robot? How? When? Matt was watching Hagen with the sweetest smile she’d ever seen, and her heart melted. “What, baby?”

  “He likes chunky peanut butter like me,” Hagen said proudly.

  “I’ll be sure to stock up.”

  Matt met her gaze and sweet turned to blazing heat. She caught an appreciative grin from Serena and a serious, though approving, look from Drake.

  Hagen wiggled free from her arms and plopped down on the sand with a book. “Me and Matt were reading All About Robots, but Uncle Drake and Serena wanted to talk.”

  Matt leaned in close, eyed Hagen, and stopped short of kissing her cheek, squeezing her hand instead. His thoughtfulness stirred a swarm of butterflies in her stomach.

  “Morning, sunshine,” he said. “Hope you slept okay.”

  “Sunshine!” Hagen giggled. “He called you that at Grayson’s!”

  “I love the nickname,” Serena said. Hugging Mira, she whispered, “Smart, great with Hagen, and I totally approve. If you don’t go out with this man, I might.”

  “No,” Mira said too fast and too loud. Her brother and Matt gave her quizzical looks. “Um, I mean, no thanks, Serena. Matt’s going to take me to get my car.”

  Matt stifled a laugh, but not the knowing grin that told her his ears were buzzing. “Drake and I already picked it up.”

  “Um,” was the brilliant response that popped out of her mouth. You took care of Hagen and picked up my car?

  “Her mind’s still fuzzy from sleep,” Serena said in an attempt to save her.

  Hardly. Lust maybe.

  “Did Hagen do okay?” she asked.

  Hagen called out, “Yes.”

  “He was fine,” Matt reassured her. “I had to let him peek in on you to see that you were really sleeping, and once he did, we got right into guy stuff.”

  Hagen looked up at Matt with a wide smile, and Matt winked. Guy stuff. Hagen obviously loved being included as a guy instead of a boy. She wanted to give Matt a big kiss for that, but that would have to wait until a certain guy wasn’t watching.

  Mira turned her attention to Drake and Serena. At six two, with dark wavy hair and eyes the color of night, both of her brothers were mirror images of the young man their father had once been. Although Rick could be a hothead, Drake had a calm, confident demeanor, much like her son. Except today Hagen seemed like he might burst with excitement over building a robot.

  “Did you guys give Matt the third degree?”

  “Didn’t have to,” Drake said. “I know his brother Pete, and you work for his father. How bad could he be?”

  “Matt’s not bad,” Hagen insisted.

  “Thanks, buddy,” Matt said. “He’s just watching out for your mom, who looks beautiful today, by the way.”

  Wow, good answer.

  Hagen giggled at that, too.

  “I might have asked him a few questions,” Serena admitted. “You know, just standard stuff, like where he lives, what he does for a living, and does he have any hot, single brothers.”

  As if Mira hadn’t already shared all that information with her bestie multiple times over the past few months.

  “I told her I’m the only single one left,” Matt said.

  “Which appears to be debatable,” Serena said under her breath.

  Debatable? No, he’s definitely not available, thank you very much.

  “Matt said you went dancing?” Drake knew what Mira’s life was like—Hagen, work, Hagen, more work—and she could see that he was happy that she’d gone out and had some fun. When he or Rick watched Hagen, she and Serena usually hung out and watched movies, or went out to dinner, but they never went dancing.

  “We did go dancing, and we watched the sunrise.” Thinking about last night, and that magical kiss, she looked at Matt and said, “It was a perfect night, but I slept much longer than I intended to just now. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m glad you got some rest. Hagen and I had a good time.”

  Hagen reached up and took Matt’s hand. “Can we read this now, please?”

  Hagen had taken to Matt instantly last summer, and all the times in between. She was glad nothing had changed.

  “Hey, buddy,” Drake said. “Maybe you should give Matt a break.”

  Her brothers had been her son’s role models since the day he was born, and she wondered if it bothered Drake to see Hagen so taken with Matt. If it did, he wasn’t showing it.

  Matt lowered himself to the sand beside Hagen. “That’s okay. I promised we’d get through what we could before I had to leave. We’ll read one chapter, and then I’ve got to get home and fix my shower. Deal?”

  She’d forgotten about his broken shower. He probably had a million other things to do, too, and yet here he sat with her son, with the patience of a saint.

  Hagen nodded emphatically. “Deal.”

  Drake came to Mira’s side and lowered his voice. “It’s about time you went out and had fun, but next time maybe give me a heads-up?” She and Drake were close, as he’d stepped in as the male
head of household when they’d lost their father. But lately, between the resort renovations and planning the opening of his fifth music store, she and Drake barely had time to catch up. Drake had always been into music. He, Rick, and their friends had formed a band years ago, and still played together. His love of instruments was what led him to open his chain of East Coast music stores, and now that he and Rick had bought the resort, he was on the hunt for a new location.

  Serena rolled her eyes. “Doofus over here saw Matt’s car this morning and his big-brother briefs got all knotted up. I calmed him with the promise of fresh coffee and doughnuts.”

  “Thank you,” Mira said.

  Serena grabbed Drake’s arm and dragged him away. “You guys have fun. This one has to get on the phone with the contractor and raise a little h-e-l-l.”

  “Aw, Serena said a bad word!” Hagen called out.

  “Do you have to be so smart?” Serena teased.

  Hagen grinned. “Mommy says smart boys are the best kind of boys there are.”

  Matt met her gaze, and she swore the earth moved.

  Boy, was Mommy ever right.

  DESPITE HOW TIRED he was, Matt hated leaving Mira and Hagen. He’d forgotten how nice it was to be around an inquisitive child rather than surrounded by adults competing for head of the class. Hagen reminded him of himself as a boy. He’d wanted to know all the details about everything they read, and he seemed to catalog it and think about it, bringing it up long after they’d finished reading. And he knew that was all Mira’s doing. A confident, inquisitive child was the result of strong, loving parenting.

  He stepped from his car and heard, “Matt’s here!”

  Jenna, his sister-in-law, hurried across the quad—the community area between the cottages—with his adorable almost three-year-old niece, Bea, named for their mother, in her arms. Bea looked just like Jenna, with shiny brown hair that curled at the ends, big blue eyes, and even at her young age, a love of organization. She sorted her toys by color like Jenna matched accessories to her outfits.

  Three of Jenna’s sundress-wearing girlfriends, also cottage owners, appeared from different directions, descending upon him like ravenous gossipmongers. Obviously Sky had already spread the news of his night with Mira.

  “Ladies,” he said cautiously.

  “We want the scoop.” Bella, a ballsy blonde who was known for playing pranks and getting to the heart of matters in ten seconds or less, stepped onto the deck.

  “Of course you do.” Matt chuckled.

  Amy, the quietest of the group, poked him in the stomach. “You didn’t come home last night.”

  “Sorry, Mom.”

  Leanna, a feisty brunette jam maker, joined them with her pet labradoodle, Pepper, at her heels. “Hi, Matt.”

  “Hi.” He crouched and loved up Pepper. What on earth made him think he should rent here at gossip central? In ten minutes they will have asked him a hundred questions, and by nightfall half of Wellfleet would know he and Mira had gone out.

  Hm, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.

  “Unca Matt!” Bea reached for him with a toothy grin.

  He lifted his niece into his arms and kissed her chubby cheek. “How’s my favorite girl?”

  Bea giggled and patted his cheeks with her hands. “Can I have a cookie?”

  It seemed like she’d hardly known any words the last time he was home, and it struck him that he’d already missed too much of her life. He didn’t want to be the uncle who missed out on everything. He just wasn’t sure he knew how to step back from the career he’d worked so hard to build, or live a more carefree life like his brothers and sister did. He’d never been a carefree guy, but hell if he hadn’t enjoyed every second of last night. He’d waited almost a year to spend real, meaningful time with Mira and one evening had only whet his appetite.

  He looked at Jenna, who said, “She’s had two already. No more cookies, sweetie.”

  Bea stuck out her lower lip.

  “Aww,” Amy and Matt said in unison.

  “She’s got you wrapped around her little finger, just like she does Pete.” Jenna took pouty Bea from Matt and set her on the deck to play with Pepper. Pepper licked her cheeks, and she squealed with delight.

  Everyone had thought Pete would be a strict father since he was so protective of Jenna and Bea, but when it came to Bea asking for things, he was a pushover. Even after just a few hours with Hagen, Matt could see how easy it would be to want to give a child everything. Hagen was so eager to learn, Matt could have stayed with him all day. That is, if he wouldn’t have toppled over with fatigue.

  He didn’t have the stamina to get into gossip right now, either.

  “You look tired,” Bella observed. “Didn’t you get any sleep last night?”

  “No, as a matter of fact, I didn’t.”

  Their faces lit up with interest. Matt laughed and shook his head. “But not for the reasons you dirty-minded scoundrels think. Jenna, is Pete around?”

  “Yeah. He’s fixing our sink,” Jenna answered.

  Matt headed in the direction of their cottage.

  “Wait,” Jenna called after him. “Why didn’t you get any sleep if you weren’t being a scoundrel?”

  The girls and Pepper trailed behind him as he crossed the quad. He didn’t think they expected an answer, though he knew they’d probably hammer him with questions until he gave them something to talk about.

  He escaped their inquisition and walked into Pete and Jenna’s cottage. His brother popped out from beneath the sink. Joey, his female golden retriever, trotted out of the bedroom with an excited woof.

  “Hey, Pete. I need to talk to you about Dad.” Thinking about his shower, he added, “And I need to borrow some tools.”

  Matt crouched to pet Joey, who slathered his face with doggy kisses.

  Pete wiped his hands on his shorts, eyeing the girls out on the deck. “Sure. What’s up?” He grabbed his toolbox and handed it to Matt. “Take whatever you need.”

  Matt rifled through the tools. “Has anyone talked with Dad about how the store is doing lately? Mira said something about his being unable to compete with big businesses.” Grayson and Parker were in California this week for an event for the children’s foundation Parker started, and Hunter had been swamped with a commissioned piece of artwork for Grunter’s Ironworks, the metalworking business he and Grayson owned. Matt hoped to check in with them soon, but he knew Pete would have heard if there was an issue.

  “I don’t think Grayson or Hunter have, and Sky’s been pretty busy with her tattoo shop, so I doubt she’d be focused on much else. I haven’t, although I know he’s tried cutting prices recently. Is she worried? And more importantly, does she think he’s drinking again?” Pete leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. Their father had fallen into the bottle after their mother died, and though it had taken a long time, Pete had gotten him into rehab, and he’d been clean ever since.

  “No. She didn’t say anything about him drinking. And it was just an offhanded comment about him being too stubborn to admit that there were issues. I’ll talk to her and see what I can find out. I just wanted to see if you had heard anything.” The last thing Matt wanted to do was get involved with his father’s business, but his father had worked his whole life to build Lacroux Hardware for them. He didn’t want to see all his years of hard work and dedication go down the drain because his father didn’t want to face the changing world. His father’s world had changed enough when they’d lost their mother. He didn’t need the business crumbling down around him, too.

  “Sounds good. Let me know if you want me to step in.” Pete’s lips quirked up. “You and Mira, huh? Sky called Jenna bright and early.”

  “I bet she did.” Matt rubbed the ache of fatigue in the back of his neck. “We had a great night. I had forgotten what it was like to…” What? Go out with an amazing woman? Cut loose for a night? Yes, but those weren’t the biggest things he noticed. Usually when he was out, he was on high alert, watchi
ng out for everyone around him, but last night his only concern was Mira, and today he’d felt the same way about Hagen, just as he had each time they’d been together over the past year.

  Pete cleared his throat, as if to remind Matt he was expecting an answer. Joey curled up at his feet with a huff.

  “I had forgotten how it felt to be with someone special,” he finally answered.

  “Maybe you should have taken this sabbatical sooner instead of dicking around with an afternoon together every few months.”

  He’d had a hard time figuring out the right time to take a break from teaching. On top of that, he’d known that spending any extended amount of time with Mira would make it even harder for him to return to the life he was no longer sure he wanted in New Jersey. He’d known he needed to make some big decisions before seeing her again. With his hopes of becoming dean put to rest, he was ready to give his all to the book—and to Mira.

  “I couldn’t have,” he said to Pete. “I had too much to wrap up. Between teaching, overseeing grad students, and my research, I worked every day until I was ready to drop.”

  “Grayson told me about his visit,” Pete said with the older brother fess-up seriousness he’d perfected over the years.