He only hoped Aaron would be agreeable. Matt had a feeling that given the chance, Vivienne would love to have this whole thing over with. And maybe because Matt had no siblings, he didn’t fully understand the dynamics, but it almost seemed as if they considered it a weakness to be the one to apologize first. So fine, he’d be the one to do it.
Again.
With a sense of purpose, he walked back to the kitchen and pulled out the folder of takeout menus Vivienne had. Chinese. Italian. Sushi. Burgers. Chicken. He sighed, trying to figure out what it was that he was even in the mood for. He knew Chinese was a favorite for both Aaron and Vivienne, so he opted for that—one less thing for everyone to argue about. So now he knew what he wanted to order and when he had to order it, all he had to do was wait.
He considered Aaron again and wondered if he should go over there first and invite him to dinner, but then thought better of it. Less of a chance for him to get turned down if he showed up with the food already in his hands.
So he’d wait.
With nothing left to do, he sat on the couch and decided to play solitaire on his phone. He had just swiped the screen when it rang—and he nearly jumped out of his skin.
Riley.
“Hey, buddy! What’s up?”
“Finally had some time to sit and think and wanted to give you a call and just say thanks for coming and seeing the show last weekend.”
Matt laughed. “It was amazing, Ry. Seriously. And thank you for letting me be a part of it. I didn’t expect that, but it was great.”
“Yeah, well, I knew if I pushed, you’d decline, so I figured I’d better just throw it at you in a way you couldn’t turn down.”
“I’m glad you did. I had almost forgotten how much I love to play for an audience like that. I still don’t think I’ve come down from the high it gave me.”
Riley chuckled. “That’s good. That’s good. So, listen. What would you think about doing a couple of more shows like that with me as I finish out the tour? We could test the waters, generate some buzz?”
“Are you serious?”
“I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t.”
“What does Mick think?”
That had Riley laughing again. “This has nothing to do with Mick or anyone except the two of us. I enjoyed playing with you. I loved having you up on the stage next to me. You always inspire me, and as much as I’ve been loving this tour and loving the new music, it’s not the same. I was starting to feel burned out and just wanted the damn tour to be over, and then there you were and it invigorated me.”
“Dude, I felt the same way—invigorated, I mean.” Matt sighed, raking a hand through his hair as his heart beat wildly in his chest. It would be amazing to do some light touring, get his feet wet again, and have the chance to start working with Riley again—and laying the groundwork for a future Shaughnessy project was like a dream come true.
“Think about it,” Riley said, interrupting his thoughts. “It would be for maybe only ten shows, and it would only be a three- or four-song set, but I really think it could work and be a lot of fun. And you know the fans would love it.”
“Can you send me the tour schedule? Let me see the dates and the cities because I’d have to work out my travel itinerary. There would be—”
“We’d have someone handle it on our end so that you were with us. It would just be a matter of you flying out to meet us. What about your guitars? I know we threw this all at you the other night, and you had to use someone else’s stuff. You’re going to want your own guitars, I’m sure.”
“There are so many guitars that I only took the necessities to New York with me,” he murmured more to himself than Riley. Then he cursed. “I hadn’t even thought about that stuff in so damn long. I’m sure I can get someone to get a couple of them out for me and ship them to the first stop.”
“I’m sure Mick can help us out with that. Are you cool with me talking to him about this?”
“I don’t have a problem with it. Do you think he’s going to? You know, have a problem?”
“Like I said, Matt, it’s not his call. This show, this tour, was my baby. And it was starting to feel a little stale, a little flat. I want to inject some life back into it, and that means bringing you on.”
“Wow…Riley. I…I don’t even know what to say. How to thank you.”
“For what? Matt, we’ve been playing together since the beginning. I wasn’t the one who wanted it to end, if you’ll remember.”
Matt sighed loudly. “No one wanted it to end. We all just needed a break.” Then he laughed. “And you can see how well that’s worked out for some of us. So feel free to do the ‘I told you so’ dance when we’re all back together.”
“You can count on it.” Matt listened as Riley started talking to someone in the background before coming back on the line. “Would you be able to meet me in Dallas on Saturday?”
“Saturday?” The last thing he was expecting was a date so soon. “That’s only five days from now. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get all my shit together and shipped out there that fast.”
“I know it’s soon and if you can’t, I’ll completely understand. Talk to Vivienne and see—”
“I will, I will, but…yeah. I want to do this. I’ll be there on Saturday. No worries. Just send me the calendar and itinerary and all that, and I’ll talk to Mick about my stuff in LA.”
“Yes!” Riley cried. “You have no idea how excited I am about this.”
“I am too. Definitely! This is going to be like old times.”
“Only better, my friend. Only better!”
“I’ll see you on Saturday,” Matt said, grinning from ear to ear. “Let the party begin!” He hung up as he stood up, mentally high-fiving himself. This was more than he’d hoped for because Riley had approached him rather than the other way around.
Looking at his watch, he figured he’d go out and pick up some champagne to celebrate, and he’d call in their dinner order while he was out and about. With a hearty laugh and a definite spring in his step, he walked to the door and scooped up Vivienne’s car keys. “I’m back!” he called out, unable to hide his excitement.
And he had no idea Vivienne was standing in the shadows or that she’d heard any of it.
* * *
Matt was leaving.
Everything in Vivienne went cold and numb.
Her conference call had wrapped up much faster than she’d thought, and when she heard Matt on the phone, she had tried to be quiet so as not to disturb him. Then she’d heard him talking about leaving and she had frozen in place.
It was almost too much to comprehend. Her heart hurt and tears stung her eyes. All this time she’d been telling herself not to get attached, not to get her hopes up, and yet…he had made her believe. Everything Matt had been telling her made her believe he was staying with her and that they were going to build a future together.
Like a zombie, she walked to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine and then went to sit on the couch.
Why? Why would he do this without talking to her? She knew how much he enjoyed playing with Riley last weekend, but was that enough for him to…leave her? It killed her to think his music meant more to him than she did.
Hard to argue with the truth when you were slapped in the face with it, she thought and felt a fresh wave of pain wash over her. She took a long sip of her wine before placing the glass down on the coffee table. The trembling began as she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. And then came the tears.
“No,” she cried softly. “I’m not ready for this yet.” And even as she said the words out loud, she could still hear Matt’s in her mind, talking about staying here with her. Talking about them living together. Making plans. “It’s not fair.” She shook her head and let it fall forward.
She never heard the knock on th
e door.
Never heard it open and close.
The next thing she knew, Aaron was sitting beside her wrapping her in his arms. “Hey,” he said softly. “What’s going on? What happened?”
Releasing her hold on her knees, she reached out and launched herself into his arms as she told him about the conversation she’d overheard. When she was done, she lifted her head and tried to wipe away the tears. “I don’t want him to go.”
Aaron’s face was completely neutral. “So you haven’t talked to him about this yet?”
She shook her head. “Like I said, I was on a conference call when he got his call, and I guess he didn’t want to bother me.” She took another swipe at her tears. “Do you…do you think I misunderstood him?”
With a sigh, Aaron pulled back. “Viv, you know this is what he does, right?”
Now it was her turn to put even more distance between them before she jumped to her feet. “Seriously? You’re going to start this again? Why can’t you just be my brother right now?” she cried. “Why can’t you simply try and be supportive? Do you think now is the time to tear Matt down to me?”
Slowly Aaron came to his feet. “What I meant—before you jump to any more conclusions—was that he travels for a living.” Then he waited for her to catch on. “He’s a musician, Vivienne. In a band. A band that tours. Why are you suddenly so surprised by this?”
She swallowed hard and tried to collect her thoughts. “Because this wasn’t on the agenda,” she finally said. “We had talked about this being a possibility—down the road! I didn’t expect him to pack his things the second he got the call or to do it without talking to me first!”
“You just said he thought you were on the phone,” Aaron argued and for a minute he seemed shocked that he was defending Matt. He raked a hand through his hair in frustration and let out a growl to go with it. “Look, maybe he planned on talking to you over dinner but he had to give whoever it was on the phone an answer right away. If you told Matt not to go, I’m sure he’d call them back and cancel.” He paused and studied her. “Is that what you want?”
“Yes,” she said instantly and then paused. “I mean…no. I mean—”
“Viv,” he quickly interrupted. “Stop and think before you do anything. If your relationship with Matt is as solid as you think it is, it should be able to withstand him doing his job. And believe me, it pains me to even say this but…I think you need to hear him out.”
She seemed to sag with defeat. “But what if—?”
Aaron shook his head. “I’m not saying you don’t have a right to be upset. You do. But you need to talk to Matt and listen to him and find out why he didn’t talk to you first.” Then he turned and put more distance between them before starting to pace.
“Aaron?”
He turned his head and looked at her, and for the first time, he showed signs of irritation. “I’m trying to do the right thing here, Viv. I’m trying to be supportive.”
“But?”
He stopped pacing and slapped his hands down at his side. “What is it that you want from me? You want the supportive big brother? I did that.”
“I know you did, and I’m thankful for it, but I can tell you’ve got more on your mind. I hate how things have been strained the last couple of weeks. I’ve missed you.” She walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. “But I also need you to be honest with me. I may not like what you have to say, but we’ve never lied to one another.”
He looked down at her and his expression went from irritated to compassionate to wary. “This is all the stuff I was afraid of.”
“What?” she gently urged.
“I know Matt’s lifestyle. I know he thinks he’s happy right now, but it was only going to be a matter of time before he got restless. It just happened sooner than I thought. When I talked to him last week—”
“Wait. You talked to him last week? He didn’t mention that.”
Guilt was written all over his face before he looked away.
“Aaron? What happened? What did he say to you?”
“If Matt didn’t talk to you about it, there’s probably a good reason. And again, I think the two of you need to talk when he gets back.” He paused. “He is coming back, right?”
Panic had her by the throat for a second before she remembered their earlier conversation. “I asked him to go and pick up dinner for us before I got on my call. He’s just out getting it. He’ll be back.”
“Oh. Okay.”
It was his quiet acceptance, oddly enough, that made her snap. “I want you to tell me what the two of you talked about last week.”
“Viv—”
“No!” she cut him off. “I’m serious. If it had gone well, the two of you would be talking again. But you’re not. That tells me you argued some more and I want to know why! Spill it, Aaron!”
He walked over and sat back down on the sofa and looked up at her sadly. “Matt came over to see me. He made the first move to make things right. Only…I wasn’t ready to deal with it. I told him he wasn’t good enough for you, that I knew he didn’t have staying power, and that I particularly knew he didn’t want to stay here in town and make a life for the two of you.”
She groaned as she listened and sat down on the opposite end of the sofa.
Aaron gave a helpless shrug. “I told him I didn’t believe he was serious, so he asked me what it would take to see that he was being honest.”
“And what did you tell him?” she asked with annoyance, unable to believe the two men who meant the most to her in the world were being so damn stubborn with one another.
“I told him he needed to deal with his father, that he needed to go and see him and put that ghost to rest.”
Vivienne immediately jumped to her feet. “You did what?” she yelled. “Are you out of your damn mind? Why would you do that? Why would you even suggest such a thing?”
“Don’t you see?” he yelled back. “His father is the reason he never came home! He’s the reason he doesn’t want to be here. How the hell do you expect to have a life with him here if he can’t move on from that part of his life?”
“Who the hell are you to tell him that he even has to? And you of all people, who knows most of what he went through at the hands of that man, should never ask such a thing of him.”
“I had…” Aaron stopped and looked at her oddly. “What do you mean I know most of what he went through?”
She was beyond furious with her brother. And Matt. It boggled her mind that this had all transpired a week ago and Matt hadn’t mentioned it to her. Clearly he wasn’t big on sharing things, something she was going to talk to him about when the two of them were alone later.
“Do you remember the story you told me? The one about the last time Matt saw his father?”
“The night of the big fight? Of course I do.”
“Well, you don’t know everything,” she said snidely and picked up her forgotten glass of wine and finished it.
“What are you talking about?” he snapped, his irritation clearly rising.
“It wasn’t just a fight that night. His father held a gun to his head and threatened to kill him,” she said, pleased by the shocked look on his face. Nodding, she stepped in close to him and repeated the story Matt had told her. “So think about that. Would you want to go and make peace with the twisted psychopath who threatened to kill you?”
Aaron paled. “Holy shit,” he hissed. “Matt never said a word… That night…I asked him what had happened, but he never said…” Then he groaned.
“He still has nightmares about it, Aaron,” she said, some of her anger ebbing. “Not that long ago he told me he’d stay here—for me. But maybe it was all too much. With you pressuring him and all the memories…” She sat back down on the sofa and felt the tears building again. “It’s no wonder he jumped at the first opportunity to lea
ve.”
She looked over as Aaron sat beside her. Vivienne rested her head on his shoulder.
“You still don’t know that for sure,” he said softly. “We don’t know the whole story.”
With a huff, she shifted, pulling her legs up to curl against her. “I hate waiting.”
That made Aaron chuckle.
“Yeah. I know. But he’s just getting dinner. He’ll be back soon.”
* * *
“Small-town living at its finest,” Matt murmured as he scanned the small liquor store for a bottle of decent champagne. It had been a while since he’d had to do this for himself, and now that he thought about it, he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for. Deciding on the most expensive one he could find, he grabbed the bottle and walked up to the counter to pay.
“Oh my gosh,” the guy behind the counter said with a big grin. “You’re Matty Reed!”
Panic hit Matt for a second as he realized he wasn’t wearing a hat or glasses or anything to cover up who he was. And then it hit him—he didn’t need to. He was okay. Everything was going to be okay. The story of him playing onstage with Riley had hit the papers, and there was no mention to his Broadway failure—only praise for the amazing show they’d put on. Putting a smile on his face, he reached out to shake the kid’s hand. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
“Oh man, this is so freaking cool! No one is going to believe this!” He fumbled around for a minute before pulling out his phone. “Would you mind taking a selfie with me?”
“No problem,” Matt replied. “Why don’t you come around the counter so we can get a good shot?”
The kid jumped the counter and immediately put his arm around Matt and had the camera angled for the shot. Once he was done, he thanked Matt profusely, making Matt laugh.
“Are you sure you’re old enough to work here?”
“I get that a lot. I’m Andrew, by the way,” he said, still grinning from ear to ear.
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