by Vivian Arend
“No. Although, she did stop in at the bank and ask a few questions. The manager contacted me to let me know that everything is still confidential—Helen’s name wasn’t on any of the access forms, and he simply turned her away.”
Jaxi whistled low. “Bet that pissed her off.”
Hope didn’t give a damn. “I mean it, Jaxi. She’s not getting her hands on anything I’ve worked so hard for.”
“You don’t owe her anything. Information or charity.” Jaxi leaned against her side comfortingly.
“But if she does call and try to be polite…” Hope took a swig of her Coke. There was still a ton simmering under the surface in terms of fear and anger. “I hope I’m mature enough to forgive her. It’s hard to overlook how much she’s hurt me, but she is family. She’s the only family I’ve got left.”
“Deal with that later. Wait and see what happens, okay? I hate that you’re tormenting yourself like this. Relax and try to forget her for a bit.”
Hope nodded, her gaze darting into the room and focusing on Matt. He sent the pool balls spinning before standing and laughing with his brothers. He glanced in her direction, and the way he stared made her heart leap unevenly—the slightly lopsided smile with one side of his mouth quirked up in the corner. As if he had all sorts of interesting ideas running through his brain when he looked at her.
“Relaxing, I can work on.” Hope gave Jaxi a quick squeeze before nudging her with a hip. “Let me out. I have some distracting to do.”
Jaxi moved over to the next table where more Coleman cousins sat shooting the breeze. Hope nonchalantly adjusted her T-shirt, tugging the neckline downward to strategically expose a bit more cleavage before pacing over to the pool tables.
Matt leaned over the pool table, his ass toward her as he bent forward. She was tempted to keep walking until she could slap both hands against his butt to enjoy his muscles flexing in the palms of her hands. Before she could make it all the way there, though, he’d taken his shot and turned, his grin widening as he caught a glimpse of her.
Hope let her hips swing a little extra as she approached.
“Oh, sweetheart. You keep moving like that and Matt’s gonna have a fight on his hands keeping you to himself.” Travis leaned a hip on the table, his gaze running over her body.
The brother standing closest to him, Blake, poked Travis in the shoulder. “Cool it, Casanova. I don’t want anyone else in our family traumatized while at this pool hall.”
Matt turned his sexy grin in Hope’s direction. “Now, Blake. You really think any woman’s crazy enough to pick Travis over me?”
“Rub it in, why don’t you?” Travis grumbled.
There was something almost sad in his tone, and impulsively Hope went right up to his side and hugged him. He tightened for a second before squeezing back. His whispered thanks brushed past her ear, and she winked as he let her free.
A loud, exaggerated sigh rose from Matt. “Sure. Give him a hug before me. I’m gonna get a complex.”
“Just making the crowd jealous, that’s all.” Travis twirled her to face Matt. “That’s my admirers, I’m talking about, by the way. It’s always good for them to see a pretty girl in my arms and know they ain’t the only one wanting a piece of me.”
“Then since you’ve usually got a woman hanging somewhere over you, you must have quite the jealous following.” Daniel shook his head. “You and the twins. I’m waiting eagerly for you all to meet your match someday.”
“Someday. But for now?” Travis waggled his brows and picked up his beer from the edge of the table, raising it in a toast in Hope’s direction.
While she’d been watching the interplay between the boys, Matt had stepped to her side. He took her hand and pulled her against his body, speaking quietly.
“You made him happier than you know. Travis talks big, but sometimes I think he’s a hell of a lot more lonely than he lets on.” The smile on Matt’s face reassured her. He tucked his knuckles under her chin and lifted her lips to his kiss. A slow, heated exchange followed that increased her pulse to a rocking tempo. A leg slipped between her thighs as he brought them closer, and she hummed happily.
“How’s the game going?” she asked.
Matt shrugged, all his attention on her. “Who cares?”
He would have kissed her again, but she ducked away, slipping up the room toward the pool cues. “I care. I figure if you’re losing, I can convince the guys to let me play instead of you.”
Daniel laughed, holding forward his cue stick. “You want to take over for someone, you can play for me. I’d be happy to take a breather and see how Beth is doing.”
“Hey. That means she’s not on my team,” Matt complained.
Travis scooted forward to take Hope’s hand in his and lift it to his lips. “You and I will kick their asses.”
He winked saucily before kissing her knuckles. Matt growled in the background and Hope laughed out loud. Travis was so obviously pulling Matt’s strings, she returned the flirt’s smile. “Ass kicking, beginning now.”
The game was lighthearted and fun. Hope enjoyed the banter among the brothers, Blake and Travis and Matt all giving each other hell as they played. By the time they’d nearly finished three games, she wasn’t sure if her stomach could take much more laughing. “You’re supposed to be concentrating on the game. Give me a break.”
Matt dropped the final ball for him and Blake, and won the deciding matchup. “Diversion works wonders. Now if you’d been ignoring us and snickering a little less, you might have won.”
She stepped back against him and snuggled in as he draped an arm over her shoulders. “Winning isn’t everything.”
Travis tapped her on the nose. “What kind of dream world you living in? Winning is everything.”
Matt batted his brother’s hand away good-naturedly. Hope sighed with contentment. It was so nice to enjoy an evening out with people who didn’t have an agenda.
Travis straightened up from his relaxed slouch and excused himself, heading for the front doors of the bar like his ass was on fire. She followed his gaze, but didn’t see anything that should have made him move that quickly.
Then Matt distracted her by turning her back to the wall and leaning in close, lifting her chin and working his way over her lips as if he was determined to make her legs collapse. The heat of his torso pressed against her, and she relaxed back, luxuriating in his touch.
“Damn it.” Blake’s growl pulled her back to earth. “Bad enough I have to put up with Jaxi talking about you lovebirds all the time. Do you have to do that here?”
Matt didn’t take his eyes off hers. “I think I need to do this just about everywhere. You got any objections, Hope?”
She shook her head. “Hell, no.”
“Guess my brother is out of luck. Sorry, Blake. The show continues.”
Hope laughed but slipped a hand between them to cover his mouth. “Except, I need to go to the washroom.”
Matt sighed and backed away. “I’ll be at the table. You want another Coke?”
Hope nodded then scooted down the back hall to where the bathrooms were. This was wonderful. Just a relaxing evening out. No deadlines hanging over her head. Plus, the lack of interference from her sister seemed to imply Helen was coming to grips with reality.
Life was pretty damn wonderful.
And now that they’d dealt with that stupid hesitation of Matt’s to being the kind of man he wanted to be in the bedroom—there was the potential for things to get even better. They’d shared a ton of good sex in the past few days—rocking-good sex where Matt made her more than glad she’d shared regarding her fantasy lover.
She exited the ladies room and paused. Out of the corner of her eye she’d caught movement. Pressed against the far wall beside the fire exit she spied a couple in pretty much the same position she and Matt had just enjoyed. A tall figure with a short crew cut leaned one hand on the wall, the other hand caught in his partner’s hair. Hope peered through the darkness and
hesitated. She had no intention of interrupting—especially not when the top kisser rocked his hips slowly. A shot of something wild and sensual flashed through her. Hmm. She snuck deeper into the shadows, the need to allow them piracy forgotten as she watched and listened.
Then the couple twisted slightly sideways and a jolt went clear through to her toes. The man with the jet-black hair had complete control over the person smeared up against the wall. And from the square jawline with the five o’clock shadow, the kissee was definitely masculine.
It was two men locked together and Hope’s heart skipped a beat at the raw passion. The edgy, almost violent motion between them. A long, low masculine groan rang out as their hips ground together. The dim lighting didn’t allow her to see their faces clearly, which was probably a good thing. Hope forced herself to retreat, peeling her gaze away. Watching could become a bad habit if she let it. She made her way back to the table, tingles of excitement still simmering in her system.
Good thing she was headed toward Matt, who she knew could do something definitive about her sexual tension.
Matt slipped away from the gathering to start his truck so it would warm up before they headed to Hope’s. She had to open the shop early while he was off morning chores this weekend, and it made more sense to crash at the apartment.
He grinned to think that he got to consider such things. Where they would sleep, whose bed, which home. It was a neat stage to be at in their relationship—comfortable and exciting at the same time. He hit the john before turning toward the main room. A solid grasp on his arm jerked him to a stop, and he twisted to face his attacker.
Helen’s bright blue eyes shone in the faint hall light.
Matt jerked his sleeve from her fingers. “What?”
She snorted. “So much for the legendary Coleman politeness. Nice to see you again too.”
He stepped back a foot and looked her over quickly. Her outfit was far more revealing than it used to be when they dated, and the neckline seemed to be unevenly buttoned. “You want something?”
Because there wasn’t much he wanted to talk to her about.
“Just thought we could visit for a minute or two. It’s been a long time, and we didn’t get to discuss much the other night. I figured I’d find you around here. Colemans’ traditional Friday night meeting at Traders, and all that.”
Now she admitted she knew about the family traditions? He waited. The way she dropped her shoulders—her entire body language—was far from the confident, almost demanding woman he’d been with over a year ago.
She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “I’ve missed you.”
A shot of pain stabbed him, not in his heart, but in his gut. If she’d come back a month after leaving—or even six months later and looked at him like this? Confessed that same thing? He would have given her a chance. Would have tried to find a way to forgive her for cheating on him.
But too much time had passed and it was no longer enough. He’d moved on, and all her confession did was make him sad.
“Sounds as if you had a lot of time to think.” Matt leaned on the wall, his arms crossed in front of him. Putting up a barrier between them that was far smaller than the ones she’d shoved into place.
Her gaze fixed on his mouth. “About a lot of things. About how good you and I were together. Matt, this past year, not having you in my life? God, it was tough.”
He didn’t want to listen anymore. “It was tough for a while for me too, but things change. It gets better. Give it time, you’ll figure it out.”
“Matt, I want to get back together with you.”
The burst of laughter couldn’t be stopped. “You’re fucking kidding me, right? Or are you drunk again like at New Year’s?”
He was trapped in the back hallway of a bar with the woman he’d loved for most of his adult life before she’d taught him to hate. And only recently, he’d learned to forget.
She stepped against him, slipped her hands around his waist and dropped her head on his chest. “Not drunk. I love you, Matt. I always did.”
This was not happening. Matt grabbed her upper arms and peeled her off. She had to let go unless she wanted to actually cling as he forced her away. “Oh, no. Don’t you dare. You’re not actually doing this…”
Helen tilted her head to the side, tears shining in her eyes. “But it’s true. It just took me a while to understand. I mean it. You always wanted me to say it. I can tell you now. I love you. I want to be with you.”
My God, this was some kind of nightmare. Matt backed down the hall, trying to escape as she swung from smiling and seductive into a weeping mess. “Damn it. What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re the one who ripped us apart last year. You left, Helen. Not me. And even if by some strange chance we had called it off together, did you really think you could just waltz back in and we’d be a couple again? You’re crazy.”
He turned on his heel and walked away. There was nothing more he had to say. Nothing she could say that he wanted to hear.
“Because you’re with Hope? What did you do? Go looking for her as soon as I left town?”
Matt kept walking.
“She’s not going to make you happy. Acting as if she’s some princess of the country. She’s just using you to get back at me…”
Helen raised her voice to a near shout. Matt paused at the entrance to the main room. From his vantage point, his entire family was visible. The girls gathered in a tight group, laughing and smiling as they eyed the guys at the tables. His brothers shooting the breeze and kicking back after a full day of labour. The kind of country living Helen had refused to see as valuable. The love and family she’d turned her back on at every chance.
Matt twisted to face her. “You trying to convince me your sister is pulling a fast one?”
The calculating expression spread, Helen’s eyes brightening. “She was so damn proud the first time you guys got together, she emailed me, gloating she’d finally gotten another thing I used to have. It wasn’t enough that she got the business and the apartment. She went after everything I had in my life.”
Weariness settled around Matt’s shoulders like a blanket of snow. The complaints were familiar—Helen often had something negative to say about Hope. For years he’d listened with only half an ear whenever she’d moaned about her younger sister receiving special attention, thinking it was typical family grumbles. Like him and Daniel poking that the twins got off easy being the youngest in the family—nothing serious, nothing more than a temporary protest. Now? Blinders fell from his eyes. She really did want him to think evil of Hope.
Still, he’d give her the rope she so obviously wanted just to let her well and truly show her colours. “Why would she do that?”
Helen stepped toward him unsteadily, and he wondered again if she was drunk in spite of there being no scent of liquor. She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Hope’s jealous. You know that—she’s always been jealous of me. Remember when we were young? She always managed to get the best of everything from my parents. Spoiled and greedy. She’s the same now as then.”
Matt watched as Helen placed a hand on his arm and rubbed her fingers over his biceps. “I remember you complaining.”
She nodded. “See? She doesn’t care about you.”
The sour taste in Matt’s mouth was enough to make him ill. A profound sadness settled over him. There was no depth that Helen would not stoop to. One deception after another. And like he and Jaxi had spoken about—Helen had chosen her path.
She wanted a war? She’d get one.
Matt laid a hand over hers and stopped her from caressing his skin. The optimism in her eyes—did she really think he was that gullible? Some country hick willing to swallow any story? To go from saying she loved him to trying to ruin his relationship with Hope?
When he pulled her hand off and dropped it as if he’d held a dead mouse, her sparkling confidence clouded.
“If Hope has the best of anything, it’s because she’s wo
rked for it. She deserves her happiness. The business, the apartment. After you left she put in the time and made it happen.”
Helen’s right eye twitched. “You fell for her lies. She used money that should have belonged to both of—”
“I don’t know the financial details, and I don’t care. I’ve heard enough and seen enough to know that when it comes down to who I trust, you have nothing to stand on. Hope says you don’t own any of the Stitching Post? I believe her.”
Helen lifted her chin, “And what about me being in love with you? How convenient that she’s with you, at least for now.”
Matt shook his head. “You don’t love me. You never did.”
“Neither does she.”
“This conversation is over. I think it’s best if you don’t bother to try to talk to me again.”
“She’s not the pristine and pure thing you think she is.” The words burst out like a gunshot.
Images of Hope wrapping herself around him and accepting his nearly violent lovemaking raced through his brain. Pure? Pure heaven. “None of your business.”
“Remember what she did for a living while she was in school. She stripped, Matt. She did all kinds of things to the guys. Hell, I bet she was fucking a dozen of them a night all through college.”
This had gone beyond stupid. “You know what, Helen? You’re not getting it. What you and I had is over and gone. What Hope and I have is here and now. For all I care she could have fucked half the college and all the profs. But I doubt very much she did because that’s not the kind of woman she is.”
Helen laughed, a dark, dirty sound. “That’s what you think. Who did you think I got the idea to ask you for the ménage from?”
The stab of pain returned, harder than before, but none of the agony was connected to Hope—all the blame landed firmly on the shoulders of the woman in front of him.
He was a stupid ass for having stayed to listen in the first place. But now that she’d tried to poison his life again, he was going to have his own say.
“Helen, you broke my damn heart, but you taught me a lesson I needed to learn. I can’t make someone love me. For years you refused to say the words, and now I’m glad, because I don’t think you ever did love me. And what I felt for you—well, it might have been a kind of love, almost a practice for the real thing. Whether I’ve got that now or not you’ll have to watch from the outside because you’re not welcome around me. Hope can decide if she wants you around her, but—”