Sunset In Central Park

by Sarah Morgan

  Frankie opened her mouth to explain her predicament and then saw Matt and Jake stroll toward the entrance of the restaurant, deep in conversation.

  Her stomach did a flip.

  Her knees shook so badly she was relieved she was sitting down. She wasn’t ready to see him yet. She hadn’t worked out what she was going to say or how she was going to handle it. “Forget it. Change the subject.” She made a grab for a glass of water. Her hand shook, spilling it across the table.

  The puddle slowly spread and Paige held out her hand to Eva. “I need that napkin.”

  “No way! Use your own napkin. Mine is about to make the journey to Lapland. It’s going to change my life.”

  “Hello, beautiful.” Jake slid into the booth next to Paige, took her face in his hands and gave her a long, slow kiss. “I missed you today.”

  Paige smiled up at him, pools of water and napkins forgotten.

  “Ugh.” Eva covered her eyes with her hand. “Please, spare a thought for the rest of us who haven’t had sex since dinosaurs walked on the planet.”

  Matt slid into the seat next to Frankie.

  She held herself rigid, hardly daring to breathe.

  Being near him shouldn’t make her this nervous, should it?

  She felt the hard length of his thigh against hers and tried to shift away, but she was already pressed up against the wall and had nowhere to go.

  “We interrupted your conversation.” Matt reached for the menu. “Eva, what were you saying about sex with dinosaurs?”

  “Since dinosaurs, not with dinosaurs. My preference is for sex with humans, but that hasn’t happened in a long time. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s depressing. And anyway, Frankie was just telling us she’s in trouble.”

  Frankie shot her friend a quelling glare. “Forget it!”

  “Why are you giving me that look? We’re all friends here. If we can talk about me having sex with dinosaurs, we can talk about you being in trouble. It’s only Matt, and sometimes it’s helpful to have a male perspective on things.”

  Not this time.

  “You’re in trouble, Frankie?” Matt closed the menu without looking at it. “What sort of trouble?”

  Damn the man. He knew exactly what her trouble was. “I’m not in trouble.”

  Eva frowned. “But you said—”

  “It was nothing! Forget it.”

  “So here’s my male perspective—” Matt pressed his thigh against hers. “It’s a mistake to turn your back on a problem, or run from it.”

  Her mouth dried. “Why?”

  “Because it’s going to follow you. That problem is just going to keep right on treading on your heels, so you might as well turn and face it.”

  She faced him and saw the wicked gleam in his eyes.

  Her insides melted. He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen. “I tend to black the eye of problems that follow me.”

  “That’s good. Confront it.” His gaze was locked on hers and she felt her heart rate increase.

  “What if the problem refuses to go away?”

  “Maybe it’s not a problem. Maybe the problem is that you’re scared.”

  “What?” Eva looked baffled. “I have no idea what the two of you are talking about. Can we order before I die of starvation?”

  Matt transferred his gaze from Frankie to Eva. “For a woman who never has sex, you have a healthy appetite.”

  “Sex isn’t the only form of exercise on the planet, you know.”

  Frankie wished everyone would stop talking about sex. Between that and the searing heat in Matt’s gaze, she was ready to combust.

  Fortunately, Maria arrived at their table to take their order and the conversation moved on to more general things.

  On the surface it was a normal Friday night, but under the surface there was a new tension. And there was Matt’s thigh, pressed against hers. Solid muscle.

  He reached across and helped himself to bread. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled back, revealing strong forearms. His skin was bronzed from the sun and dusted by dark hairs.

  She imagined those hands on her skin, slow and skilled. Patient.

  She imagined those hands holding her face steady as he kissed her.

  Oh God, she wanted him to kiss her so badly, which made no sense at all because she’d never even enjoyed kissing much. Her mind always wandered and she ended up thinking about plants or books.

  “How’s Roxy getting on?” Paige reached for her drink. “Is the childcare working out?”

  “Thanks to you. She’s coping well. They gave her a friendly rate, didn’t they?”

  “We’re putting a lot of work their way,” Paige said. “They were happy to help. By the way, that dog-walking business you recommended, The Bark Rangers, is brilliant. I met the twins and they’re great, although I will never be able to tell them apart in a million years.”

  “Glad it’s working out.” Matt was calm and relaxed. “I’ll let Dan know next time I see him.”

  Frankie was relieved by the change of subject.

  Somehow she stumbled through the rest of the meal but then Matt suggested gathering on the roof terrace for drinks and a movie.

  She needed space, and he wasn’t giving her any. Every time she tried to inch away from him he was right there.

  They finished their meal and the general agreement was that they’d go back to the roof terrace and watch a movie, but Frankie bowed out.

  “I have work to do.” As Matt was the one who had given her the work, he couldn’t exactly argue with that. And he couldn’t exactly abandon Jake and the others. “You guys go ahead without me.”

  That was her plan, but when they arrived back at the brownstone they shared, Paige and Eva didn’t follow Matt and Jake up to the roof terrace. Instead, they stood on either side of Frankie like bookends.

  “It’s time we talked.” Eva took the keys out of Frankie’s hand and let herself into the apartment.

  “I think I’m best left alone tonight.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone. I’m not good with tension. It unsettles me and keeps me awake and I’m horrid when I’m tired.” Eva pushed open the door and toed off her shoes. She had an enviable ability to instantly make herself at home anywhere.

  “Why are you tense?”

  “Not me, you. You’re the one who is tense. And we want to know what’s happening between you and Matt.”

  Frankie froze in the doorway. “Nothing is happening.”

  Paige pushed her inside. “Have the two of you had a fight?”

  “No! Why would you even think that?”

  “You were scratchy with him.”

  “Scratchy?”

  “Yes. You made Claws look warm and friendly in comparison.” Eva pushed the door closed, trapping her inside. “Do you have any wine in your fridge?”

  “Why? I was going to work and then read my book—”

  “Tough. Your book can wait. I’m not leaving until we’ve sorted this out.” Eva made straight for the kitchen and Frankie looked pleadingly at Paige, who shrugged.

  “I agree with her. You were scratchy. What’s going on? Is it hard working together?”

  “No! And I’ve never had a fight with Matt.”

  Eva popped her head around the kitchen door. “You’ve never worked with him before. Everything changes once you work with someone. And Matt can be as controlling as Paige. Everything has to be done his way. Is he driving you insane?”

  “I’m not controlling,” Paige protested, and then pulled a face when they both looked at her. “Well, maybe I am. A little. But in a good way. Because I like things the way I like them.”

  Frankie cut them off. “There’s nothing going on and there’s nothing weird. We work well together. He’s smart and creative and—” she shrugged “—we’re a pretty good team.” They were a far better team than she could possibly have envisaged. Not only because Matt was easy to work with, but because they were naturally in tune with each other’s ideas. When it came to
garden design, they had similar taste.

  “So what’s the problem?”

  Should she tell them? Yes, because she had no idea how to handle this. “I think he likes me.” Saying it sent adrenaline shooting around her body. Her heart flew, like a leaf caught up in the wind.

  “Of course he likes you. You’ve been friends for years, and—” Paige’s eyes widened. “Oh. You mean he likes you.”

  “I knew it. Let’s drink to that.” Eva poured the wine, her expression triumphant. “He’s taking things to the next level. He’s had enough of being friends. He wants more. Holy crap. This is exciting. I may not ever have sex again, but it’s good to know that my two best friends are.”

  “Wait! Stop!” Frankie lifted her hand. “We’re not taking anything to the next level. There won’t be any sex!”

  Paige handed her a glass of wine. “You told me you find him attractive.”

  “Matt is a friend. We’ve been friends for years. He respects my work.” It sounded lame, even to her. “He respects me.”

  “You’re worried he wouldn’t respect you if your relationship changed?”

  “I know he wouldn’t. I don’t want his opinion of me to change.”

  “Why would it?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? Look at me!”

  Eva curled up on the sofa. “I’m looking. I see an attractive, confident professional woman whose major flaw is her inability to comprehend that diet Coke is not a healthy breakfast.”

  “If you think that’s my major flaw then you haven’t been paying attention. There is no way, no way, I would ever get involved with Matt!”

  “Why not? The guy is smoking hot.” Eva shot an apologetic look at Paige. “Sorry. Is that weird?”

  “No.” Calm, Paige reached for her wine. “It would only be weird if I found him smoking hot.”

  “It’s not him, it’s me!” Couldn’t they see that? “Can you imagine what would happen if Matt unzipped my sweatshirt? All my baggage would tumble out. He’d be flattened under the avalanche of issues I keep hidden inside these clothes. Buried alive.” All her hang-ups, her inadequacies, her tension—it would be right there in his hands and she’d never be able to look him in the eye again.

  “He knows about the glasses already,” Paige pointed out.

  “Yes, but there are other things. Bigger things. And he doesn’t know about those.”

  And neither did they, because she’d never told them. And she never would. That was one deeply embarrassing episode of her life she intended to bury deep.

  Eva stood up. “Forget wine. This situation needs chocolate cake. I’ll be back soon.” She vanished from the apartment and Paige put her glass down carefully.

  “Matt has a few issues of his own after Caroline.”

  “I know. But there are issues and there are issues, and mine are—” Frankie gestured with her hand “—big issues.”

  “And you think this will come as a surprise to him? It’s not as if he doesn’t know you.”

  “Believe me, there’s plenty he doesn’t know.”

  Eva came back into the apartment in time to catch the end of the conversation. She was carrying a large chocolate cake.

  “This was today’s experiment. It has a secret ingredient. And Matt is more than capable of handling your issues. That man can handle anything. I’ve never seen him stressed.” Eva cut the cake into generous slices. “Actually, that isn’t true. I saw him stressed when Paige and Jake got together, but that’s different. Paige is his sister and all bets are off when it’s a sibling.”

  “How would you know? You’re an only child.”

  “But I’m an expert on relationships. It’s my superpower. Believe me when I say Matt would handle your issues with both hands tied behind his back.” Eva picked up a fork. “That’s one of the qualities that makes him hot.”

  “I don’t want him to handle me. As you say, the guy was messed around plenty by Caroline. I’m not adding to the trauma.”

  “I’m confused. Are you protecting him or yourself?”

  “Both of us!”

  “Caroline lied.” Paige dug her fork into the cake. “She wasn’t honest. You’re nothing like Caroline. Matt trusts you. But if you’re not interested, just tell him straight. Matt will respect your feelings and leave you alone.” She took a mouthful and closed her eyes. “Sublime, Eva. What’s the secret ingredient?”

  “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you and eat you and I’m already way over my daily calorie allowance with this slice of cake.”

  Frankie stared at her cake without touching it. “I am interested. That’s the problem.”

  Eva paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. “You’re interested? In Matt? That’s the problem you were talking about earlier?”

  “Yes! I’m interested, and I don’t want to be.” Frankie felt as if her heart was going to burst. “My head is a mess. I shake when he stands near me and I’ve got this weird feeling here—” she rubbed her fist against her chest “—and when he’s talking I can’t concentrate because I’m always thinking about—”

  “About?”

  “Stuff.”

  “Stuff?” Eva put her fork down. “You mean sex?”

  “Why is that a problem?” Paige looked baffled. “If you both feel the same way then what’s stopping you getting together?”

  “The fact that I’m bad at relationships. Really bad. If I was going to have a relationship the last person I’d have it with would be someone like Matt.”

  Paige finished her cake. “Someone you care about and do, in fact, like.”

  “That’s right.”

  “And find seriously hot.”

  “Right again.”

  Paige put her plate down. “Frankie—” her tone was patient “—most people would think that meeting someone you like and find hot is a good place to start a relationship from. But you’re saying that makes them wrong for you?”

  “Yes. If—when—I mess it up, it would really matter. None of the guys I’ve had bad relationships with before have mattered. I haven’t cared enough for it to matter. That’s what made them perfect.”

  “No, Frankie,” Paige sounded exasperated, “that is what made them less than perfect. Are you seriously saying you’d rather have a relationship with a guy you don’t care about and don’t find attractive than with a guy you really like?”

  “That’s what I’m saying.”

  Eva opened her mouth and closed it again. “Do you even realize how crazy that sounds?”

  “Why is it crazy? When I mess up a relationship with a guy I don’t particularly like and have no feelings for, no one gets hurt. It doesn’t matter. Everyone walks away intact. It would be different with Matt. I like him. I care about him. With Matt it would matter. One of us, or both of us, would get hurt.”

  “So your brilliant master plan is to carry on having relationships with guys you don’t like so that when it all goes wrong it doesn’t matter.”

  “Exactly. And now that you understand the problem, I need you to tell me how to fix it. Do I ignore it and hope he ignores it, too? Do I talk about it face-to-face? Tell him I’m not interested?”

  “You are interested.” Eva finished her cake. “And he already knows that.”

  “He can’t possibly know that.”

  “Matt is an experienced guy and you are a terrible liar.”

  That possibility hadn’t occurred to Frankie. “You seriously think he knows?” She put the cake down untouched.

  “Yes, but that’s a good thing.”

  “It is not. If he knows, I’m going to have to move to the Arctic.”

  “No one is moving anywhere. I have a better idea,” Paige said. “Take the next step and see what happens. You want to kiss him, so kiss him.”

  “There is no way I would kiss him. It would kill any feelings dead.” Frankie thought about it. “Which I suppose might be a pretty effective way of handling this situation.”

  “Why would it kill feelings?”

&nbs
p; “Because kissing is one of those things that looks amazing in the movies and is deeply disappointing in real life. But it could be the perfect answer. If we kissed, maybe we’d both realize it was a big mistake and get on with our lives.”

  There was a brief silence.

  “Brilliant idea,” Eva said casually. “Go for it. I’m sure you’ll both be cured in an instant and we can all go back to normal. Now eat your chocolate cake and let’s watch something on Netflix.”

  Chapter Six

  Just because a man doesn’t ask for directions, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show him the way.

  —Paige

  Matt was on the phone when he heard the door. Still talking, he opened it, hoping it was Frankie. Preferably dressed in her underwear.

  His sister stood there. She was wearing a tailored dress and her perfectly smoothed hair told him she was on her way to a meeting. It was Monday morning, and he knew her day would be planned, hour to hour, because that was how Paige lived her life.

  He scanned her face, instinctively checking her color.

  It was a habit he’d developed years before when her color had often been an indicator of her state of health. Pale skin and lips with an ominous blue tint had set off alarm bells. She’d been born with a heart condition and even now, after successful surgery and years of good health, he found it hard to break the habit.

  It made him overprotective, a trait he knew drove Paige crazy.

  That didn’t bother him. The way he saw it, part of an older brother’s role was to drive his sister crazy.

  He stood to one side to let her in and finished his phone call. “I’ll increase the order if you’ll halve the cost.” He waved a hand to the coffee machine and Paige strolled across the kitchen and poured herself a mug while Matt negotiated a price he could live with.

  When he finally ended the call she was sipping coffee, her hands wrapped around the mug.

  “I’d forgotten how good you are at driving a hard bargain. I still remember the residents of Puffin Island muttering dark threats when you raised your prices for cutting their grass in the summer. You were fourteen years old.”

  “There was a lot of grass and it was a hot summer.” He scrolled through the ten emails that had dropped into his inbox during his call. “Much as I love reminiscing, I have a meeting in an hour and it’s probably going to take me an hour and a half to get there. Is everything okay? What can I do for you?”