“Oh yes. It arrived on Monday, and she checks with him every morning to make sure he’s done it.”
Good for her. At least someone was getting through to him. “Is it helping?”
“He’s only been doing it for three days, but I think it’s starting to. He doesn’t shuffle as much when he uses his walker. Liz told him he needs to slow down and pick his feet up when he walks. She made me film him walking from the door to his chair yesterday.”
“Wow, I bet that went down—” A knock at the door startled them both. “That’ll be your prospective buyer.” He gestured towards the hallway and the front door. “Want me to go let him in?”
She shook her head and brushed past him. “I’m quite capable of answering the door, Matthew.”
“Okay, I was just offering.” He let her go but followed a few paces behind, not wanting whoever was at the door to think she was a vulnerable old lady living on her own. You could never be too careful these days. Stopping a few feet away in the hall, he waited for her to unlock the front door and pull it open.
The guy waiting on the other side was kneeling, tying the lace on his trainers. He seemed vaguely familiar, but Matt couldn’t place him. “Sorry, I almost tripped over them on the walk from the car.” He glanced up as he finished, and Matt was immediately reminded of his wank in the shower.
What were the fucking chances?
Chapter Three
Ryan watched, frozen to the spot, as the hot guy from his block of flats casually eased past the older lady at the door and looked down at him. His grey-blue eyes appeared slightly less menacing than the last time Ryan had seen them. Maybe that was the shock of seeing Ryan kneeling on his doorstep—or his mum's doorstep by the looks of it. Talking of which, he should probably stand up at some point.
Slowly getting to his feet, Ryan held out a hand, which thankfully the guy took and didn’t leave him hanging. “Hey, fancy seeing you here.” So not what he meant to say. All he got in response was a lone, raised eyebrow. “I’m—”
“Ryan Blackwell.”
Ahh, so he does remember me. Ryan grinned, and this time he got an eye roll.
“You told me all of four days ago. There’s nothing wrong with my memory.”
The lady now behind him pointedly cleared her throat. “Matt? Do you two know each other?”
A name at last. Ryan’s grin widened, and he peered around Matt to direct his smile at her instead. “I moved into his building at the weekend.”
She returned his smile and sort of bustled Matt out of the way. “Where are your manners, Matt? Don’t leave—” She met Ryan’s gaze; her eyes, though the exact same colour as Matt’s, were warm and friendly-looking. “Can I call you Ryan?”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, of course.”
Her eyes crinkled as she beamed at him. “I’m Caroline.”
Caroline Thomas. Ryan remembered her telling him on the phone. She turned her attention back to Matt. “Don’t leave Ryan here waiting on the door step, for goodness sake.” She stepped back and ushered Ryan inside, then turned and led the way down the hall, shooing Matt ahead of her. Ryan heard her whisper, “Why didn’t you tell me you’d got such a handsome new neighbour?”
“Mum,” Matt hissed back, and Ryan struggled to suppress a laugh.
She led them both into the kitchen and gestured to the rectangular wooden table in the corner. “Go sit down while I put the kettle on. Tea or coffee?”
Ryan glanced around. “Tea, please.” The kitchen itself was probably as big as Ryan’s living room and kitchen put together, and he admired the modern yet homey feel of the room as he took a seat at the table. This wasn’t exactly what he’d imagined happening when he’d pulled up outside. A quick look at the washing machine, haggle about price, and then go home was more what he’d been expecting.
Matt propped himself up against the worktop, arms folded, gaze fixed on Ryan. He hadn’t said anything else since they’d come inside and appeared less than pleased with the current turn of events. Which was disappointing, but Ryan hadn't held out much hope anyway after their last meeting. As impressions went, he hadn't made a good one yet.
Caroline filled the kettle, switched it on to boil, and then glanced through the open doorway back towards the hall. “I’m just going to see if your father wants a coffee.” With that she patted Matt on the arm and disappeared into the hallway, leaving Ryan alone with him.
After the first few seconds passed in an uncomfortable silence, Ryan felt his fingers twitch with the need to tap on the table or play with the seam of his jeans or anything to occupy them. He wasn’t normally this fidgety, but Matt’s gaze felt like a physical weight on him, and Ryan wanted to shrug his shoulders to get rid of it.
A heavy sigh broke the silence, and he chanced a glance Matt’s way to find him looking up at the ceiling before meeting Ryan’s gaze. And finally, “She could be a while. I might as well show you the washing machine, seeing as it’s why you’re here.” He stood up straight and, without waiting to see if Ryan was following or not, turned towards another door at the far end of the kitchen.
It led into a small utility and Matt stopped in front of the washing machine—pulled out about four inches from where it should be. “This is the one she’s selling.”
Wow. Even from where he stood, Ryan could see it was in great condition. Clean and almost new looking, with only a couple of marks here and there. After pulling out the drawer—which again was almost pristine—he crouched down a bit to get a better look, although he had no idea what he was looking for, but he didn’t want Matt to know that. “I take it it’s all in good working order?”
Matt snorted as though he knew exactly how much Ryan knew about washing machines, but answered with, “Yes. It’s five years old and everything works perfectly. They’re replacing it with a washer/dryer; that’s the only reason it’s for sale.” He pointed to the booklet on top of it. “It comes with the instructions, too.” He smirked as he said it, and Ryan was about to reply with something sarcastic when a sharp needle-like pain in his arse cheeks had him shrieking loudly. It was followed by more of the same higher up before Ryan realised it was a cat climbing up his back. “Jesus Christ!” Said cat was now sitting on his shoulders and Ryan daren’t move for fear of incurring its wrath.
He liked cats but preferred them settled on his lap, purring, rather than scaling him like a tree.
Matt’s laughter filled the small room, and Ryan tried to glare at him without moving his head too much. The cat had lain down, its long body draped across the width of Ryan’s shoulders, and its paws happily kneading in Ryan’s jacket. It didn’t look to be moving anytime soon.
“A little help?” he hissed, all the while wondering if Matt was going to leave him like this because he was still laughing. “Seriously?”
Footsteps sounded in the kitchen, followed two seconds later by, “Oscar! Get down from there.” Matt’s mum hurried into the utility room and thankfully retrieved her monster cat from Ryan’s back. He heaved a big sigh of relief before standing up and turning to get a better look at his attacker. Bright blue eyes stared back at him, mockingly, from the safety of Caroline’s arms.
Despite smarting in several places because of him, Ryan couldn’t help but reach out and fuss Oscar under the chin. He closed his eyes, lifted his head, and almost smiled in that way cats do when they get you to do exactly what they want. Smug.
It turned out Oscar was a Siamese-Bengal cross—white, with tiger-like stripes on his face, legs and tail—and one of the most beautiful cats Ryan had seen.
“I’m so sorry about that. He likes to sit on people’s shoulders, and when you crouch down, he sees it as a sort of invitation.” Caroline shot a glare at Matt and tsked at him. “Why didn’t you warn him or stop Oscar from jumping on him?”
“Sorry. He was just too quick.” Matt shrugged and attempted to look apologetic. Ryan wasn’t buying any of it.
“It’s fine,” Ryan managed. Briefly narrowing his eyes at Matt before smiling at
Caroline, who was still holding a loudly purring Oscar. “He’s lovely.”
Caroline smiled and then turned to walk back into the kitchen. “Come on, I’ll make you that cup of tea, now.”
Ryan dutifully followed and Matt trailed after them. This time he joined Ryan at the table.
After setting Oscar down in his cat bed, Caroline poured up three mugs of tea and a coffee. She gave the coffee to Matt and asked him to take it through to his dad. Ryan was curious and wanted to ask where he was and why he wasn’t joining them out here, but clearly it was none of his business. He accepted his tea with a smile instead. “Thank you.”
“Now, since you’ve been attacked by my cat, the least I can do is offer you a piece of cake.”
Ryan shook his head. “There’s no need, honestly. He just took me by surprise.” And left claw marks in my arse and my back probably.
Caroline raised an eyebrow, much like Matt had done earlier. “I know exactly how much it hurts; you don’t have to be polite.” She waved off any further protests before Ryan could start. “And besides, you and Matt are neighbours now.”
Whatever doubts he had about staying vanished completely as she brought a cake tin over to the table and lifted the lid. “Is that Millionaire Shortbread?” He eyed the chocolate and caramel covered shortbread with barely contained glee.
“It is. I made it this morning since it’s Matt’s favourite.”
Ryan’s mouth watered, and it was all he could do to stop himself from reaching for a piece. “He has good taste.”
Caroline huffed a little as she set a plate on the table in front of him. “He does in some things.” She waved a hand at the tin of deliciousness. “Please, help yourself.”
He was halfway through his second piece when Matt came back in. “Are you giving him my shortbread?” His wounded, whiny tone made Ryan laugh, and he almost choked on the bit he was eating.
“I made plenty, don’t worry.” She slapped at Matt’s hand when he reached for a piece. “Not until after your dinner.”
“Mum, I’m thirty-eight years old. I think I’m old enough to have a snack and still eat my dinner.”
Ryan filed that bit of information away for later.
“Sorry, sorry. Of course you are. Old habits and all that.” She gestured for him to go ahead and take one.
Ryan didn’t miss the way Matt ever so subtly edged the tin back over to his side of the table. He coughed to smother his laughter.
“So, Ryan, what did you think of the washing machine?” Caroline picked up her tea and joined them, sitting next to Matt.
“It looks great.” He should probably seem less enthused and maybe try and get the price down a bit, but it was ridiculously low as it was, and he couldn’t bring himself to haggle in the face of tea and cake. Josh would roll his eyes if he could see him. “And it’ll fit nicely with everything else in my kitchen. I’ll take it if that’s okay?”
Caroline glanced quickly at Matt before taking a sip of her tea and asking matter-of-factly, “Do you need to check with anybody else? Wife, girlfriend, boyf—”
“Nope, none of those,” he cut her off, feeling his cheeks heat, unable to stop himself from looking at Matt. “It’s just me.”
She hummed but didn’t comment. Ryan daren’t glance at Matt again, so he fumbled in his pocket until he located his wallet. “I’ve got the money with me if you need it now.”
“A twenty-pound deposit is fine,” Matt answered, his expression a mix of amused and exasperated. Ryan would take that over the glarey-judgy eyes. “You can pay the rest when you pick it up.” He paused for a drink of his tea.
“Okay, thanks.” Ryan fished out two tens from his wallet and handed them over. “Is Saturday okay to pick it up? I’ll need to borrow my friend’s work van to fit it in.”
“Yeah, that should be okay.” Matt turned to face his mum. “Mum?”
“Oh yes, of course. That’s fine. My new one arrives on Monday, so that’s almost perfect timing.” She smiled, glancing between Ryan and Matt, and Ryan shifted in his seat.
He had the feeling she was ten seconds away from trying to set them up, and if he didn’t leave soon, then he’d never be able to come back when Matt refused, and he wanted that washing machine. Quickly finishing the last of his tea, Ryan stood and held out his hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Blackwell.”
She stood and shook his hand, rather more exuberantly than he’d expected, and he almost stumbled forward.
“Caroline, please.” She beamed. “It’s so nice to finally meet some of Matt’s neighbours.”
Ryan smiled back at her when she finally let go of him. “I’ll see you at the weekend.” He risked a glance at Matt, who was also stood up, now, but before he could say goodbye or do something stupid like ask for his number, Matt turned and walked towards the hall.
“I’ll let you out,” he called over his shoulder, and so after smiling a goodbye at Caroline again, Ryan followed.
Matt’s jeans hugged his arse in a very distracting way, drawing Ryan’s attention as they neared the front door. When Matt stopped to open it, Ryan almost ran into the back of him.
He took a hasty step away before Matt turned round and caught him virtually plastered to his back. The weird look he got suggested he hadn’t been as stealthy as he’d thought. “So….” Ryan rubbed the back of his neck as he wondered how to make this less awkward and more flirty. “I’ll see you on Saturday?” He got that damn raised eyebrow in response again. “You know, when I come back to pick up the washing machine,” he elaborated and wanted to groan as he realised what was happening. Shut up, Ryan. Shut up! “I mean I’m assuming you’ll be here, right?” He managed to stop himself from babbling further to fill the now very awkward silence as Matt continued to stare at him—his mouth curved up at the corners as though struggling not to laugh. That fucker.
Finally Matt reached out and opened the door. “Yep. I’ll be here.”
“Okay then.” Ryan nodded to himself and willed his feet to do the right thing as his mind still focused on Matt’s perfectly shaped arse. He waited a beat, wondering if Matt would say anything else. When nothing seemed to be forthcoming, he sighed softly and started to ease past him out of the door.
“See you Saturday, Ryan.”
The low, rough way he said it caught Ryan by surprise, and he tripped over the threshold, thankfully managing to right himself before falling down the step. Had he imagined the suggestive edge to it? Probably. But he hadn’t imagined the soft chuckle as he fell out of the front door. He shot Matt a glare over his shoulder, and though Matt’s expression remained neutral, his eyes shone with mischief. Yeah, he was definitely laughing on the inside.
Ryan stalked back to his car, resolutely not looking back to see if Matt was still watching him and positive he could feel his eyes on him. He got in his car and took a minute to calm down. The last thing he wanted was to wheel spin out of there and shower the other two cars with gravel. Taking his time, Ryan reversed without incident and headed home, still none the wiser as to whether Matt liked him, found him amusing, or was irritated by him. Or quite possibly a mix of all three.
Chapter Four
Matt grinned as he watched Ryan stomp off. The tense set of his shoulders made him seem like he was marching off to war instead of to his car, and Matt imagined him cursing under his breath as he walked. He shouldn’t make it so easy to get a rise out of him. What did he expect?
After Ryan’s car disappeared down the driveway, Matt closed the front door, and his smile hadn’t waned by the time he got back to the kitchen. Which in hindsight was a grave tactical error.
His mum stood, back against the worktop, arms crossed, watching him. And she had that look. The one that Matt dreaded because it meant she was about to interfere. But she’d do it in such a way that it’d be impossible to get cross with her. “Ryan seems like a nice boy.”
“He’s thirty. Hardly a boy.”
She tsked. “You know what I mean.” Her eyes then nar
rowed slightly. “And you seem to know a lot about him already.”
Sighing, Matt put the kettle on to boil, more for something to do than the fact he wanted another cup of tea. “I ran into him the morning after his birthday celebrations, and he told me. That’s all. Would you like another?” He nodded at the almost empty mug in her hand, but she shook her head.
“No, thank you. Dinner’s about ready.”
Matt thought he’d escaped the Spanish Inquisition for a second, but his mum didn’t move, except to uncross her arms and clasp her hands instead. “What does he do for a living?”
“I have no idea.”
“Do you think he’s gay?”
Rolling his eyes, Matt plopped a fresh teabag in his mug and turned to face her fully, mimicking her stance. “I haven’t asked him, but yes, I strongly suspect so.” Ryan wasn’t exactly shy about showing his interest. “Either gay or bi,” he added because even though he didn’t want to be having this conversation with his mother, neither of them should assume.
“Hmm.” She didn’t say anything else, just raised her eyebrows a little with a sort of thought-so expression and bent to check on the lasagne in the oven.
Matt knew her tactics well enough by now, and he also knew he should let the subject drop, but there was nothing he hated more than when she hmmed and made that face. He was going to bite and they both knew it. She probably used dinner as an excuse to turn and hide her victory smile.
Resigned to his fate, he asked, “What?”
“Oh, nothing dear. I was just thinking.”
“Mum. Whatever it is you want to say, spit it out so we can enjoy dinner in peace.”
After getting the lasagne out of the oven and setting it on the hob, she eventually faced him again. “Well, like I said… he seems nice. He lives in your building and obviously was quite taken with you.” Her gaze darted away as she added the last bit. “He’s also nearing that age where he’s probably thinking about settling down….”
Maybe This Time Page 3