The Matchup

by Alice Ward

He’s having tests done, was all the nurses would say.

  Which meant he was still alive.

  He’d never let on what kind of health issue he was battling when this whole train wreck of a contest started, and now I wondered if it had been his heart the whole time and he just hadn’t wanted us to know.

  Mason and Isabella were looking cozy in the corner, holding hands while she intermittently rubbed his arm. Jackass. The man could try to woo one woman one minute then rub up on Isabella the next. People never changed.

  Except. I had.

  Before the contest, I’d been a hardcore Dominant and nothing else. I couldn’t remember ever having an emotion that made its way as far as my heart, but now I felt like there was a never-ending rainbow of emotions swirling in my chest. God, I felt like the Grinch when he discovered the meaning of Christmas. Only it was almost Valentine’s Day. That really sucked, because I’d been imagining what Ava and I would do on the day of love. I’d take her out to dinner, maybe fly her somewhere she’d never been, have dinner on a deserted beach at sunset. When she thought it was over, I’d surprise her with a luxury suite weekend overlooking that same beach. We’d walk the sand in the moonlight, and I’d… get down on one knee and…

  What the hell! I shot out of the chair. Where the hell had that thought come from?

  “I’m going to check on him,” I told Lucy and the rest of the room.

  Lucy nodded and buried her nose in a tissue. She’d been inconsolable. It was obvious that she and my uncle had something between them, and we’d all missed it. Now it might be too late for them.

  I hit the buzzer that activated the nurses’ station speaker, and a voice came crackling out. “May I help you?”

  “I’d like the status of Harvey Huffman please.”

  Practically before I could finish the sentence, the sound of pandemonium came through. A crash of something metal, a female shriek, my uncle’s voice just as ornery as ever. What the hell?

  “His status is unprecedented.”

  Fear struck me numb for a second. “What?”

  There was a beep, and the voice came back. “Please enter.” Double doors started to open automatically, letting out the shouting of an authoritative male voice that was then drowned out by a high-pitched, nearly hysterical jumble of words.

  I pushed through the door and found my uncle’s room immediately, honing in on the chaos that had erupted.

  “This patient has been brought here for a myocardial infarction.” A man in a white coat glared at a cute twentysomething nurse who was in the middle of a meltdown. “I’ll ask why you are behaving in such a manner at his bedside.”

  She rubbed her rear then pointed at my uncle, her eyes bugged out, face flushed, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “H-he was unconscious, or so I thought. When I turned my back, he pinched my… pinched me and then…” Her face turned a deeper shade of hot pink. “He’s faked the whole thing. I—”

  Uncle let out a belch that drew everyone’s attention and held up a pint of bourbon in a toast. “To young beauties and matchups.”

  Young beauties and matchups… Faked…

  “Uncle Harvey?” I’d never been so relieved in my life when Unc’s head swiveled my way. He winked then grimaced as his eyes went to the crowd filling the hall behind me.

  “Harvey? Harvey, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Lucy’s voice was trembling and incredulous.

  He cleared his throat as his gaze flicked over us before landing back on her. “I’m fine, dear. Just a bit of… indigestion?”

  “Indigestion my ass,” put in a florid-faced nurse with gray hair who stood behind the nurses’ station just outside the door with her hands tightly gripping the counter. “This man faked a heart attack to settle some family dispute and has been wreaking havoc on this floor since we wheeled him in. The poor girl who tried to insert his IV was practically in tears — something about a website and leather. We thought we needed the psychiatrist at first. I’m sorry, Becky.” She gave the pinched nurse a sympathetic look. “With shift change, I didn’t get a chance to warn everyone.”

  Lucy stepped into Unc’s room, her gaze pinning Unc to the white sheets. “Harv, did you do this, fake the attack?”

  “It may have been the caviar—”

  “This is low, even for you.” Mason crowded in behind Lucy, shaking his head. “You assaulted a nurse?”

  “May have not had enough oxygen to my brain, son.”

  “Wait a second.” Ava was suddenly there beside me, her face no longer pale but flushed with anger. “You mean you—”

  “You said matchup.” I put my hands in my pockets to keep them from going around his throat. “I get the feeling we haven’t had the whole truth throughout the competition.”

  “Competition? This is an ER!” the doctor shouted as several more nurses gathered in the hall, looking in on the debacle my uncle had somehow created.

  Isabella explained about the competition, but the doctor looked like he needed smelling salts by the time she got to the part about BDSM and the website.

  Everyone talked at once, and the room buzzed with ten different voices while Uncle sat in the middle of the hospital bed. He looked like the cat who’d eaten the cream and found a nice pussy at the bottom of the bowl.

  I met his jolly Santa eyes across the room and raised my eyebrows, letting him know that the commotion wasn’t going to deter me from an explanation.

  He picked up a spoon from the bedside tray and clinked it loudly on the bottle of bourbon. Gradually, the noise died down. “Lucy, I apologize. If I’d had time, I would have let you in on it. I must speak with Lucas and Mason in private.”

  The doctor glared at him. “When we receive your test results, you’ll be discharged. Since you’ve admitted you faked the episode, you will receive a bill for the full amount without insurance reimbursement.”

  Uncle chuckled and nodded.

  The doctor spun on his heels and made it halfway out the door before turning to the nurse. “Restrain him if necessary.”

  Damn good idea.

  Uncle thought it a good idea too and looked to the nurse. “I believe it may be necessary.”

  Lucy gasped and left the room, shocking everyone else into movement, and they filed out, letting the door close behind them.

  All except Mason, who sat heavily in the bedside chair, running his fingers through his hair. “You scared everyone half to death, had the girls in tears.”

  “Couldn’t be helped.” Uncle sat up higher in the bed, adjusting the back to a higher position. “You two damn fools were fucking it all up. Mostly you.” He pointed a fat finger at me.

  I bristled. “I—”

  Mason held up a hand, cutting me off. “I never would have gone after Ava, Lucas. I never went after Amber either. You would never listen though. And I gave up trying to get through to you after a while, and just went with what you believed, sometimes using it against you. I’m sorry.”

  I met Mason’s clear blue eyes and searched them for even a speck of dishonesty. I’d been wrong, all this time. My knees gave out, and I sat heavily in the chair at the foot of the bed.

  “It’s important to me that you boys reconcile. I won’t be here forever—”

  “So, is there a health issue with you?” I was beginning to suspect the answer would be no.

  “Before we get to that—”

  “There isn’t.” I shot to my feet again. “This whole thing, you orchestrated it to try to—”

  “Get us to be friends again,” Mason finished. “And don’t forget the matchup part.”

  “What was that? You just—”

  “Found the perfect women for both of you. You’re welcome.” Uncle folded his hands over his belly and leaned back like a satisfied cherub.

  I gripped the end of the bed. “So the women, they were never there for extra fun as you said. The whole time…”

  “He’s been playing matchup. The contest was like one long demented blind date.”

  “
Between Lucy and I and a few of the secretaries, we interviewed over two thousand women for the roles.”

  “Roles,” I repeated.

  “Roles of the perfect match, for both of you.” Uncle’s eyes went to Mason then back to me. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

  My heart thundered in my throat, and I broke out into a sweat under my suit. He wasn’t wrong. I was falling in love with Ava. I needed to go to her, beg her if necessary.

  “Wait,” Uncle said when I turned toward the door. “There’ll be plenty of time for that. We have some things to discuss before my untimely death.”

  “Yeah, cause you’re at death’s door.” Mason snorted.

  Uncle winked and tipped his bottle up for a swig.

  “Give me some of that.” I swiped the bottle and let the burn wash away the fear of losing Ava before I really ever had her. With a little liquid courage, I turned to Mason before Unc could bring up the subject. “I’m sorry.”

  His eyebrows shot up.

  “For treating you the way I did as kids. As adults. Seems I could apologize from here to next week and still not be finished.” I shook my head, trying to remember when Mason had changed in my mind from friend to enemy. It had happened early. I’d had my mother for so little time with her working, and Marianne had used her for date-night babysitter several nights a week. It’d seemed like Mason had it all and wanted my mother too. It was stupid, and a waste of a lot of years.

  Mason nodded. “It doesn’t matter now.”

  I stared at him. “That’s it?” He could forgive me for hating him all these years, just like that?

  “Should be it, boy. You two are blood. Blood needs to be strong. It’s all you’ve got when the cards are stacked against you. Now shake hands and put it behind you.”

  Mason stood, a grin on his face, and a hundred grins like that from times past flashed through my head. Mason in a little league uniform grinning, wanting me to play catch. Mason with two fishing poles begging me to help him dig for worms. Mason in a tuxedo the night of prom, stopping by the house to check one more time if I wanted to double with him and his date. Every time I’d crushed his flawless spirit, somehow thinking he had an ulterior motive.

  But he hadn’t. I blinked back tears that threatened to choke me, and when his palm touched mine, pulled him into a hug.

  Uncle cheered from the bed, clinking his bottle again, and the speaker in his call button came to life, the nurse demanding we keep it down.

  “Now, boys, we’ve things to discuss.” Unc rubbed his hands together. “Then I’ll let you get back to your true loves.”

  It didn’t take long for Uncle Harvey to lay out his plan and Mason and I to agree. It was perfect.

  But when I got to the waiting room, expecting to find Ava, she was gone.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Ava

  A week went by.

  Then two.

  Though the competition was canceled after Harvey’s “episode,” a check had been delivered for the full amount of the competition win to both Isabella and me. Lucy had called, and I’d spoken with Harvey.

  But still no Lucas.

  I told myself that it was for the best. That he was more than I could handle. He would never change. He wasn’t my type. That we had no future anyway.

  But the truth was, I couldn’t get my balance. I craved hearing his voice, feeling his touch, having him tie me up if that’s what he wanted.

  The only thing that kept me sane was staying busy, never giving myself time to think. To that end, I’d needed to find a space to live, and my payout from the contest gave me many options.

  My new apartment was beautiful. Spacious. Empty.

  Every time I sat down in front of my new laptop, my fingers turned into traitors and googled his name.

  He’d been busy too. News stories told of how he’d taken on the CEO position overseeing his uncle’s darker business undertakings — the website and magazines that could be considered off-color. Mason was in the news too. He’d been elected as CEO of the fashion mags and Gentlemen’s Review. Together, they formed a partnership that carried on what their uncle had envisioned.

  I was glad, even though I was still pissed off.

  Harvey hadn’t had a damn heart attack. I still wasn’t sure what that was about. A part of me cursed myself for leaving the hospital so abruptly without learning Harv’s intent. Or what Lucas thought about it.

  I knew the older man was okay. I’d seen paparazzi photos of him and Lucy relaxing on a beach in the French Riviera. Damn that man. He was a leacher and completely in love with Lucy, I could tell.

  At least someone was happy.

  As for me, I’d been putting all my energy into looking for possible locations in which I could start my fashion design business. To my surprise and hers, Sylvia was helping me, and my former roommate had actually been a huge help. She’d changed a bit since I moved out of our old apartment. She’d dropped a few piercings and was dressing less like a punk rocker and more like a chic New Yorker. We’d found a new kind of ground for our friendship, and I’d actually missed her crazy ways. So much so, I hired her as my very first employee.

  I wanted a place where I could oversee the whole operation in one location, from design to finished product in the storefront. That was hard to find, and after the fifth viewing, I headed home for dinner for one, trying not to look too long at the Valentine advertisements plastered all over the store windows.

  It was Saint Valentine’s Day. So what? I’d never cared before. I’d call my sister, fix a salad… My stomach growled as I greeted the doorman of my new building, an older man who was a bit of a grandfatherly figure.

  “Evening, miss.” Phil’s kind brown eyes held a hint of worry. “There’s a surprise waiting for you outside your door. I was a bit hesitant to send it up, but I’d been assured that—” He cleared his throat. “That is, if you don’t want it, just holler and I’ll come right up, haul it back down immediately, ma’am.”

  “A delivery? I’m sure it’s fine. I’ve ordered quite a few things for the apartment.”

  “You better get up there, make sure it’s… the right one. I think maybe it is.” He winked, but I was too tired, and my head too scrambled with floorplans to wonder why he would say such a thing.

  The elevator took me up to the eighth floor, and I stepped out, fishing in my purse for my keys. At the door, my eyes landed not on a package, but long legs encased in sleek pants that matched a sleek suit jacket that made Lucas’s blue eyes blaze so bright, my nose started burning.

  “What—”

  He hopped up, and my arms were suddenly full of two dozen roses, the hall filling with their heavenly scent.

  “Happy almost Valentine’s Day.” His voice was as deep as I remembered, a bit more raw now, I thought. “I know it’s not much, not after what I put you through, what Unc put you through, but I’d like to talk.”

  My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

  “Please.” Lucas’s eyes were more sincere than I’d ever seen them.

  “Alright.” I didn’t want him to see my hands shaking, so I blocked his view of my hand inserting the key into the lock with the roses — who said cut flowers were a waste? I swung open the door and went directly to the kitchen to find something to put the flowers in, hoping I could buy time until I could get a deep breath into my lungs.

  When I could breathe again, and Lucas was leaning against the doorframe, I said, “What do you want to talk about?”

  “I couldn’t change for you, Ava.”

  My fingers faltered on the stems as I angled them for the scissors. “Well, none of us want to change, but there’s nothing wrong with a little evolution.”

  We could all keep improving. God knew I’d made a lot of changes already. So had he. Maybe he just didn’t see them the way I did. Maybe I saw them all wrong and he would never change in a way I could live with.

  “Evolution takes years. Centuries.”

  I laid down the scissors at his words, my h
eart pounding so hard in my chest I was afraid I’d cut off my finger instead of the stems. “Why are you here? I didn’t need a personal visit to know there could never be anything between us.”

  He blinked and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “That’s not what I want?”

  I shook my head, trying to unpuzzle this complicated man. “What do you want, Lucas?” I suddenly felt so tired.

  Lucas had laid his jacket on my kitchen counter, and now he picked it up, revealing something underneath. I groaned. It was red and white. Seriously? It was another damn box.

  “We got our next challenge.” He held the box out, his expression hopeful. “I know what it says.” Lucas swallowed hard, and I could tell that he was nervous. I studied him, trying to understand. “I created it before the contest.”

  I stared at the box, considering everything it could mean. I looked back up at him, noticing the dark circles under his eyes, the haggard look on his face. He’d missed me too, I realized. He’d fought it too. He’d tried staying away too.

  I smiled, and the breath he’d been holding came out in a whoosh.

  “I’m sorry, Ava.”

  I lifted my chin. “Sorry for what, specifically?”

  “For staying away. For being afraid. For trying to get lost in work and pushing you from my mind.”

  Tears pricked the backs of my eyes, and I blinked them away. “Then I need to apologize too. Because I’ve done the same things. I left and stayed away. I’m afraid. I attempted to forget by staying busy too.”

  Lucas shoved his fingers into my hair and glanced around the apartment. “Nice place.”

  Another smile played on my lips. “It’s new, thanks to Uncle Harvey.”

  He nodded. “So you got your check.” It wasn’t a question. He’d clearly already known that I’d gotten the full amount. Already known it had been cashed. Known that I was now independently wealthy without him. “That’s good. You deserved it… and more.”

  “I heard that Isabella got the same amount.”

  He nodded again. “It’s true. Turns out, Uncle Harv was less worried about us winning competitions than he was our winning the girl.”

  I swallowed. “I hope he wasn’t too disappointed.”