Matched For Love (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Book 3)

by Tamra Baumann

As Deek chewed his tomato-y, garlicy, slice of heaven, a retort of You could have all the pizza you wanted if you’d get your ass home occasionally wanted to slip out, but he stopped himself.

  He was in a foul mood and needed to snap out of it.

  Asher said, “We come here a lot, Mom. The last time was with Emily and Mrs. Went.”

  Annie’s eyes slowly rose until she met Deek’s gaze. The anger simmering in them was lethal. She said, “About Emily. Maybe you shouldn’t play with her anymore, Asher.”

  His little face fell. “Why not? She’s fun.”

  Annie set down her pizza and wiped her hands on her napkin. “Because Deek and I don’t think you should be playing with her, and that’s final.”

  Annie sent Deek a look that warned him not to argue.

  “Dad?” Asher turned to Deek with pleading eyes. “I thought you liked Emily and Mrs. Went.”

  He’d had all he could take of Annie’s demands.

  He looked her in the eyes and said, “I do like Emily and Mrs. Went.” Then he switched his gaze back to his son. “And that’s the problem. Your mother is jealous of Mrs. Went and is taking it out on you.” He threw his napkin down. “I’ll be in the car when you guys are finished.”

  He stood, grabbed his coat, and walked outside as calmly as he could. He’d rather punch the hell out of something, but that wouldn’t solve anything.

  After he had slid into the seat, wanting to drive away from his own life, he laid his head on the steering wheel and closed his eyes.

  He shouldn’t have done that. It’d just send Annie to that quiet, ugly place he hated to see.

  Was this the way he was going to spend the rest of his life? Listening to Annie complain about the house, his parenting, and Asher’s friends?

  Lori believed that she was enough for Emily. Because she loved her daughter and that was all anyone needed, to be loved by somebody. The family dinner he and Asher had crashed at Lori’s had been one of the nicest evenings of his life. Was it so wrong to want that for them too? And the way he and Lori could talk and eat without all the game playing Annie did?

  Did Annie even love Asher? It made Deek sick to watch Asher beg for Annie’s attention like he’d done all day.

  Was he making the biggest mistake of his life?

  A quiet tap sounded on the window. It was Asher, so Deek popped the locks. After his son had climbed into the backseat, he said, “Mom had to go to the bathroom. She’ll be right out.”

  Deek turned and asked, “Does it make you happy to have mom here, buddy?”

  Asher nodded. “Yeah. But when she’s here, you yell at me a lot. It scares me that you’ll go away too if I make you mad enough. Like Mom did.”

  Dammit.

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you in there. But I’ll never leave you, Asher. Because I love you. No matter what.”

  “Are you mad at Mom?”

  “No. I’m mad at myself. For letting things get like this.” He grabbed his cell from his coat pocket. He wanted to let his lawyer know that he was going to nix Annie’s contract. “But I’m going to fix it right now.”

  “Do I still get to play with Emily?”

  “Yep. I need to fix that too. Just as soon as we get home.”

  Annie opened the passenger door and slipped inside. “We need to talk, Deek.”

  “I agree.”

  They drove in dead silence all the way home. After the garage door had slapped shut behind them, Asher headed for his room, and Deek and Annie headed for the den.

  Deek closed the door and then circled behind his desk. He leaned back in his leather chair and crossed his arms. “You first?”

  Suspicion clouded Annie’s face. “Maybe you’d better go first.”

  He tapped keys on his computer to wake it up. “I e-mailed the lawyer and told him to forget the contract.”

  “Why?” Panic filled Annie’s eyes. “Because of the Emily thing? Fine. He can play with her, then.”

  He vowed he’d stay calm. “You shouldn’t have done that, but no. It’s because Asher told me I yell at him when you’re here. Any idea why that would be, Annie?”

  She laid her hands on the desk and leaned closer. “How would I know how much you yell at him when I’m not here? That’s an illogical question.”

  “About as illogical as me trying to make this family work. So I’m going to transfer a million dollars into your account right now.” He tapped some keys and then turned the screen so she could see. “It’s all there. And you’re free to do whatever you want to do.”

  Annie blinked at him as she processed that. “Why?”

  “Because I’m tired of trying to make it look like you care for Asher. I’m enough for him because I love him. I’m not so sure you do.”

  Annie leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms too. “I love my son, Deek. You’re the one who wants to make me into some vision of the perfect mother. Asher knows I am what I am.”

  “Okay. Fine. You can visit anytime you’d like. I’d just appreciate you letting me know in advance. And I’ll have the lawyer draw up papers to make it all official that I have sole custody.”

  “So you don’t want to get married?”

  Not even a blink of an eye about giving up custody of her son?

  “Nope. You only agreed to marriage to get your dig money. So now you have it. You can go back to Peru to whoever that man is you sleep with and have a nice life. That’s pretty much what you’d planned to do anyway, right?”

  Annie’s gaze turned cold. “You hacked my phone?”

  So he’d guessed correctly. “No. I didn’t. I’m just a trusting idiot who falls prey to people, remember? Horrible people like Lori, who once warned me that I shouldn’t let anyone use me for my money. Even if she is Asher’s mother.”

  Annie slowly rose from the chair. “So that’s it? We’re over? And all I get is a million bucks out of the hundreds of millions you have and a wave goodbye?”

  “What? I’m saving you the embarrassment of flaunting all my money in your poor scientist friends’ faces.”

  “More sarcasm. Lori really played a number on you, Deek.”

  No, Lori showed him what it was like to be with someone who has a heart.

  She headed for the door. “We had a common law marriage. You’ll hear from my lawyers.”

  Common law marriage? Probably not when she hadn’t lived in the same house as him for years.

  He called out to her back, “Or, we could part as friends for Asher’s sake. I’ll always respect that you’re his mother, and that includes helping you with your digs from time to time if we can keep things civil. Please think about that, Annie.”

  “We’ll see.” She stopped when she got to the doorway. “I hope you enjoy breaking your son’s heart when you explain why I had to leave before his birthday.”

  Guilt wasn’t going to work on him anymore. “I didn’t ask you to leave. You’re always welcome to stay in a guest room when you visit.”

  “I’ll tell Asher myself, then,” Annie said in her typical, emotionless even tone. “Go to hell, Deek.”

  He’d already been living in it. Nothing new.

  He didn’t know for sure if Lori cared for him as much as he did for her, but he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life wondering if they could’ve made it work. He just hoped Lori could forgive him for being so damn clueless.

  And that he wouldn’t be too late.

  16

  GRAND GESTURES OF LOVE ONLY HAPPENED IN THE MOVIES, RIGHT?

  Deek knocked on Lori’s front door and reminded himself to breathe. It was Saturday evening. She might have gone to the movies or something so he should’ve called first. But he didn’t want to say all the things he wanted to say on the phone. Plus, he couldn’t wait to see her. He’d missed the hell out of her in the one day that had passed.

  When the door swung open, and Lori appeared, he nearly sighed in relief. Thank goodness she was home. But a closer look revealed it wasn’t Lori. “Hi, Rachel. Is Lori here?�
�

  “No.” Rachel crossed her arms. “She’s on a date. What do you want?”

  Another guy? So soon? “I wanted to apologize to her.”

  “Too little, too late, Deek.” Rachel started to close the door.

  “Wait.” He stuck his foot in the way. “I broke things off with Annie tonight. For good. She’s on a plane back to Peru tomorrow morning.”

  The door opened wider, and Rachel’s hand fisted in his shirt, tugging him inside. “You get three minutes to convince me you’re really over Annie.” She slapped the door closed behind them and pointed to the couch.

  He moved the drop cloth aside and sat. She stood with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. “Clock’s ticking, Deek. What happened to the idea that Asher needs his mother?”

  He opened his mouth to answer, but then Emily appeared. “Hi, Mr. Cooper.”

  He lifted a hand. “Hey, Emily. How are you?”

  “Starving.” She looked up at her aunt. “When is Mom getting back from the grocery store?”

  Rachel laid her hand on Emily’s back and guided her back to the den. “Change of plans we forgot to tell you about. I’ll make you something in a minute. Go watch TV.”

  Rachel came back and said, “Lori went to the grocery store before her date. Had to pick up…beer. Because her date is a famous football player and he likes to play beer pong.” She waved a hand. “Anyway, you were saying?”

  Beer pong? What the heck? Shaking it off, he said, “I was going to say that I finally figured out that Asher and I deserve to be happy. And Lori makes us happy. Annie doesn’t.”

  “So this is all about you?” She pointed to the door. “Get out!”

  “No! You asked about Asher needing his mother. You didn’t ask me how I felt about Lori.” Rachel could be a very confusing person.

  “Okay, then. How do you feel about my sister?”

  He stood up, moved in front of Lori’s pit bull, and peered down at her. “I love her.”

  “Because?” She waggled her fingers. “Come on, Deek. Dig deep. She’s going to need the reasons why.”

  Was it Rachel or Lori who needed all the reasons? But he’d clearly not get to Lori without passing her guard dog’s tests. “Because she’s pretty both inside and out. She’s funny, kind, patient, and am I allowed to say anything about when we’re in bed?”

  “To her.” Rachel shrugged. “I don’t particularly want to know those details. Skip that for now and give me more.”

  More? What else could a guy say? “You mean like how she makes my heart full when we’re together, and I miss her when we’re apart? And how I never slept with Annie because I feel like I belong to Lori?”

  “That last part about belonging to Lori is good.” Rachel slowly nodded. “And that’s all a great start. But still not enough. You’re making the assumption that she loves you back. I think you still have some work to do to make that happen.”

  His stomach sank. He was making that assumption. “So you don’t think Lori has strong feelings for me?”

  “How would I know, Deek? But just in case, you need to put it all out there and make her fall in love with you.”

  Lori’s words when she’d laid her hand on his chest in his bedroom came back to him. She’d said, “I have to own all this real estate. Listen to your heart, Deek.” He could still feel the warmth of her palm on his skin. “She already owns all my heart.”

  “Really?” Rachel threw her hands up in the air. “So to prove that, your idea was to knock on her door empty-handed?”

  Now he was really confused. “Lori doesn’t care about shiny things. She’s happy with very little. I like that about her.”

  “Wow. You are such a…guy. Listen up.” She poked him in the shoulder. “All. Women. Like. Shiny. Things. But those shiny things don’t have to be diamonds, or expensive. They have to be a token to show love, get it?”

  “No.” His head hurt.

  Man, a vase of flowers was looking awfully good at the moment.

  “Okay. Look. Words don’t mean jack right now. You have to find a way to mend the damage you did when you pulled that boneheaded thing by choosing Annie over her. What’s to stop her from thinking you might do it again?” Rachel grabbed his arm and navigated him toward the door.

  “You’re right.” She said she had trust issues, so he was going to show her he loved her in a way that would leave no doubt that he always would. “I don’t know how I’m going to pull this off, but I’m going to do it!”

  Rachel took his face in her hands and kissed his cheek. “You really are adorable when you’re determined. I can see why Lori fell for you.”

  “Don’t tell her I was here. I’m afraid I’ll only get one chance to say I’m sorry, and I need a little time to figure this out. When I’m ready, she’ll have no doubts about my love. Thanks, Rachel.”

  “Welcome.” Rachel opened the door for him. “By the way, Deek. How did you know it was me so quickly? Most people have to wait until we speak to tell us apart.”

  “It’s in the eyes.” He stopped and faced her. “Lori looks at me like I invented chocolate. You look at me like I’m a guy who wants to break her sister’s heart.”

  “That’s because it’s such a tender one. So don’t do that.”

  “I won’t.” He started down the walk, then stopped and turned around. “Lori’s not really on a date. Is she?”

  Please say no.

  Rachel laughed. “No. She was making us her famous Chicken parm but ran out of breadcrumbs. So get out of here before she gets back and sees your empty hands. Don’t screw this up, Deek. See ya.” She closed the door.

  He’d come up with something so awesome, Lori would have no choice but to fall all the way in love with him. He hoped.

  What the hell was he going to do?

  After their late dinner, and Emily was tucked in bed, Lori put the last of the dishes into the dishwasher and started it. She’d wanted to make Rachel’s favorite food as a thank-you. If it hadn’t been for her pushy sister talking her into speaking with Mel, she’d still be walking around with all that bottled-up anger and pain.

  While the conversation had been hard, it had been so freeing to her heart. As if a weight she’d been carrying around since that horrible night had been lifted. Forgiving them had been the best thing for her soul.

  Why hadn’t she done it sooner and saved herself all that pain? She’d screwed up there. Now if she could get over the hurt Deek put in her heart, maybe she’d feel like a whole person again. Hopefully soon.

  Rachel had a tough shell, but deep down had a heart as gooey as Lori’s. Well, maybe not quite as soft, but still tender.

  Lori poured herself another glass of wine and then joined her sister on the couch in the den. “What are we watching?” Just once, she’d like to choose what they watched, but oh well.

  Rachel sighed. “Two single women feeling sorry for themselves on a Saturday night sound good?”

  “Nope.” Lori picked up the remote and started searching for something upbeat. “You don’t have to sit here and mope, you know. You could call Marcello.”

  “It’s the middle of the night where he is. But you’ll be happy to know I told him this afternoon that I had something important to tell him when I see him. He’ll be here in a few weeks.”

  “That’s great, Rachel. And it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Yeah. It is.” She shrugged. “I hope I can figure out by then how to tell him I love him too.”

  Lori patted her sister’s leg. “You’ll figure it out.”

  “Speaking of figuring things out, just a few weeks ago, you weren’t sure if you could ever trust a man enough to get married again. Especially now that Em’s in the picture. So maybe this whole thing with Deek was just a physical release, and it worked out for the best?”

  Lori stared into her wineglass as she pondered. It didn’t feel like it all worked out for the best. She missed Deek so much, it physically hurt. “Deek is the kindest guy I’ve ever met. I hones
tly believed he’d never cheat on me. Enough that I think I could’ve overcome my trust issues for him. If you could’ve seen the look on Deek’s face as he watched me leave. It was…heartbreaking.” She sighed. “He didn’t want to choose her. He had to.”

  “What if something changes and you and Deek could be together? It’d be pretty unfair to him if you got all the way to the altar and then got cold feet. You’re talking to me here, Lori. I know you struggle with trusting men more than you like to admit.” Rachel snatched the remote from Lori’s hand and flipped through the channels. “We both do.”

  Rachel was right. Lori had vowed never to marry again after Joe died. She’d made a bad choice in men like her mother had. She feared it ran in her genes. It was with the passing of time, and the blurring of memories, that she’d eventually decided she didn’t want to grow old alone and would try dating again. But that was no reason to get married. “Are you and I going to end up living together until we die? Along with our thirty cats?”

  Her sister laughed. “Maybe not if we get our heads out of our butts and work through our issues. And learn to trust ourselves to make good choices.”

  “I think I made some real progress today on that.” She took a deep drink from her glass. “I forgave Joe. And Mel. Mostly. I don’t know exactly when during Mel’s story, but while I was driving home, I realized he and Mel made a mistake in the heat of an emotional crisis. And people make mistakes.”

  “Including you and me, and we’re too hard on ourselves for it. So you’re welcome.” Rachel leaned over, and shoulder bumped Lori. “Stick with me, kid, and I’ll have you all straightened out in under a week. Guaranteed.”

  “Oh, guaranteed, huh?” She wished it was that simple. “We’ll see about that.”

  Rachel’s expression turned smug. “Yes, we will.”

  Lori shook her head. Rachel could be so damn sure of herself sometimes. “Speaking of a week, I’m already dreading seeing Deek and Annie next Saturday when I drop Emily off at Asher’s party. But I guess I’ll have to get used to it. For Emily’s sake.” She bumped her sister back. “This is the part where you offer to take Emily for me. Because you’re my bad-ass sister and would never be intimidated by any situation.”