Page 33 of Commit

“Okay. See you in the morning.” Jana smiles her matchmaking smile, and I roll my eyes back at her.

We wave to everyone and begin heading in the opposite direction. The cool night makes me shiver, and before I know what’s happening, Matt is taking off his sports coat and wrapping it around my shoulders.

“Thanks.” I push my arms through the sleeves.

We walk in silence for a moment until I finally decide to speak. “Did Tessa tell you to ignore me today?”

The corner of Matt’s lips lifts. “How did you know?”

“Because I know you, and I know you’ve probably been texting your sisters about me. And…”—my eyes drop—“you’re too sweet to come up with something like that on your own.”

He turns to me. “Did it work?”

I bite back my smile. “It didn’t not work.”

“I’ll be sure to let Tessa know. She’ll be thrilled.” He drops his hands into his pockets. “How have you been? How’s your studio doing?”

Is this weird? We haven’t talked like this at all today. It’s been all angst and awkward tension. But there’s a very big part of me that wants to talk to Matt.

“Good. I’ve gotten ten new clients in the past few months, and I opened up another hot yoga class.”

“Did the broken heater get fixed? I sent a guy to your studio.”

I tilt my head, eyeing him. “You did that?”

He shrugs.

The week after we broke up, a repairman showed up at my studio to fix one of the infrared heaters. I thought I was going crazy, that I had made the appointment and forgotten about it. I should’ve known it was Matt. Why does that knowledge make my heart hurt?

“Thanks for doing that,” I say. “It runs great now.”

“Good.”

Someone call Oprah. There’s a touching reunion of estranged lovers happening on the sidewalks of Key West.

We walk a few more paces in silence. I hesitate to ask about him because I’m not sure I want to know what he’s been up to. I ask anyway. “What about you? How have you been?”

He laughs.

I’ve always liked that about Matt, how he can laugh even when things are hard. I think he gets it from his dad.

“The last two months have been rough. I know I didn’t live close to my mom, but I miss talking to her on the phone, having her send me emails to see how I’m doing. I feel this pressure now to call my dad every day and check in on him. Like it’s my responsibility to make sure he’s not lonely now that my mom’s gone.”

“I’m sure he appreciates that.”

“I hope so.”

“How’s he doing?”

“He’s making the best of the situation. The glass is always half full with him.”

“I love your dad,” I say.

“He loves you too.” Matt takes a deep breath and looks forward, like he can’t muster looking at me for this next part. “I’ve missed you.”

I keep my focus forward. I can’t muster looking at him either. “I’ve missed you too.”

“That’s good,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

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