Page 65 of Matched

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Inara

I’m not thrilled about the fact that I have to come into work on my day off, all because the restaurant booked a last-minute, private party. As I pull into Shaken & Stirred, the parking lot is overwhelmed with cars. Lovely. Another hectic Friday night. I was comfortable at home, relaxing and pretending things were better than they have been, until Taya called and asked me to come in. She made it sound like an emergency, and by the looks of it, it clearly is. Thankfully, I had a nice black-lace cocktail dress, and my jacket had just been dry cleaned. Of course, when I pull into the lot, I have to park all the way in the back because of how packed the place is. After cutting the engine, I smack the steering wheel and just sit in the car for a few minutes, trying to quell the storm of emotions brewing in my chest. After applying some coral lipstick, I click my phone on to check for text messages or missed phone calls, but all I find is my background image—a picture of Tony, with a party hat on, placing a tiny party hat on Simon. Of course, it could be worse. I could have put a background picture of Tony shirtless. Then each time I looked, I would have to be reminded of both the love and dick I lost.

I turn on the radio and am overwhelmed by Amy Winehouse. Her vocals wash over me like a cool mist. As much as I want to pretend that I have been okay, I haven’t been. The last couple of weeks have been spent hiding out in my home, watching television, drinking wine, and reading all the romance novels I could get my hands on. I tried to pretend I wasn’t as heartbroken about Tony as I really am, but there is no denying it. There is a hole in my heart that only a buff and bald-headed man could fill. Unfortunately, he made it clear that was not at all what he wanted. I love Tony, completely, but he has wounds that run too deep for me to try to heal. And if he doesn’t want to make things work, I can’t force him.

Granted, maybe I shouldn’t have taken liberties by helping to schedule the fundraiser, but shit, any decent person would have done the same. And yeah, I could have waited to tell him until we got home, but it’s not my fault he overreacted, and in front of his CO. I hope in time he’ll understand that a relationship is going to have ups and downs, but when two people care about each other, they work through that stuff.

Together.

But he won’t be figuring out all those problems with me. Some new woman will get that luxury.

My chest constricts and before more negativity consumes me, I turn off the radio, step out of my car, and start the long walk to the restaurant. My low heels click with each step, and I kick every pebble that stands in my way. By the time I make it to the door, my fingers are curled into tight fists, my nails biting into the skin of my palms. I want to back out and head home, but Taya needs me.

As I open the doors, Taya rushes toward me, almost slipping. She grabs my arms with both her hands and shakes me softly. “I’m so glad you are here. The private party is driving me crazy. I need you to head back there and talk to them. They have all of these demands and I don’t know how to—”

“Say no more. I will handle them.” I lift my chin and shake my hair back over my shoulders. I pull my small jacket down and smooth my dress. I am in no mood to deal with irritating customers, but I know exactly how to keep people in line with a kind, yet no-nonsense voice, and I am not afraid to whip that voice out right now. Hell, I need to whip it out.

I head to the back of the restaurant and am smacked with the balloons, streamers, colorful flowers, and two giant posters of Simon. Simon? What the hell? But that isn’t the most shocking bit.

As I step farther into the room, a song starts playing, and on a makeshift stage with a small amp next to it, Tony stands in his Navy dress whites. My God, he looks amazing. My head spins, from both the pain and wanting. What kind of fresh hell is this? The soft intro to a song by Foreigner starts playing, and I never, in all my wildest fantasies, imagined this scenario—Tony is singing!

Air rushes from my lungs and I gasp. Then things venture even further into the Twilight Zone. Tony steps off the stage and begins serenading me. By the time he gets to the chorus, I am almost positive I have caught at least a few flies because of how wide open my mouth is hanging.

I’m in a daze when he starts belting out about knowing what love is. His voice cracks and he is entirely off-key. Like “I had no idea he was so bad at singing” off-key. He gets on his knees and grabs my hand. Maybe it’s the confusion and shock, and two seconds later I’ll be crying, but right now, I start laughing.

Correction, cackling.

He has made me furious and sad and irritable in the span of only a few weeks. But as confused as I am, I love it. I love it because it’s a very Tony thing to do. This is not some random encounter. He planned this. Tony did all this because he knows me, he knows what I love, and he wanted to show me that. My heart is racing like a freight train, the emotions overwhelming. I’m scared and hopeful and mad and touched and... ugh, I’m about to climb out of my own skin.

The song ends sooner than I’d like it to, and Tony is back on his feet. He pulls me in and presses his lips against mine and, after everything we have been through, all I can think about is how much I have missed him, how much I have craved his lips, and how I pray this is not a dream.

“I know this must be a surprise,” he says as he pulls away from me.

I can’t do anything but nod in response, especially as I look around and take in all the familiar faces. Holy crap. Taya, Jim, Craiger, Bear, Marge, my mom, and even Bennett. Everyone is here.

“Can we talk outside for a minute?”

I nod again and take his hand as he leads me to the deck out back. When we open the doors, we are met with a view of the waters and a fresh breeze of sea air mixed with jasmine.

“I don’t know what to say,” I tell him.

“You don’t have to say anything, just listen.” Tony holds my hands and takes a deep breath. “I met with Redding and told him about my past, my issues with my mother and how she died. Of course, the military was aware she died from cancer, but they had no idea about the rest of it.”

I reach out and stroke his arm. “I’m so proud of you. That’s a big move to tell them.”

He grins and leans on the rail of the deck. “I told him that the day he caught us arguing, it was really my fault. That we were talking about my mother. I told him I never really dealt with her death, and that was a moment where my grief was escaping.”

His lips tremble and he looks out to the waters. I can’t believe he really opened himself up like that. Especially to his superiors.

I reach down and squeeze his hand.

He turns to face me again and pulls me in closer to him. “I told them that I signed up to meet with a grief counselor too. And I really did make the appointment. Redding was surprisingly very understanding.”

“I can’t believe you did all of that. I think going to a grief counselor will really help you, and it’ll help keep your mother’s memories alive. She would be very proud of you.” My voice cracks and my eyes start to tear. This whole time I wanted him to be this open, to share these emotions with me and others, and now that he is finally talking about it, I’m overwhelmed.

“The thing is, Inara, I could not have done this without you.”

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