Page 86 of Perfect (mis)Match

VINCENT

On top of all the drama I was currently facing, I could now add a missing-in-action Paul to the list.

He wasn’t at my place when I’d arrived home from work, so I texted him for a status update. He was usually glued to his phone, so I was shocked when he didn’t reply. I texted him again as I got ready for work the next morning and once again got zero response. When he didn’t pick up my call, I determined that something was up, and it wasn’t good. I didn’t want to reach out to Chloe, just in case he was keeping her out of the loop as well, so once lunch time rolled around, I headed over to his apartment. I’d opted to take my chauffeur today instead of driving myself, since being in the parking garage never failed to make me think of Piper.

And thinking about her made my heart hurt in a way I’d never experienced before.

I called Paul once again as I walked into the lobby of his apartment building even though I had a feeling he wouldn’t pickup. I was starting to get worried since the radio silence was so unlike him. The guylovedtalking.

I walked over to the doorman at his desk. “Hey, Sam. Is Paul in?”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Forde,” Sam said cheerfully. “Looks like he’s actually—” The man’s smile dropped into an expression of confusion as his eyes caught on something over my shoulder. “I mean, he’s…um…” I turned to see what had snagged his attention and saw Paul behind me making throat-cutting gestures only to sigh in defeat when our eyes met.

“Fine, yes, I’m here,” Paul said, irritated. “Why areyouhere? Isn’t it enough that you’ve been calling and texting me nonstop?”

“We need to talk,” I insisted. “Can I come up?”

“I’m not sure you want to hear what I have to say to you,” he fumed. “But fine. Come up. I’ll give you five minutes.”

His radio silence had clued me in that he might be avoiding me, but I never imagined it was my fault. We rode up to his apartment in an ominous silence.

Whatever was coming was going to be bad. Paulnevergot this upset. Aiden was the fighter out of all of us, with a temper that was quick to flare up. Trent was more of a silent simmer kind of guy. When he went quiet, we knew things were about to go to hell. But Paul? He was the golden retriever of the bunch, always managing to find a reason to be cheerful no matter how dark things got.

I braced myself for what was to come. Maybe he and Chloe were separating already? Given how rough things had been for them, it wouldn’t surprise me.

Nearly all relationships were doomed to fail, and they were just facing the inevitable quicker than usual.

He unlocked his door and strode in. I’d half expected to find the place a mess given his near-bachelor state, but it was as perfect as ever, with fresh flowers in vases scattered around the place and the throw pillows on his couch perfectly karate-chopped. My nose was so keen that I could tell which bouquets of roses were nearly ready for the trash bin even though they all looked gorgeous from a distance.

“You’re an asshole, you know that?”

“I’m sorry,what?” I asked, incredulous.

“Do you know how much you hurt Piper?”

I sighed. “Okay, that’s what this is about. I get it.”

“Do you though?” he asked, a note of frustration in his voice. “Because it sure doesn’t seem like it.”

Well, damn. Paul waspissed.

“I’m sorry, but it’s for the best. Piper is better off without?—"

“You broke her heart,” he cut me off. “If I’d had any clue that’s what you were capable of, I would’ve warned her to stay the hell away from you. I mean, I had my doubts. Look at your track record.” Paul’s voice was full of venom. “But I thought this relationship could be different, because Piper’sreal. She’s not one of your social-climbing supermodels, she’s a decent, kindhearted, loving person. I thought maybe if you got involved with her, you’d understand what an actual, loving relationship could be like. And maybe she could melt that cold heart of yours.”

Every word cut into me, but I didn’t respond. There was no need to fight back because he was right. Piper was all of that and more.

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” he demanded.

“Can we sit at least?”

“No. I don’t want you to get comfortable,” he fumed.

I couldn’t even make it past the front hall? This was bad. But was it decades-old-friendship-ending bad?

“Paul,” I sighed. “Okay, I admit it, I fucked up. But it’s over now, and the truth is, I’m not cut out to be what she needs. I’m notgoodat all that stuff. I’m better solo.”

He made a face at me. “Yeah, right, says the guy with a giant group of friends you’ve maintained since college. You being here now proves my point; you took time out of your busy work day to figure out what was going on with me. You told Piper that business is all that matters to you, but that’s obviously not true. You know how to step up and put people first when it’s a relationship that is important to you, so why didn’t Piper make the cut?”

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