Page 6 of The Fiance Dilemma

Then he frowned.

Double crap.

Play along,I mouthed.

Matthew, who must have been caught in the storm that had just swept over Green Oak, based on his wet hair, glanced behind him. He pointed at himself.

Me?I read on his lips.

Okay, shit.

This wasn’t going as I’d imagined. But what had I been expecting? I hadn’t planned this. Matthew was my sister’s best friend, and I’d known that he’d be arriving in Green Oak at some point this weekend. But I didn’t even know why he was here, in my driveway. Had he decided to stop by on his way to Lazy Elk? Had Adalyn given him my address? Why was he carrying a duffel bag? Where was his car? I wished I had all those pieces of information, but he wasAdalyn’s best friend, after all. Not mine. Matthew and I weren’t good friends, we were acquaintances. Of sorts. If that’s what you call two people who’d texted in a group chat but had never met in person.

And I’d just called himlove of my life.Out loud. Really loud.

My eyes widened.

I’d just called him love of my life.

I swallowed, glancing back at Bobbi. Dark eyes met mine, expectant. Judging. Nope. I couldn’t back down now. Absolutely not. She’d think I had issues. Real issues, not the ones she accused me of having. I returned my attention to Matthew Flanagan, Adalyn’s best friend and, as of minutes ago, my doting fiancé. The thought made my head spin again, but I could work with this. He knew it was me. Josie. His best friend’s sister. He’ll know something’s up.

Matthew moved.Finally.His foot rose in the air and… he took a step forward. In the direction of the porch.

I let out all the air I held in relief.

“Oh boy, have I missed you,” I said, still loud. “Did you miss me too, sweet… baby… pie?”

Just like two light-brown flags of uncertainty would, his brows shot up.

“Oh, no need to answer that,” I rushed out. “I already know the answer like it’s tattooed on my heart. You’ve missed me a whole bunch, I’m sure. Because we love each other and people in love can’t wait to, you know, canoodle. Smooch. Make sweet love.”

Bobbi groaned behind me.

Matthew’s step faltered for a moment.

I didn’t blame either of them. I was appalled at myself too.

With a shake of my head, I walked down a couple of steps, closing some of the distance that was taking my impromptu fiancé ages to cover and ignoring the way my heart raced for all the wrong reasons.

He stopped at the bottom of the porch before looking up, hisgaze swiping left and right. As if inspecting. Assessing. Then his eyes met mine. They were brown, big, and narrowed behind his glasses, still dripping with water. There was something in them, too. Something distracting that I couldn’t read. Something that made me think he was still deciding what to do. I felt myself plead with him, even if silently. The quality of his gaze changed, and I held my breath again.

“That’s me,” he announced, setting his boot on the last step of the porch with a wet thump.“Baby.”He cleared his throat. “And sweet baby pie. Which we’ll talk about later. Right now, I’m just glad I’m finally… home. Ready for all that canoodling.” There was a beat of silence. And Matthew must have mistaken my staggering relief for confusion, because he shot me a glance and said, “Now get your ass here and give me some sugar.”

Bobbi sighed loudly before letting out an appalled ugh.

Not me though. Just as requested, I kicked into action, flying off the porch and landing on his chest like giving this man some sugar was something I knew how to do. I didn’t, but my arms went around him either way, the top of my head locking right beneath his chin. And he… was soaking wet. Matthew’s clothes were sopping, including his leather jacket, and I could feel my robe absorbing the moisture. My skin cooling. I could also feel his body tense and stiff against mine. Why?

A throat cleared.

Bobbi.Right.

I peeled myself off Matthew’s chest with a murmuredthank youthat made him go even stiffer and turned to the woman standing on my porch. “Sorry,” I said with a smile. “I got carried away there for a second. We’re still in our honeymoon phase. Right, ah,Mattsie… Boo?”

Matthew remained silent, looking unsure again. Luckily, he shook it off quickly. “Right. Absolutely.” His gaze shifted away,falling on Bobbi. “And I take full responsibility for that.” A strange chuckle fell from his lips. “I’m Matthew. Flanagan. And this is my home. And this”—his arm swung over my shoulders—“is my woman.”

“Bobbi,” she said with a grimace. “Shark. I’m no one’s property, nor do I own anything except perhaps too much cryptocurrency, thanks to questionable financial advice.”

“Yay,”I squeaked. Loudly. “Now that that’s out of the way, and introductions are made, how about—”

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