Page 10 of The Fiance Dilemma

“Well, Chicago is not exactly around the corner,” I commented. “I knew you were coming, but I didn’t know you were getting here tonight.”

His shoulders dropped, and he let his whole body fall back on the seat. “My lease wasn’t up until Monday, but I couldn’t sleep one more night surrounded by boxes.”

“You’re staying at the lodge, right?” I continued. It was vacant now that Adalyn and Cameron had found a home closer to Charlotte, and the soccer youth club they had founded and now dedicated all their time to. “Lazy Elk is great. You’ll love it there, I promise. It’s super cozy, stylish, and has the best views in town.”

It made it twice as hard for Adalyn and Cameron to leaveGreen Oak. Maybe that was why they hadn’t rented it out yet. Maybe a part of them didn’t want to fully let go. Or maybe they just thought it would be good to keep it vacant in case someone visited. Or needed it, like Matthew did. Neither my sister nor Cameron required the extra income from a potential lease anyway. Perks of being a hardworking boss lady and a retired professional soccer player.

“I’ve heard,” Matthew said. “Adalyn warned me it was shockingly hard to find, too, but I wasn’t expecting my maps app to keep rerouting me for a whole hour. I still don’t understand how I ended up on some dirt road and drove right into a pothole.”

“So that’s what happened?” I felt my brows knot with concern. I knew I had no right to lecture him—especially not tonight—but… “You should have stayed in the car, Matthew. You shouldn’t venture out into a storm. And please, do not ever wander into the woods. In fact, next time just call—” I stopped myself. I’d been about to sayme.“Just call someone. Help. A tow.”

His eyes did a strange swipe over my face, as if surprised by my reaction. Then a light roll of laughter left him. “Battery was out after all that rerouting. I know how much of a cliché that is. But my Prius doesn’t have a USB port, and I was supposed to be a mile away from the lodge. I didn’t think I’d be soaking wet within a few minutes and get lost. By the time I realized my mistake, I just hoped the lodge was closer than the car.”

I frowned at him. I didn’twantto say it, but… “You’re such a man.”

He snorted. “Fair assessment. But you’re right. It was dumb and I… It’s been a long day, Josie. A long fucking week, if I’m honest.”

My stomach dropped at his words. The reason why he probably said that, besides his unfortunate arrival into town.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t imagine how incredibly hard that has been. Adalyn told me what happened with your job. And I’m sorry.It wasn’t fair, I’m sure, and it sucks that you were laid off like that. I’m just—sorry.”

Matthew stiffened with every word that left my mouth. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.”

But there was. Because he’d been fired, and he’d had to leave Chicago, and was moving—temporarily, according to Adalyn—into Lazy Elk, and… tonight had happened.

We stayed like that, looking at each other in not an uncomfortable silence, but still not an easy one either. A plate clattered behind us, and I wondered whether I should excuse myself and go help Grandpa, whether I should continue to make small talk with Matthew, or whether I should address the topic I’d been avoiding.

Matthew’s head must have been in the same place, because I watched his gaze dip, falling on my lap, where my hands were clasped.

“I’m not really engaged,” I finally said, showing him the back of my left hand. I had a Band-Aid over the cut on my palm, but I still made sure to keep that facing me. Just in case. “Not to you, obviously. Not to anyone else, either. Not now, at least.”

“So I didn’t imagine all of that, huh?” His expression turned pensive. “I kind of hoped I had.”

That stung a little.

But I couldn’t say I didn’t deserve it. I made myself smile. “You didn’t. Every bizarre event you remember happened.” I glanced down, bringing my hands back to my lap. “The ring is from a previous relationship and it’s… stuck. I tried to lubricate my skin with jam, which wasn’t the smartest idea. But soap wasn’t working, and I didn’t want to wait around for butter to melt.” I shook my head. “So strawberry jam seemed like a good, sensible option.”

Matthew was quiet again, enough to make me look back at him. His expression was now blank. As if he was trying to keep whatever he thought of me off his face.

So I continued. “Bobbi Shark was also real, I’m afraid. She, ah. Well. She was the reason I went into full panic mode, if you want to call it that. She… works for Andrew, my father. And her showing up caught me off guard. And before I could process that, she was rattling off all these things about me, and a PR crisis, and moving to Miami and… suddenly she was talking about the ring, and you were there, and I wanted her gone, and I really didn’t want to move to Miami, so I—I didn’t think. I acted.”

Silence followed my very poor account of the facts.

I grew even more restless. “I know how hard that is to believe but—”

“No,” he interjected. “It was clear that Bobbi was a threat from where I was standing.”

A gulp of air escaped my lips. So he understood, then. Kind of. “I wouldn’t call her a threat,” I said with what I hoped was a reassuring smile. It was a real one, too. “But she’s a little scary. Enough for me to see you and think, or hope, really, that you would help. I am your best friend’s sister, anyway, so it’s not like I was asking a complete stranger—”

“I didn’t know.”

My brow burrowed.

“I didn’t know,” he repeated. “I was trying to help, you’re right.” He rubbed the side of his neck with his hand. His voice went down. “But I didn’t know it was you, Josie.”

My smile faltered.

I didn’t know it was you, Josie.

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