Page 63 of Match Point

He offered an anemic grin. “I wasn’t invited.”

“I’m inviting you, she said in a lowered voice. “We’re going to Vicenzo’s for mac and cheese.”

Cute dimples peeked out on his cheeks. “Pasta?”

“Not just any pasta, but pasta with gooey cheese. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.” She’d kept to her diet, refraining from indulging in anything unhealthy. Since she’d won, it was time to celebrate with a small indulgence. Lord knew, she couldn’t have sex. She might as well give into the other decadence in life. Carbs.

He shook his head, the gleam of challenge in his eyes. “I am sure it is. It sounds perfect to me, too.”

“Wow, you’re not going to give me shit?” She tilted her head, eyebrow raised in challenge. He was no longer her manager and he had no say over her behavior. Then why are you hanging on his every word?

“Oh, I plan on giving you shit. I’m just waiting for the right time.” He nudged her knee with his, the playful side of Leo out in full force. When he switched all that intensity on her, it proved hard to fight. But fight it she would. She couldn’t avoid Leo, no matter how much her mind screamed otherwise. He was Howler’s assistant and his foster brother. Granted, they wouldn’t be together much, especially once she was on the road. But their lives would be forever entwined.

Smile and pretend you’re happy, anything to hide your true feelings. To do otherwise was suicide.

Chapter Fifty

“You’re quitting?” Howler crossed his arms while he leaned against the doorframe of Leo’s office in the Howler Sports Talent Agency. “Did you decide to reenlist for active duty?”

“No, I’m done with the military. The agency is running smoothly and my obligation to Sorcha is over. You tasked me with getting her organized and I did as you asked. Mission accomplished.” He’d be sad about leaving but he needed this shake-up. He’d grown complacent in his life, waiting for something to happen when he should be making it happen. The only problem was, he had no idea what to do with himself. If he’d found his mother two months before, he’d have moved to Puerto Rico to be close to her. He still could. Without the job at the agency, he had nothing to tie him to Seattle.

“You have a stake in the company. You can have any job that you want. Name it and it’s yours.”

Leo shook his head and huffed out a breath. The one and only job he wanted he couldn’t have. “See, that’s the thing. I have no idea what I want. I hate to admit you were right. But you were right. I was bored. The past few months have showed me how bored I was.”

Howler rubbed at his chin, his brown eyes raking Leo’s face in an all-too-knowing manner. “I have to admit, I haven’t seen you as relaxed as you were during that month with Sorcha since, well, I can’t recall. You were always such a serious little shit.”

“I was never little, my shit just looked smaller next to your colossal big-ass pile.” Leo countered, leaning against his desk.

“Are you leaving because of Sorcha?” Howler asked.

He considered hedging, but what was the point? “Yes and no. I liked being her manager—well, more the training aspect. But once again, I must admit you were right. Sex complicated things. I like her more than I should, but we have different goals in life. She’s starting her career all over again and her job will take her across the globe. With her gone, where does that leave us?”

Howler shrugged. “What’s keeping you here? You just quit. You have no job, no family to support, so what’s stopping you?”

Leo ran a hand over his shorn hair, his palm settling on the back of his neck. He’d argued this same scenario in his head, and it all returned to one stark realization. “We’re polar opposites. You know how anal I am about things and Sorcha is chaos. Shit, she never even unpacked her suitcases when she moved in here. She never stays in one place for long and isn’t grounded in any way.”

Hand raised; Howler scratched at his chin. The look he cast Leo was disconcerting. “You wanted stability because you didn’t have it as a kid. Yet you just admitted you were bored being stable.”

“Are you trying to psychoanalyze me?” Leo released a bark of laughter. He’d always considered himself a linear thinker, someone who followed the necessary steps to obtain a goal. Sorcha threw a wrench in his well-ordered existence. Life with her was a series of twists and turns and he never knew where he’d end up. “You, the man child who refused to grow up?”

“Better late than never. I have a wife and a child, two things I thought I didn’t want until I realized I was lying to myself. As a kid you wanted the white picket fence and the perfect family because you didn’t have it. As a kid, I wanted money and recognition, to prove that I was more than the son of a convicted murderer. Raina showed me there was more to life than money and business.”

“Sorcha isn’t like Raina.” Raina was quiet and dependable. He never knew what he’d get from Sorcha. She kept him on his toes and he never grew tired of her many moods. Strange, since he thrived on structure.

“No Sorcha is Sorcha, and you either take her like she is, or you don’t.” Howler rocked back on his heels, tenacity in the jut of his jaw. He wasn’t going to let it go. “Ask yourself one simple question; can you picture your life without Sorcha?”

“That’s not a simple question.” It was the hardest question he’d ever had to answer. If he could even come up with an answer.

Howler rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You’re an annoying fuck. Then ask yourself a difficult question: Can you picture your life without Sorcha?”

“No, I can’t.” Leo tapped his thumb against his thigh. Habit said no but his gut told the truth.

“If you love her, don’t let her go. Tear up that stupid resignation letter and get your ass out to the reception area. She should be here anytime.”

Leo stood upright. “She’s coming here?”

He glanced at his phone and nodded. “Yes, in five minutes. We’re discussing a new marketing strategy.”

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