Page 92 of Worth the Wait

“With what?” he asked.

I really believed he’d forgotten he was the one who had built this place.

“This barn. The vision. The execution. It’s magical.”

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Thanks.”

I looked up at him and saw the same boy that I’d fallen in love with back in high school. His eyes were the same color blue. His hair the same shade of dark brown. And he still looked at me the way he always used to, like, somehow, I was the one who had hung the moon in the sky when we all knew it was him.

“I love you.” He dipped his head down to kiss me before twirling me once more.

“I love you too,” I said. “I need some water.”

He laughed, and we both looked toward the bar, where we spotted Matthew standing in front of Bella, having what looked like a pretty serious conversation.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” I whispered.

“Yeah. What do you think’s going on over there?”

“I’m not sure, but we should definitely find out,” I suggested.

Patrick laughed. “Oh, we’re definitely finding out. Matthew’s the nosiest one of us all. It’s about time he was on the receiving end,” he said a little too enthusiastically.

Before I knew it, he was pulling me by the hand toward the bar.

When we arrived, all the talking halted. Matthew and Bella both stopped moving their mouths and swallowed whatever words were about to come out.

“What are you doing to our bartender, little brother?” Patrick asked Matthew, who seemed unfazed by the question.

“Trying to convince her to go home with me after these lovely festivities are done,” he answered with what I assumed was total honestly.

Bella laughed so hard that she almost choked. “Please take him away.”

“Not until you say yes, Bells,” Matthew started begging, his hands pressed together and everything. “Say yes. Come home with me.”

“I’m not letting you break my heart twice,” she said under her breath, but it was loud enough for all of us to hear.

“Break your heart?” Matthew repeated before he focused his eyes on hers and held. “When did I break your heart?” he asked so sincerely.

“I want to know the answer too,” Patrick added, and I swatted his shoulder. “What?”

“This isn’t our business,” I ground out, but knew that once Bella and I started working together, I was going to get the information out of her at some point.

“Bells…” Matthew said the name that I’d never heard anyone except for him call her.

“Don’t act like you don’t know exactly what you did, Matthew O’Grady,” she sassed.

His eyes were pulled together so tight that I thought they might stick that way. “I don’t, Bells. I really don’t. Tell me. Please,” he pleaded, but Bella was unmoved.

“Just go away. I’m not a game. Or some prize you can pick out of a machine just because you’re bored.”

Damn. That one hurt even me.

Matthew reared back. “I’m not bored, Bells.”

“You sure do act like it. Always hanging out at the saloon, drinking yourself into a stupor, like you have nothing else to do with your time.” Bella kept slinging words that were painful to listen to. Even if they were true, they still stung.

Matthew let out a laugh that sounded more shocked than anything. “I hang out at the saloon because that’s where you are, Bells. I could do anything I wanted with my time, but I choose to be with you.”

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