Page 17 of Shattered Secrets

When she’d realized Daisy wasn’t in the TV room, she’d gone looking for her. And come across this moment: big, tough Matt Alvarez making an arm cast for Mr. Slothy. To match her daughter’s.Holy wow, be still my freaking heart!

She should have announced herself, but she’d stood transfixed, watching him carefully wrap the blue tape around Mr. Slothy’s arm. He’d explained to Daisy how it wasn’t going to hurt her beloved stuffy. How she was doing a great job holding him still. How she was an amazing mama to Mr. Slothy. And just like Scarlet, Daisy had been mesmerized by each and every word.

Her chest squeezed tight. No one had ever done something like this for Daisy. Ever. And the way her little girl’s face shone bright with joy had tears prickling the backs of her eyes.

“See, Mama!” Daisy said. “His is blue and mine is pink. It’s our favorite colors!”

Blinking the tears away, she smiled at her daughter. “Wow! You and Mr. Slothy are basically twins now!”

Daisy scrambled off the couch with Mr. Slothy tucked under her arm. “Thank you, Mr. Matty,” she said, rushing out of the room. “Mama, I gotta show Poppy!”

“Walk, please!” Scarlet called out, smiling when Daisy slowed.

Alone with Matt now, she took a deep breath in for courage. Holy crap, she totally felt like a loser middle schooler striking up a conversation with the most popular boy in high school. Looking anywhere but his face, her eyes caught on his enormous hands. His long, tan fingers were fiddling with.. . Baby Unicorn?

Her gaze swung to his, and that blush on his cheeks deepened. Though it must’ve been a trick of the light because, holy shit, there was no wayhewas embarrassed. Either way, there was something seriously swoony about this giant, muscular man holding a pink unicorn.

She cleared her throat. “Thank you for doing that for Daisy. Getting a pink cast made it fun for her and distracted her from what happened, but now that Mr. Slothy has a matching blue cast, she’ll be even more excited.”

“It’s not a problem. I figured the way she was crashing her stuffies into each other, there was bound to be some damage to one of them.” He shot her a grin that had her stomach doing somersaults.

Good lord, that’s a lethal smile.

“Well, it was really kind of you. And I hope you don’t mind that I texted you that picture of Daisy earlier.” His head tilted to the side, so she rushed on, “I got your number from Poppy. I wanted to thank you for all your help this morning and show you that Daisy was doing good.” Holy crap, if she didn’t take a breath soon, she was going to pass out. But still, her mouth kept on blabbing. “I hope that’s okay. Getting your number and texting you, I mean. I didn’t want to overstep, but I really did appreciate all your help?—”

Matt held up a hand, and her words came to an abrupt halt. “You’re fine, Scarlet. Really. I appreciated your text, actually. The blue Otter Pop smile was great.”

She finally took that breath, tucking her fists into the pockets of her denim shorts. She never knew what to do with her hands. “Yeah, she’s pretty cute. I usually don’t let her have more than one. She gets a little crazy with all the sugar, but today was...” She shrugged. “And to top it off, the twins were in charge of the popsicles.”

“Are they really popsicles?” he asked, tone light and teasing. “They don’t have sticks.”

Scarlet stared at him for a moment, and the corners of her lips twitched. “They’re stickless popsicles. But popsicles nonetheless.”

He pursed his lips. “We may have to agree to disagree on that.” He smiled, and again, her stomach flipped. “Judging by the amount of blue on her face, which may be permanent at this point, I assume she was able to con a few more Otter Pops out of the twins than they actually admitted to you.” Leaving Baby Unicorn on the sofa, he stood and ran a hand through his closely cropped black hair. His tan, tattooed forearms were strong and corded, the veins popping just so.

She lost all train of thought. Her mouth might have even dropped open.

Gah! Focus, girl!Yanking her gaze away from the arm porn, she took in his wide shoulders and strong torso. There was no ignoring the way his T-shirt hugged his powerful chest. The guy was straight-up ripped and—gah! Stop eye-molesting him!

“Um,” she squeaked before clearing her throat. “The steaks are almost ready. We’re all outside if you want to join us.” Ohmygod, she could feel the warmth washing over her face.

His lips split into a broad grin. “All right. I’m going to grab another beer. Can I get you anything?”

“I’m good, thanks,” she said, back to squeaking. “I’ll meet you outside.”

More than anything in the world, she wished that the ground would magically open up and swallow her whole. No such luck. Apparently, her steady voice was a thing of the past. But holy crap, in her defense, she’d never seen Matt smile like that. And when he’d helped Daisy earlier, he’d been so soft and sweet—and so, so sexy.

Good god, she wanted to clobber herself in the head. This crush had been fine when she hadn’t really known the guy. But now? When she’d gotten a glimpse of the man behind the somber expression and growly, one-word replies? Now, it was a bad, bad idea.

An hour later, they had finished the simple but amazing dinner of steaks, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes. Once the dishes were loaded in the dishwasher and the kitchen was clean, everyone gathered around the gas fire pit, relaxing while the twins entertained them with tales from their first year at college.

Scarlet laughed at their antics, though a small part of her was envious. The twins were only four years younger than her, yet it felt like a lifetime separated them. Their stories seemed so foreign. As did their easygoing attitudes and exuberance. It waslike watching a movie about the charmed college experience. She knew their lives hadn’t been silver spoons and luxury—Poppy was like her big sister, so she knew about their struggles—but their obvious confidence left her in awe.

Daisy squirmed in her lap, and she tightened her hold, inhaling her daughter’s fruity scent. For the millionth time that evening, she wondered what she was doing here with these amazing people. How the hell had she gotten so lucky to land in their orbit?

She’d moved to Hudson Island nineteen months ago. And yes, she knew the exact day. Hell, she could probably narrow it down to the exact hour she’d stepped foot off the ferry. Coming here was the best thing she’d ever done. She’d immediately started working at Ray’s Diner, and within a week, Poppy had befriended her. She’d cherished their relationship ever since.

Poppy had given birth to the twins at sixteen and spent the following years fighting and struggling but had come out on top. The twins, who were kind and kick-ass in their own right, were thriving in college, and Poppy owned and ran one of the most successful boutiques on Hudson. More recently, she’d found blissful happiness with a great guy who, as Scarlet’s favorite gossip train ladies liked to say, wasn’t at all hard on the eyes. The woman truly was her role model. If Scarlet could be half as awesome as Poppy, she’d die happy.

---