Page 33 of Worth the Chase

“I think we’re good, Mrs. B. Thanks,” Matthew answered for both of us, and she walked away without another word.

I stared down at the potpie and noticed the steam rising from it and forced myself to be patient. Usually, I ended up burning the roof of my mouth because I couldn’t wait to take my first bite.

“Want a fry?” Matthew shoved his plate toward me.

I grabbed a few between my fingers and ate them, burning my damn mouth in the process. I started waving my hand in front of my face and blowing out the hot air before reaching for my water and taking a gulp.

“Uh, they’re hot,” Matthew said in a smart-aleck tone, and I made a snarky expression in response.

I stabbed the top of the potpie with my fork and made a little hole so some of the heat could escape. Hoping that Matthew would drop the conversation, but knowing that he wouldn’t, I sat there silently, waiting for him to bring it right back up.

He took a massive bite of his burger and stared at me while he chewed before finally swallowing. “You really think I’m playing a game with you, Bells?”

There it is.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not sure you even know.”

He took another bite, and I finally took one of mine.

I started moaning. “Oh God, this is so good.”

“Bells, do not make sounds like that in public, or I won’t be responsible for what I do to you,” he warned.

I choked for a second before regaining my composure.

Taking a couple of more tentative bites, I stopped myself from making any sounds as I swallowed, even though I wanted to. Partially because it was so good, but mostly because I liked the effect I seemed to have on him. Call me hypocritical because who was the one playing games now?

“I really liked you. I know I was just a dumb kid back then, but my feelings for you were real,” I admitted, clearly catching him off guard.

He shifted in the booth and straightened up a little taller. “I know your feelings were real. I never meant to act like they weren’t.”

“Then, why did you leave and never talk to me again? You broke my heart, Matthew. Did you even think about me at all,or was I really that easy to forget?” I asked as years of pent-up emotions started to come to the surface. I’d thought I’d buried them deep enough that they no longer mattered, but I’d been wrong.

“Jesus, Bells,” he breathed out as his arms reached across the booth for mine. When he grabbed my hands, I considered pulling away, but kept still instead as his thumb caressed the top of my hand. “I’m not going to pretend like I did nothing but think about you because that would be a lie and I won’t lie to you. I did think about you way more often than I had any business doing, and every time I did, I mentally beat myself up over it. Your brother told me to stay away from you. He told me that I’d never deserve you, that I wasn’t good enough for you, and I agreed with him. Whenever I thought about reaching out, his warning was in my head, stopping me.”

Matthew’s words were like blows, each one striking me square in the heart, over and over again until I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“Leo had no right to do that,” I said as I fought back the emotion that threatened to bubble up and consume me.

“He was looking out for you. It was the right thing for him to do at the time. But that doesn’t mean it’s right anymore.”

“What are you saying exactly?”

“What I’ve been trying to tell you since I got back into town. I want you to give me a chance.”

The teenage part of me wanted to jump up and down and pump her fist in the air. But the adult version was suddenly terrified. Here I was, a freaking virgin, and Matthew was the complete opposite. He had more experience than your average guy. Just thinking about that fact alone had me shaking underneath the table. The whole situation was intimidating. I felt embarrassed for some illogical reason.

“What do you say, Bells?” he pushed.

“I need some time to think about it,” I responded.

“Okay,” he agreed a little too easily.

I shot him a look. “Really? That’s it?”

“Yeah. You want time, I’ll give you some. Not a lot. We both know I’m not good at being patient, but I’ll try. I mean, I probably won’t try very hard, but what do you need? A day? Two at the most?” he said.

I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not as he finished off the rest of his burger.

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