Page 42 of Matched with the Grumpy Secret Prince

I wipe my cheeks quickly, even though I know she can’t see me. “Yeah?”

“Dinner’s ready,” she says. “Sam brought his lasagna over, and you know how rare that is. You should come down and eat.”

My stomach twists at the thought of food. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have an appetite, but right now, the idea of sitting at the table and pretending everything’s fine feels impossible.

“I’m not hungry,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

Mia pauses, and I can almost hear the wheels turning in her head. “Sophie, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say quickly, too quickly.

She doesn’t buy it. “I’m coming in.”

“No,” I say, my tone sharper than I intend. “Please, Mia. I just… I just need to be alone right now.”

The silence on the other side of the door feels like a weight pressing down on me.

“All right,” she says softly after a moment. “But if you need to talk, I’m here.”

“Thanks,” I manage, my throat tight.

I listen to her footsteps retreat down the hall, and when the house falls quiet again, I sink back onto the bed, wrapping the comforter around me like a shield.

GRAHAM

The air hangs heavy tonight, like even the wind has decided to hold its breath. I sit on the edge of my bed, staring at the floor, my thoughts circling the same problem over and over.

Sophie.

Her face when I made that careless comment is burned into my mind. The way she froze, her expression cracking just enough to let the hurt show before she hid it again. I can’t stop replaying it, the sound of my own words ringing in my ears like a hammer against steel.

Rich kid.

I didn’t mean it like that, not the way it came out. But there’s no erasing it now, and the damage is done.

I drop my head into my hands, frustration coiling in my chest.

Why does she affect me like this?

I’ve spent years keeping my distance from people, building walls so high and thick that no one can get close. It’s safer that way—for me and for them.

But Sophie has a way of slipping through the cracks.

It’s not even the way she challenges me, pushing back when most people would let it go. It’s her everything. Her presence is magnetic, drawing me in despite all the alarms in my head telling me to stay away.

And I can’t let that happen.

Letting Sophie in means risking everything I’ve worked so hard to protect. My anonymity. My past. My secret.

Because how can I pursue anything with her and not tell her the truth? How can I look her in the eye and pretend I’m just some small-town landscape architect when I’m so much more than that—and yet not that at all?

I push to my feet, pacing the room as the weight of it presses down on me.

This can’t continue. I have to fix what I said, make things right between us, and then figure out how to keep my distance.

Even if it kills me to do it.

I stop by the flower shop that evening, the hum of crickets filling the cool air as I park my truck. The lights are still on inside, casting a warm glow through the windows.

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