Page 19 of To Her

I stepped into the spacious room to find Haley and Anna lounging on the sectional with Jake and his friends. My heart did a stupid little flip when I spotted Matt among them, sitting in an armchair with a beer in hand.

Our eyes met, and for a moment, neither of us seemed to know what to say.

"Hey," I finally managed, aiming for casual but landing somewhere closer to awkward.

"Hey," he replied, his expression unreadable.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, broken only when Anna, bless her, jumped in with, "How was work?"

"Long," I said, grateful for the distraction. "I'm actually going to grab a shower. I smell like work and need to get clean."

"We ordered pizza," Haley offered. "There's still some left in the kitchen if you're hungry."

"Thanks, maybe after." I was already backing toward the door, desperate to escape the weight of Matt's gaze. "Nice to see you all."

I fled to my room, heart pounding inexplicably. The last thing I'd wanted was to see Matt tonight, especially not surrounded by our friends, with no chance to talk about why he'd disappeared on me.

I took my time in the shower, letting the hot water wash away the day's stress and giving myself a pep talk. So what if he ghosted me? So what if he was sitting in the living room right now, looking unfairly good in a simple t-shirt and jeans? I was a grown woman. I could handle this.

By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel with my hair dripping down my back, I'd almost convinced myself I was over it.

Until I opened the door to find Matt leaning against the wall in the hallway, arms crossed, looking distinctly unhappy.

"What?" I asked, clutching my towel tighter.

"You made a Tinder account," he said, his voice low and accusatory.

I blinked, momentarily thrown. Of all the things I'd expected him to say, that wasn't even on the list. "Um, maybe?"

"I saw it today."

"So?" I was starting to get annoyed now. What right did he have to question me about anything?

"I thought this was something," he said, gesturing between us.

The audacity nearly took my breath away. "You ghosted me," I pointed out.

"No, I was busy. I said that to you."

"You also said you would call," I countered, "and that didn't happen."

Something shifted in his expression then, the anger giving way to confusion, then realization. "Did I?"

"Yes." The word came out sharper than I intended, all my disappointment and hurt condensed into a single syllable.

Matt's shoulders slumped slightly. He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture I was starting to recognize as a sign of his discomfort. "Shit," he muttered, then took a step toward me. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

I stayed where I was, not trusting myself to move closer to him while wearing only a towel and a thin veneer of indignation.

"So this whole time," he continued, moving closer still, "I thought you would call me, and you thought I would call you?"

"That's generally how it works when someone says 'I'll call you tonight,'" I said, but the bite had gone out of my words.

He was right in front of me now, close enough that I could smell his cologne and see the genuine regret in his eyes. "Shit, babe, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I was so busy I forgot and then blamed you."

Before I could respond, he wrapped his arms around me, towel and all. I stood rigid for a moment, torn between the desire to push him away and the equally strong urge to melt into his embrace.

The latter won out. I relaxed against him, letting my head rest on his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart.

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