Page 31 of Spark
All the way there, his thoughts were churning. Had Chris made an unwelcome pass at Sophie?
The notion was enough to send rage boiling through his veins. But it also seemed totally out of character for his friend.
Matt had known Chris for more than half his life, and he was pretty sure that Chris would never touch a woman who didn’t want to be touched…and especially not someone he was best friends with.
But the question remained: why had Sophie been speeding away from Matt and Chris’s place like she was being pursued by something?
When Matt arrived at his house a short time later, he paused on the porch to shift back to his human form and get dressed.
His bear's protective urges were all riled up, and insisted they confront Chris,now.
Matt took a deep, calming breath before he opened the front door.
There has to be a reasonable explanation for this,he told his bear.We both know that Chris is a good guy, and a good friend to Sophie.
The sounds of running water and rattling utensils led him to the kitchen. When Matt walked through the doorway, Chris had his hands in a sink full of white suds, and was washing one of the big stainless-steel mixing bowls.
More big bowls and a stack of baking sheets were piled on the counter next to him, and the dishwasher was chugging and gurgling quietly along.
“Oh, hey, Matt,” Chris greeted him without turning around.
His voice and body language both seemed oddly subdued.
“Hey,” Matt replied.
Before he could demand what the heck had happened to send Sophie peeling away from the house, Chris asked, “How was dinner with your folks?”
“Fine,” he said. “But Maggie was being a pain, like always. Apparently, she tried to set Rob up with someone, and the date turned out to be a total dud. He’s annoyed with her for getting so invested in his dating life, and she’s mad because she thinks he didn’t give, uh—”
Matt struggled to remember the name of his cousin Rob’s date. He’d started tuning out his sister about halfway through her rambling story. In any case, it wasn’t important because Rob would probably never see that guy again. “—Whatshisname a fair chance.”
Without turning around, Chris shook his head. “Sheesh, maybe your sister should just apply for a job at ShiftMatch. She’s basically trying to do their job around here, anyway.”
“So, I saw—” Matt began, trying to steer the conversation back to Sophie.
“Is your mom still thinking about maybe putting Cinnamon + Sugar up for sale?” Chris interrupted.
He didn’t stop washing the bowl he held.
“Yeah. Why?” Was it just Matt’s imagination, or was his friend deliberately trying to avoid talking about what just happened?
“Well, Uncle Dan told me that he’d be willing to co-sign a loan if I ever wanted to strike out on my own. And I was thinking, well, a place like your Mom’s might be a good idea. Especially if I want to stay in Bearpaw Ridge.”
Wait, what?Matt thought. Bewildered, he asked, “But I thought your big dream was to go to San Francisco and work for Jennifer Hsueh. That’s all you were talking about this spring, after you went to see her at that book signing thing in Salt Lake City.”
“Oh, I was just considering my options if that doesn’t work out.” Chris sounded unconvincing through. “I mean, I’m sure Chef Hsueh gets hundreds of applications every week from wannabes like me.”
“You’re not just a wannabe!” Matt protested, instinctively coming to his friend’s defense. “You’re the assistant pastry chef atCalidus!A place with two Michelin stars!”
He grabbed a clean dish towel off the stack that Chris had placed on one end of the big kitchen island, and began drying off the bowls and spatulas stacked on the “rinse” side of the deep, divided sink.
Chris shook his head. “C’mon, we both know that I would never have gotten that job right out of culinary academy if I wasn’t the owner’s nephew.”
Matt heaved an exasperated sigh. “Chris, what the hell is going on?” he demanded. Then a thought struck him. “Does your sudden change of plans have anything to do with Sophie?”
“What?” Chris tried to sound surprised, but it was almost impossible to lie to a shifter. “No! What makes you say that?”
Matt’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Chris’s back. “Because I just saw Sophie driving away from here like a bat out of hell,” he said, grimly. “What happened?”
