Page 55 of Starfish and Coffee
Matt gave her an unimpressed look and folded his arms over his chest, just waiting for her to make the decision to leave. After staring him down for a long moment, she turned away with another sob and stormed down the driveway as Matt stood there in his underwear watching until she opened the back door to the Rolls. She slammed it with more force than necessary and must have said something harsh to Charlie, because he peeled off down the street.
Even after the large white car was out of sight, Matt just stayed there staring at the empty driveway as his body vibrated with anger. Finally he turned around, seeing Alex leaning against the door. Neither of them cared about their state of undress after that disaster.
“So, um,” Alex started, his voice shaking. “I guess you forgot about tea at the club.”
Matt nodded, giving Alex a dazed look. “Yeah, I guess I did. It’s Monday, isn’t it?”
“All day,” Alex agreed.
Matt snorted and looked down the street. “Well, that blows.”
Chapter Thirteen
Alex had been waiting for it all week.
Even if Matt assured him it wasn’t an issue, Alex knew better. Cecilia Tarrington had teeth sharper than a pit bull’s, and Alex had been looking behind him for six full days, waiting for those pristine veneers to sink into his ass.
The time delay, added to the fact that Matt’s cell phone finally stopped vibrating nonstop with calls from his mama, had actually caused Alex to let his guard down, which was never a good thing.
A part of him wanted to crawl under the covers with Matt and never show his face again, but they both agreed it was better if Alex slept at home until the storm blew over. More than anything, Alex had been working up the nerve to break it to Will that the reason he didn’t need to worry about Holly sleeping with Alex was because pussy wasnevergoing to be on Alex’s menu. Matt was giving him the space to do it because they both knew it was going to come out one way or the other.
Matt told Alex it was better to do it on his terms.
Alex knew he was right, but after seeing the coming-out cataclysm with Matt and his mama, he wasn’t exactly fired up to break the news to Will. It was a given his brother would take it better than Cecilia Tarrington, but that wasn’t saying much. A snake-handling, southern Baptist minister would’ve taken it better than her.
To add insult to injury, Holly and Will were fighting about New York. So Alex’s home life wasn’t exactly calming. After six days of eating antacids like candy, Alex was so fried he didn’t notice the Rolls Royce until he was already on his bike.
Staring at the impressive car with dread, he leaned sideways on his bike to rest his foot against the ground. His stomach jolted painfully as the back door of the Rolls opened and expensive-looking shoes hit the pavement.
The car blocked the full length of the driveway so there was nowhere to go. Alex was trapped.
Cecilia Tarrington brushed at her skirt as she stood and leveled her gaze at him, which was bizarre for Alex because so much of Matt’s good looks came from her. Matt’s black hair, his light eyes, his full lips, and the way he quirked one superior eyebrow while he waited for an answer to his questions; it was all from his mama.
“Do you have a moment?” she asked in false sweetness.
Alex looked down at his bike pointedly. “I was sorta going somewhere.”
“Oh, well, it can wait,” she said dismissively as if Alex’s responsibilities paled in comparison to her demands. “How about a walk on the beach?”
Pass!There was no way Alex was going to let this woman ruin the beach for him.
“You can come in.” He tilted his head to gesture back to his house, figuring he might as well get the inevitable over with. “No one’s home. They’re working the late shift at Frank’s.”
She grimaced at the mention of Frank’s, but turned to wave to her driver. “That’ll do.”
Knowing with every fiber of his being that talking with Matt’s mama was a mistake, Alex got off his motorcycle. He put the kickstand down before he turned to the house without looking at her. He felt her at his back as he put the key in and opened the door, then ushered her in. “Make yourself at home.”
She stopped past the entryway, holding her purse to her chest as if terrified walking into Alex’s home would somehow put her at danger of being robbed.
“You want me to leave the door open?” Alex asked as he watched her look around the inside of the house like she was afraid the poverty was going to rub off on her.
“Yes, thank you.” She nodded, completely missing Alex’s sarcasm.
She turned back to him and squared her shoulders as she lifted her chin to look Alex in the eye. “I want you to get out of my son’s life.”
“Yeah.” Alex swallowed hard and nodded. “I kinda figured that was what you wanted.”
“How much will it cost me?”
