Page 51 of Starfish and Coffee
“Oh, I got beers.” Holly met Matt at the sliding glass door, two beer bottles in each hand. “Is that—”
“Walk with me.” Matt wrapped an arm around Holly’s waist and kept walking, forcing her to take two steps backward before she turned, letting herself be led farther into the house. “They’re having the argument again.”
“Ugh.” Holly led the way after that. She didn’t want to get sucked into the fight any more than Matt did. “I’m so sick of New York, and I haven’t even moved there yet.”
“Do you want to move there?” Matt asked before he could stop himself.
Holly turned back to him, a stricken look crossing her face. She stood stock-still for one long moment, making it obvious no one had asked her flat-out like that.
Finally she shrugged. “It’s an amazing opportunity for Will.”
“I’m not asking about Will,” Matt said in a stern voice that was enough to make Holly’s back stiffen in defensiveness. “Do you want to leave Mirabella and live in New York? Is that something you really want for yourself?”
“It won’t be forever.” She looked past his shoulder toward the patio as if silently searching for some sort of confirmation she wouldn’t have to leave the island forever. “Five years, maybe.”
“You think he’s just going to leave one of the top firms in New York and come back here?” Matt shook his head. “Even if hethinksthat’s what he’s going to do, it’ll never happen. There’s nothing here that’ll equal the money and success he can generate there. This is a forever type thing, Holly.”
Rather than respond, Holly handed Matt three of the beers in her hands and then opened the fourth. She took a long drink of it, looking miserable as she turned and walked into the kitchen without another word.
Matt let her go, knowing she probably needed space, and found himself thinking of his own situation. Alex and Holly were like opposite sides of the same coin, yin-and-yang beach rats who lived to play on the shore at sunset and go diving at sunrise. The reason Alex kept arguing with his brother so furiously was because he knew Holly didn’t want to go to New York. Shewouldto hold on to the love she shared with Will, but she would never be happy there.
And Alex would never be happy in Atlanta.
If Matt wanted to hold on to him, he was going to have to walk away from a legacy that dated back sixty years. He needed to quit the job he’d never wanted with Tarrington Enterprises and be his own man.
“When are you going to take me on one of those spearfishing trips you go on?”
Matt turned when Devon Hastings and Alex’s friend Brandon Carver walked up behind him. He pulled a face at Devon. “Do youwantto go spearfishing?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Brandon here was telling me about it. You know I live for the next adventure.” Devon put a hand on Brandon’s shoulder. “Maybe I could fly you guys out to Key West. I heard there’s some amazing fishing out there. My new jet has plenty of room.”
“Definitely.” Brandon nodded, his eyes wide at the prospect of flying in Devon’s private jet out to Key West. “Alex used to go out there all the time. Not this season though. I guess the fish just weren’t biting this year. There’s still lobstering, but that doesn’t start until August.”
Matt snorted, unable to help the laugh that burst out of him. “That must be it.”
“And Key West has a ton of great wrecks for diving. That’s fun all year,” Brandon went on, obviously anxious to sell Devon on the idea. “You dive, Hastings? My dad owns a scuba shop on Bay Boulevard.”
“I do.” Devon nodded, clearly interested. He pointed to the beers in Matt’s hand that Holly had handed him. “You drinking those, Matt?”
“No.” Matt handed a beer to each of them. “Enjoy.”
His and Alex’s worlds had collided over the course of this year, and it wasn’t as bad a mesh as everyone thought it’d be. There were still some issues, like Matt’s mother who had never warmed up to Alex, or Will, who tolerated Matt at best, but those were minor issues.
Matt walked away when Brandon and Devon started talking about scuba diving, and went to grab two more beers out of the kitchen. Holly was having an animated discussion with Melissa over something, and Matt was glad they barely noticed him as he dug into the cooler full of ice next to the fridge. His mind was on Alex and what needed to be done to make sure they had a future together. The distraction of being social became a little too much for the moment.
When he made it back out to the patio, Alex and Will were still arguing. Matt didn’t say anything. He just set a beer in front of Alex and then handed another one to Will.
Alex looked away from his brother when Matt sat down next to him, this time a little closer than was typical. Instead of scooting his chair away, Alex just reached under the table and slyly squeezed Matt’s thigh. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Matt grinned at him. “Figured you needed it.”
They weren’t trying so hard anymore to be something they weren’t. Alex was as tired of the lie as Matt was. Spring didn’t just mean tourists and warmer waters.
It meant Alex and Matt were coming out.
* * * *
Alex jumped up on the bed and reached his hands up, successfully touching the ceiling in Matt’s bedroom. Naked and still buzzing after the party, he grinned at Matt who was lying on his side, head propped in his hand as he looked up at Alex with an arched eyebrow.
