Page 32 of One Day Like This (Excess All Areas 1)

Izabel leaned against him, and he placed his arm around her. They’d been doing it all night. A gentle touch here, a sweet kiss there. Moments when Izabel had kissed him with more ... intensity ... than he could handle. He’d been half hard all night for the want of her.

He thought about the car ride, how she’d spoken about his music. How she’d sat down opposite him as he tried, yet again, to write the perfect song about her.

Then he’d think of Jase and his chest would squeeze.

Why couldn’t she be just his?

Iz stood between his legs as he sat on his stool, her back to him as she swayed to the music. It was impossible to keep his eyes off her arse.

He’d love to profess to being a gentleman, but while his actions maintained a certain propriety, his thoughts had her naked, grinding up against his dick.

“Ready for bed, Cinderella?” he asked.

“Yep.”

Matt asked the bartender for two large bottles of water to be added to his tab and settled the bill. He grabbed the water in one hand, the other reached for Izabel’s.

His heart settled with a thud in his chest when she took it.

Izabel had long since removed her heels and carried them up the stairs in silence.

Matt let them into the room and Izabel headed straight for the bed.

“Ah, ah. No you don’t. You’ll hate yourself in the morning if you don’t take your makeup off.”

“Urgh.”

Matt grinned. While he was a long way from sober, he wasn’t as drunk as Iz. “Come on, sweetheart.” He slid his arms around her middle and lifted her from the bed. “Let’s go. I’ll help you out.”

“I don’t want to do this.”

“I know, but you’ll hate waking up tomorrow and your skin a mess for the wedding. Here.” Matt bumped her up onto the counter. “What do you need?”

Izabel pointed. “Those cotton pads, that makeup remover.”

Matt grabbed a pad and poured the clear liquid onto it. He put the bottle down and reached for her chin. “Close your eyes.” She did as he said, and Matt carefully swept the pad over her eyes.

“I didn’t mean to do it.” Her words were uttered softly.

“Do what?”

“Jase. You. Me. This mess.”

His stomach flipped. Uncertain for what to say, Matt simply finished one eye and reached for a pad to clean the other before speaking. “We don’t need to talk about this, Izabel.”

“We do. Because this. Tonight. You and me driving up the M6 motorway on our own adventure. All of it. I wish it were always like this. And it can’t ever be because of Jase.”

“It’s water under the bridge.”

“It’s not. You told me to stand confidently in this dress. So, here I go. I was so lost that night. I was fed up with waiting for you to see me, Matt. Fed up with watching you hook up with women like Sophia with their long legs and perfect makeup and big tits. And Jase ... well,hesaw me. And I was lonely. He told me he’d help me get home. He was kind. He told me he’d been waiting for the right time to kiss me.”

He should move. Stop stroking cotton pads over her eyes like he cared. “Izabel. Honestly. I can’t have this conversation with you.”

Izabel gripped his wrist and opened her eyes. “You have to, Matt. You have to because it’s killing me.”

Tears threatened to spill over her lashes.

Matt shook his head, willing words to come, urging his feet to work and take him out of the bathroom.

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