Page 79 of All I Desire

Chapter Twenty-One

MATTHEW

I don’t thinkI’ve ever experienced a more tense two hours in my life. Not when I was flying through the worst thunderstorms in the Caribbean, not when I was waiting for Chloe to be born, not when my ex and I decided to divorce.

Being in the same space as Natalia and Chad has been like being caught in the crossfire of a war zone. Mostly, they’ve stayed on opposite sides of the pool—thank God for my sister, who has kept Natalia entertained with stories of being a New York journalist—but I could see Chad keep sneaking glances our way while looking smarmier than I’ve ever seen him.

Of course, Mother hired a caterer because she couldn’t be bothered to cook for seven guests. I choked down a gourmet bleu cheese burger. Natalia only took two bites of hers and inquired aloud whether her food was poisoned.

Couldn’t blame her after the way Mother treated her. Frosty as hell. Which made me insanely curious about what really happened between Natalia and Chad. Since I’m seven years older than Chad, and we never lived under the same roof because of my estrangement with Mother, I know very little about his upbringing.

After the two-hour mark has passed and it’s evident that Mother isn’t interested in getting to know Natalia — and considering that Natalia likely had some past encounters with her (God only knows how those went) — I decide this horror show should come to an end.

Although the fallout for both of us will likely reverberate for a while, this tension needs to cease. She looks at me with pleading eyes.

“Matt, I think I’m—"

“Babe,” I murmur. “How about we call it a night?”

Natalia’s expression softens. “Excellent idea. Just what I was about to suggest. But you don’t have to leave. Just walk me to my car, okay?”

We both exhale in relief. She hugs my sister and Chloe, then strides over to my mother.

“Thank you for having me,” Natalia politely offers.

“Ciao, ciao,” Mother trills. The sound of her voice grates.

I have to hand it to Natalia; it takes some guts to thank a woman who clearly dislikes her, then to hold her head high as she walks out. But Natalia did, and I’m proud to walk at her side.

She doesn’t bid Chad goodbye. He’s made himself scarce somewhere else in the mansion with his father. They’re probably watching golf, because that seems to be their bonding activity. I never played, so I was automatically left out.

Outside, Natalia slumps against the side of her car and lets out a long breath. “Wow.”

“I’m so sorry, babe. Had I known, I would have never put you through that.”

She rubs her pretty lips together. “Of course, you wouldn’t have.”

I take her face in my hands. “You okay?”

She nods, though I’m not convinced that she is. But what am I going to do in this moment? Demand that she tell me everything that happened between her and Chad? Insist she tell me what she’s thinking?

“I have a splitting headache, that’s all. I’m going home to take a cool shower and an aspirin.”

I kiss her forehead. “Good plan. Text me later. Or I’ll call you. ‘Kay?”

She nods again. Wearing a mournful look, she climbs into the car. Something thrums low in my stomach, a feeling of unease. Surely, she won’t break things off because of this, will she?

I walk inside, each step punctuated with fear and anger. What did Chad do to her all those years ago? My mouth feels like it’s devoid of moisture and I need to grab a water before I collect Chloe and Hailey so we can get the hell out of here.

Figures, Chad’s in the kitchen grabbing a beer when I stroll in.

“Hey, where’s your girl? I was hoping to reminisce about old times. We did some wild shit together. That one’s a crazy bitch. Just FYI.” He smirks.

That’s all it takes. Anger explodes in me. Natalia’s a strong, sensible person. For her to be so rattled by Chad, well, he must have done something so terrible that my mind goes to a dark place.

I push him against a wall, my hand on his throat.

“What the fuck did you do to her back in high school?” I growl.

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