Jessica

We sat inside the car and stared at his parents' house for what felt like forever. Matthew was quiet during the 20-minute drive. Maybe he was thinking about Vren's blabbing mouth. Maybe he thinks that we're worried about the same thing.

I would be lying if I said he was right. Right now, all I could think of is our unfulfilled plan to spend a day at the beach. His invitation felt like it was forever ago.

Anyway, what was it in my old life that made me want to have it back so badly?

I suggested we drive to Vren and Audrey's cabin because it was private. We don't want to deal with so many beachgoers. I think we decided to go for a weekend. That's two days from now.

I sighed and gambled a glance at Matthew.

He looked like he was miles away.

I cleared my throat, hoping to stir him out of his thoughts.

It didn't work.

I cleared my throat one more time.

He's still staring at the open space.

"You know, I don't think Vren is going to say it's a brawl."

Matthew finally snapped out of his reverie. He turned to me and looked like he had no idea what I was talking about.

"The 'brawl' thing with Vren?"

His brows knitted together. Then, they arched with realization. "Oh, right." He sighed and went back to staring at his parents' house. "The brawl," he murmured to himself.

"Do you think they'll know we're just sitting here?"

His shoulder lifted an inch. "Maybe."

"Should we go inside? Maybe they'll think we're being weird." I scrunched my nose to indicate the weirdness of this staring-at-nothingness thing.

His dimples appeared along with a sweet smile. "Yeah, maybe we should. It's going to be fine."

I nodded. "Yeah. There's no worst-case scenario here."

We both clambered out of the car and walked toward the door. I press the doorbell, tucking away the sad feeling that this might be the last time that I'm going to be at this doorstep with Matthew.

"Hi. Finally. I thought you were going to spend the entire day at the driveway." Andrei regarded us both with an amused grin. "I heard you started a brawl in some club."

Matthew groaned. "It wasn't a brawl."

Chandra appeared behind Andrei. "Matthew, I heard there was a brawl. Are you okay?"

"Not a brawl, Chandra."

"That's not what I heard from Vren," she says with a grin. She opened the door farther and gestured us in. "Brawl or not brawl—tell me all about it!"

Chandra kissed my cheek briefly, leaning close to my ear. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to Matty," she whispered.

I gaped.

She winked at me and linked arms with Matthew. "Mom wants to hear all about this brawl, too."

"Where's my brother and how have you done to him?" Andrei propped his arms on his waist. "Whichever treehouse you hide him in, I hope he stays right here."

"I got him into a fight," I pointed out. "I don't think that's a good thing."

He swathed an arm around my shoulder and led me inside. "You have known this family for a long time. Something like this happening to Matthew is a good thing."

I chuckled. "Strangest family I'll ever know."

"I know, right?" Andrei let out a happy sigh. "Just a heads up, though. Everybody's here to see the black eye."

I faltered. "Everybody?"

"Trust me. Everybody. Cade canceled a meeting for this."

"Oh, good lord." I stopped dead in my tracks when saw what was happening in the living room. Matthew is sitting on the sofa. Several groups of familiar faces are swarming around him.

Matthew's siblings, parents, sister-in-law, his sister-in-law's sister, close friends, and his godchildren.

A colorful ponytail caught my eye.

"Kylie?"

A tiny figure stepped out of the swarm. Her dark brown eyes crinkled when she saw me. "Jess!"

I opened my arms for her and she ran toward me. "Oh my, gosh. I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too. God, it felt like you've been gone a year." I pushed her gently to arm's length and held her face in my hands. "You have no idea how much I missed your cute face."

She giggled. "I can tell. This is crazy, huh? Matthew getting into a club? Getting a black eye?"

"Pretty crazy."

The buzz about the 'Black Eye' went on for at least an hour. After that, we all had lunch. Then, luckily, the thrill about the 'Black Eye' ebbed away by the time we were sipping coffee on the patio.

The guys were with Margaret. She figured she could use the help because she wanted to move a few pieces of furniture around. I think she's taken advantage of the roomful of masculinity—which is something that I would do, too.

"I heard about the whole story." Kathie laid her coffee on the table. "That jerk. I'm going to shove him in a sack and drown him."

"Kathie, come on. It was no biggie. Plus, Matthew and I already dealt with him."

Chassie came back with a refill of her coffee. She hadn't heard about the 'whole story' that her sister mentioned, but she did hear what I said. "So, you and Matthew are a team now?"

"We're friends." I pointed out. "Teamwork comes with the territory."

She sat next to her sister with a cheeky grin. "If you say so."

Andrei came out of the sliding doors with muffins on a serving tray.

"Andrei, those muffins look amazing." I reached for one, but Andrei give my hand a little slap. "Hey, that wasn't nice."

He shakes his head. "This isn't for you. It has peanuts."

"I have my EpiPen." I shrug.

Kathie and Chassie gave me a reprimanding look.

Andrei glared at me. "You're the craziest woman I've ever met. Do you know that?"

"But I don't want to miss out on your delicious baking."

Andrei handed me the one with a toothpick on top. "This is for you, specifically."

"What's with the toothpick?"

"That doesn't have peanut in it." He gave Kathie and Chassie their muffins. Chassie was a little hesitant, but Andrei batted his lashes.

I took a huge bite of the muffin. "Oh my, gosh. This tastes so good! I swear, I'd marry you if you were straight."

"Matthew knows the recipe. Maybe you can marry him instead." He wagged his brows at me.

I try not to choke on the muffin.

He took a seat next to me. "So, it's me and you again, huh? Day-drinking our asses out while we pretend that we're good at golf."

I sighed. "Yeah."

Chassie let out a scandalous gasp. "Wait a minute. Did I just hear sadness in your voice?"

The defensive side of me took over immediately. "No. It's not like that."

Three pairs of eyebrows arched up.

I heaved out another sigh. "It's just that," I try not to fiddle because I'm never good at making excuses, "it's just that I don't have an apartment yet."

Phew. That's it.

"That's not a big problem. You can stay with me," Kathie says with a warm smile.

Chassie raises her hand. "You can stay with me. Georgina will love that!"

I've known Chassie for a long time now. I know that aside from Georgina, she also wants me around to taste her cooking, which isn't a pleasant experience.

As much as I love her, Chassie is a terrible cook.

Her hazel eyes lit up with thought. "Plus, I can help you out with your apartment. Nathan's cousins know the best apartments in town."

"You can also stay with me." Andrei winks at me. "It's your choice."

My heart warmed. "You guys are the best. Are you sure about Nathan's cousins though, Chassie?"

"Yep. They visit four times a week."

"Wow. Talk about regular visitors." Andrei giggled.

Chassie shrug. "Nathan is doing a project with them. Since he likes to work from home, they had to come."

"God, must've been nice having those creatures come over." Andrei shakes his head. "Too bad they're all straight."

"Still, they're great people." Kathie raises a finger. "Reese showed Cade this beautiful beach house. Anndd, he did all the paperwork himself."

I was about to comment on the growing bromance between Nathan's cousins and Cade, but my phone rang. I stare at the screen of my phone in confusion. My boss doesn't usually call unless it's urgent.

I answered the call.

"Oh, good. You answered. Jess, I need you to cover for my photographer. She had a family emergency and then the supposed proxy is having a nasty case of chicken pox."

"Yikes."

"I know. Everything just went to shit in the span of two days."

"Don't worry, Taylor. I'm your girl."

She sighed on the other line. "You're a godsend, Jess. I'll email you the deets."

"Okay. I'll come by your office tomorrow."

"Thank you, Jess. You'll have a dozen premium donuts waiting for you."

I chuckled. "This is why you're the best boss ever."

When she hangs up, I realized I'll be taking a huge chunk of what little time I have left with Matthew. It's not like one of us is going to die, but still.

I might not see him again. And we've established that that makes me sad.