The Marriage Contract, Natasha Black [thriller books to read .TXT] 📗

If only the two of us being great together really was true.

If only I could believe everything was going to work out between us.

29

Matt

Both of us had the day off together, and I’d decided I was going to get to the bottom of what was going on with Chloe. Neither of us had made any plans, and since she still didn’t know too many people aside from those who worked at the bar with us, I was pretty sure she was planning on hanging out at home all day. Since that meant she would have to come out from her room for bathroom breaks and to eat, I figured I’d get a couple of chances to break the icy tension between us every time we were home.

I woke up early, with a lot of optimism. If I could get her to tell me what was really going on with her, we might be able to move forward. Whatever forward meant. Still, a long conversation would probably best be done with some food in the stomach, so I proceeded to make a big breakfast. That way I could feed her and ease into any talk about what was going on with a full stomach and some coffee in her system.

No sooner had I brewed the coffee than her door opened. She poked her head out and looked around, seeing me in the kitchen cooking, and I nodded to her.

“Coffee, if you want some,” I said. “Making us breakfast, too.”

She nodded somewhat timidly and made her way to the kitchen, not saying anything. She was wearing a bathrobe over her pajamas, and I had to stop myself from thinking how cute she was in the big fluffy robe. Now was not the time for that.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

“You’re welcome,” I said, somewhat cheerfully, trying to bring her mood up by sheer force. “Blueberry pancakes. Ready to plate if you’ll take a seat.”

She nodded again, holding her mug close to her lips and blowing on it to cool it down before taking a sip. Then she sat at the table, and I brought her a plate and a serving dish with a stack of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I made her plate for her and then sat down with my own plate, stacking the pancakes high.

We ate in mostly silence as I didn’t want to push the issue, but after a few minutes, I saw that she was more awake, and I felt like my time was at hand.

“So, do you want to tell me what’s been going on?” I asked, stabbing some eggs with my fork.

“Not particularly,” she said.

“Please. I can’t stand all this tension between us. I want you to be happy.”

“Do you?” she asked, cutting her eyes at me.

“Of course I do.”

“But not if it means cutting into your happiness,” she said, scooping up the last of her pancakes.

“What are you talking about?”

“That girl,” she said, suddenly exploding. “The one at the bar. I saw you bring her food out, and I saw you flirting with her. She was laughing and talking like you were just the funniest guy in the world, touching you whenever you could, and you loved it. I saw you.”

It took a moment before I realized who she was talking about. When I did, it hit me like a brick.

“Oh, you mean the blonde girl at table nine,” I mumbled.

“Yes, the blonde girl at table nine,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes again. “You seemed so happy.”

“Happy? I was flattered.”

“Even better,” she scoffed.

“No, you’ve got it all wrong,” I said. “It’s not like that at all.”

“Then how is it? Is she someone to date on the side?” Chloe asked.

“As a matter of fact, no. You were right, she did flirt with me,” I said, and Chloe rolled her eyes. “But I told her I was married. She then asked if I had any single siblings, and that’s when I laughed. I told her that I was the last one of my siblings to marry and that I was very happy with my wife.”

The eyes that held so much anger just moments ago began to soften, and her bottom lip quivered.

“Really?” she half-whispered.

“Really. Then she said congratulations, and I said thank you. I told her that it made me happy she said that because it never got old. And it hasn’t, because…” I took a beat, fighting the words that were coming out and losing. There was no use. I had to lay it on the line and let the chips fall where they may. “Because, damn it Chloe, I’m in love with you. I’ve been fighting it from the second you stepped foot in this apartment, and every day it’s gotten harder and harder. I love you, Chloe. I know it screws up the plan. I know it’s against our rules. But I love you. And you need to know that.”

There was a moment of silence as she seemed to run through a gambit of emotions. I understood that, since I was, too.

“I love you, too,” she choked out. The words hit me like a gut punch.

“Really?” She nodded, a smile crossing her lips while tears fell from her bright blue eyes. “For real?” I asked again.

“For real,” she said. “I am absolutely in love with you, Matt.”

I stood up and lunged over at her, picking her up into a hug. She laughed as she went airborne, and when I set her down on her feet, our lips crushed into one another. It was like I couldn’t get enough of her and wanted to inhale her. She kissed me back with just as much intensity.

I broke the kiss and looked into her eyes.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you,” she responded.

I laughed as I kissed her again, and she pulled me by my shirt as she backed up out of the kitchen. She kept backing up until we reached my door, and she blindly reached for the handle to open