Page 43 of Mr. Match

I roll my eyes as I cut the engine. “Don’t ask, man. It’s a long story.”

We all pile out of the car. Nolan wrestles with the suitcases in the back seat while I get the last one out of the trunk. And then we open the picket-fence gate and walk up the path to the massive front porch. It takes us another minute to force the luggage into compliance at the top of the stairs.

I raise my hand to knock on the door, but it opens before I can even make contact.

Ariel is there, coffee cup in hand. Still in her Denver Broncos pajamas, smiling like she ate a canary.

“What?” I ask, pushing past her as I drag a suitcase behind me.

And then I see why she’s smiling.

Because Katya is sitting at the kitchen table with a coffee cup in her hand too. She smiles at me.

“Your friend stopped by, Oliver. Says she’s an old friend. Says the two of you just hooked up for the first time in many years last night. Says you have quite a history together.”

I look at Ivy. Then Nolan.

I am fucking busted.

Chapter Eighteen - KATYA

I stare at Oliver. This is the moment of truth. “Hey,” I say, unsure how he’s gonna react to me being here at his sister’s house.

“What the f—” He scrubs a hand down his face and takes a breath before starting again. “What are you doing here, Kat?”

I set my coffee cup down and stand up from the table. “After you left I had to go home. My sister comes by in the mornings and we have coffee…”

“Katya?” Oliver asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Anyway, I was sitting there in the coffee shop just shooting the shit with her, and the news came on.” I look at all the men standing there. Mr. Perfect and Ellie. The newly arrived Mr. Romantic and Ivy. Mr. Corporate and Victoria, who scares the shit out of me, if I’m being honest. Because she’s looking at me like I’m bad news, man. Bad news. And Mr. Mysterious and Oliver’s baby sister, Cindy.

They are all here. Just like they’re supposed to be.

“And some news show had footage of this mob shootout back in Brooklyn about a month ago. And then they were flashing images of you—” I point to Mr. Romantic. “Your hotel or whatever, out in California. And they linked that to some shooting on Martha’s Vineyard.”

“Fuck,” Mysterious says, wiping a hand down his face and walking over to the bar.. We all watch him grab a bottle off the top shelf and pour himself a drink.

“And I’m starting to get the feeling that all these things are connected.”

“Why do you care?” Ariel asks. “Not to be a bitch—” But let’s be real here, Ariel Shrike is a major bitch. She’s definitely part of the leadership of whatever these people have going on. “But why would you suddenly appear in my brother’s life after…” She looks at Oliver. “How many years, Oliver?”

“Four,” he says. His tone is low and sad.

“Four years?” Ariel asks. “And you come back, all this shit is going down, and now you’ve suddenly decided that you have all the answers. I find it highly suspicious.”

“I agree,” Victoria says.

“What the fuck is happening?” Ivy asks. “Is she one of them?”

“One of who?” I ask.

“Don’t play coy with us,” Ellie says. “Why are you here and what do you want?”

“You guys,” Oliver says, interrupting.

But Mr. Corporate puts up a hand and looks straight at Oliver. “Let her talk, Oliver. I have a feeling I know where this is going.”

I squint my eyes at him.