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‘Get the rest of the drinks, Matz,’ he growled at last, and she couldn’t stop a kick of triumph at the realisation that he sounded as off-kilter as she felt.
But before she could answer he turned around, with her drinks still in his large hands, and began to move through the crowd. All she could do was grab the remaining glasses from the bar and plunge in after him.
Like she always had done.
CHAPTER THREE
‘ARE YOU SURE you know what you’re doing?’
Mattie sucked in a breath and reminded herself that her brother was only looking out for her. Like any good brother would.
‘I’m not doing anything, Hayd,’ she replied, shocked at how hollow the words actually sounded. ‘I haven’t seen Kane for over a decade. We’re just having a drink.’
She couldn’t blame Hayden for his sceptical glance.
‘You don’t have to tell me everything, Mattie, we’re not kids any more. But you don’t need to lie to me either.’
She flushed, hating herself for not being able to stay cool and collected.
‘I’m not lying.’ Why did she sound like they were teenagers again? ‘Fine, so I bumped into Kane yesterday in the hospital. But apart from that, I haven’t seen him since I was eighteen.’
‘Mattie...’ For a moment she thought he was going to tell her something, but then stopped himself. Instead, he shrugged. ‘If that’s how you want to play it. It’s your life, Mattie.’
Why did she get the impression that she was missing something?
‘I thought you were going to tell me how stupid it would be.’
It sounded even lamer aloud than it had in her head.
‘Do you need me to tell you that?’ her brother asked her evenly.
‘No.’ Yes.
‘More to the point, do you want me to tell you that?’
‘No.’
And there it was. The truth—at last. She didn’t want to hear Hayden tell her how stupid it would be to open herself up to Kane Wheeler again because she already knew that for herself. The simple truth was that knowing it didn’t make her want it any less.
She needed to do this. She needed closure.
‘You’re right.’ She forced a bright smile to her lips. ‘It’s my life. Just as you live your life. Speaking of which, you and Bridget seem to be getting on even better than I’d expected. She’s funny, isn’t she, when you get past that initial shyness?’
If she hadn’t known better, she might have thought her brother actually blushed slightly. For a fraction of a moment. But that was impossible, he didn’t do relationships. Or at least he’d had a few carefully chosen female companions but he didn’t do attachments, however much they’d pushed him. Hayden was all about his career. Arguably even more than she was.
Except right now when, despite the fact that this night was about her friends taking a rare opportunity to get together and celebrate her career—this incredible promotion—the thoughts she was fighting in her brain were all centred on one man.
Kane.
The way it had been all those years ago.
Surely she ought to feel some shame that the focus and drive that had served her well these past years had faded so easily. But then Kane had always burned brighter than anything else in her world.
Hadn’t that always been part of the problem?
Abruptly, she felt him there. At her side. So damned close. And she told herself that his proximity didn’t have to mean a thing, but it didn’t work. Because she couldn’t seem to think straight.
‘So how do you want this to go, Matz?’
