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Seeing them now, looking irresistibly dashing, it's clear why.
The mood shifts palpably as Kieran's confidence falters in the presence of the three men, and I feel a rush of relief.
“Hey, babe,” Matthew says, smiling broadly as he walks past Kieran.
He doesn’t bother to acknowledge his presence as he comes toward me.
I’m breathless as he gets closer and then kisses me.
His lips press against mine, beckoning me to soften and open up.
Heat instantly blows through me, my core ignited as I try to understand what’s going on while also reveling in this unexpected snippet of intimacy. “Sorry I’m late, there was a lot of traffic on the interstate.”
“Huh?” I mumble, barely able to discern my surroundings at this point.
“Yeah, we tried to get here earlier, but it’s the weekend and everybody’s in a rush to get out of the city,” Sully says.
He and Jason stand by the door, hands in their jeans pockets as they watch me, flustered and wide-eyed and unwittingly leaning into Matthew.
Kieran, on the other hand, is pale and downright terrified—likely by the fact that another man just kissed me. And not just any man, either, but Matthew Parker, a renowned businessman and future heir of Dawson-Howes, one of the biggest import-export conglomerates in the United States.
“Selina,” Kieran manages, but he can’t find the rest of his sentence anywhere.
“Ready for dinner?” Matthew asks me, as if taken out of a completely different movie and plopped right into this one. “I got us that reservation at Oyster Dream. You’ve been talking about it all week.”
“Oh yeah,” I mumble. “Oyster Dream, right.”
I give Sully and Jason a wandering glance while also admiring their chiseled broad chests and playful eyes.
That’s when it hits me: They must’ve overheard me arguing with Kieran and decided to step in. I look up at Matthew just in time to catch the subtle wink in his eye. I’d kiss him again, but I still can’t move.
My lips tingle.
“Oyster Dream!” I exclaim and quickly settle into my role. “Oh, honey, you remembered!”
“Selina!” Kieran snaps, but the speed with which Sully and Jason turn to face him instantly reduces his frustration. He’s small, all of a sudden, flanked by two tall men with broad shoulders and square jaws, the kind of men who would snap him like a twig if he so much as raised his voice at me again. “I can’t believe this…”
“Who’s the guy?” Matthew asks me.
I shrug. “Nobody. He was just leaving.”
“Selina—”
“Goodbye, Kieran,” I say in a forceful tone, emboldened by the guys’ presence as I give him the coldest side-eye that I can muster.
He takes another second or two, but finally, he gets the message and leaves.
A minute passes in the most awkward possible silence before I’m able to breathe again.
Matthew’s musky cologne works its way through my lungs and tousles my senses, forcing me to take a couple of steps back to regain my grip on the present.
The entire moment was way too intense.
Matthew eyes me intently. “I apologize for my gesture, but I had to sell the whole thing, otherwise he would’ve taken forever to leave you alone.”
“Yeah, I figured as much,” I reply, barely able to look him in the eyes.
“Are you okay, Selina?” Sully asks, equally interested in my well-being. I can’t help but feel stunned by their care and sudden involvement. I mean, we always have some amazing interactions while they’re in the store, but I never imagined they’d stumble into such a scenario and deal with it so efficiently. “We heard you two arguing, and Matthew figured you had a problem that needed taking care of.”
