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She found a way to make everything fun, something he hadn’t realized he missed until she helped him find his laugh again.
Even better, the nightmares had stopped.
Matt hoped forever.
He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to take Liza back to his penthouse last night, but—as he told her—he’d been overwhelmed by the desire to share a part of himself he didn’t show to others. Of course, as he took her around his home, he became painfully aware of how sterile the place was. Liza’s apartment was a cacophony of colors and her. Pictures of her family and friends adorned nearly every wall, and she seemed to have a story behind every piece of furniture—be it a treasured family heirloom, something her cousin, Gio, had built, or some amazing deal she’d found at a yard sale.
He’d teased her, pretending not to have a clue what a yard sale was, and she’d believed him, describing it while he reacted in fake horror to her buying other people’s crap. She’d punched him on the arm when she realized he was pulling her leg.
“Hey, Matt.” Gage walked in without knocking. Matt didn’t take his brother to task because he never knocked either. Gage stopped halfway across the office, frowning.
“What’s wrong?” Matt asked.
“Are you smiling?”
Shit. Matt couldn’t think about Liza without smiling.
He schooled his features, quickly resuming his usual dour expression. “What do you want, Gage?” he asked, ignoring his brother’s question.
For a moment, he thought Gage might push the subject but he let it go. “Wanted to talk to you about that new tech upstart I’m looking at buying.”
Gage’s interests in videogames had made its way into Russo Enterprises, his brother investing in a couple of tech upstarts over the past year. Matt had been skeptical when Gage first talked about expanding into gaming, but there was no denying his brother, Penny, Toby, and the rest of the self-proclaimed nerd circle had a Midas touch when it came to recognizing quality games. The venture had become quite profitable for the company.
“What about it?”
For the next twenty minutes or so, they discussed figures and prospective plans. For the first few years following their parents’ deaths, Gage had been lost, drinking and fucking his way through his grief, work concerns much lower on his list. Hell, it was probably accurate to say work hadn’t been a concern for Gage during that time at all. Eventually he found his way back, and since then, he’d proven himself to be as savvy a businessman as Conor and Matt.
“Haven’t had a chance to talk to you much since you got back from Hawaii. How was the wedding?” Gage was clearly surprised Matt had taken an entire week off to fly to the islands for the nuptials of two men he didn’t know particularly well.
Liza had revealed on the flight back to Philadelphia that Matt’s invitation had been a matchmaking move on Arnold’s part. Matt had thanked the man two nights ago when he and Liza joined the newlyweds for dinner, much to Johnnie and Liza’s amusement.
“It was a good trip.” Matt was aware his descriptor was completely wrong. It had been the greatest vacation of his life.
Gage rolled his eyes. “Only you could travel to paradise in the dead of winter and refer to it in the most boring way possible. No hula girl hookups? No blackout drunk on Mai Tai antics?”
“What do you think?” Matt asked sardonically.
Gage shook his head, disappointed. “You need to live a little, bro. Put yourself out there, have some fun.”
Matt didn’t respond. With the exception of Arnold and Johnnie, no one else in his or Liza’s life was privy to their changed relationship status. And while Matt was tempted to confide in his brother, there was that nagging voice in the back of his head that kept telling him this couldn’t last.
He’d gotten adept at shutting it down, but right now it was there again, reminding him he was overreaching, taking something that wasn’t his to keep. Especially as he sat here, looking at his brother and recalling how tenuous all his relationships were. Too many secrets could bring his entire life crashing down on his head.
So, he kept his mouth shut.
Matt asked about Penny as a distraction because Gage was always happy to talk about his beloved wife. The conversation was just winding down when Matt’s cellphone rang.
He sighed when he read the name on the screen. “Sorry, Gage. I need to take this.”
Matt hadn’t spoken to Richard Eddington since the Patricia breakup, even though the man had called his cell several times over the past couple of weeks. Matt had sent them all to voicemail, then hadn’t bothered to call him back because he hadn’t wanted to deal with the bullshit again. However, it was becoming clear the fruit didn’t fall far from the tree. The father was as tenacious as the daughter. Time to see where he stood with the man.
Gage nodded, then saw himself out.
“Richard,” he said, answering the phone.
“You’re a hard man to track down.” Richard was undoubtedly annoyed at being ignored so long.
“I was out of town for a short vacation. Spent most of this week playing catch-up. You know how it is.”
