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Penny rolled her eyes, but Liza noticed she didn’t disagree. “At least he didn’t bring Patricia.”
Liza frowned. “Was he going to? I mean…I thought they broke up.”
She didn’t think. She knew. She’d witnessed Patricia slapping Matt after the gala before storming off. It was that confrontation that had led to Matt and Liza sharing the elevator to their hotel rooms. Not that she’d slept in hers. After sneaking out of Matt’s room an hour or so before dawn, she’d gone to retrieve her overnight bag, then left the hotel completely, partly because she was desperate for the comfort of her own bed in her apartment and partly because she was worried he would follow her, and she wouldn’t be able to resist falling right back into his arms and his bed.
“Broke up?” Penny asked, perking up. “What makes you think that?”
Liza wasn’t sure how Matt would feel about her telling tales, so she kept it vague. “They appeared to have a fight just after the Snowflake Gala last Saturday.”
Penny groaned as she pulled out her cell phone. “Damn. I was hoping you knew something we didn’t.” She clicked a few buttons, then turned it around so that Liza could see the screen. “Unfortunately, these were taken last Sunday, the day after the gala, so it looks like they patched things up.”
Liza took Penny’s phone, recognizing the website as a tabloid-style one that spread gossip about the East Coast elite. She never looked at it because she couldn’t give two shits about the Patricias of the world.
“Toby has an annoying habit of reading this crap out loud at work. He’s addicted to Real Housewives, Married at First Sight, and anything with the Kardashians. The guy’s got issues and way too much time on his hands,” Penny explained. “He really needs to find a girlfriend.”
Liza wanted to laugh because she’d spent quite a bit of time with Penny’s IT colleagues, Toby and Rich—the nerd circle, as the three of them called themselves. There was no denying Toby would have been right at home on the set of The Big Bang Theory.
However, she was too hung up on what she was seeing. The photos were of Patricia and Matt, sitting in the window of a ritzy restaurant. In the first picture, it appeared that Matt was giving Patricia a ring-shaped box, her hand outstretched as she smiled. In the second, they were talking and drinking wine, a harmless enough pose…until Liza spotted the diamond tennis bracelet dangling from Patricia’s wrist.
Liza felt her face flush as she recalled Matt encouraging her to open Patricia’s gift, putting the bracelet on her, then declaring if he’d been shopping for her, he wouldn’t have given her diamonds. Instead, he’d told her he would give her rubies, listing all the scandalous places he would put the jewels. It was that racy list that had been her downfall, that had propelled them from the couch to the bedroom, her resistance in tatters.
She’d worn the bracelet right up until she’d made her middle-of-the-night escape. Dressing quietly, she had slipped back to the living room, sitting down to put her shoes back on, catching sight of the bracelet as it glittered in the moonlight. She’d taken it off and left it behind. Apparently, Matt had decided to go ahead and give it to its intended recipient.
The final photo was taken outside the restaurant, beside a limo, the couple locked together in a kiss.
While the pictures were damning enough, it was the headline that had Liza’s stomach clenching, her foolish heart pounding painfully.
It said, “Is That Wedding Bells We Hear?” There was an article attached, but Liza didn’t read it, handing the phone back to Penny. She told herself she wouldn’t look up the story when she got home tonight to read it word for word, but that lie wouldn’t stick.
“So what did Matt say about it?” Liza forced herself to ask.
Penny scowled, shooting Gage an annoyed look. “I’m not exactly comfortable enough with Matt yet to bring it up, and Gage won’t ask. Just swears Matt isn’t marrying her.”
“How can you be so sure?” Liza asked him.
“Because my brother is never getting married. Period. End of sentence. He’s married to his work.”
Gage spoke with such assurance that Liza almost felt better.
Almost.
Then she thought about the pictures again and hated herself for feeling disappointed and angry, both misplaced emotions.
She and Matt hadn’t made any promises to each other. Christ, the last thing they said before falling asleep was that it had been a mistake, so she was an idiot for feeling hurt and pissed off.
It was just…she hadn’t been able to think about anything but him for seven days and nights, the man consuming her thoughts and her dreams.
To discover that she’d been entirely forgettable, that she’d been just another woman taking a spin in the revolving door that led to Matt’s bedroom, cut like a knife and made her feel like a fool.
Even as she struggled to quash those feelings, she still couldn’t bring herself to regret that night.
“I hope you’re right about Matt’s determination to stay single,” Penny said to Gage. “Because Patricia gives off serious ‘we wear pink on Wednesday’ vibes. I had to deal with too many of her type in school when I was growing up.”
Gage’s eyes softened and he kissed his wife on the forehead. “Assholes like that are always the worst to people who are the biggest threat. You’re gorgeous, brilliant, funny, and perfect, so obviously, women like Patricia Eddington are intimidated.”
“Oh, well, of course,” Penny said sardonically. “I’m sure that was their problem with me back in school.” She laughed, dismissing his words even though she was clearly delighted by Gage’s compliment. “Thank you for saying that.”
“Saying the truth? No problem.” Gage wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “You’re worrying about nothing,” he reassured her. “Matt’s never getting married, Penny. Not to Patricia or any other pink-wearing mean girl. I promise.”
