Page 51 of Shattered Secrets

What was that saying...?If you can’t beat them, join them? Yeaaah.

He pointed at the table next to the ladies. “Martha, can we sit there?” He met Four’s gaze. “You eating with us?”

Four barked out a laugh. “Nah, man. I’ve got to get to the restaurant. But it has been a fucking pleasure witnessing these lovely Hudson Island mavens in action.”

“Ahem, young man,” Mrs. Green said, glaring daggers at Four.

He cringed. “Sorry.”

Mrs. Yoshida tsked. “It’s not us you need to worry about.”

“That was a very bad word,” Four said, looking at Daisy. “You shouldn’t say it, sweetie.”

“What word?”

“The f-word I just?—”

Mrs. Abbot smacked him on the head.

“I was only joking,” Four said with a laugh, rubbing the spot she’d hit. “I wasn’t actually going to say it.”

“What’s an f-word?” Daisy asked, head still on Matt’s shoulder.

Covering Daisy’s exposed ear with his hand, Matt mouthedfuck youto his friend, who simply grinned back at him. “Don’t worry about it, Otter Pop. Four was just leaving.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Matt pulled into an open space along the street, put his truck in Park, and cut the engine. A glance at the dash showed he was twenty minutes early. Gavin was meeting with Quinn this morning to go over a couple of their upcoming cases, and he’d asked Matt to sit in.

The two men had been friends long before Matt’s arrival in town, and Gavin tried to keep Quinn in the loop on cases that directly involved Hudson Island. Gavin claimed it was out of professional courtesy. Matt figured the true motivation was staying on the sheriff’s good side in case Hudson Security stirred up shit for the island.

Matt glanced down the street, and when his gaze landed on Ray’s Diner, he smiled, thoughts drifting to the past weekend. It had been... different. That was for damn sure.

He rarely had people over to his place, and when he did, it was either Cade, Four, or his brother. He’d been enjoying his solitude this past year—he winced.Enjoyingwas a bit of a stretch. Regardless, he’d grown accustomed to his house being quiet. If he wanted noise, he went to the gym or Monty’s Tavern.

However, with Scarlet and Daisy staying over, it had been anything but quiet. Not that they were obnoxiously loud oranything. They just went about their lives, filling his home with the sounds of children’s television shows, padding feet, and joyful laughter. It was a good kind of different.

The junk food–fueled movie night on Saturday had been great. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d indulged like that. Definitely not any time this past year, and not even when he’d been married. High school maybe?

Similarly, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d stepped foot on a playground. But yesterday had been a good time. He’d enjoyed spending the morning with Daisy. And part of him had taken pride in the fact that she wasn’t shy with him—but she was with Four. And Mrs. Abbot, Mrs. Yoshida, and Mrs. Green. The only other person Daisy had interacted with at the diner was Martha, but the woman was practically her grandmother. Or was it great-grandmother? Didn’t matter. Whatdidmatter was that Daisy felt safe with him. It filled his damn heart.

While eating lunch at Ray’s, Scarlet had updated everyone on the break-in and the upcoming repairs to her apartment. When she’d mentioned that the final repairs were still two to three weeks out, Matt had told her that she and Daisy were welcome to stay as long as they needed. She’d worried aloud about them being an imposition, but he’d simply stated that they weren’t. That there was more than enough space for them.

For the rest of their meal, Matt had done his best to ignore the stares and sly grins sent his way by the gossip train ladies.

If he were being completely honest with himself, he would admit he’d just had the best weekend in... Shit, he didn’t even know. But a fucking long time. Being with Scarlet and Daisy was so relaxing, so normal, so fucking comfortable... like it’s what they had always done.

It worried him, though. Because he really liked having them in his home, in his space, and it was getting harder and harder to imagine them leaving.

This morning, when they’d gotten ready for work? Yeah, they’d bumped into each other a couple of times in the kitchen—he’d gone for the drawer to get a spoon while she’d reached into a cabinet for a glass—but it had been nice. And he certainly hadn’t minded grabbing on to her slim waist to balance her. Not one bit.

Then, on their way out the door, when Scarlet had shot him that shy smile and Daisy had called out, “Bye, Matty!” his heart had just about stopped.

Yeah, he was in trouble.

Matt blew out a noisy breath and glanced at the clock on the dash again. Still fifteen minutes until his meeting with Gavin and Quinn. Enough time to call someone and hash this out, but... that wasn’t what he did. For better or worse, he’d never been one to talk about his feelings and shit. Even with his therapist, he usually relayed the bare minimum.

No, he preferred to hit the gym and pound on a heavy bag instead. Or spar with some guy who wanted to take his head off. It wasn’t exactly the healthiest way to handle his feelings—ornothandle his feelings—but it’s what he knew.

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