Page 53 of Shattered Secrets

That’s what was beginning to matter to him, too. Still... “She has her whole damn life in front of her, Jake. Why the hell wouldshe want to saddle herself with a fucking forty-year-old divorced guy?”

Jake scoffed. “Because you’re all washed-up and decrepit?”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I take it nothing has happened between the two of you yet?”

Matt scowled. “I invited her and Daisy to stay with me so they have a safe place to live while their apartment is getting repaired.Notto take advantage of Scarlet. I’m not acompleteasshole, Jake.”

“You’re right. You’re just a little bit of an asshole. Kidding. Kinda.” Jake chuckled. “So, have you at least asked her out, then?”

Matt said nothing.

His brother heaved out a sigh. A sigh Matt was very familiar with. It meantyou’re a complete moron. “You know what one of the most important things I’ve learned from Carmen is?”

“She’s way smarter than you, so it could be any number of things.”

Jake snorted. “You’re not wrong. But the most important thing I’ve learned is that I don’t know shit.”

“I could have told you that.”

Jake continued as if Matt hadn’t spoken, “Particularly about anything having to do with women. So, my advice is to talk to Scarlet. Be a fucking adult and ask her if she’d be interested in going on a date with you.”

Matt opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Damn. His brother’s advice was so much easier said than done.

“Look, man, I don’t know what went down with you and Krista... but I have my theories.”

Matt blocked out the hurt and bitterness that swelled at the mention of his ex-wife’s name. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. But guess what? Not every woman is like Krista. And from what you’ve told me about Scarlet, she’s nice. She’s a good person, right?”

“She is.” He had no doubts about that.

“So be honest with her.”

Matt ran a hand over his jaw. Again, so simple. Yet... not. “Thanks, little bro.”

“Always. By the way, Carmen and I are heading to the island either next weekend or the one after. We’re waiting for a couple calendar things to set before deciding. Carm wants to stay at the resort, so you don’t have to worry about us being in your hair.”

His lips quirked. “It’syourhouse, dude.”

“Whatever. But I want to meet Scarlet and Daisy. Make it happen, okay?”

“What exactly am I making happen?” Matt asked, arching an eyebrow even though his brother couldn’t see it.

Jake snickered. “At this point? Anything. This overanalyzing bullshit you’re doing is stupid. So stop it and man the fuck up. Oh, and on a random full-transparency kind of note, I’m setting up a meeting with Gavin when I’m in town. He’s interested in these new cameras I came up with.”

Matt grinned. His brother—bless him—was a bona fide nerd. A workaholic, brilliant-in-all-things-tech nerd, to be exact. The man ran a gaming empire, was a co-owner of a wildly successful Irish pub in Seattle, and in his limited downtime, he loved to tinker with shit and had designed an entire line of miniscule superspy-type cameras. Jake was fucking awesome.

“Speak of the devil,” Matt said as he saw Gavin walking down the sidewalk. “I have a meeting with the guy now, so I gotta go.”

“Cool. I’ll catch you later, bro.”

“Hey!” he called out before Jake could hang up. “Thanks for checking in, man. I didn’t realize how much I needed to talk to you today. Give Carm my love.”

“Will do. Love ya, bro.”

Climbing out of his truck, a sense of calm, of rightness, settled over him. He was so damn glad he’d spoken with his brother. Jake had a way of putting things into perspective, and he loved the guy more than words could express.

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