Page 47 of Taming You

He giggles as I boop his nose.

“We should probably get going,” I say.

“You’re not even done eating,” Charles protests.

“I need to go check on my place.”

He sighs.

“Thanks for tonight,” I say before grabbing my stuff and following Matt out of the restaurant.

I’m so grateful to be away from that date that I don’t notice I’ve blindly followed Matt to his car instead of heading to mine. Once he gets Jayden settled in the car seat, he turns to face me.

“Thanks for that save,” I say. I’m not sure what I would have done if he hadn’t of shown up. I was close to sneaking out of the window in the bathroom. But how did Matt know to save me?

He nods, shoving his hands in his pocket. “Of course.”

“How did you know where I was?”

He leans against the car and crosses his arms over his chest as though protecting himself. “I heard you and Hannah set it up after the game on Saturday.”

“So, you decided to follow me?” What the hell is going on right now?

He shakes his head. “No. I only got here a few minutes before I interrupted. I wasn’t going to come. But I was sitting at home with Jayden and something kept eating at me, telling me I needed to be here. When I saw you from across the restaurant, I could tell you wanted to be anywhere but at that table with him.”

I cross my arms over my chest, matching his position, except mines one of defiance. “So, you thought I couldn’t take care of myself on a date and you needed to be my saviour?”

“No. It wasn’t that.”

I push. “Then what was it? What could possibly have you driving out to this restaurant when I’m on a date instead of relaxing at home with Jayden?”

He doesn’t say anything, just stares me down. My skin heats as he holds eye contact.

“Matt.”

He continues to stare, and it’s like I can feel him under my skin now. Goosebumps scatter across my arms and up my neck as I hold back a shiver.

“Matthew,” I say exasperated.

He throws his arms out to the side as he finally breaks. “I didn’t want you to go on the date,” he shouts, and I take a step back.

Pain travels through me. He crashed my date because he didn’t want me to go.

“Why?” I ask, my voice pained. “Why would you not want me to go out and find someone who could make me happy? What’s so wrong with me going on a date?”

He takes two steps closer to me, leaning down until his lips are beside my ear. “I think you know why.”

Oh.

I stop myself from reaching out and clutching the front of Matt’s jacket. I revel in the heat that radiates off him and close my eyes as his breath dances over my cheek and neck, and this time I don’t hold back the shiver that travels through me. His heat disappears, and I open my eyes to see him back at his car.

“Did you drive?”

His question takes me by surprise. It’s like he’s done a complete one eighty. I guess I read too much into this. I feel like I’m experiencing whiplash. My emotions are all over the place, and right now, I want to process them with crying. I hold back my tears as I nod.

“You parked close?”

I nod and clear my throat. “I’m just a couple cars down.”

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