Page 6 of Bree

6

Matt

The stage is set, Bree agreed to dinner, and now we just have to get through it and make it believable.

“Matthew, you go and pick your young lady up and meet the rest of us at the restaurant.”

“Okay, mother,” I agree. “I already planned to.”

“Good boy,” she says with a smile and pats my cheek. “Run along now. You need to look dashing for your lovely girlfriend.”

I smile and kiss my mother’s cheek before heading home to change. After all, this has to be believable, and my mother taught me how to treat a woman on a date.

Later that evening, when I ring her doorbell, I am not expecting her to walk out looking like the most delectable treat I’ve ever seen in my life. My breath catches in my throat as I run my eyes up and down her body.

Her black dress is knee-length, conservative, but showing just enough cleavage to be enticing. The dress hugs all of her curves perfectly, showing an hourglass silhouette that leaves me aching. I can’t help wondering what she looks like underneath that dress. Her sky-high heels make her legs look like they go on forever, and I can’t help but picture them wrapped tightly around my waist while I drive into her supple body. I swallow hard and move my gaze to the soft waves of her chestnut brown hair. She is stunning. I try to put my less than pure thoughts out of my mind. Now is not the time to get a hard-on.

“You look incredible,” I say, offering her my arm. She locks her door and then takes it with a smile.

“Thank you, Matt.”

I lead her to the car and hold the door open while she slides inside. Her dress rides up her thighs a bit, and my mouth waters at the exposed flesh.I’m doomed. I think to myself as I make my way to the driver’s side and hop in. We don’t speak much on the drive over. I can tell she’s a bit nervous by how she keeps bouncing her leg and nibbling on that luscious lower lip.

“Hey,” I say and reach over, placing a hand on her bobbing knee. “It’ll be fine. My mother remembers you, and she’s thrilled to get to see you again. Try not to worry.”

“Okay,” she says quietly, blowing out a breath and giving me a weak smile. I give her knee one last reassuring pat as we pull up to the curbside valet.

7

Bree

When I open the door for Matt, the first thing I notice is that he left the top two buttons of his dress shirt undone. The next is that he is wearing a dress shirt, and I am so glad that I decided on a dress instead of jeans and a blouse. It figures his version of casual and mine would not be the same at all.

A part of me is glad that I’ve met his mother before, and I know how she can be, or else I would probably be embarrassed by the outfit I picked. Oh well, luckily, with Shay’s help, I’m pretty sure I chose well. Matt, ever the gentleman, takes my arm, helps me into the car, and helps me back out again when we reach the restaurant.

The little Italian place, Vinnie’s on 4th, has incredible food and an even better atmosphere. It’s one of my favorite places, and I’m glad that this is where we end up. I haven’t been here in forever. We walk up to the hostess, and Matt gives his name.

“Ah, yes,” she says, batting her eyes up at him. “Right this way, Mr. Lovett. The rest of your party has already arrived.” We follow the pretty petite blonde waitress, and I glance at Matt out of the corner of my eye to see his reaction to her blatant flirting. But he’s not looking at her at all. He’s looking right at me.

“Alright?” he asks quietly, reaching down to take my hand in his. His fingers completely encase my own. He must have the largest hands I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how I never noticed it before.

“Yeah, just a little nervous,” I reply. He squeezes my hand.

He leans closer and whispers in my ear, “It’ll be fine, I promise.” Goosebumps cascade down my body when his breath brushes the sensitive lobe of my ear, and I shiver.

When we turn the corner, Matt’s mother spots us from their booth in the back and stands, waving her arms enthusiastically in the air. I hear Matt curse under his breath, and I force a smile onto my face. The restaurant is pretty busy, and everyone is staring at the commotion his mother is making… And I hate being the center of attention, especially in a large group.

I keep telling myself that I need to play the part of the perfect girlfriend and just roll with it, but I can feel the sweat gathering on my forehead as my anxiety kicks in from all the eyes on me. My stomach knots, and I feel my heart pounding behind my rib cage. I start walking faster. The sooner I get to the table, the sooner people will stop looking at us.

“Bree! It’s lovely to see you again after all this time, my dear. I always told Matt he shouldn’t have let you get away. But look at you now, all grown up, stunning, and back in my son’s arms. It’s like a fairytale.”

I smile uncomfortably as she kisses me on the cheek, but when I notice his sister giving me a suspicious stare, I do my best to make it more sincere.

“It’s great to see you, too, Mrs. Lovett.” Next, I turn to Matt’s father and hold out my hand. He takes it in a firm grip and shakes it twice. “Mr. Lovett, a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“The pleasure is all mine, dear girl. We thought Matty would never bring a young woman home.”

Matt’s cheeks turn pink, and his family laughs at his discomfort.

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