Page 36 of Whispers at Seaside
“Do you have a second to talk?” Her pulse was racing, but she couldn’t tell if it was because of their impending conversation or the tryst she’d had with Matt.
“Of course.” He waved to the chair beside his desk and leaned back.
She settled into the chair, telling herself to stop being silly about Matt. They were adults, and people expected them to have sex. Maybe not frantic, rush-to-beat-the-clock sex, but still…
“Was Hagen excited about his camping trip?” Neil asked.
He was always asking after Hagen, who had left earlier in the afternoon with her brothers. “Yes. He’s excited to use his new equipment. Drake called when they picked him up from camp, and Hagen told him that they should call day camp, ‘play time,’ because they don’t do any real camping.”
“He’s a smart cookie.”
“He is.” Talking about her son eased her nerves. “Matt said you were okay with us checking into the co-op idea?”
His smile widened so unexpectedly, she didn’t know what to make of it. “Did he?”
“Um…”Didn’t he?“Yes?”
Neil laughed. “My son doesn’t waste any time, does he?”
Oh gosh! You could tell we had sex yesterday!
When she didn’t respond right away—because she couldn’t get past that thought—he said, “Out of all my children, he comes across as the most patient, doesn’t he?”
Now she was thoroughly confused. What exactly were they talking about?
“He’s very patient,” she agreed, growing increasingly more nervous.
“Usually.But once he makes his mind up about something, patience isn’t his strong suit. I suppose that’s how Bea and I raised our children—to follow their heartsandtheir heads and not to let anything stand in their way. Matty’s finally figured it out.”
“I’m sorry, but are we still talking about the co-op?”
The slow shake of his head made hers spin. “The co-op. The book deal he’s taken on. Coming home. You and Hagen. Isn’t it all part of the same picture?”
The book deal?She and Hagen were part of the book deal picture? No, the book deal was Matt’s fallback position. He really wanted the position of dean, and when he’d realized he couldn’t have it, he’d decided to take door number two.
I’m door number two.
That went down hard, battling with Matt’s confession.I’ve waited so long to be with you. I’d have waited forever.Could he have meant waited for sex with her? Just sex? That didn’t sit right in her mind or her heart.
“I don’t know about all that,” she finally managed. “But I know he wants to help with the co-op, to try to save the business you’ve worked so hard to build.”
“Yes. Yes, he suddenly does, doesn’t he?” Neil said with a sagacious smile.
Suddenly?She was reading too much into all of this, she was sure of it. But Neil hadn’t been inclined to even talk about this topic before, and now he was, which made her wonder if he was…matchmaking? Rooting for them as a couple? No, surely not. He must have simply come to his senses after talking to Matt and realized how much was at stake if he left the business as it currently stood.
“So, you’ve changed your mind, then?” she asked cautiously.
“I think it’s worth exploring. We can figure out how far to take it as things progress.”
Yesterday’s mind-blowing sex had definitely rattled her brain, because she was interpreting every word out of his mouth as having to do with her and Matt. The bell on the door jingled, and Mira was thankful for the distraction.
“Thanks, Neil. I’m excited to see where we end up.” She pushed from the chair and she was so flummoxed that in her head what she’d said also sounded like she was talking about her and Matt. “With the co-op, I mean,” she clarified.
She turned to leave and smacked into Matt’s chest.
“Hey there,” Matt said, wrapping his arm around her waist.
“Sorry,” she said quickly. Her insides were melting and trying to flee at once. Shenevergot flustered, but between the thoughts about being door number two, the weird conversation with his father, and the feel and now-familiar scent of Matt waking up all of her hormones, she was a hot mess.
