Page 51 of The Story of Us
Oh, yeah. Sawyer. He was still right there, witnessing this mortifying turn of events.
“Um, sorry.” Jamie shook her head and motioned back and forth between her two exes. “Matt Van Horn, this is Sawyer O’Dell.”
Sawyer extended his hand and Matt looked him up and down before shaking it. “Ah.TheSawyer.”
“I’m sure there are others out there,” Sawyer said—a valiant attempt at humor, although his smile looked more than a little strained around the edges.
His gaze lingered on Matt for a second before turning back toward Jamie and muttering under his breath. “Is this…are you all right?”
Jamie nodded. “Thanks. I’m good.”
As good as a girl could be under these very bizarre and wholly confusing circumstances.
She reached for her umbrella, a clear hint for Sawyer to disappear so she could deal with Matt. “And thank you for walking me home.”
And for the almost-kiss.
Although, maybe it had been fate that Matt had shown up when he did. Kissing Sawyer had never been part of the plan.
“Yeah,” Sawyer said succinctly.
Then he gave Matt a curt nod and made his way down the steps without so much as a backward glance.
Jamie’s stomach clenched. She tried to tell herself this was all for the best, but her inner voice wasn’t very convincing.
She turned toward Matt and took a deep breath.Focus.But her attention darted toward Sawyer one last time to see if he was watching.
He wasn’t. All she caught sight of was the back of his perfectly coifed head. So she swiveled to face Matt once again, gesturing at the door. “Do you want to come in?”
He grinned. “That’d be great.”
She reached for the doorknob. “Okay.”
Sonotokay. She was supposed to be kissing Sawyer right now.
Maybe…
Probably…
Definitely.
Although was kissing him right now really such a smart idea?
Obviously not. She should probably be grateful to Matt for interrupting that inappropriate moment. But for some strange reason, she could barely muster a smile for him.
So she refrained from any outward display of emotion once she’d ushered him inside the house and opted instead to fix him a cup of herbal tea. Earl Grey—it had always been Matt’s favorite.
“Thanks.” He warmed his hands on the steaming mug as he sat at her kitchen table, looking completely comfortable…as if he belonged there.
Didhe belong there?
Jamie sat down opposite him and decided to get straight to the point. “So what are you doing here, Matt?”
He let out a little laugh. “You were always direct.”
“It saves time.” Time she should be spending trying to save her bookstore instead of having a tea party with her recent ex—or almost kissing her not-so-recent one. “Which I don’t have a lot of right now. There’s a lot going on.”
Matt nodded. “I read your article in the paper about the bookstore.”
