Dating the Guy Next Door Read online

  “So, you don’t mind, do you?”

  “Sorry?” He blinked, realizing he’d been a million miles away.

  “Keith was just saying he and Miranda need to go back to the station to sort out some last-minute details for tomorrow’s show,” Rachel informed him with a bemused smile.

  “Oh really?” His eyebrow lifted slightly.

  “Afraid so. It’s real urgent.” Keith gave him a lavish wink. “But I’d hate to ruin the rest of the night, so why don’t you two stay and get to know each other?”

  “Actually.” Matt stretched up his arms over his head. “I’ve had a pretty busy week so I might make it an early night as well.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Keith said pointedly. “It’s only nine o’clock. The night is young.”

  “Not when you’ve been up since five this morning.”

  “Get over it,” his friend retorted, quickly pushing back his chair and grabbing Miranda’s hand. “Enjoy the rest of your meal.” And then before Matt could even say “Don’t worry about the bill, I’ll get it,” the pair of them had disappeared out the door in a rustle of black.

  “Boy,” Rachel whistled as soon as they were alone. “Keith’s certainly an expert in tact and discretion.”

  “Not,” Matt retorted, and they both laughed.

  “That’s better.” She smiled when they finally stopped their giggling. “And actually I’m pleased they’ve gone. This whole thing’s embarrassing enough without having anyone else to witness it. The only reason I’m here is because my stupid friend logged my name onto the radio website. I didn’t even know anything about it until last week. Talk about friends.”

  “I know what you mean,” Matt replied as his opinion of her increased. It seemed like he wasn’t the only one who was surrounded by well-meaning cupids. But as they spent the next half hour talking, Matt began to wonder if Keith had a point.

  After all, they did have a lot in common.

  She was an easy companion and was definitely the kind of girl he would’ve fallen for. Her blonde hair fell neatly around her shoulders and framed her face with the kind of pleasing symmetry that usually appealed to him. And she had a good job. She was a schoolteacher who enjoyed her work but wanted a family too, soon. In fact, she was everything that he’d ever been looking for.

  He wasn’t surprised when the familiar image of a large table filled with food and the voices of his laughing children entered his mind. It was the same image he’d been seeing for years. Except when he saw Rachel’s face there, the normal feeling of happiness and longing was gone. Matt frowned. That had never happened before and even when he didn’t know what his future wife might look like the image had always made him feel happy. Made him feel that what he was searching for was worth finding.

  He let his mind’s eye scan the scene before he finally understood what was wrong with the picture. Then he let out a small gasp as he knew with unexplainable certainty that it wasn’t the children who had made him feel happy, it was the woman in the chair. And as soon as Rachel’s face faded from the image and was replaced by Kate’s, Matt realized his mistake.

  Horror filled him as he thought about the fragile relationship he and Kate had shared. The way she’d looked with her hair flying everywhere and that purple paint smeared all over her gorgeous face.

  He glanced over to Rachel and he realized that she’d never leave the house looking less than immaculate. She’d certainly never run down to the corner shop in her pajamas because she needed cat food and Socrates shouldn’t be made to suffer because of his owner’s forgetfulness. Somehow Matt doubted Rachel would ever forget the cat food either. She seemed more like him. A list maker.

  Whereas Kate was nothing like him. She was loud, bright and chaotic. She was also tender, vulnerable and unique. Suddenly Matt blinked as if the room had become too bright, and when he finally readjusted his eyesight, he realized he was seeing a completely different picture. What had he been thinking?

  He’d thought that he wanted children more than anything. But now, meeting Rachel, he realized how wrong he’d been. Rachel would be a prime candidate for a potential wife. Except the very idea of it left him cold and uninterested. The only woman he wanted to be with was Kate.

  He shuddered as Emma’s words came back to haunt him.

  She’d told him that Uncle Mathew’s mistake hadn’t been in not trying to have a family sooner, it was in throwing away the family he already had in order to pursue something else that he thought was more important.

  His mouth went dry as he realized he’d thrown away his chance with Kate because he thought he needed to pursue his dream of having a family.

  Oh God. What if he’d waited too long to convince Kate he wanted her? He didn’t give a damn about her ovaries. Apart from the fact they were part of her delectable body. He really, truly meant it. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Kate Mitchell, and if it was just the two of them, then it was all the more for him. Now he just needed to convince Kate that he meant it—

  “Matt.” Rachel was looking at him strangely. “Are you okay? You’ve gone pale.”

  “I’ve just remembered something that I need to do.”

  “Let me guess.” The girl gave him a rueful smile. “You need to see Kate?”

  He nodded his head as he realized that somewhere in their conversation he must have mentioned her. Actually, he had the sneaking suspicion it had been more than once, but thankfully Rachel just gave him an understanding nod.

  “I’m so sorry. You’re really great but I think I might have made a terrible mistake. I just hope it’s not too late to fix it.”

  “I hope so too, Matt. We can’t help who we love. All we can help is how well we love them.”

  But Matt hardly heard because he was too busy digging into his back pocket to pay the bill and get the hell out of there.

  ***

  “Kate, you’re a genius,” Monica Peterson called up. “An absolute genius. I love the extra detail you’ve done in the right-hand corner.”

  “Thank you.” Kate glanced down from the scaffolding to where Monica was standing, looking as immaculate as ever. “I know it’s going a bit away from the sketch, but it just felt right.”

  “Which just proves it’s important to trust your instincts. Anyway, I’m leaving now. Don’t forget to turn off the lights and lock up before you go.”

  “I won’t,” Kate assured her patron dutifully, waiting until the tip-tap of her heels finally left the building. Kate glanced at her watch. It was after ten at night and she should probably go home herself.

  She wriggled out of the small section of scaffolding she’d been wedged into and stood up. As she rolled her shoulders to loosen away the day’s tension, she wondered if this was how Michelangelo felt as he surveyed the Sistine Chapel from his bird’s-eye perch.

  Looking down from such a height seemed to put everything into perspective. Making the small things seem smaller, and the big things—well, she was trying to avoid thinking about them, which was why she was still at work. At least that was one area of her life that hadn’t turned into road kill.

  Kate sighed as she took one last look at the half-completed restaurant before starting to make her way carefully down the scaffolding. However, the sound of the door opening caused her work boot to slip slightly on the steel and she clutched desperately to the safety rail for support. Talk about being caught off-balance.

  Once she righted herself, she awkwardly glanced down to see who’d arrived. She assumed it must be one of the workmen, checking in on something on the way home from the pub. But as her eyes scanned the room, looking for the new arrival, her nose caught a whiff of citrus aftershave and her heart started to go into overdrive as her mind made the automatic association.

  Matt.

  She looked to where he was standing waiting for her and had the overwhelming desire to just let go of the
steel struts and drop down into his arms. All this hanging on in mid air was becoming very tiring. Instead she carefully re-established her footing and picked her way to the bottom.

  “Hello, Kate. How are you?” he said as soon as she hit the ground, several paces away from him. True to his word, he hadn’t tried to speak to her once since that night in the van and her eyes hungrily feasted on the sight of him. His dark jeans brought back sinful memories, while the top two buttons of his smoky-gray shirt were unbuttoned, causing her fingers to twitch in anticipation at what lay below.

  “I’m fine,” she croaked. “And you?”

  “Oh, you know.” He shrugged before taking a deep breath. “Kate, I need to speak to you. There are things I need to say.”

  Kate stood perfectly still. She’d been wondering how she’d feel when they did finally speak again. If you speak again, Jenny had reminded her ominously when she’d phoned earlier. Kate had been surprised at how depressing she found the thought. Well, her friend had continued. You did send him away, remember?

  But now as he stood in front of her holding a wilted bunch of roses, she realized that despite everything she still wanted to be with him. She wondered if she was crazy. She’d gone over it again and again in her head, but she just couldn’t see a way out. She wanted to be with Matt, he wanted to be with her, but standing in the middle of them was the small issue of babies.

  At the thought of it, she braced herself, but instead of the tightness that normally lodged in her chest, a strange calmness replaced it. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the time she and Julia had been spending together or if it was because of the portrait of her small dead brother that she’d started working on, but all she knew was that the pain had lessened.

  Unfortunately, the fact that she no longer felt surrounded by a dark cloud when she thought of having a baby was hardly enough to offer Matt as some kind of hope. No, her only chance of happiness lay in Matt being able to produce some kind of miracle.

  Making the impossible happen.

  “So, what do you need to say?” Kate finally answered him as she nervously clutched her hands behind her back. Crossing her fingers just in case.

  He took a deep breath and his stared intently at her. “I wanted to say you were right. I did think having children was everything, and I might’ve ended up resenting your decision.”

  Never had Kate been less happy about being right. And the small ball of hope that had been shimmering away in the corner of heart finally extinguished itself. She slowly uncrossed her fingers and dug her nails into the palm of her hands to keep from crying. So this was why he’d come. To be honest with her. Her and her stupid miracles. She’d momentarily forgotten they belonged only in fairy tales.

  “I’m glad we both agree.” She took a small step back toward the scaffolding to try and minimize some of the damage his presence was having on her.

  “Yep, we both agree,” he repeated as he took a small step forward.

  “So,” she croaked, taking another pace back. “Was that all you wanted to tell me? That I was right?”

  “Mmmm.” He confirmed, another stride bringing him closer to where she was standing.

  “Okay.” She gulped as her final step sent her crashing back into the scaffolding, the steel beams rubbing angrily against her shoulders.

  “And there’s one more thing I need to tell you.” Matt closed the distance between them so his face was only inches away from her own, sending her whole body into some kind of nuclear meltdown.

  “What’s that?” she asked, her breath uneven.

  “That I was wrong,” he told her just before his hungry lips met hers and Kate could feel herself being pulled into the tornado. It was a magnet, causing her to respond despite herself. Here she was having her last kindle of hope being stomped on by the only man she would ever love and all her stupid body could do was kiss him like he’d just said he was wrong.

  Wait a minute. He did say he was wrong.

  Thankfully years of painting had really built up her upper-body strength and she found the power to finally push him away from her. She’d wanted a miracle, but like the prince with the slipper she needed proof.

  “What do you mean by that?” She stared, ignoring the way Matt groaned in frustration as he tried to lean back into her.

  “I mean that I made a mistake,” he panted, obviously realizing there would be no more kissing until he’d answered her.

  “Explain.” She folded her arms tightly in front of her chest, more to protect herself from his lethal touch than because she was angry. She was anything but angry. She was tingling all over, and more important, she was again hopeful. But until she knew what he was going to say, she couldn’t trust herself around him.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to kiss first and talk later?” He tried again to nuzzle into her neck, pushing his whole body toward her. The temptation to do so was overwhelming, but there were bigger issues at stake here and until they’d talked about them then Kate really wouldn’t know where she stood.

  “I’m sure,” she said, once again edging away from him slightly.

  “Fine,” he finally said as he ran a slightly shaky hand through his hair. “I was wrong. Having a child is important. Very important. But it’s not everything. In fact, it’s nothing if there’s no love. I guess I just saw my parents and sister enjoying their families so much I assumed it would be the same for me. Not to mention that I thought my uncle would’ve been happy and less consumed with his business, but I can see now that it’s not true. None of it’s true.”

  “So what are you saying, Matt? That you don’t want kids now?”

  For a moment Matt was silent, as if he had to consider his words carefully.

  “I’m saying that while I love kids, they don’t have to be part of my happiness. The only thing that my happiness depends on is you. I’ve made a lot of dumb decisions in the past and thought a lot of dumb things, but I’ve never managed to make them twice. So when I learn something, I learn it good, and right now, today, I’ve learned what I think I’ve always secretly known. You’re enough, Kate. You’ve always been enough.”

  She was enough?

  Kate’s heart pounded in her chest as his words filled her veins and seemed to breathe life into the small empty spaces under her skin.

  “It’s a lot to take in,” she finally said.

  “I know, and I don’t blame you for having your doubts, but that’s okay because not only am I organized but I’m persistent. Not to mention that I have the added advantage of living right next door, so I’m happy to wait as long as it takes for you to see that I want to be with you forever. It doesn’t matter if we have kids or not. It doesn’t matter if we live in a studio with an orange cat and lots of mess. All that matters is that we’re together. Forever, Kate. I love you.”

  Kate stared at him and Matt started to nervously sway from foot to foot. She realized Matt wasn’t the only one who had strange ideas about what a family should be. She was guilty too. She’d spent the last year losing herself in her paints and her canvases, thinking they were her only family. But that wasn’t true. She’d started to rebuild things with Julia and soon she’d have a new baby half-sister according to the latest scan. Perhaps she and Matt could do the same?

  She thought again about the baby her mother was carrying. Since she’d found out about Julia’s pregnancy, she’d been experiencing a million different emotions. And not all of them fear. She still had a long way to go; she knew that. But suddenly it didn’t seem quite so terrifying.

  Maybe Jenny was right. Maybe having babies was something that she could consider one day. But she still wasn’t sure it would be enough for Matt. She’d asked for a miracle and it appeared that she’d gotten it. He wanted her just the way she was. Flaws and all. That was a good thing. It was a great thing. But could she really be sure?

  “Kate?” Matt looked at her ex
pectantly.

  “I—I want to believe you,” she stammered. “But what if you change your mind? Look at Harry.”

  She watched Matt frown slightly before finally answering her. “I always thought that Harry was a loser. I mean, he had you and then he lost you. What kind of idiot would do that? Except then I realized I was that idiot. Jesus, Kate.” His voice cracked and she noticed his hands were shaking. “I almost lost you because of some stupid fantasy about a table that I had in my mind.”

  “You had a fantasy about a table?” Kate blinked, not quite sure what he was talking about.

  Matt grimaced in embarrassment. “It wasn’t an actual table. It was a scene around a table with my wife and kids. I could see it so clearly and that’s what I thought I needed. However, I finally figured out that it wasn’t the kids who completed the picture or even the wife. The thing is I got confused with thinking that some idea in my head was more important than what was real. And all I can tell you is I’ll never make that mistake again. I don’t need a picture in my head. I just need you.”

  Okay, so now she could believe in miracles. Here was living, breathing proof that maybe there could be more to her life than paintbrushes and cat food. It had been a long time since Kate had believed she could be happy, really happy. But now Matt was offering it to her and all she had to do was to accept it. She looked up to him. He was so close to her she could almost feel his breath on her cheek. This was her chance.

  All she had to do was take it.

  But what if things didn’t work out? What if she got scared?

  It was easier to stay in her gallery and be safe. Then she thought about all the time she and Julia had wasted because they’d been too scared. She just needed to push the past behind her and reach out. She just needed to lean toward what she wanted and see what happened.