“Aubree, please call me back,” he said.
Matthew stood in the hallway for what felt like forever before he turned to face his apartment just across the hall. His shoulders slumped as he headed inside. How the hell had Will wrecked this so fast? And how the hell was he going to fix it, assuming he could?
He pulled up the Meet Cute app and signed into his account, then he examined the hanky-panky challenges, looking over his options. This might be the last way to reach her since she didn’t know who had been sending her the romantic challenges. It was one last thing he could try. He chose the “Design your own hanky-panky challenge” and crafted it carefully and hit send. Now all he could do was wait and have faith.
Aubree was sitting by the fire in the Park and Field restaurant, a mug of warm apple cider in her hands as she stared off at the flickering vermilion flames. Despite the cozy warmth of the restaurant, she felt numb. Empty. Cold on the inside and out. A chasm had opened inside her chest and darkness was slowly spreading through her from that bleak fissure. She’d fallen in love with Matthew. Too fast. Too foolish.
Her phone pinged and she almost ignored it but finally curiosity got the better of her. She winced when she saw was a Meet Cute app notification. She clicked on it and sawVesper1had sent her another challenge. Whoever thisVesper1was, he had sent her a string of fun adventures that had ended in heartbreak. Her finger hovered over the delete button before she finally tapped read.
Hanky-panky challenge: Love is friendship that has caught fire. If you still believe this… Give love a second chance. Give me a second chance.
She stared at the words.Give me a second chance?But ...
“Oh my God…” She murmured. She didn’t knowVesper1, he just sent her some messages for the challenges, that was it. But every challenge had led her to Matthew. She was torn between fury and confusion. Was Matthew the mysterious online userVesper1? And if he was, why had Matthew used the app?
Aubree closed her eyes, remembering all the wonderful moments she’d had with him and how everything had been destroyed by one man’s stupid comments. Was she really going to walk away from Matthew without an explanation at least? She owed him that, but she also owed herself. She hit the accept button on the challenge and replied toVesper1.
“Meet me at millennium Park in 20 minutes.”
She paid for her drink and hailed a cab. When she got to the park, it was filled with people and light. Snow flurries were falling from the skies in delicate swirling patterns making the night feel strangely intimate. She smiled as a couple of children in thick coats and brightly colored knit caps rushed past, shouting about building snowmen. Their beleaguered parents trudged behind them, carrying steamy cups of coffee. Ahead of her, the park was full of people enjoying snowy night and the skating ring in the distance was lit with sparkling white lights.
The closer she got to the rink, the more she could make out in the snow. A man stood with his back to her, his gloved hands braced on the walls of the rink. His dark blond hair was lightly dusted with snow, but she would recognize him anywhere.
“Vesper1?” She spoke the screen name and the man turned.
Matthew stood before her, pain in his hauntingly beautiful blue eyes.
“Aubree… Please let me explain and if you still never want to see me again, I understand.”
She nodded, keeping herself a few feet away from him. If she came any closer, she would be tempted to run into his arms, but she needed answers.
“That night you showed me the Meet Cute app, I decided to create an account. I liked you. More than liked you. That first night we met, I wanted to find a way to make you come back, but I was also worried you might not take me seriously. Most women in high-powered jobs don’t want to date a bartender. So, I used the app to find you and send you the challenge. I knew you could have gone anywhere to do them, but I hoped you would come to me. You did and as crazy as it sounds, I fell in love with you. After Lena, I never thought I’d fall in love so hard and fast again, but I did with you.” His lips curved in a soft, slightly surprised smile that threatened to break down every wall she’d tried to build in the last few hours. He cleared his throat and continued.
“Will, that man in the bar, that idiot who speaks without thinking sometimes, I told him about you, about how I met you. Will always says the wrong things at the worst times. I never thought you needed rescuing and I didn’t do any of this out of pity. I did it because I liked you and I wanted to be with you.”
Aubree processed everything he said, a little stunned. Okay,waystunned. “Did you get fired?” she asked quietly.
“What? No… Will can’t fire me.”
“He can’t? But Jenny said he was the boss.”
Matthew smiled a little. “Of her, yes. But not me. You remember I told you that my best friend was here in Chicago? That was Will. He and I both co-own Love Potion #9 together.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” For some reason that upset her too. It was another deception.
“I didn’t tell you right away because I wanted you to like me forme. Unlike Will, I like doing the work behind the bar. That will always be part of who I am, and most women think that kind of job is temporary. I love making drinks, love talking to customers. I like staying engaged in the human experience. I wanted you to see that part of me first before I showed you the business side of me.”
Aubree was silent, still processing everything he’d said. So, he was the owner of the bar, but he was afraid she would judge him if he was just a bartender? She could understand that. After all, she had wondered why he tended bar when he he’d attended Cambridge and the London School of Economics.
Matthew held out a hand to her. “Will you give me a second chance? Please?”
Aubree gazed into his eyes, seeing only honesty and a tender hunger for her. A hunger that echoed the loneliness and desire within her own heart.
“If you want me, I’m yours, Aubree. You remember that quote I put on my sign? I meant every word and I was talking about you. I love you and that’s the beginning and the end of everything.”
Aubree bit her lip hard as her eyes burned. She was so afraid to believe in magic of love anymore. She was afraid to trust her heart, yet she’d began this journey to find love. What kind of person was she if she turned her back on it now? Her friendship with the sexy Australian bartender had indeed caught fire and she wanted those flames to burn even brighter. With a trembling hand, she touched his gloved palm and he pulled her slowly into his arms, the embrace full of fire and tenderness.
“I’m afraid of getting hurt,” she whispered as he nuzzled her cheek. His soft, delighted sigh filled her heart with a blinding tightness and cottony warmth.
