FOUR
MATTHEW PUSHES OPEN the door and flicks the switch.Soft light floods the room.Casement windows reflect the moonlight to my left; to my right, a large bed is draped in soft linens the color of melted butter.The wallpaper behind it captures my attention.
Giant blush roses, each petal delicately shaded, bloom across a cream background.
“That’s…” My hand rises, hovering near the wall.“Beautiful.”
“Roses were my mother’s favorite,” Matthew says, his voice tight.
“Were?”
“She passed before she could move in.”His gaze is fixed on the roses, a deep sadness shadowing his features.
The familiar ache of loss tightens my chest.“I’m so sorry.”I instinctively reach out, fingers brushing his forearm.
He tenses, eyes closing for a beat.“It’s fine,” he murmurs.But the pain in his gaze betrays the words.
Guilt spikes.
I’m intruding on his grief.
“I can’t stay here,” I say, turning for the door.“Thank you, but I can’t—”
He catches my arm.“It’s about time I put this room to use.”
“But—”
“Please,” he insists softly.“Stay.”
Our eyes lock.In those green depths, my defenses crumble.A strange flutter starts in my chest, a flicker of something unfamiliar.
Hope?
No, not after tonight.
Not after James.
Matthew inhales sharply, breaking the connection.“The bathroom is right there.”He points to a door at the far end of the room.“No spare toothbrushes, I’m afraid.”His playful grin eases the tension.
“Mouthwash?”A genuine smile tugs at my lips.
He chuckles.A soothing balm to my raw nerves.“More than happy to share.Anything else?”
“No.You’ve done more than enough.”
“Totally my pleasure, Amy.”
“Thank you, Matthew.”
“Matt,” he corrects.A charmingly lopsided grin tilts his lips.
“Matt,” I echo.
After Matthew leaves, I wander to the bed, fingers trailing across smooth linen.The scent of fresh laundry fills my senses.My gaze drifts around the space until it snags on my reflection in a full-length mirror propped against the wall.Dark curls frame a face I no longer recognize.
The image of James and the redhead assaults my mind.
His hands tracing the curves of her body, lips on her neck, their bodies entwined.
