"That serious, huh?" I asked, knowing what his protective outburst meant.
"Yeah, that fucking serious. We're making plans for her to move in with me," he said gruffly.
I heaved a big sigh. A part of me hated this, but I knew that deep down, Matt was a good guy. He wouldn't be my best friend otherwise. "Look, Matt, you know how much she went through with Ben cheating on her and being an asshole about canceling the wedding. I just don't want her getting hurt again."
"I love her, man, and I would never do anything to hurt her. She's it for me."
I blinked and looked at Allie, who was smiling widely even though she had a tear in her eye. Well, fuck. "And she loves you?" I asked, needing to be sure.
"I'm not sure why, but yes, she does," he said with a small chuckle.
"OK, so how bad are the pictures?" I asked, cringing at the thought of something explicit.
"Uh, they aren't that bad, it's just obvious that we're a couple," he hedged, clearly uncomfortable.
"How obvious, asshole?" I demanded.
"About as obvious as you and Allie were at the after-party."
I sighed again, and Allie hugged me. "Congratulations, Matt, I'm so happy for you both," she said sweetly. "Congratulations," I added gruffly. "Tell my sister to call me in the morning."
"Thanks man, I will," Matt said, sounding relieved that I wasn't going to rip his balls off - for the moment anyway.
After I hung up the phone, I turned to Allie, remembering her lack of surprise at the beginning of the call. "So, I'm guessing that you knew about them?"
She looked like a deer in the headlights, glancing at me warily and then looking away. She nodded reluctantly. "I found out a little bit of it a few days ago. Matt wanted to tell you himself. I'm sorry."
I smiled ruefully. "It's OK, I get it. I'm not sure I really wanna see those pictures, though."
Allie picked up her phone and pulled up the TMZ site. "I'll look for you, you big chicken." She scrolled through, then paused to read the article, humming a little here and there, then chuckling. "They have a theory now that you gave Matt that black eye after you found out about him and Becca."
"How bad are the pics?" I asked, cringing.
"They're fine. There's one of them holding hands, and one of them kissing, then one of him putting sunscreen on her. Nothing scandalous, I promise." She turned her phone toward me, and I looked at the photos on the screen.
"His hand is on her ass, Allie," I pointed out. She glanced at it and rolled her eyes with a huff.
"Over the top of her bikini, honey. It's OK. He wasn't sexing her up right there on the sand."
"Oh God, I did not need that visual, thanks," I whined.
"Come on, you big baby. Let's go upstairs, and I'll sex you up. Will that make you feel better?" she asked with a smirk.
I grabbed her hand and raced toward the stairs. "As a matter of damned fact, that will make me feel much better. Great idea, Sunshine."
