I wonder if Matt is still seeing this woman, if he has a booty call lined up. The thought of that makes me a little jealous, and I shake my head at the craziness of that.
“Her name is Nicole,” he goes on. “And she loves… um… sex… men. Especially rich men.”
“Uh huh. I know the type.”
“Anyway, we could arrange for a ‘chance’ meeting. Arrange for her to casually bump into my dad. Knowing her, she’ll have him wrapped around her finger in less than a minute. I know his schedule, and every spot he intends to visit. Mind you, he’ll be mostly with your mother this week, but if I know him like I think I do, it could work.”
I shift in my seat, and lean in closer. “Let me get this straight… you want your dad to cheat on my mom on their wedding vacation?”
He shrugs. “Well, yeah. The idea is to do it before the wedding. She’ll see what he’s really like, and won’t make the mistake of marrying him.”
I’m skeptical. “What’s in this for you? Why do you care? Are you afraid she’ll steal your dad’s precious money?”
He laughs. “She’s signed a prenup. And honestly, I’m just tired of seeing him treat women like shit. I usually don’t care when he has his way with the gold diggers, uses them and spits them out. But your mom is a good person, and she doesn’t deserve his shit.”
I lean back, impressed. Matt Moore has changed. A lot.
“I’ll probably need your help, to get your mom where I need her to be.”
My heart sinks at the thought of willingly hurting my mother. “This will devastate her.”
“I know,” he says. “But don’t you think it’s better than finding out her new perfect husband is sleeping with the whole town behind her back, and going through a nasty divorce. Because believe me, that’s what will happen. My dad’s been married three times. This is his fourth marriage.”
My eyes grow wide. “I didn’t know that. I thought that this was his second marriage.”
He shoots up his hand, pointing four fingers up. “Nope… fourth.”
I shake my head. “Wow, the man’s a piece of work. He certainly had me fooled.”
He smiles. “Don’t feel bad about it. He has everyone fooled.”
The server comes round with the third course, a delicious looking foie gras. My stomach growls at the sight, and we happily dig in.
The rest of the long dinner flows smoothly. We chat about our old high school friends, orhisfriends, I should say. I haven’t kept in touch with anyone, but he has. He tells me what they’re all up to. Many are married with small kids, some are divorced. One has even created a multi-million dollar app. We also talk about the last ten years of our lives. He tells me all about his college days and his job. I don’t mention my eating disorder, my bout in a psychiatric center, nor my dropping out of college. I talk about my yoga class, my friends and my massage clients.
Dessert is a delicious chocolate mousse. I don’t often have dessert so when I do, it’s a real treat. I enjoy every bite.
“I’m glad you enjoyed your meal, Kayla,” he says. “So I did good?” he asks with the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.
I smile playfully. “Yes, you did quite well, Mr. Moore.”
Oh damn, flirting. I’m flirting with Matt Moore, my nemesis, my monster. What the hell is wrong with me?
He wraps my jacket around my shoulders before we step out. We indulge in one last view of the city. The air is crisp and cool, but I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I’m not sure if it’s the wine, or if it’s the way Matt is looking at me.
“You really are gorgeous,” he says. “You’ve really turned into something amazing.”
I bite my lip. “The ugly duckling… that’s me.”
He shakes his head. “You were never ugly, Kayla.”
I turn from him. “Let’s go.”
We make our way down in silence. When we hop into the taxi, I’m still not speaking to him, but I really want to. He shoots me quiet smiles, as if he knows that he hasn’t won me over yet. He’s still working on it.
The taxi rolls to a stop in front of my building. Matt insists on walking me to the door.
“It’s just a few steps,” I point out. “I’m pretty sure I won’t get mugged.”
