“Yes, I’m flying out the day before Christmas and staying through New Year’s. The Westmoreland Charity Ball is New Year’s Eve. Will you be attending?”
“Yes. I didn’t attend last year. At the time I was still trying to wrap my head around being Sid Roberts’s son.”
She nodded. “What are your plans for Christmas Day?”
“Deena and I have been invited to spend Christmas with the triplets in Texas at the Golden Glade. Then everyone will leave on New Year’s Eve for Denver to attend the Westmoreland Charity Ball. I’m looking forward to seeing you there.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “Now that we’re an exclusive couple, next year I’d like for us to make plans to spend the holidays together, alright?”
Did he think they would last that long? Was there a reason to think they wouldn’t? She and Warren had made the one-year mark, so there was no reason why she and Matt wouldn’t do the same. But then, what would happen after that? She decided not to be concerned with it since he had been forewarned. “Alright.”
“Good,” he said, gently squeezing her hand before releasing it.
After breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen together, Matt suggested they go boating, since it was such a beautiful day. He told her that he owned a boat he kept at Marina Del Rey. She told him she would love to go and that it sounded like fun. She hadn’t gone boating in years.
He took her hand in his as they headed up the stairs. She suddenly stopped and turned to face him. “Thanks, Matt.”
He lifted a brow. “For what?”
“For being you. For not sending me away when I appeared on your doorstep unannounced. For listening to me when I told you about Garlan and understanding. For—”
He leaned down and silenced any more words from her lips. The kiss, as usual, had her swooning in no time. When he finally released her lips, he had a serious expression on his face. Tenderly cupping her chin, he said, “You don’t ever have to thank me for anything I do for you, Iris.”
Then he kissed her again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Matt stood at his office window and looked out at LA’s beautiful skyline. The past weeks had seemed to fly by quickly for him and Iris. Next week would be Christmas. It was now a common occurrence for them to go to lunch together, unless he was stuck in court or she had meetings. They’d decided the weekends belonged to them.
She would arrive at his home after work on Fridays with her weekender bag over her shoulder, and she would remain with him until Monday morning. They took turns planning their weekends. Sometimes they went to the movies, football games or concerts. This weekend was a chill weekend for them. They spent the entire time indoors, playing checkers, watching movies and making love. They also tried out new recipes together.
Iris still served as his PR specialist, and upon her advice, he had accepted a meeting with Brandon Birmingham at her office. The movie director–producer explained why he wanted to make a movie based on Sid Roberts’s life. Birmingham admitted that, like most kids growing up, Sid Roberts had been his hero. He felt it was important a movie be done that highlighted his life and the good that he did—on the rodeo circuit, as a renowned trainer and horse whisperer, as well as his campaign to save wild horses. The latter was what a lot of people hadn’t known about Sid, and Birmingham felt it was about time they did. It would not center on Sid Roberts’s love life. He even agreed to allow Matt to approve the script before they began filming.
The man was a tough negotiator, and Matt had liked him immediately. He’d told him he couldn’t make a decision until he first discussed it with his cousins, the triplets. They’d had a vested interest in his father’s affairs long before he’d discovered Sid Roberts was his father.
Matt had held a virtual meeting last night with Clint, Cole and Casey. They thought a movie about Sid’s life and his love of horses was a great idea, and with Brandon Birmingham at the helm, there was no doubt it would be a successful project. Matt told them he would only agree to do it if all his proceeds from the movie went to the foundation’s Save the Horses. His cousins tried giving him pushback on that, but he would not change his mind. In the end, they had agreed.
Another thing he would not change his mind about was his pursuit of Iris. He loved spending time with her, and the more he did so, the more he knew he was falling even deeper in love with her. Of course, now that Deena knew he and Iris were an item, she took credit for everything. Two nights ago, he and Iris had gone out to dinner with Deena to celebrate her win in the courtroom with that medical malpractice case she’d been working on.
He glanced at his watch. Due to an unexpected meeting with one of her clients, Iris had canceled their lunch date. However, she had invited him over to her place after work for dinner, which included spaghetti and salad. She asked if he would stop at the store and grab a bottle of red wine since all she had was white. He had no problem doing that. He hadn’t eaten at her place since that day she had invited him to lunch for meatloaf sandwiches, and he was looking forward to dining with her there again.
* * *
Iris had just taken the rolls out of the oven when she heard the doorbell ring. From the way her heart kicked up, she knew it was Matt. She blew out a long breath. It happened every time. She had stopped asking herself why months ago. He was a man. She was a woman. They both had healthy and hearty sexual appetites. But she had to admit there was more to their developing relationship than that. He was easy to talk to. Someone with whom she enjoyed spending her time. They liked doing the same fun activities. They had already planned a ski trip to Vail for February and were thinking about taking a cruise to Alaska over the summer.
She hadn’t changed out of the outfit she had worn to work. Instead, she had tossed her purse aside and headed straight for the kitchen. She’d had a taste for spaghetti for weeks now and decided to make some using her father’s recipe. Knowing she would make more than she could eat, she had invited Matt to join her. She would admit she had wanted to see him since she hadn’t since Monday morning, when he had brought her home after spending the weekend at his place. She had looked forward to their lunch date and had been disappointed that she’d had to cancel it. Now he was here, and she was glad to see him, which was why she was walking swiftly to the door.
She opened it, and he stood there with a bottle of wine in his hand and a huge smile on those too-gorgeous lips. “I’m delivering the red wine you ordered, Ms. Michaels.”
She took the bottle he offered and stepped aside. “I appreciate you for stopping to get it, Matt.”
“No problem.”
As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned to her, his gaze roaming over her. “You look mighty sexy today, Iris.”
“I hope not,” she said, looking down at herself. “This is the outfit I wore to work. I wanted to look professional, not sexy.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “You look both and you wear both looks well.”
He said the nicest things. “Thanks. Now come join me in the kitchen. The spaghetti is done, and the bread is ready. All I have to do is prepare the salad.”
