Page 11 of The Daddy’s Girl

“I had a crush once,” he says with a reminiscent look on his face.

“You did?” I ask.

“Yes. I was only seventeen.”

“Did you tell them how you felt?”

Matis only laughs while gazing longingly at his wineglass. “No. I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“She was a nun.”

“Oh.”

Everyone breaks out in laughter, and I try to imagine what Matis would have been like as a teenager. Was he always so suave and charming? I bet he could have had every girl in his school if he wanted them.

“And now, here I am…thirty-six years later and still alone.”

The sullen expression on his face takes me by surprise. Matis, alone? It seems unfathomable. He exudes confidence and swagger. He’s never alone unless he truly wants to be. He is the life of the party and the easiest person to be around. How could he ever feel alone?

My dad claps a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “You’re not alone tonight.”

“No, I’m not,” Matis replies with a gracious smile. Lifting his glass, he clinks it against my dad’s.

“I didn’t know you were…” The words come out of my mouth before I even realize what I’m trying to ask.

“What?” he replies.

“You know…dating? Or looking? I mean, I guess I just thought you wanted to be alone.”

I’m fumbling over my words, and the table is too quiet as they all watch me trying to figure out what I want to say.

“Sorry, this is none of my business,” I add to quickly cover my awkward tracks.

Matis, of course, doesn’t look bothered or uncomfortable. He only grins at me casually. “I’m not dating…per se.”

“But you’d like to?”

He shrugs. “Perhaps it’s time I start actually talking to the people I sleep with.”

“What about online dating?” Freya asks, which makes Matis only laugh.

“I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“I can help.”

Somehow, those words just came out of my mouth. Which is weird because I’m the one person at the table that should really not want Matis to start dating.

But for some reason, I just blurted out in front of him and my entire family that I would help him date more. Beneath the table, Freya kicks my shin, and I do everything not to react. She must think I’ve lost it.

Hell, I think I’ve lost it too.

“You would help me?” Matis asks, clearly confused too.

I simply shrug. “Yeah, I mean, why not? I’ve got a way with technology, and I could make you sound really good in your profile. They’ll be swiping hard for you.”

His brows lift. “Swiping hard?”