Page 10 of Twisted Beauty

It was all so very awkward.

Where was her drink again?

4

Matt

He’d have preferred straight tequila, but margaritas would have to do. Anything to distract him from how irritated he suddenly felt.

Matt dragged a hand along the back of his neck and looked at Liv. Only a few feet separated them, but it was thick with silence and felt all kinds of awkward.

None of this was her fault, he was sure of that much.

The minute Zach invited him to this barbecue, he should have known it was a setup. No matter how many times he’d told Katie to knock it off, she was relentless. He had no idea why. Maybe she thought she owed him for introducing her to Zach, but that was a fluke. How could he have guessed his laid-back surfer friend would hit it off with someone so superficial?

He swept his eyes over Liv while she was busy glancing around the room, looking everywhere but at him. When he saw her in the driveway yesterday, all he’d noticed were those huge, green eyes and the lost look on her face. This close up, he could see the freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose, the dusky pink of her full lips, and her smooth, porcelain skin.

She was gorgeous. And he had an overwhelming urge to fix whatever it was that had put that look in her eye.

He needed to banish that thought from his mind. Matt never got involved with friends. Or friends of friends. That way, when everything went to shit, no one had to pick sides. He liked to think he’d learned some kind of lesson from the whole mess with Sadie.

Liv’s eyes settled on the doorway, and she stared for a minute at the spot where Katie and Zach had walked out. When she swung around to face him, her dark auburn hair tumbled over her shoulder and down her back, giving him this crazy urge to run his hands through it to see how it felt sliding between his fingers. Or wound around his fist while he—

Fuck. What the hell was wrong with him? He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Okay then,” Liv said after a few moments of silence. “Margaritas are on the counter in the kitchen. Help yourself.”

“Perfect.” He glanced toward the kitchen and saw the full pitcher perched on the countertop he and Zach recently installed. That was another time he’d gotten suckered into doing Katie’s bidding, one that had almost ended in them shattering expensive gray quartz across the kitchen. Though he had to admit he was proud of the way it turned out.

He walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard, but there wasn’t a single glass to be found. When he looked back to ask Liv where Kat had put them, he got caught up in her eyes. They were almost turquoise, maybe reflecting some of the color from that skimpy dress of hers. The fabric flowed loosely over her body and barely hung to the top of her thighs, exposing enough of those long, silky legs to make his mouth dry.

Liv cleared her throat, and he snapped his gaze back to her face. “Looks like Katie reorganized in here. Any idea where I’d find a glass?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed, but strolled toward him. Pulling open the dishwasher, she leaned over and he got a whiff of strawberry, maybe from her shampoo.

“Huh.” She shut the dishwasher and stood up empty-handed. “I was so sure they’d be in there, and you’d look like an idiot for not thinking of it.” Liv flashed him a smile that hit him in the gut. She was teasing him.

Shit. Was she flirting? He couldn’t let her get the wrong idea.

When he didn’t respond, Liv shrugged. “Just drink from the pitcher. I won’t tell if you don’t.” She leaned a hip against the counter, watching him like she’d issued a dare he couldn’t refuse.

He ran a hand along the back of his neck again, since it was starting to sweat. Why did he feel so fucking uncomfortable? This was Kat’s doing, not his. And yet, here he was. Needing to explain himself to one of her friends. Again.

He decided to be blunt. “Look, I don’t know what Kat told you, but she’s been trying to set me up for months now. This is just another of her little ploys, leaving us alone here together. You seem like a sweet girl and I don’t want to disappoint you, but I’m not in the market for a relationship.”

Liv’s eyebrows shot up. “You think I don’t know what this is? I promise you I had nothing to do with it. The last thing I’m looking for is a relationship. I don’t even want to date. To be perfectly honest, I’d rather be alone on the beach right now sleeping off my hangover, but you know Katie. That wasn’t exactly one of my choices for today.”

She seemed sincere, and Matt felt like an ass for making assumptions. “Out of curiosity, what were your choices?”

“Get my butt out here and mingle, or die.”

Matt laughed. That sounded about right. He’d gotten essentially the same ultimatum from Zach about showing up here today. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. Maybe one of us should tell Katie to back off.”

“Yes, one of us should.” She tilted her head and looked at him as if she expected him to be able to control Katie.

He held up his hands in protest. “I’ve been trying for months, but I’m the first to admit I have no idea why women pull the shit they do. Maybe you’ll have better luck.”

She folded her arms and glared at him. “That’s a lovely sentiment.”