Page 70 of Golden Ruin

“Doing okay?” he asks.

I nod. “Yep, just recharging. I should be back in the swing of things in a day or two.”

“Mind if I sit?” he asks, stepping closer.

I gesture toward the chair. “Be my guest.”

Then, things get quiet. Too quiet.

“Annie’s certainly happy to have you back.”

I smile, thinking about the huge hug she squeezed me with when I walked in this morning.

“Certainly seemed that way. And Toby’s ‘Welcome Back’ banner was nothing to sneeze at either.”

Matt tosses his head back with a laugh. “Trust me, I told him that was a bit too much, but once he had his heart set, there was no talking him out of it.”

“It wasn’t too much. It was nice to know I was missed.”

His eyes soften as he nods. “Indeed you were.”

I have to look away when a feeling creeps in that I wasn’t expecting. It’s not quite guilt, but something akin to it. Sterling’s face flashes behind my eyes when I close them, then I feel his arms around me. Like they were last night in the treehouse.

I lower my head.

“My um… my mother asked about you and Jax,” Matt says, and I meet his gaze again.

“How is she?”

He smiles a little. “Good. Talked my ear off for a good hour before rushing me off the line to get to her book club.”

“She’s always so sweet to us. Tell her I say hello.”

“Will do,” he nods. “Got any plans for lunch?”

I laugh at the question, picturing my sandwich and chips in a bag on the counter. “Well, I did, but considering that I left it on the counter at home, the answer to your question is no.”

At home…

Why’d I say that?

Matt doesn’t catch the slipup, so I don’t call attention to it, but I’m unnerved to say the least.

“Mind if I buy you lunch then?”

I hesitate before nodding. “Sure. Thanks.”

We stand and head toward the door, and my mind’s already racing as we exit the clinic. I was so open to the idea of whatever Matt and I were becoming just a month ago. Now, I feel weirdly uneasy about something as simple as sharing a meal with the man.

My brain betrays me as I search for the cause of it, the reason for this sudden uneasiness that has my stomach twisting in knots. And no matter what way I spin it, I keep landing on the same answer.

Sterling.

Just as his name pops into my thoughts uninvited, I hear loud music coming from down the street, then a blacked-out SUV pulls up to the curb. A soft gasp slips out, and I can only hope Matt didn’t hear it. The music goes mute, and the back window disappears inside the door.

Jax is smiling back at me, wearing his dad’s baseball cap and oversized sunglasses, looking even more like his clone than usual.

“Mommy, come to lunch with us!” he gushes, kicking his feet as his grin grows.