“I’m telling the truth. Nothing’s going on between us. I broke up with him for good.”
“What? Why?”
“Because.”
“Because what?”
I set my glass down on the counter, then turned on the tap and scooped some water up to splash my face. “Because I didn’t miss him when I was out there, which means our attraction is caused by the bond.” I hoped that between the sound of running water and having my back turned, Matt wouldn’t detect the glaring lie.
“For real?”
I let the water run a couple seconds more, then shut it off. It trailed down my neck and bled into my running bra, cooling down my warm body. When I turned around, Matt’s entire forehead was pleated.
“That’s brutal.”
“He’ll get over it.”
“I remember you saying the exact same thing about Liam.” Matt shook his head. “He didn’t get over it.”
“He’s about to get over me, considering-” I snapped my lips shut. Had I really been about to blurt out Tamara’s baby news to Matt?
“Considering what?”
“Considering something I’m not at liberty to discuss.”
“Ness . . .”
“Can’t tell you, Matt.”
“Why not?””Because it doesn’t involve me.”
“Who does it involve?”
“Liam. I think.”
“I got that, but-”
“Please, Matt. Forget I said anything.”
He pushed away from my kitchen counter. “You do realize that’s like telling my wolf to forget about a deer? Once I spot it, I want it.”
“Look at that. It’s eight o’clock.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“You’re late for work.”
“And you’re being amazingly annoying, which is quite the feat for you.”
I shot him a brazen smile. “I can’t be that annoying. After all, you hang out with me when you don’t need to.”
That won me a big-ass grin. “I have a thing for annoying people.”
“I won’t tell Amanda.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t talking about my girlfriend.”
I winked at him as he opened the door.
“Take an ice bath, Little Wolf. It helps with sore muscles.”
I didn’t take an ice bath, but I did take a cold shower that felt like standing underneath falling needles, and then I headed to the house and worked on the floors until I’d scraped off every last speck of the past. My bedroom took the longest, but that was mostly because I spent a bunch of minutes staring at the loose floorboard. For a moment, I thought of nailing it shut so it could never again be used to conceal secrets, but finally decided to leave it be.
Before being a depository for stolen Sillin, it had been a place where I’d stowed away my treasures and dreams.
That night, exhausted, I almost bailed on dinner but ended up going because I felt like I should make an effort to spend time with the pack outside of training.
When I got to Tracy’s, Amanda and Matt were already seated at a table along the wall which was decorated with vintage movie posters in cheap frames that were smudged with greasy handprints. The former housekeeper in me cringed at the cleanliness of this place. I didn’t even want to think about the state of the kitchen. Thankfully, I was endowed with a wolf stomach; in other words, I could digest questionable meat and not hurl.
As I sat in front of Amanda, Matt all but yelled over the music playing in the background and the continuous plink of cue sticks against pool balls, “You made it!”
“I almost didn’t. Everywhere hurts.”
“I heard my baby’s been working you out,” Amanda said, pushing her wavy, brown hair behind her ear.
“Torturing me’s more like it.”
Matt grinned, and so did Amanda, which was a nice change from her usual hot and cold attitude toward me.
She took a sip of her beer. “Heard you were starting at UCB. Did Matt tell you I’m going there too?”
“No!” Even though Amanda and I weren’t besties, it was neat to know another person at UCB. Especially if I was to have no interaction with Sarah.
A waitress with heavy bangs came up behind me and asked what I wanted to drink. I recognized her right away: Kelly.
Another one of August’s hookups . . .
“I’ll have the same as them,” I said. Thankfully, she didn’t card me.
“Coming right up.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes with her pinky finger, then poured me some iced water before leaving to grab my beer.
Amanda set her elbows on the table and steepled her fingers under her chin. “What are you thinking of majoring in?”
“Business.”Her already large eyes went a little larger. “Me too! So we’ll probably be in all the same classes. Sienna and Matty already told me all the professors to stay away from and all the awesome ones.”
“Liam’s also filled me in.”
“Yeah?” She cranked one eyebrow up and flicked her gaze to Matt as though to ask him what the deal was between Liam and me.