Sunset In Central Park (24 page)

It was exactly the right thing to say and Frankie saw Roxy’s cheeks flush.

“Don’t get all soppy on me.” But she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “All right. If you’re sure. I don’t have much stuff, anyway.”

“I can clear out some of my things.” It made perfect sense.

Roxy needed somewhere safe to stay and it wasn’t as if she was using the apartment much.

In the last three weeks she’d only been inside it to water her plants and pick up fresh clothes.

Matt held out his hand to Roxy. “Give me the keys to your apartment and a list of things you need. I’ll pick them up so that you don’t have to go back there.”

“I’ll go with you.” But Roxy looked exhausted and the bruise on her head was turning an ugly shade of blue.

“I’ll go with Matt,” Frankie suggested. “You and Mia stay here with James.”

Clearing Roxy’s tiny apartment took less than an hour, and on the way home Matt stopped at the store to pick up a few
things he thought she might need. Doing something practical helped to cool the anger simmering inside him.

Frankie sent the occasional questioning glance in his direction as she filled a shopping cart with food. “Are you okay?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re worried about Roxy. You want to remove Eddy’s head from his shoulders.”

Matt forced a smile. “Hopefully he won’t come near her again, and even if he tries to he won’t find her. It was generous of you to offer to let her use your apartment.” The gesture had surprised him. After all the conversations they’d had on the topic, he hadn’t expected it.

He pushed the cart to the checkout and started unloading it.

“Hey, it’s your apartment. You’re the generous one. Don’t buy that—” she removed a little girl’s outfit and two dolls “—you’ll offend her.”

“How will buying a few things for Mia offend her?”

“Because this is tough on Roxy. She needs to do it herself as much as she can.”

Matt dragged his hand over the back of his neck. “I’m being overprotective again?”

“I love that side of you. And I suspect it will help Roxy to know her friends have her back. But I think we should be a little subtle, that’s all. She’s trying to be independent. We don’t want her to misinterpret what we’re doing and take it as a sign that we don’t think she can cope.”

“Good point.” He put the outfit and one of the dolls back on the shelves. “What makes you so smart?”

“I was born that way.”

“You were born sexy, too.” And he couldn’t keep his hands off her. Ignoring the fact that they were in a public place, he leaned across and kissed her. “I know you didn’t want to move in with me. Tell me honestly—are you freaking out?”

“A little bit.” She gave a half smile and he eased away, pleased that she hadn’t lied to him but wishing her answer had been different.

“You’ve been sleeping in my apartment every night since we got back from Puffin Island.”

“I know. But this feels—” she shrugged “—I can’t explain.”

“As if the door has closed? No escape?” He didn’t need her to explain, because he understood. And the fact that she still didn’t trust what they had hurt more than it should have. Telling himself it wasn’t personal, he paid for the items and loaded them into bags. “You can escape anytime you like, Frankie. You can stay with Eva on a temporary basis if you’d rather.”

Why the hell had he suggested that? The last thing he wanted her to do was move out.

She touched his arm gently. “I’ve upset you.”

“No. Do I wish you’d move everything you own into my apartment? Yes. But I don’t want you to feel trapped. I know this is a big deal for you, and I want you to know you’re as free to leave today as you were yesterday.” He kept it easy and casual, ignoring the fact that all he wanted to do was drag her back to his apartment and keep her there. “But I’m pleased we were able to help Roxy. That was a good thing you did.”

“You’re the one doing it.” She helped him bag the items. “You’ve spent a lot of money, Matt.”

“It’s my money.”

By the time they’d settled Roxy and the baby into Frankie’s apartment, it was late.

James, who had taken to crawling around on all fours to be Mia’s horse, announced that he was going to sleep on the couch.

“Why?” Roxy put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You think you’re going to get lucky?”

“No, but you had a bang on your head and you need someone to keep an eye on you. That’s the rule with a head injury.”

“I’ve had worse than this.”

James stopped crawling. “Maybe. But I’m still sleeping on the couch. Ouch.” He winced as Mia tugged at his hair and smacked her little legs against his waist.

“Horsey run.”

“She’s got one hell of a grip, Rox.”

“Don’t swear in front of my baby, you big oaf.”

“Oaf,” Mia said happily. “Oaf.”

“Sorry.” James looked sheepish and Roxy relented.

“I suppose every horse needs a stable. I’ll make up the couch.”

“There are blankets and pillows in the basket by the bed,” Frankie said and while Roxy went to fetch them, Matt took the opportunity to talk to James.

“Are you sure you want to stay? I’m upstairs if she needs anything.”

“I don’t think Eddy will find her here, but she’s scared
and I don’t like to think of her scared. I thought I’d hang around here for a while.”

Matt nodded. “If he manages to track her down somehow and turns up, call me.”

“Sure thing. You can come down here with that chain saw of yours and carve him into a more useful object. A doorstop, maybe.”

Matt was about to respond when Roxy appeared in the doorway, her face pale.

“You don’t have to talk about me as if I don’t know what’s going on here. I don’t need a bodyguard and it seems I’ve got two.”

“Three.” Frankie took the pillows and blankets from her and put them on the couch. “I’m a black belt in karate. If Eddy shows up here he’s going to wish he’d picked a different address.”

“Karate? That’s pretty cool.” Roxy took Mia from James and cuddled her close. “I’d like to learn.”

“I can take you with me next time I go.” Frankie vanished into the kitchen and appeared moments later with a few plants in her hands. “These are toddler height, so I thought we’d put them upstairs. And I need to show you how the bolt on the door works because it’s temperamental.”

Matt handed Mia the doll he’d bought. “You didn’t tell me it was temperamental.”

“It’s fine, but you have to bash it with your hand.”

“Good, because I’m in the mood for some bashing.” Roxy frowned. “You bought her a new doll?”

Matt hesitated, remembering the exchange with Frankie. “It’s a gift, Rox.”

“You don’t need to do all this for me.”

“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for your daughter.”
He knew that Roxy put Mia before everything, including her own pride.

Roxy chewed her lip and then gave a wobbly smile. “Thanks. That was kind.”

Mia was ecstatic and insisted on smacking kisses on Matt’s cheek until Roxy finally peeled her away.

By the time they returned to his apartment, it was almost dark.

Frankie arranged the plants on the windowsill in the kitchen. “Do you think he’ll show up?”

“Her ex? I don’t think he’d know to look for her here, but if he does James will deal with him.” Matt consulted a recipe book and gathered the ingredients for a basic red sauce. He wondered how a man could father a child and then have no interest in raising it or protecting it. And in a way, Frankie’s situation was even worse than Roxy’s. Her father had walked out on a child he’d raised for fourteen years. What the hell made a man do that?

“Are you angry?” Frankie washed her hands and reached for a clove of garlic. “Either that onion has offended you, or you’re angry.”

“I’m not angry.”

“You’re upset about Roxy.”

He stared down at his white knuckles and his fingers, clamped around the handle of the knife.

“Not just about Roxy.” He put the knife down slowly. “Are you ever tempted to get in touch with your dad?”

“No.” She took the knife from him and finished chopping. “I thought about it at first, but too many things happened. If we met up now it would just be awkward. I needed him back then, but I don’t need him in my life now.”

“I hate to think of you going through that.”

“It’s okay, Matt.”

“It’s not okay.” The depth of his anger shocked him. “It’s not okay, Frankie.”

She shot him a puzzled look and put the knife down. “What’s the matter? Normally you are Mr. Cool. I’m not used to seeing you like this.”

He wasn’t used to feeling like this. This dark, ugly cocktail of emotions was poisoning his usual rational approach to life. “You were left to cope with it alone. That’s inexcusable.” He dragged his fingers through his hair and tried to calm himself. “No parent should put a child in the position you were in.”

“It was a long time ago. I’ve learned to live with it.”

“Have you?” It was a struggle to keep his voice steady. “He’s the reason you keep things to yourself and don’t trust easily. He’s the reason you’re scared of relationships. Scared to move in here with me.”

“I have moved in here with you.” Her hand covered his. “And I do trust you.”

He stared down at their entwined fingers. Her hand looked small and delicate against his and he felt a surge of protectiveness. “Do you?”

“Yes. I do. Calm down, Matt.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “This will be hard for you to understand because your family is so different from mine but I don’t even care anymore. I have no feelings for my father. He’s a stranger to me.”

“That’s wrong on so many levels.” Comparing it to his relationship with his own father, he pulled her against him. He didn’t feel calm. He didn’t feel calm at all. “I wish I’d been there for you.”

“You’re here now. And that’s what counts.” She eased
away from him and finished preparing the food. “What happened to Roxy’s parents?”

“Her father was abusive. I think that’s one reason why Roxy is determined not to go back to Eddy no matter what.” He took the garlic from her, scraped it into the hot oil and lowered the heat. At this rate he was going to burn the food. He had to stop thinking about Eddy. And he had to stop thinking about Frankie’s father. “With everything that happened today, I forgot to ask you how plans for the rehearsal dinner are going. I know it’s an important event for the three of you.” He tried to get a grip on his emotions, but it was disturbingly difficult.

“It’s looking good. I was planning on going into the office tomorrow, but that was before most of today was wiped out.”

“Go. I always build in extra time on every job. We can afford to lose a couple of days.” Breathing deeply, he tipped in the chopped tomatoes and fresh chili and reached for the pasta.

They’d both widened their repertoire and it had become a seamless routine, cooking together and eating together. Sometimes they ate in the kitchen, but usually they took their plates up to the roof terrace and ate while watching the sun set over the Manhattan skyline.

Paige, Eva and Jake often joined them for their traditional movie night, but otherwise they were mostly on their own. Matt knew the others were busy, but he had a feeling they were intentionally keeping their distance.

Right now he could have used the distraction. “James and I will move the log seats tomorrow and there are a couple of guys I can call on to help if I need to.”

“Most of the plants are arriving Wednesday, so I’ll make sure I’m on-site for that.” Giving him a searching look,
she took the pasta from him and dropped it into the pan. “You’re still angry.”

“I’m fine.”

She leaned against the counter, her gaze fixed on his face. “One of the things I love about our relationship is that we can talk about anything and everything.”

That was true up to a point. They had talked about everything, from growing up on Puffin Island to their dreams for the future.

The only thing they’d never talked about were his feelings for her. Those, he kept carefully locked inside.

And it was starting to drive him crazy.

He had enough self-awareness to know that the intensity of his anger had its roots in the depth of his feelings for her.

He felt out of control and it unsettled him.

Aware that she was waiting for him to respond, he put a lid on the saucepan. “I love that we talk about everything, too.”

And he loved her.

So why the hell wasn’t he just telling her that?

He turned to her, saw the quizzical look in her eyes and lost his nerve.

What if telling her made her panic? What if she rejected him?

He had to wait for the right moment.

The roof garden was finished a week later, and Frankie stood back and admired their handiwork. They’d all put in extra long days and as a result they’d finished before their deadline.

Matt was hauling the last of the log seats into place and she wondered how watching him work could be so sexy.
Maybe it was the way his well-worn jeans hugged his thighs, or it could have been something to do with the way his shirt pulled against hard muscle as he hefted slabs into position.

He glanced up and his gaze met hers. His smile was intimate and personal, and she blushed slightly.

He was always looking at her, but that wasn’t what unsettled her. It was the
way
he looked at her. As if they were the only two people on the planet. As if she was beautiful.

He made her feel beautiful.

Roxy strolled across the terrace. “Just makes you want to stop and gaze, doesn’t it?”

For a moment Frankie thought she was talking about Matt’s body, and then she realized she was talking about the roof terrace.

“Yes.” Her voice was croaky. “It does. It’s looking good. We’ve done a good job.”

“Good?” Roxy stood next to her. “We’re not just good, we’re brilliant.” In the past week she’d settled into Frankie’s old apartment. There had been no sign of her ex.

James, who watched over her like a hawk, grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler. “The best there is.”

But all three of them knew the real genius behind the roof garden was Matt. After working with him all summer, Frankie understood exactly how he had managed to build such a successful business at such a young age. He took jobs he knew he excelled at and he always exceeded expectations. If there was fault to be found, he found it himself and fixed it, and as a result he had happy clients and a rapidly growing business.