The Secret Mistress Arrangement

Just focus on the conversation. “Nine Chicago winters too many. Anyway, after spending all those years wanting to get out of Alabama, it didn’t take all that long for me to realize how much I missed it. With Mel getting married and moving out anyway, the job offer seemed like fate or something. Moving while she’s on her honeymoon keeps the goodbyes from being all weepy.”

Matt offered her the last of the wine, and she held out her glass. Full of good food and enjoying both the view and the company, she wasn’t in any hurry for dinner to end. He didn’t seem in a rush, either, so she relaxed back in her chair, enjoying the slight weight of his arm against her.

“So what do you do with those degrees in computer science, Ella Augustine Mackenzie?”

The shock of hearing her middle name nearly caused her to choke on her wine again. Then she remembered pulling her degrees out from storage under the couch last week for packing and leaning them against the wall. He must have seen them earlier. “Hey, Augustine’s a family name.”

Matt snorted.

“What’s your middle name, hotshot?”

“Matthew.”

“Oh.” So much for that witty retort. “What’s your first name, then?”

“William.” A smug smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.

“Lucky you. Well, William Matthew Jacobs, until two weeks ago, I was a software designer. Two weeks from now, I’ll be the design team head at SoftWerx.”

Matt let out an impressed whistle. “I’ve heard of them. Congratulations.”

Pride bubbled up inside her. She’d been so caught up in the wedding, she hadn’t had time to fully adjust to the idea of her success. “Your turn. How’d you end up in Atlanta?”

Matt sipped at his wine and signaled the server for the check. “Strictly business. I, too, went to college out of state—Ohio State, actually—but for different reasons than you. Did Melanie tell you I have five brothers?”

“Actually I’ve heard quite a bit about the Jacobs six-pack. I’ve even met a few.”

“There you have it. I was tired of being ‘that youngest Jacobs boy.’ All five of my brothers stayed around here, so I had to be different and go out of state. I ended up at Penn for law school and got in with a local firm. They opened a new office in Atlanta two years later, and I was sent there.” He shrugged as if his job was nothing—the law equivalent of flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Something about the way he carried himself, though, made her think otherwise.

“What kind of law do you practice?”

“Mainly entertainment. I take care of a lot of the contracts for most of the major venues in town. A few local celebs keep us on retainer, as well.”

“Anybody interesting?”

“Couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to,” he teased her.

“Do you like Atlanta? I haven’t been there in years.”

“I love it.” His hand came to rest on Ella’s shoulder. Rusty or not at the flirting thing, as his thumb slid lightly over her skin, even she could recognize he was flirting with her. She shivered at the sensation as all her blood seemed to rush to her skin. Focusing on the conversation took on a whole new level of difficulty. “All the excitement of Chicago without all the snow,” he continued, and it took her a second to remember what they were talking about. “In fact, I’ve gotten a bit thin-blooded in the past few years, and I try to avoid coming up here at all in the winter.”

She pulled herself together with a deep breath. “That must make coming home for Christmas a bit difficult.”

“I don’t think anyone notices when I don’t make it.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Seriously, we are the Catholic family cliché. You think Brian’s family is bad? Mine’s worse.”

“I think Brian’s family is nice—a little loud when they’re all together, but…”

“Brian’s got nothing on my family when it comes to loud. My mom and dad have nine brothers and sisters, so I have, let’s see, um, twenty-two—no, twenty-three—first cousins. All my brothers are married and have two or three kids apiece. There’s at least fifty people at my mom’s house on any given holiday. That is the definition of loud.”

She was such a sucker for the idea of a big family gathering—noisy or not. How could he be so blasé about it? “I’m sure they take note of who’s there.”

“Well, my brothers and I look a lot alike, so short of actually calling roll…” He sighed. “Do you have siblings?”

“No, it was just me and my grandparents.”

“Consider yourself lucky. Everyone was at the house today, and it was an absolute zoo. It’s enough to drive a man crazy. I used to dream of being an only child. Sometimes I still do.” Matt was the picture of the aggrieved youngest child, and Ella sipped at the last of her wine to stifle a laugh.

“And I used to dream about being in a big family. I mean, Mel’s family has adopted me, for all intents and purposes, but it’s not quite the same thing. I guess everyone wants what they don’t have.”

“Usually I’d say you were right. Especially after a day like today.”

This time she did laugh. She couldn’t help it. “Mel’s told me about your mother. I can’t imagine she’s too happy with the lack of grandchildren from you.”

“I hear it all the time. Someday I’ll see what I can do about that. Right now it’s not really an option.”

Ella wondered about that statement as Matt moved away from her in order to pay. The light teasing tone that had marked their entire evening evaporated once they started talking about his family. Mel hadn’t mentioned any rifts in the family—not beyond the norm, at least. Maybe he was just touchy about the whole get-married-and-have-kids thing. She could relate to that.

With Matt’s arm gone, she missed the warmth that emanated from him. Although the restaurant temperature was comfortable, she shivered as the heat dissipated. Matt noticed.

“Do you need my jacket?” He was already lifting it off the back of his chair and holding it out to her.

“Your mama must have raised you right. Or else Southern manners have rubbed off on you.”

“I will pass the compliment along to Mom.” He continued to hold the jacket out to her.

“No, but thanks. I’m fine.” She wrapped her shawl around her shoulders as Matt shrugged into his jacket.

But as they left the restaurant, the intimacy they shared also seemed to be left behind, because Matt didn’t flirt with her at all on the way back to her apartment.

Even though it made the situation more complicated, she was more disappointed by that than she cared to admit.

CHAPTER THREE

THE frustration of shifting back to small talk after all that flirting had Ella balancing on her last nerve by the time they reached her apartment. Matt waited as she unlocked the door, then held it open as he ushered her in first.

“I’ll just get those wedding presents out of the way for you.” He followed her up the stairs.

“Thanks. Mel’s brothers are coming Saturday to pick up her furniture and stuff to take to Brian’s, but they didn’t want to be responsible for moving the fragile things.” She pointed in the direction of the boxes. “I’ll go grab some tape to close them up so they’ll be easier to carry. I’m going to change, too, if that’s okay. I’ll kill myself trying to carry stuff down the stairs in this getup.” He nodded, and she added, “There’s wine and beer in the fridge. Help yourself.”

“Thanks. Can I get you anything?”

“Um, wine, please. The glasses are in the cupboard beside the microwave.”

She could hear Matt opening and pouring the wine as she rummaged for something to change into. Yoga pants and a baby tee were easiest to find in the rubble, but slightly revealing. She debated for a moment, but she couldn’t bring herself to appear in front of a muffin like Matt in battered jeans or ratty sweats. Vanity won out over practicality, and she returned to the living room, twisting her hair up into a ponytail as she went.