The Only Man for Her

“A little too good,” Jess said. “That’s how we ended up with Danny. But I’m glad we did.”

Matt wasn’t too keen on the current course of conversation. Hopefully they had enough sense not to mention his and Rachel’s first time.

“When was your first time with Rachel?” Chase asked Matt.

Great. Just great. He looked at Rachel, and Rachel looked at him, right before they simultaneously said, “Our wedding night.”

Sam shook his head. “No way. To hear you tell it, Matt, you’d been doing it since the two of you hooked up in the seventh grade.”

That earned him another glare from Rachel. “Not true,” he said. “Whenever you asked, I always said that it’s disrespectful to a lady to kiss and tell.”

“He’s right,” Chase chimed in. “He was always evasive. He just let us assume they were doing it.”

“I think it’s remarkable,” Savannah said. “I can only imagine how special your wedding night was because you waited.”

Rachel shifted in her seat, a sure sign of discomfort. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but things aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be.”

Matt could think of several responses, none of them very nice. He picked the least caustic one. “Sorry I disappointed you, sweetheart.”

Jess shot out of her chair, nearly knocking it over. “I think this hot dog’s done, and after I’ve finished this one I just might have another, since I’m eating for two now.”

That was news to Matt, but Rachel didn’t seem all that shocked by the announcement. She also didn’t seem too pleased, or maybe it was that ever-present sorrow he’d seen in her eyes for a while now. Under different circumstances, he would’ve gone to her, consoled her. But for the past few months she’d made it pretty clear she didn’t want or need his consolation. No reason to think she’d welcome it now.

She did put on her happy face, but she still couldn’t fool him. “How far along are you, Jess?”

Jess returned with a plateful of food and lowered herself into the chair. “Twelve weeks. I suppose you could say this is a honeymoon baby.”

Sam frowned. “You two got married four months ago, not three.”

Chase winked at his wife. “It was a long honeymoon.”

“Yes, it was,” Jess added. “And we wanted to wait to tell everyone, just in case.”

In case something happened with the pregnancy. Matt had been told that problems usually occurred during the first trimester, only his son had been born later in Rachel’s pregnancy. He’d been informed after the fact that having a baby always posed some risk to mother and child if something went wrong, which it had. That was a risk he didn’t care to take again. A risk he wouldn’t take again.

Rachel suddenly stood and rubbed a temple with her fingertips. “I’m sorry to cut the evening short, but I have a headache. Savannah, do you mind taking me home?”

“Not at all.”

Rachel didn’t hesitate before she took off through the trees, heading for the car at a fast clip. Matt rose and brushed past Savannah before she could move. “I’ll handle this,” he called over one shoulder, although he had no idea how he’d handle it. He only knew he had to try.

He found Rachel standing by Savannah’s luxury sedan, arms folded across her middle, her head slightly lowered. He figured she could be crying, but he also knew she’d do her best to hide it from him.

“You okay?” he asked as he approached her.

She swiped at the moisture on her cheeks with her fingertips. “No, I’m not okay. I’m tired and I want to go home.”

He saw an opportunity and grabbed it. “I’ll take you home.”

“That’s not a good idea.”

Stubborn woman. “It’s just a ride. I won’t ask to come in or pressure you into anything. We don’t even have to talk.”

“That wouldn’t be a first.” She lifted her chin and sent him a determined look. “I’d rather have Savannah take me.”

He intended to keep prodding her until she gave in. “No reason to inconvenience her when it’s on my way.”

“I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. If you want to help, then please go back and tell Savannah I’m ready to leave.”

Apparently she wasn’t going to budge, and he decided not to waste his time. He backed away, hands held up in surrender. “Fine. At least you can’t accuse me of not trying to give you what you need, although lately I damn sure don’t know what you need from me.”

“I need…” Her gaze drifted away. “Never mind.”

He did mind, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to beg her to spill it.

Matt turned and headed back to the group, scraping his forearm on a wayward branch on his way back, adding injury to insult. Now he had a cut finger and a chunk of missing flesh. As soon as he appeared in the clearing, the crowd stopped talking and stared at him as if he’d sprouted a second head. “She wants you to take her home, Savannah.”

“Okay,” Savannah said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Jess stood and handed Chase her plate. “I’ll go with her. See you guys later.”

After the girls hurried away, Matt sat back in his chair and took a drink of beer. Hot beer. He emptied the rest onto the ground, crushed the can in his fist and tossed it into the fire. “Looks like your plan to throw me and Rachel together backfired. Hope you’re both proud of yourselves.”

Sam eyed him a long moment. “Man, I didn’t realize things were that bad between the two of you.”

“Yeah, they are.” Real bad. “According to Saint Rachel, I drink too much and I don’t talk enough about my feelings. When I do try to talk to her, she doesn’t give a tinker’s damn about what I have to say. I can’t win for losing.”

“And you’re giving up on working it out, just like that?” Chase asked.

Matt shrugged. “She doesn’t want me near her, so I’m going to give her space. Lots of space.”

“Like I told you earlier today,” Sam began, “you’re traveling down the wrong road if you don’t do something and soon. Anything worth having is worth fighting for.”

He’d grown pretty sick and tired of the ongoing war and the advice. “If you’re so damn wise, how do you propose I change her mind?”

Chase forked a hand through his sandy hair. “Be persistent. Use every trick in the book to get her to come around.”

“Seduction usually works well,” Sam added. “Worked wonders for me and Savannah when she came back to town.”

Hard to mount a seduction when Rachel wouldn’t let him within five feet of her. “You can’t seduce an unwilling woman.”

Chase grinned. “You can if you play your cards right. Have you been married so freakin’ long that you don’t remember how to charm the pants off a girl?”

Sometimes he wondered if that could be the case. “I don’t take too kindly to rejection.”

“Here’s what I think you should do,” Sam said. “Give her a while to cool down tonight, then march over to Wainwright’s grand estate and politely convince her to let you in the house. After that, do your best and let nature do the rest.”

Easy for Sam to say. He didn’t run the risk of getting booted out on his ass. “And if she doesn’t let me in?”