Page 21 of Chasing a Second Chance
A smile curved Iris’s lips. “I heard. I have a feeling they will miss breakfast tomorrow but will drag themselves out of bed for lunch.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Galen might miss one meal, but he won’t miss two.”
Matt chuckled. “Neither will Deena.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t rush upstairs like the other men to play poker.”
He shrugged. “Not tonight. My bed is calling my name. But I did commit to being included for tomorrow night.”
When he brought the golf cart to a stop in front of the walkway, he said, “I’ll walk you to the door.”
“You don’t have to do that, Matt.”
“Yes, I do. I have a daughter, remember. And I expect whatever man she’s with to see to her safety.”
She pulled back from saying their situation was different. Instead, when he came around and extended his hand, she took it. Then they walked side by side up the walkway to the door. The porchlight automatically came on when they got within five feet of it.
“I don’t want to imagine how much their electric bill is each month,” he said.
“All the houses in Westmoreland Country use a private electrical grid to get service through their generators instead of a utility company. Adrian is the engineer in the family, and he came up with the idea when their individual electric bills began skyrocketing,” she said.
“That must be some big generator,” Matt said.
“It is. And what’s so nice is that the water from Gemma Lake, which crosses into several of the properties, is used to generate the electricity through hydropower and acts like a large battery for all the houses.”
When they reached the steps, he helped her up them.
“I recall the first time I saw this house. It amazed me how much it resembled the one Pam grew up in while living in Wyoming.”
“Is there a reason for it?” he asked.
“Yes, I told you that Dillon’s great-grandfather, Raphel, and Pam’s great-grandfather, Jay Novak, were once business partners. When Raphel relocated to Denver and designed his home, he used the same floor plan as Jay’s house.”
They came to a stop at the front door. “You have a key?”
“I have a code on my phone that unlocks everything and turns off any security alarms.” She pulled the phone out of her cross-body purse and tapped a few numbers. They heard the click when the door unlocked.
“Thanks for bringing me home, Matt.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, Iris.”
Was she imagining things or had he taken a step closer to her? “Well, I’d better go inside. I have a lot to do to help Pam tomorrow. I am officially her assistant.”
“Are you?”
She noticed his voice had gotten deeper. “Yes, I am.”
When he reached out and put both hands on her waist, she knew what was coming. A tingling sensation covered every part of her body. She knew she needed to fight the feelings, but for some reason, she couldn’t. She needed what he wanted to give her. Here and now.
He gently tugged her closer to fit against him, and she felt his hard body press against her soft one. Her eyes widened when she felt his erection settle between her thighs. At that moment, she realized he wanted her.
“Matt.” She gasped out his name, knowing she should resist, but something kept her from doing so.
Yesterday, she had told Garlan they were just friends. That was true then, and it was true now. So why did she want him to kiss her? It could be because of the way he was looking at her with eyes dark with desire. Or it could be because of the heat generated from his hands at her waist. Then it could be something else, too. Mainly her need to be kissed by a man, but not just any man. Her need to be kissed by him.
But still… She needed to make sure he understood something. “I’m not ready to get into anything serious with anyone, Matt. We can only be friends.” And then she felt the need to add, “And only on my terms.”
