Fearless In Love(78)

Only Evan stood just outside the group, his gaze on his wife’s sister, Paige. Steam practically wafted off the guy, and Matt wondered if he blamed Paige for Whitney’s change of mind about coming to the party. Or maybe he was wishing that Whitney was more like her sister—not just that Paige was a sweet, good person, but in that she wanted to be one of the family.

Ari, Matt realized, had already become part of the family. As the party raged around them, the Mavericks were now their own group—and they’d automatically taken Ari into their midst, where she fit like another cog in their expanding wheel. Noah climbed onto her lap, and she cuddled him.

Downstairs, Matt’s friends had gone to bat for her, threatening him if he didn’t treat her right. And so they should—they knew better than anyone what a mess he was inside.

All he wanted was to treat Ari as well as she deserved. But what was best for her? To be with him—and Noah—including a whole bunch of baggage, not the least of which was Irene and the havoc she would cause from here to eternity? Or to find a man who was whole, dependable, and solid—a normal guy who would take care of her, one who would give her children all her own rather than asking her to raise another woman’s son?

A muscle jumped in Matt’s jaw as the difficult, conflicted questions spun around his usually logical mind. He was a man who always had an answer for everything—who’d built a billion-dollar business with those answers.

But tonight, he knew only one thing for sure: He couldn’t let Ari go. Not yet, not even when he couldn’t clearly see the answers to his future.

Not even if a better man would set her free.



Noah slept in the backseat all the way home, and after Matt carried him upstairs, he still slept while they wrestled him out of his T-Rex suit and tucked him in.

In the hallway, Matt took Ari’s hand. “We need to talk.”

She nodded, ready to burst since she’d talked with Daniel. “Daniel knows. How did he find out?”

Matt’s sigh was loud in the hallway. “He saw us coming out of the changing room. And he was with Evan, Will, and Sebastian. I shouldn’t have dragged you down there.”

Her fingers went stiff in Matt’s hand. She should have realized they’d all known after Daniel talked to her. But while she was embarrassed at being found out by the entire Maverick crew, she also couldn’t forget that Daniel hadn’t been angry. He’d actually welcomed her and given her hope.

“I wanted it as much as you did, so you didn’t drag me anywhere.” She shook her head. “But I don’t want to cause trouble between you and your friends.”

He frowned. “How could you possibly do that?”

“Daniel said he threatened to beat you up.”

The last thing she expected was Matt’s smile. “They all threatened me if I don’t treat you right.” He pulled her against him. “I told them how special you are and that I don’t want to hurt you.”

But he hadn’t told them he loved her—just as he hadn’t said it to her. She sucked a burning breath into her lungs.

Patience. She knew he needed time. But, God, it was hard. Especially now that everyone knew she was head over heels for him.

As if he could read her mind, he gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Do you want to spend the night with me?”

“More than anything.” She was in love with him, and he was her favorite place to be in the world. “But what about Noah?”

“I can be quiet. Can you?”

She loved to cry out for him when he took her to heaven. But not if she woke up his son. “I’ll control myself.” At least she would try. “I meant in the morning, though. How should we handle things if he sees us together?”

“You can just get him up as usual. He doesn’t have to know anything.”

If he wasn’t ready to say he loved her, then of course he wouldn’t tell Noah either. But with every word, the pain dug deeper, no matter how much patience—and the relentless hope—she always strove for.

Hiding her disappointment with a smile, she made herself nod. “All right.”

“I know it’s your day off tomorrow, but will you spend it with us? We’ll do something fun.”

Her day off. It was a potent reminder that she was still the nanny, even if Matt hadn’t meant it that way. “I’d like that.”

He nuzzled her hair. “Good. Now come to my room, Ari. I’m dying to make love to you again.”

Just like that, his sensual commands had her heart thumping and her skin heating. She felt raw on the inside, but heading back to her empty bed tonight wasn’t even in the cards.