She gave a small nod. "I actually have, believe it or not. But I'm afraid I'm no closer to a decision now then I was the first time you asked me. I - I will think about it, though, Matthew. I promise. And thank you - for what you just said. About always having a home with you. That's one of the kindest things anyone has ever told me."
He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. "Then take me up on my offer, Sasha. Move in with me. I know the condo isn't really your style, but I'd let you redecorate it however you pleased. And I don't plan on making that my permanent home, you know. One of these days, hopefully very soon, I intend to look for another place, a real home. A home that I hope you'll share with me."
Sasha fought back the sudden surge of panic that threatened to choke her, reminding herself to practice what she preached and take deep, calming breaths. The idea of making such a commitment to anyone, even to Matthew, wasn't something she felt capable of dealing with just yet.
But he looked so hopeful, so happy, that she didn't have the heart to completely dissuade him tonight. Instead, she merely gave his cheek a fleeting caress, and murmured, "I'll keep giving it some thought, okay? I promise. Now, let's eat. I see that you ordered way too much food again, so we'd better get started if I'm going to finish even half of this."
It was a deliberate distraction, and Sasha knew that Matthew was well aware of her diversionary tactics. He tactfully didn't press her further for an answer, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before the subject came up again. And the next time he would expect an answer.
Chapter Fifteen
Late April
"Hey, boss. Sorry that I have to make such a lousy day even shittier, but your ex is on the phone and trying to say it's an emergency. Now, I can sniff out a load of bull a mile away and I say she's full of it, but she's continuing to be a major pain in my ass. Which considering how big my butt is, you can imagine how much that must be hurting right now."
Matthew didn't know whether to laugh at Elena's outlandish remark, or throw up his hands in frustration. It had been a really, really lousy day, one of the worst in recent memory, wrought with one crisis or problem or delay after another. And no matter how many times he'd reminded himself to take deep breaths, or to practice the various relaxation techniques Sasha had taught him, nothing really seemed to help. He'd barely picked at the lunch that Elena had unceremoniously plunked in front of him, and was admittedly well over his modest quota of coffee for the day, which wasn't helping his stress level one bit.
Dealing with Lindsey and her drama was the very last thing he needed right now, but it wouldn't be fair to expect Elena to deal with his ex. Sighing in resignation, he instructed Elena to put her through.
He hadn't even said hello when Lindsey's frantic, almost hysterical voice filled his ear.
"Matt, you have got to do something about Hayley!" she pleaded. "She is so out of control these days that I have no idea what to do anymore! Swear to God, I'm ready to ship her out to a boarding school. Or a convent. Can you please come over tonight and talk to her, see if you can get her straightened out? I just can't cope with her by myself any longer, Matt."
Matthew rubbed his right temple, where a headache had begun to throb nearly an hour ago. "Can you calm down and stop yelling for a second?" he begged. "Now, is there something in particular Hayley has done to set you off? Considering that she's been a major pain in the ass for the last few months."
"What hasn't she done?" exclaimed Lindsey. "She argues with me over the tiniest thing, ignores me when I try to ask her questions, laughs at me when I tell her she needs to be home at a certain hour. She's secretive and rude, and is hardly ever home these days. I tried taking her car keys away more than once, but the little witch just has one of her friends pick her up or calls Uber, and then sneaks out one of the back entrances. She's cut classes at least five times this month, and I'm getting a little tired of taking calls from the school. And then of course, there's all the stuff I found when I went snooping in her room the other day."
The headache was quickly beginning to spread to the other temple as well, and he started searching around in his desk for some Advil. "I won't even ask why you decided it was a good idea to search around her room," he replied wearily.
"Well, it was a damned good thing that I did, Matt!" Lindsey burst out. "Not only did I find a packet of birth control pills and a box of condoms, but a plastic baggie of marijuana, too! I know she's been sneaking out of the house late at night, too, and stays out till all hours on the weekend. And she disabled the Find My Friends app on her phone so I don't have any way of tracking her. She is totally and completely out of control, and I'm not sure how much longer I can take this."