Drink in hand, Matt looked around the sea of elegantly dressed members of Aspen Mill and Goldmount’s wealthy elite. Though his family had never been particularly wealthy, they’d always been respected, influential members of society in his hometown. And his cousin had just married the daughter of a banker-turned-Congressman. In fact, he’d been the richest man in his district before Matt moved back. Something everyone here seemed to know, which made his skin crawl. No one had been too eager to introduce him to anyone at weddings in his twenties, but the last few years, every gathering—even his grandpa’s funeral three years ago—had turned into a gauntlet of small talk with people he had fuck-all in common with except being single. He wasn’t a person—he was dollar signs and nothing more.
Well, whatever. He was here, and he’d be polite.
As his gaze wandered the room, he wasn’t at all surprised that there wasn’t a Marley in sight. Even if the groom hadn’t been a Coolidge, it was an accepted fact that you either invited Coolidges or Marleys to a social event. Never both. It was stupid, and always had been, but things like that didn’t change quickly in places like this.
Despite the stupid rivalry between their families, he wished he’d had the balls to bring Dara as his date tonight. There were too damned many people here—too many people who wanted to get right up in his face and force him to talk to single women he’d never met. He was awkward enough with one at a time. The matrimony-inspired matchmaking going on tonight was more than he could handle.
Dara wouldn’t have chased off the other women. She would’ve just mingled on her own, emerging from the crowd once in a while—always at just the right moment—and making sure he was okay. And then he would be. Knowing she had his back, that she was his one foot out the door if he decided he’d had enough, would bring his pulse back down and loosen that panicky tightness in his chest.
As he stepped away from the bar, a friend of his father’s was suddenly in front of him. “Oh, Matt. I’ve been looking for you. I’d like you to meet my niece, Rachel.” Beaming, he gestured at his gorgeous niece.
She smiled, holding out her hand.
Matt returned the smile, and he shook her hand gently. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
Her uncle left them to their conversation, and it immediately turned into uncomfortable silence. She struggled to hold his gaze. He struggled to hold hers.
Okay, small talk. I can do this.
“Um. Are you having a good time?”
She shrugged as she looked around. “I don’t really know anybody.”
“That’s the fun of weddings, I guess. Meeting new people.”
Her smile was tentative, as if she were as nervous as he was. “I guess.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek. “So, what do you do?”
“I teach. Second grade.”
“Here in Goldmount?”
She nodded.
Shit. He was going to have to carry the conversation, wasn’t he? Because that was his strong point.
He absently swirled his drink, letting the ice clink against the sides. Well, that match had fallen flat in a hurry. As difficult as it was for them to even make small talk, he couldn’t imagine it would be any better if they ended up on a date. If they were out somewhere alone without friends to bail them out or drunken guests as possible distractions. Or if they wound up alone for an evening. What would they talk about? What would they do?
Yeah. What would they do?
He gulped. What if they miraculously found their way through a conversation and somehow ended up in bed? Great. Now that he’d gotten a little bit of experience in that department, he had one more reason to worry himself stupid over how a potential date could go wrong. Awesome.
It hadn’t occurred to him before tonight that there was more to sex with someone than knowing what to do physically. The one woman he’d kissed since Dara had left him feeling nothing. Not cold, not put off. Just…nothing. None of the women here were sparking anything either. He couldn’t imagine that would magically change when the pressure was on to get physically intimate.
The only sex he’d had so far had been relaxed and fun. And hot. He’d never experienced it like in the one porno they’d made fun of, where the two people had as much chemistry as a couple of half-thawed trout. Their bodies were hot, and they obviously knew how to perform, but they looked at best bored, at worst uncomfortable. Was that what it would be like when he made it that far with another woman?
No, that wouldn’t happen. He just needed to find one who caught his attention in the same way Dara did. Someone who gave him that hurtling-down-a-mountainside feeling. Julie hadn’t…yet. Maybe they just needed to get to know each other. Same with the women here—he just didn’t know them yet.