“You’re sixteen, Rafferty. You shouldn’t be watching that.” Una glared at me. “No offense, but your show’s content is much too mature for an impressionable teenager.”
“No offense taken,” I said. “I tend to agree.” I leaned forward to look across Dani and Raithnait to see Rafferty. “The books are a bit less…graphic,” I said, “if you like the story without all the other stuff.”
Dani coughed. “Matt, they are so not less graphic.”
I flushed, thinking about Markys’s big sex scene. Somehow, I’d momentarily forgotten about that.
“But I like the other stuff,” Rafferty said.
All the adults in the room chuckled—save for Una. “We’ll discuss this later.” She placed the pink pie in the middle of the game board. “For now, let’s play.”
I glanced around the room, feeling warm for once, like I actually had drunk a beer or two. Being around these people intoxicated me. I was safe here, and it was all credit to Dani. I turned to her. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“For what?” She leaned in closer, and her sugary vanilla scent hit my nose.
“I needed this tonight.” I tapped my bottle to hers. “Now let’s kick some butt.”
Chapter Thirteen
Dani
Rafferty and Raithnait stood on top of the (now empty) coffee table and launched into their version of “We Are the Champions,” in perfect harmony.
“They should take their show on the road,” Matt told me as the two of us started picking up cans and bottles to be recycled.
I led him toward the sliding glass door leading back into the main part of the house. “Apparently, the two of them have a following on TikTok.”
“Really?” He stacked four empty cans of beer under his chin and headed toward the kitchen. “Well, that’s a whole level of celebrity even I know nothing about.”
“Same.” I chuckled. “It’s like what you and I were talking about the other day—we’re very old.”
“So old. Practically decrepit.” Matt dumped the recyclables into the bin just outside the kitchen door. “Thank you again,” he said. “This was the most fun I’ve had in…I can’t remember.”
Una came over and wrapped Matt in a hug. His eyes bugged out at me from over her shoulder, and I stifled a laugh. That was Una. She was a hugger. “We’re so glad to have you here, Matt. You’ve been so wonderful for Dani.”
He smiled at me. “And vice versa.”
Una let Matt go and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You know it was like pulling teeth to get her to take the job at your house, but we convinced her that it’d be a great opportunity for her.”
Matt’s smile faltered, and he nodded.
“Una,” I said, shaking her off. “Matt has to get back home—”
“We told her that cooking for a big, fancy author could be a major steppingstone to a great career, and now she’s got the event planner for the entire resort asking her to help promote their programs and specials.”
“Very exciting,” Matt said.
“You know,” Una leaned in, conspiring, “if you let her post a picture or two of you on her Instagram, it could do wonders for her…”
I grabbed Matt’s arm and pulled him toward the door. “Una,” I said, “that’s enough. Matt doesn’t want to be bothered about that.”
He and I put on our coats and shoes and walked out of the house together. When we reached the end of the driveway, he asked me. “What was all that about?” He bit the side of his lip.
I rolled my eyes, inwardly cursing my sister-in-law’s usually endearing frankness. “Una was only trying to help, but I wish she’d just butt out.” I glared at the house. “I’m so sorry. I told her about a conversation I’d had with Gerald earlier, and she jumped on it.” I paused. Matt was waiting for me to go on. “He wanted me to ask you to appear in my Instagram Stories and in some pictures taken around the resort because he thought it would help promote the business.”
Matt stood silent.
“He and I were talking about job opportunities for me, and, like Una said, he wants to pay me to use my newfound social media popularity to boost Wackernagel’s visibility.” I paused. “I told him no. Absolutely no. I said I wouldn’t bother you about this.”
Matt ran a hand through his hair, which he did whenever something stressed him out or made him uncomfortable. I hated being the one to inspire that reaction.
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
“It’s okay,” he said, finally, glancing back at the house. “This is my life forever, isn’t it? I’m never going to be able to have a normal night out with people.”
“What?” I chuckled. “Just because Una brought up one little thing about my Instagram account that doesn’t even matter because I was never going to ask you about it anyway? I thought we had a pretty good time tonight.” My family had been on their best behavior. Yeah, Rafferty had gone and brought up the TV show, but that conversation ended up being more about his TV viewing habits than Matt’s issues.
“I’m always going to be the oddity,” he said.
“Not forever,” I told him. “I mean, for one thing, like you said, you’re almost done with The Bastyan Saga for good. And for another, the more you hang out with people, the more normal it will feel. It takes practice, like yoga.” I took a deep, diaphragmatic breath. “The next time you hang out with my family, they’ll probably barely notice you’re there.”
He looked at me sadly. “Even if there is a next time, I’m going back to Indianapolis soon…”
I got it. His relationship with my extended family, like his romance with me, also had an expiration date, so what was the point of getting close to them, to me, to any of this? Sometimes I longed to ask him what was keeping him there, and if he’d consider sticking around here, in Wackernagel, even for a little while. But he could be so prickly sometimes, and I worried about crossing the line. We’d promised from the start that this relationship would be short-term, and he had yet to give me any indication that he wanted to prolong it.
“Matt, I was wondering…you have your premiere party coming up. If you couldn’t handle a quiet night with my family, who barely talked to you about the show, how are you going to deal with being in the same room with people who will only be there for the express purpose of talking about The Saga?”
He stepped toward his rental house, and I followed him. Near the edge of his drive, he turned around. “It’s work,” he said. “I’m doing it because I have to.”