“So you can tell Penny that you no longer need her services. And I’ll send you the bill for mine.”
I couldn’t even imagine how much he was going to charge me for all that. Was I going to own the real estate company after this? What the hell was I going to do with a real estate company?
He laughed. “Just kidding. I did it gratis for that.”
“For what?”
“Take a look in the mirror, Matt. I haven’t seen you this happy in years.”
He was right about that. “But your plan failed. She just wants to be friends.”
“Give me till the end of the night. I’ll have her in your bed by midnight.” He slapped me on the back and hurried over to where everyone else was still talking.
I didn’t doubt him at all. He’d brought Kennedy back to the city. He’d made the two of us run into each other.
I watched Kennedy laugh at something Tanner said. She smiled over at me again.
Damn, Tanner was a pretty great matchmaker. He was wrong about one thing though…he hadn’t gotten me to fall in love with her. Kennedy had done that all on her own. And I wasn’t about to be put back in the friend zone.
Chapter 39
Friday
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Kennedy’s smiling face.
“So he did it butt naked,” Rob said.
Kennedy started laughing again. “No.” You could barely hear the word through her laughter. “You didn’t.” She put her hand on my knee.
All night long she’d been doing things like that. Grabbing my arm. Touching my thigh. I wasn’t even sure she realized she was doing it. It was like her body just gravitated to mine.
I smiled at her. “They dared me to. Of course I did.”
“You could have gotten arrested,” she said. “Who runs butt naked into a convenience store for a bottle of water?”
“One lesson you learn in college is that while breaking the law you should break said law naked,” Rob said. “It’s a lot easier to slip away from an officer when he’s trying not to touch your junk.”
Kennedy shook her head. “I didn’t learn that lesson in college.”
“Oh, well it’s different for girls,” I said. “I think police officers like when women are naked. They’ll probably grab you even faster.”
“There are girl officers too, you know,” Kennedy said.
“Which I’m sure aren’t all straight,” Rob said.
Kennedy laughed. “Well surely there were some gay officers that would have loved to grab your junk.”
“Fair point,” Rob said. “I’m sure there are plenty of men that would like to feel me up. It’s just a general principle that usually works.”
Kennedy shook her head. “You’re all ridiculous.”
“Only Rob is ridiculous,” said Tanner. “And I have a much less ridiculous topic to discuss with you. Do you believe in true love?”
“Who, me?” Kennedy asked.
“Yes, you.”
She eyed me for a second but then looked back at Tanner. “It depends on what your definition of true love is.”
“Soulmates. Two people that are perfect together.” Tanner smiled. “Destined to be together, even if it takes them a while to figure it out.”
Kennedy’s cheeks flushed. “Yeah, maybe.” She locked eyes with me for a second, but quickly looked away. “It’s certainly a nice idea.”
“It’s more than an idea. Let’s take you and Matt for example. You were friends when you were teenagers. Who’s to say you aren’t destined to be more?”
“We’re still just friends,” Kennedy said with a half-hearted laugh. “Right, buddy?” She elbowed me in the side.
It took all my restraint not to pull her onto my lap and kiss her. “Right.” For now.
All my friends stared at us.
“But time changes people,” Tanner said. “It certainly changes circumstances.”
What was Tanner doing? Trying to scare her away? I was already doing that well enough thanks to Poppy. I was about to change the subject, but Kennedy started talking again.
“Well, what about you, Tanner?” she asked. “Do you believe in true love?”
“Of course I do.”
“So have you found it?”
Tanner leaned back in his chair. “No. Not yet.”
I knew that wasn’t the whole story. He’d had it and lost it like me.
“Rumor has it that Penny’s pretty good at matchmaking,” Kennedy said. “Maybe you should ask her for help.”
Tanner lowered his eyebrows. “Maybe someday. But not right now.”
“Trust me,” James said. “Penny’s not a very good matchmaker. Her intentions are good, but her setup ideas have been a little out there recently.”
My dick that was almost set on fire could vouch for that.
Kennedy laughed. “It must be hard though, Tanner. Everyone around you falling in love while you’re still single.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, you and Matt. The both of you are single.”
Smooth one, Kennedy. At least it seemed like she believed we were only friends just as much as I believed it. Which was not at all.
“Yeah,” Tanner said. “Let’s just say I’m a little…cursed in the love department. At least for now. Besides, I’m focusing on growing my empire.”
I laughed. “Pretty sure you’ve grown that quite enough.”
Tanner shrugged. “If I ever want to retire, I’m going to need a lot more.”
Everyone just stared at him.
He cleared his throat. “I mean, with the average person living so much longer these days and everything. It’s just wise.”
I was pretty sure Tanner could shut his whole business down tomorrow and still have enough money to send his great, great, great grandchildren to an Ivy League school.
“What exactly are you planning on doing during your retirement?” Mason asked. “Randomly buying million-dollar corporations and immediately shutting them down so you never see a dollar of a return? Because that’s literally the only way you could blow through so much money.”
Rob laughed. “Or are you just worried that Matt’s so bad at his job of handling your finances that you have to be extra careful?”
“I’m great at my job,” I said and threw a pillow at him.
Rob caught it and stuck his tongue out at me.
“Actually, I have to admit it,” James said. “You are great at it, Matt. My portfolio is insane. And it’s insane that I just said that sentence out loud. When did we get so old?”
“Speak for yourself,” Kennedy said. “Matt, Rob, and I are practically still teenagers. Sorry, Tanner, I have no idea how old you are.”
“Older than I look,” he said.
“Hmm.” Kennedy scrunched her mouth to the side as she stared at him. “Let me guess…37?”
Tanner laughed.
“He’s just messing with you, Kennedy,” Rob said. “Tanner’s younger than all of us. He’s only 28. Which is why it’s extra annoying that he calls me Young Robert.”