She shakes her head. “No. I already asked Ainsley to swing by your place and bring you something. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Can we talk?” Matthew asks, stepping closer to me. “Pria, give us a moment, please?” Matt asks in a soft voice. Pria glances at me, and I nod.
“Call me when you’re done,” Tristan says, turning around.
Matt grabs his arm before he leaves. “Where the fuck are you going? We have to talk to her.”
“We do.” Tristan turns back around. His unsettled eyes focus on Matt as he continues speaking. “Last night we set a few rules. The two of us discussed our relationship—yours and mine. You talk about your relationship with her, then I’ll discuss mine—with her. If, after everything is said, we come to an agreement, then we can try to find that unicorn we believe exists.”
Tristan then moves, and his gaze softens. “I love you, Butterfly. Every word I’ve said to you has been real.” He reaches into his pocket and hands me the crystal. “You can borrow it for as long as necessary to remember what that symbolizes.”
I close my hand and squeeze my eyes as tears threaten to come out. The sound of the door closing snaps my eyes open.
Tristan is gone.
Chapter Four
Thea
It’s only Matt and me in the room.
“Thea, I don’t know what happened to you last night,” he starts, holding my hand. “It scared me that I couldn’t do anything for you. Whatever it is, I want you to know you can tell me. We can get through any hardship together.”
With his free hand, he brushes some strands out of my face and kisses my forehead. I want to melt into his arms, but I take a step back.
“I think I’ve said it a few times, and I’ll repeat this as often as I need to because it’s important for you to know it—to feel it. I. Love. You. No matter what, I’ll never harm you, use you, or let anything hurt you.”
I twiddle the crystal between my fingers, processing every word he’s saying. Rested from the previous night, my mind isn’t as closed off as yesterday’s. My fears of falling back into the hole have lessened.
But then, there’s my father lurking. I believe he doesn’t know about my relationship with Matt—or the Deckers, but did he see me with Tristan? I want to check the tabloids, to see if a picture of us is plastered there with some story. There’s the slight possibility that he didn’t recognize me though. If he had, he would’ve made a scene. There were reporters ready to capture the moment.
I hope and pray that he wasn’t there for me.
“Are you okay, Thea?”
I nod slowly.
He touches the left side of his chest. “Part of this—my heart—belongs to you.” Matt swallows before he speaks again. “I’ve never lied to you. From the beginning we’ve been honest with each other, only sharing what we were comfortable with, haven’t we?”
I bob my head once.
“You had full disclosure about Tristan and me. Yes, we fucked, but that was as far as we got. Feelings weren’t part of the equation. That doesn’t mean that today I don’t have feelings for him. I do. He owns the other part of my heart.”
I smile, because I knew it. They belong. It makes me happy that he’s accepting it, and I hope Coop has admitted his feelings for Matt.
“Butterfly, I’m in love with you, and I want you by my side for eternity.”
One, three, six… the beats skip as my heart accelerates. My brain only grasps two ideas from everything he said: I’m in love with you and by my side for eternity.
I stare at the floor for several moments.
“You can take your time,” he says. “It’s a lot to absorb, and after last night…”
Last night and his confession have nothing to do with each other, except, I don’t know if I can ever be myself around him.
“Thea?”
I want to believe him, but am I capable of being with them?
“All I need is you, Butterfly. Your love.”
I finally look up at him. “Matt, what happened last night might happen again.”
He crosses his arms and gives me a skeptical glance.
“There are things I haven’t told you and I might never be able to. To this day, I have no idea how many sexual partners I’ve had. There’s so much, including that I might never let you touch me beyond a hug.”
“Counseling, couples counseling, and as long as I can hold you in my arms, I don’t care about the sex,” he says with a conviction I want to believe.
But he’s such a sensual man. How can that be?
“Give me time to assimilate what happened to me last night.”
Is that even possible?
The music, seeing my father, and the crowd brought up the memories of my childhood.
I place the tips of my index and middle finger on my temple. “There’s so much going through my head. The image of the fat guy who—”
Carl Winston’s face flashes again. Last night it was so vivid, even his name came back to me, but I don’t mention it because I don’t want Matt to connect the dots and learn more than I’m willing to facilitate.
“You don’t need to say it,” he whispers. “One day, you might tell me everything, including who you were back then. I could look into it, but I’ll wait for you to give me that—because you trust me.”
Can it be this simple?
“Oh, and I want one of those too.” He points at the crystal, and I laugh.
He sounds like a petulant kid that didn’t receive candy when the other child did. So, I explain to him why and when I gave it to Tristan.
Matt smiles. “We’ve always been connected, Butterfly. We just have to piece this in a way that works for all of us. It’ll happen.”
He’s so sure of himself, that I want to do it, give him a chance.
I take off my butterfly pendant and take a few steps toward him and place it around his neck. “This is me, and I’ll always be with you. It’s a reminder that you’re not alone. I love you, Matt, but last night I realized that I can’t handle a serious relationship just yet.”
He smirks, as if saying it’s okay. “Can I hug you?”
I nod, and he envelops me with those strong arms I love so much. Once again, I feel safe, and my confusion about who I should choose increases.
“One day, I’ll ask you to marry me. We’ll have babies, and the three of us will grow old together. You belong with me—with us.”
A knock on the door takes me back from the happy place I landed when he said that I belonged. Our conversation ends abruptly, and I have to hold any further questions for now.
“Mattie?” The handle door wiggles, and the door opens.
Ainsley doesn’t even wait for him to say anything before she enters. “Mattie, sorry if I’m interrupting, but I have a bag with Thea’s clothes.”
“You wait until people let you inside after knocking on the effing door,” Matt growls but then there’s softness in his voice. “Oh, you came too, baby princess.”
Ainsley holds a beautiful baby. A fuss of brown hair, big gray eyes, and chubby arms. The best part is her toothy smile.