“Kara…”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.” What was the hesitation for?
“Sure…” She smiled faintly before they ate in silence. Was that hesitation because he had wanted to tell her something? No, she was imagining it. She had fallen for him, and now she was foolishly thinking that he felt the same. She was not a teenager anymore, why did she have these foolish ideas? She had learned long before that life was not a fairytale. Why was she hoping for a fairytale now?
Once they had both finished lunch, he automatically helped her clean up. Kara was thinking how easily they fit back into their ways when she had lived with him and she missed it desperately.
“So, show me your pig farm.” Matthew teased while she finished putting the last things away.
She smiled. “Sure, let’s go.” She answered before she
Kara had made an appointment with Brad again for early Friday morning. She wanted to discuss some decisions with him, before she could go to the seminar with Matthew.He showed up in casual clothes at around seven, but she realized again that she had forgotten his later working hours. He looked like he had just got out of bed again and thrown on whatever he could find in his closet. He did not look disheveled, but he did look too casual for work.She tried to compensate by giving him fresh muffins and coffee for breakfast. “If this is going to be my breakfast every time I come here, I’ll be here at seven every morning.” He grinned after he had finished.Kara smiled. “Goodness, you’d think since you owned a company you could afford muffins every now and then.” She teased.“Well, bought muffins could never taste as good as fresh home baked muffins.”“Then
They were completely quiet until they had left the ranch; almost as if he had waited for them to be away from her ranch borders. “I didn’t know you and Brad were an item?” He said quietly.Kara glanced at him, before looking out the window to hide the hope of his returned feelings that she was sure showed in her eyes. Why could she not just get over these feelings she had for him. Obviously he did not feel the same. “We’re not.” She stated softly, hoping that her voice did not give anything away.Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him glance at her. “Didn’t know he kissed all his clients goodbye.” He stated coldly.“I’m sure he doesn’t.” She answered emotionlessly. “But I believe he does with his female friends.” What did that have to do with anything? Her heart thought that perhaps he was a little j
“I-”But Matthew interrupted her. “Yes, thank you. One grilled chicken salad and one burger, please.”The waitress nodded and left to put the order through. Matthew took the two menus and stacked them on the side of the table.“Would you say something…?” Kara said worriedly.Matthew looked her in the eyes. “I remember that you were running from me when you had your accident, so I believe it was at least partly my fault. Maybe I read the signals wrong.” He stated stiffly.Kara opened her mouth to answer, and then let out her held breath, trying to think on how to answer him. “Matthew…” What could she say without giving away her secret? She was running from herself? That was about as good as a confession of her feelings. She did not want to add another burden while she was trying to remove one.&
Mat opened the door for her and waited patiently for her to get in. For some reason he noticed at that moment that she still retained a slight limp from the accident, though it was hardly evident, unless one knew what to look for.He had no doubt that she was hiding something from him; she was definitely talking in circles at lunch and she had been quiet ever since she had gone to the bathroom. He just wondered what her secret was. He did not dare hope that she had feelings for him. Had she not kissed Brad this morning? He had barely managed to keep his temper when he had seen it. He had never thought that Brad would be competition for her, he must have read the whole situation with this woman wrong, he thought while he got in on the driver’s side and they started on their journey again.“How much time do you need to freshen up?” He asked casually, trying to keep the calm conversation going so they would
The man typed something and searched the screen again. “We have one double room left, sir. Can I book it for you?”Matthew glanced at her questioningly. “We can go look for somewhere else.” He stated softly, giving her the control.“No, I think that room is fine, Mat. You’re exhausted; you need to get some sleep.” She answered with concern.Matthew looked back at the attendant. “Its fine, we’ll take it.” He answered coldly. He hoped she was not going to be annoyed with this; he really had booked two separate rooms for them, because he wanted her to be comfortable, like they’d been when they went to the opening of his show in the gallery.The attendant typed again and then looked up at Matthew with a smile of clear relief at them handling the mistake with such grace. “How many nights, sir?”“Two.”He
Kara quietly closed the door and started the water running for a shower while she started to undress. She needed this shower, her muscles ached more than a little from sitting still for so long, she just did not want him to feel guilty about it. She wondered why he seemed so tired today. Angrily she pushed thoughts of him aside. Was she always going to have this obsession over a man who obviously expected no more than friendship? For her own sanity it was better if she put some distance between them, but she could not bear losing the friendship, even if she suffered every moment he touched her or smiled at her.With a sigh she tied her hair up and stepped under the water. The warm water helped for her aching muscles and she lingered longer than necessary. As she allowed her thoughts to wander while she enjoyed the water running over her, she thought about the dress he had bought her for his brother’s wedding. With a slight
Kara awoke early morning and realized that Matthew was holding her in his sleep. She would have been content to lay there and pretend to be asleep once he woke, but she desperately needed to get to the bathroom.Quietly she tried to edge away from him and just when she was on the edge of the bed, her feet bracing on the floor, and gently lifting his arm to get up, he moved and spoke at the same time. “What’s wrong?”Startled by his sudden wakefulness, she lost her footing on the floor and, with a girlish squeal, ended up on her back on the floor. She groaned as she tried to get breath back in her lungs and opened her eyes to see a very amused Matthew grinning at her over the edge of the bed. “Are you ok?”“Yes.” She groaned and she started to sit up.“What’s wrong?”“Need to…” Kara blushed before she stood and rushed for the bathroom,
Matthew waited patiently as he flipped through TV channels. They had come back to the hotel room to change for the semi-formal dinner and dance and Kara had offered that he shower first, since she would be long in the bathroom. He had finished dressing and was waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. With a sigh, he flipped through all the channels a second time and, finding nothing to watch, he switched off the TV and reached for the magazine he had moved to the table earlier so he could sit down. He’d never believed the married men about women taking forever to get ready, but he was starting to believe it now. He had just started to sit back in the chair, when he heard the bathroom door open and he glanced round to see Kara. He had expected her to wear the black dress he had bought for her for his brother’s wedding. Instead she was wearing a pale green lace and satin dress, which bared both her shoulders. Sleeves hung from