End Zone: Texas Titans 2 (10 page)

Kristen felt a little guilty listening to
tales that should have come from Matt instead of a third party, but she
couldn’t quash her curiosity. “What kind of agenda?”

“Matt’s always had an I.Q. in the genius
range.”

Kristen tried to rein in her surprise. “I
knew he was smart, but… wow.” She felt a little inferior even though she knew
he would brush his intelligence off as no big deal.

“As soon as my father found out, he started
grooming him to take over the business.”

“Really?” Matt was so much fun. Kristen
couldn’t imagine him making his living in such a somber way. “How did Matt feel
about that?”

“He wanted no part of it, but my father was
a stubborn man. He said Matt would change his mind when he realized what was at
stake.” Nancy smiled. “He underestimated his grandson’s strong will. Not only
did Matt refuse to step into my father’s shoes, he rejected his trust fund. He
said he didn’t want to be indebted to anyone. He was determined to succeed or
fail without any help from anyone.”

Kristen’s respect for Matt grew even more,
if that was possible. “Wow, not many people would have had the courage to do
that.” She didn’t know a lot about Matt’s grandfather, but she’d read a few
articles over the years that led her to believe he was an ornery old man
accustomed to ruling with an iron fist.

“That’s for sure.” A satisfied smile told
Kristen that Nancy approved of her son’s decision. “But instead of incensing
his grandfather, as we all thought it would, Matt earned his respect. Perhaps
he’s the only one who truly did.”

“I’m not surprised.”

It was difficult not to respect a man who took
a risk like that. All Matt had to do was follow the path his grandfather had
set out for him, and he never would have had to worry about money. Instead, he
decided to roll the dice on a business venture that could have easily folded in
the first year.

“You may wonder why I’m telling you all
this,” Nancy said, brushing invisible lint off her black slacks. “I want you to
understand the kind of man my son is. He’s much too humble to volunteer this
kind of information on his own. I happen to think it’s a mother’s job to toot
her child’s horn when he won’t do it for himself.”

“I tend to think my mother would agree with
you,” Kristen said, smiling. “I’m glad you told me.” The more she learned about
Matt, the more she realized how lucky she was that he loved her.

***

Nancy had just left when Kristen heard the
outer door to her suite open. Her receptionist had stepped out for lunch, so
Kristen ventured out to the lobby. As soon as she saw who her visitor was, she
wished she’d kept her butt planted firmly in her chair. Robert wasn’t worth the
effort.

“I was hoping I could talk you into taking
a break. Have lunch with me?” he asked, looking hopeful.

Sighing, Kristen ground her teeth before
remembering her dentist’s warning to give up that nasty habit. “I thought I
made myself clear the last time you asked me. I’m not interested.”

“Because of what’s his name?”

Kristen had no doubt Robert not only
remembered Matt’s name but had Googled him on the way home from the reunion. “I
told you long before I started seeing Matt that I have nothing more to say to
you. We both remember why I called off the wedding. You thought fidelity was
optional. I disagreed.”

Looking weary, he rubbed his face. “How
many times do I have to apologize for that? It was one stupid mistake. It meant
nothing.”

Kristen believed it was nothing in his
warped mind, but to her, it meant everything. If she couldn’t trust the man she
promised to spend her life with, she ran the risk of ending up like her mother,
in love with a man who gave his love to another woman while ignoring his
family.

“You’re never going to convince me of that,
so I wish you’d quit wasting your breath.” Kristen turned toward her office.
“Kindly close the door on your way out.”

“We’re not finished talking about this.”

“Yes, we are.”

Kristen walked down the hall to her office
and closed the door behind her, not that she thought that barrier would stop
him. If not for her long-term lease and the fact that her office was so perfect
for her business, she would consider moving just to get away from him. But she
would be damned if she allowed his infidelity to cost her any more than it
already had.

“You and I were perfect for each other,”
Robert said, opening her door. “You can’t deny that.” He sighed heavily when
she ignored him. “We shared the same work ethic. You really think your new
boyfriend will understand why you feel the need to work seven days a week?”

Robert was doing his best to plant seeds of
doubt, but she couldn’t deny that thought had already crossed her mind. She’d
told Matt how driven she was, that she was a workaholic, but would he
understand when she spent most Friday and Saturday nights at some event instead
of with him? Only time would tell whether Matt had the patience and
understanding to not only tolerate her demanding career, but support her vision
for the future.

“That’s for me and Matt to sort out. It’s
none of your business.” Kristen scrolled the messages on her iPhone, pretending
she didn’t have a care in the world. Going toe-to-toe with her ex every other
day was starting to wear her down. “I don’t know how many times I have to say
this: I’m not interested in getting back together with you. I don’t want to be
your wife, your fiancée, your lover… Hell, I don’t even want to be your
friend.” She felt a stab of guilt at his pained expression until she remembered
that he brought it on himself. If not for his
mistake,
they would be
getting married in two short months.

“Our offices are across the hall from each
other. It’s not like we can avoid seeing each other.”

“I know that. I’m not saying I want to be
your enemy.” In truth, she hated living with animosity toward him. She’d much
rather put the whole mess behind her so she could move on with her life,
hopefully with Matt. “We can be civil and say hello when we cross paths in the
hall or in the elevator, but that’s all it will ever be. Do you understand
that?” Kristen heard someone enter the office. She assumed it was her
receptionist returning from lunch.

“You want me to pretend I’m not still crazy
about you? I can’t do that. I am. I love you. I still want to spend my life
with you.”

His voice broke, but Kristen wasn’t naïve
enough to believe he was being sincere. She’d seen his closing arguments a time
or two and knew how impassioned he could be when it served his purpose.

“You should have thought about that before
you slept with that dancer,” she said.

“When are you going to stop punishing me—”

“Am I interrupting something?”

Kristen plastered on a fake smile when she
saw Matt in the doorway behind Robert. She hadn’t intended to share the sordid
story of her ex’s betrayal with him. The fact that she hadn’t been enough to
satisfy her fiancée still stung more than it should have. She knew the problem
was Robert’s, not hers, but when the constant reminder of that betrayal stared
her in the face every day, it wasn’t easy for her self-esteem to rebound. “Hi,
Matt, I wasn’t expecting you.”

Scowling at the back of Robert’s head, Matt
said, “I thought you could use a lunch break.”

Kristen finally spotted the paper bag in
his hand: take-out from her favorite Chinese restaurant. She’d mentioned how
much she loved the food at that little hole in the wall one day when they drove
by, and he obviously remembered. “I’d love to have lunch with you.” Giving
Robert a pointed look, she said, “You’ll have to excuse us. Matt and I have to
discuss his company’s anniversary party over lunch.”

Robert mumbled a few unintelligible words
before shooting a dirty look at Matt. He slammed the outer door to the suite
behind him.

“I’m sorry about that,” Kristen said,
grimacing.

“What the hell was he doing here?” Matt
looked angry as he glanced at the door Robert had just passed through.

“He thought he could talk me into having
lunch with him.”

“Why would he think that?”

“I don’t know.” Her ex was the last thing
Kristen wanted to talk about, but Matt didn’t seem ready to let it go. “He
can’t accept the fact that it’s really over, I guess.”

“Is it?”

“Excuse me?” Kristen realized Robert wasn’t
the only target of Matt’s anger.

“Are you sure it’s over? It sounded to me
like you’re still hurt that he cheated on you.”

“Of course I’m hurt,” she said, frustrated
that she had to defend herself. “I loved him. I thought he loved me. We were
building a life together.”

“A life that he clearly still wants.” Matt
dropped the bag on a small table in the corner of the room.

“I don’t care what he wants. That’s not
what I want.”

“Are you sure about that?” He watched her
closely, as though he was trying to uncover some code lurking beneath her words
and actions.

Kristen pressed her fingertips to her
temples. She felt a headache building from the base of her neck. How had a day
that had started so perfectly taken such a sharp nosedive? “Of course I’m sure.
Do you think I would have made love to you last night if I thought Robert and I
had a future together?”

“Women have been known to do some crazy
things when they’re hurt and angry.”

Kristen’s mouth fell open. It took her a
moment to recover from her shock. “Are you accusing me of using you to get back
at Robert for cheating on me?”

He braced his shoulder against the
doorframe and crossed his arms, looking angrier than she’d ever seen him. Matt
was usually so even-tempered. She couldn’t imagine where all his hostility was
coming from.

“Is that what you’re doing?”

“How can you even ask me that?” She heard
her voice rising, laced with hysteria. “What happened last night meant
something to me. I thought you felt the same way.”

“I told you I was in love with you,” he
said, lowering his voice to a growl. “When I say that to a woman, I can promise
you I mean it.”

“Why are you getting so upset?” Kristen had
a feeling she wasn’t the only one with a past that sometimes clouded her
judgment. She wondered if Matt was looking at her but seeing someone else.

“Because I have no intention of being the
guy you run to when you wanna feel better about yourself. Your ex cheated on
you and made you feel like shit, and now you need a guy to boost your
self-confidence, to remind you that you’re beautiful.”

Tears stung Kristen’s eyes, but she
wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of giving into them. She couldn’t believe
the man who’d made love to her so tenderly was accusing her of those things.
She’d believed last night was the start of something amazing, but she had to
wonder if it was meant to be their first and only time together. “I think you
need to leave. Now.”

He looked as though he wanted to say more,
but when Kristen’s receptionist called out that she was back from lunch, Matt
clenched his teeth. “Fine, but this isn’t over.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Matt. I think
it is.”

Matt stalked through the lobby of High
Rollers’ twelve-story office building, intent on ignoring everyone who crossed
his path. He wanted to head up to his office and bury himself in work so he
could shut out that nasty argument with Kristen. He knew he’d overreacted.
Seeing her with her ex, hearing him declare his love for her took him back to a
time he would much rather forget with a woman who didn’t deserve to stand in
Kristen’s shadow. His experience with Robin had left him jaded, and he was
taking his anger and frustration out on the wrong person.

When he opened the door to his office and
saw Zach sitting in the guest chair, he barely suppressed a groan. Zach was one
of his best friends, but the happily married man was one of the last people he
felt like talking to. “What’s up, Zach?”

Zach glanced over his shoulder. “Your
receptionist said she thought you’d be back from lunch soon. I thought I’d fire
off a few emails while I waited.” He lowered his smartphone when he caught a
glimpse of Matt’s face. “What the hell’s wrong with you? You look like you
haven’t slept in a week.”

“I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Matt
sat down and fired up his computer, hoping his friend would take the hint that
he wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Wriggling his eyebrows, Zach asked, “For
your sake, I hope you wasted away the pre-dawn hours the same way I did.”

“Something like that,” Matt muttered,
typing in his password so he could access the files he needed. The only
difference between him and his friend was that Zach would enjoy recreations of
that experience for the rest of his life while Matt had probably blown any
chance he had of a future with Kristen. He turned his chair away from the
computer. No matter how much he might need a distraction, he couldn’t focus on
work while his mind was on Kristen and the colossal mistake he’d made. “Son of
a bitch.”

“What’s wrong?” Zach asked.

“Not now, buddy.” Matt tipped his head
back, closing his eyes.

“What’s her name?”

It shouldn’t surprise Matt that his friend
read him so easily. They’d been through hell and back together over the past
decade. “Kristen.” Matt opened his eyes and looked at the cityscape that
usually made him smile. It was overcast and dreary outside. Fitting, given his
mood. How had a day that had started so perfectly fallen off a cliff so
quickly? “We knew each other back in high school, but I hadn’t seen her since…
until recently.”

“Is this the same girl Jaxon mentioned to
me, the one who’s planning the anniversary party?”

Zach hadn’t been able to make the board
meeting where Matt filled the rest of the crew in on Kristen’s involvement.
“Yeah, that’s her.”

“So what happened?”

“We just had it out in her office.” Matt
made his way to the kitchenette in the back corner of his office. “You want a
coffee?”

“No, I wanna hear about what happened with
Kristen. It’s not like you to get so bent out of shape over a woman.”

Placing a small mug under the spout, Matt
pressed the button and waited for the welcome scent of espresso to clear the cobwebs
from his head. “I overheard a conversation she had with her ex. He was telling
her that he still loved her, that he still wanted to be with her.”

“How did she react?”

“She made it clear she’s not interested.”
Matt sipped the strong brew, hoping it would give him the jolt he needed to
focus on something other than the mess he’d made of his life.

“So what’s the problem?”

“The way I acted, that’s the problem. I
heard that jackass saying those things to her, and it took me back, ya know?”
Zach knew better than anyone. He was who Matt turned to when he found out his
wife was still involved with her former lover.

“Uh oh… What did you say to her?”

“I let her have it.” Matt paced the room,
wishing a sinkhole would open up and swallow him so he wouldn’t have to figure
a way out of the pit he’d dug for himself.

“Why?”

“Because I’m an idiot, that’s why.” Matt
had to take full responsibility for that. Kristen hadn’t deserved his temper
tantrum. If anyone deserved it, it was his ex-wife, but she’d skipped town before
the ink on the divorce papers dried.

“You won’t get an argument from me on that
one.” Zach grinned when Matt glared at him. “So how’re you gonna make things
right with her? I have to assume from the way you’re wearing a hole in the
carpet that you want to apologize?”

“Sure, I do. Not that I think she’d be
willing to listen.”

“Does she know what happened with Robin?”

“No.” Matt still got a sick feeling in the
pit of his stomach whenever he thought about the stunt his ex-wife pulled.
“It’s not the kind of thing a guy wants to broadcast, especially not to a woman
he’s trying to impress.”

“I get that, but if things are getting
serious between you two, she needs to know the whole story, don’t you think?”

Matt knew the time would come when he would
have to explain, but he wanted to feel as though he and Kris were on more solid
ground before they had
that
talk. “I’ll tell her eventually. Assuming
she ever wants to speak to me again.”

“Are you going to give her a choice?”

“I can’t force her to talk to me.” His
friend had been out of the dating game too long if he thought that would work.

“So you’re just going to let her write you
off? You’re gonna give up?”

“Hell, no!”

Zach smiled and rubbed his hands together.
“That’s what I thought. Now let’s come up with a plan to get you back in to
your lady’s good book, my friend.”

***

Kristen was dead on her feet by the time
she turned the key in her lock. It was after eight, and she’d been working like
a demon ever since Matt left her office. She had too much to do to let her
personal problems sidetrack her. As always, business came first. She let out a
little yelp when she heard someone come up behind her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Matt.
She
didn’t have to turn around; she’d know that silky smooth voice anywhere. Damn
him. “How did you get in here?” When he didn’t respond, she assumed one of the
other residents had held the door for him. So much for their security system.
“I’m too tired to—”

“Eat?” He stepped into her line of vision
and held up a paper bag with his company’s logo on it. “Our chef makes a great
burger with sweet potato fries.”

Her mouth was already watering. She knew
the only things in her fridge were expired yogurt, withering apples, and a near-empty
jug of orange juice, but she would be damned if she’d let him off the hook that
easily. “I have work to do.”

“You’ve already been working for twelve
hours. Unless, like me, you were useless this afternoon?”

Lifting her chin, she pushed past him. “No,
I had a very productive afternoon.” It was true. Her work was the only thing
that got her through the tough times.

Matt slipped in behind her before she could
close the door.

“What do you want?” she asked, slipping out
of her high-heeled shoes. That was a mistake. It was tough to appear
intimidating when he had at least six inches on her. “Didn’t you say everything
you needed to say earlier?”

“Not even close.” He set down the bag and
pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry.” He kissed her, seemingly unaffected when
she wouldn’t allow him to push past her lips. “Forgive me? Please?”

“No.” She stepped back and folded her arms.
She wanted to forgive him, but it was important to set some ground rules. He
couldn’t think it was acceptable to go off on her whenever he had a bad day.
She didn’t intend to be any man’s doormat, and the sooner Matt realized that,
the better chance their relationship had.

“What can I do to make it up to you?”

Kristen turned away from him, needing to
put some distance between them. Forgetting all of his harsh words and slipping
into bed would be too easy. “You can tell me why you reacted that way, for
starters.”

Raking a hand through his hair, Matt
sighed. “It wasn’t you. It was…” He swore softly. “Let’s just say I overreacted
and leave it at that, okay?”

She suspected his reaction had something to
do with his ex-wife, and if that was the case, she knew she would be a fool to
let it go. If Matt still harbored feelings for Robin, Kristen needed to know
before she got in any deeper. “It wasn’t seeing me with Robert that triggered
that reaction, was it?”

“That guy’s a dirtbag. He hurt you, and he
thinks he gets a second chance to do it again.”

She appreciated Matt’s desire to protect
her, but she was capable of taking care of herself. She’d been doing it for
longer than she wanted to admit. “Even if you hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have
been stupid enough to trust him again. I know men like that don’t change.”

A tick in Matt’s jaw was the only sign he
was uneasy. “What do you mean?”

“A man who cheats once will always cheat
again.” Her father had proven that.

“That’s a pretty harsh assessment,” Matt
said, his steady gaze meeting hers. “You don’t think people can change?

“Not men like Robert… and my father. They
could never be satisfied with just one woman. The grass is always greener and
all that crap.” Feeling the urge for a drink, she headed into the kitchen,
hoping she had chilled the bottle of chardonnay she bought as a housewarming
gift last week. A girlfriend had invited her for dinner, but Kristen hadn’t
been able to make it.

Matt followed her into the kitchen and
leaned against the doorframe. “Not all men are like that.” He watched her reach
for two glasses. “You know that, don’t you?”

She knew there were a lot of good men out
there who were content to spend the rest of their lives with one woman; she
just hadn’t had much experience with them. Hopefully her mother had found one
of the good guys in her new husband. Only time would tell the real story. “I
don’t know much of anything at the moment, at least not where my personal life
is concerned.” Thankfully, her business ran like a well-oiled machine,
grounding her when people threatened to send her ‘round the bend.

“I hope you know I’m crazy about you.”

Kristen’s hand trembled around the corkscrew.
She wanted to believe him, but the way he’d acted that afternoon made her
question whether they were right for each other. A man who went off like a
loose cannon with the slightest provocation was not someone she needed to share
her bed or her secrets with.

“Tell me you believe me.”

“That’s not really the issue, is it?” She
poured wine into each of the glasses before handing one to him.

“What is the issue? You tell me,” he said,
nodding his thanks as he accepted the glass. “Isn’t that the only thing that
matters, Kris? How we feel about each other?”

His reasoning was too simplistic. They
needed to discuss so many considerations before they decided whether to take
their relationship further, not the least of which was his ex-wife. “Where’s
Robin?”

“Excuse me?” He paused the glass halfway to
his lips. “What does she have to do with this?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.” Kristen
leaned against the granite countertop, bracing one hand against the cool,
smooth surface. “I have a feeling the way you reacted today had more to do with
her than with me.” When his eyes shifted away and he took a drink instead of
defending himself, she knew she was right. “Are you still in love with her?”

“No way.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t seem anxious to delve deeper, but
Kristen couldn’t let it go if she intended to continue seeing Matt. “I asked
you where she is. Do you still see her?”

“No.” He sighed when Kristen shook her head
and walked back into the living room.

He clearly wasn’t willing to tell her the
story, and she was tired of making herself crazy speculating. If he couldn’t be
honest with her, they had nothing to talk about. “I think it’s time for you to
leave.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, watching her as she
unbuttoned her blazer and tossed it over an armchair.

She had dressed for a client meeting in a
chic steel-grey business suit with a lacy camisole beneath it. She wouldn’t
have worn the camisole by itself in public, but Matt had already seen her in
much less. “What are you sorry about?” Sitting on the apartment-sized beige
sofa, she tucked her silk-clad legs under her and eyed him, trying to read his
mind.

“I’m sorry for the way I acted today.” His
eyes swept over her body before returning to her face. “Obviously I was way out
of line. I was just…” He clenched the glass. “Jealous, I guess. Seeing you with
him, hearing him tell you he loved you made me wonder if you still felt the
same way.”

“We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?” Kristen
propped her elbow on the back of the sofa so she could rest her head in her free
hand. “You’re questioning my feelings for my ex while I’m wondering how you
feel about yours.”