His Secret

20. Matías

CHAPTER TWENTY

MATíAS

The day before we’re scheduled to fly out to Vegas, I’m in my backyard, ripping up weeds from the garden and mowing the grass. Once I’m done in the back, I remove my sweat-soaked shirt and wipe my face with it before tossing it on the patio table and then moving to the front yard.

I’m halfway into cutting the grass when Adrian’s wife pulls into their driveway. I keep my head down and try to ignore her, but she’s clearly ready to introduce herself, and I can’t ignore her when she walks over, waving her hand in the air.

I stop the lawn mower and pull out one of my earbuds. “Hi,” I say with a small smile.

“Hi. Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Charlotte.”

“I’m Matt,” I reply, giving her my hand. “Sorry. Sweaty.”

She grins as she carefully wipes her palm on the side of her jeans. “No worries. My husband and I have lived here for over a month and haven’t even said hello yet. But it’s just been busy. ”

My brows dip. He hasn’t told her I’m his boss.

The front door to their house closes and Adrian struts over with a nervous look on his face. His eyes drink in my half naked torso before they find his wife.

“Hey.”

“I was just introducing myself to the neighbor,” she says with a smile, gesturing toward me. “This is Matt.”

I look at him, waiting to see what he says. Why wouldn’t he tell her I work with him? I’d assume she doesn’t know about our past, but to not say his boss is his neighbor seems weird.

“Oh, yeah. We work together,” he says, giving me a forced smile. “Small world.”

“Indeed,” I reply, my eyes on him.

“Really?” Charlotte questions, her expression confused. “You never told me.”

He hasn’t told her a lot, I’m sure.

Adrian shrugs, his hand going to the back of his neck as he tilts his head. “I don’t know. Not a big deal, I guess.”

Charlotte gives him a look but quickly covers it up. “Well, okay.” She faces me. “Matt, you should come over for dinner sometime.”

“That’s probably not appropriate,” Adrian says quickly.

My brow arches slightly.

“What do you mean?” Charlotte asks.

“No fraternizing,” he offers.

She laughs. “Isn’t that for romantic relationships?”

“Not always,” he says. “But he’s my superior.”

Charlotte looks at me. “Oh.”

I smile at her and then look at Adrian. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

He stares at me while his wife giggles. “Well, I need to get the groceries inside. It was nice meeting you, Matt. ”

“You too,” I reply with a small nod.

When she’s gone, he speaks. “Why do you have everyone call you Matt?”

That’s definitely not the first thing I thought he’d say, and I’m not quite ready to tell him I don’t want his wife calling me by the same name he does. I’ve always preferred the way my name falls from his lips. Especially when he was gasping and moaning.

“It’s a shortened version of my name,” I say instead.

He’s trying to keep from looking at my torso, but he’s failing. “Is it weird that I didn’t tell her you and I work together?”

“Kind of.”

He snorts. “Thanks.”

“Why didn’t you?”

He crosses his arms. “I’m not sure. It just felt like something I wanted to keep to myself.”

“Hmm.”

“Would you ever come over for dinner?” he asks, looking down at the ground.

“Do you think I should?”

It takes him a few seconds to answer. “No.”

I nod.

“Sometimes what we want and what’s right are not the same thing, and we’re forced to choose between the two,” he says.

“Right for who?” I question.

He dips his head in acknowledgment. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“You will.”

He gazes past me, eyes toward the sky for a few seconds before he speaks. “Can I still stay in your suite? ”

It’s the first time he’s brought it up since I asked. I figured he’d stay at a different hotel and suffer the commute.

“Is that the right thing to do or what you want to do?”

His lips twitch slightly. “See you tomorrow, Matías.”

“See you.”