"You know Chelsea never went back; she's still at the same hotel you booked at. I think she somehow also got a key card to your room and was planning something; I saw her letting herself into your room earlier on." Matt took my hand, and we walked down the corridor to the elevator. Maverick kept pace, taking up the rear. "On top of that, I think she called in reinforcements; expect your parents and hers to get here sometime today or tomorrow and start meddling. Though honestly I will give it till the end of the day to enjoy your freedom." Matt groaned out loudly hearing this; it really played on every heartstring earlier. I could imagine my mom in Matt's place. I could imagine the pressure he was feeling, and it made me angry that they had stripped him down to a pawn in their pathetic power-play game.
"I'm going to have to find a way to get my things out there quickly. You think there is any way to discreetly get Chelsea away from my hotel room for the next few hours?" He asked Maverick.
"I'm sure I can figure something out? Heard you got me a ticket to join you, and then there was mention of a show somewhere near the Eiffel Tower?" He grinned mischievously, and I knew the operation runaround was a go.
"Yeah, you got this; don't forget to let me know when," Matt laughed.
"Are you going to join us for breakfast, Maverick?" I politely asked. He was willingly being a decoy with the heavy possibility of having to spend time with Chelsea. The least I could do was give the guy a good meal before he sacrificed himself.
"Nope, places to go, people to placate, and people to stop from having a breakdown. Justin called Cathrine to join us, and she should be here in about 3 hours. She caught the first flight out when she heard how anxious he was. I think by the end of today I'm going to be the only single brother in the Westman family. Well, out of my dad's kids, that is." He shook his head at that, as if settling down was the end.
"Justin even has the ring ready; you know that, right? He was going to propose when we got back. He's just rushing everything now out of fear and honestly ... I think he's right. He always has been intuitive when it comes to the family, sensing what Grams and Aunt Soph were up to." I felt sorry for Justin and Jen; all because of Nate's choice, they felt rushed into this. No big white wedding, family celebrating with them, except the brothers were here at least. They had each other, and you could see they were close.
This would be less extravagant for Aunt Sophia and her husband; sure, judging by how Chelse acted, they all seemed stuck up, and the need to show off was important to them. Something like that never bothered me. I had no one except Nikki, no father to walk me down the aisle, and no mom helping me get ready; the only one I had was Nikki. So the bride's side would be completely vacant.
Matt and I walked to the hotel restaurant. "So what do you have planned for today, sweetheart?" Matt asked me, today would be an 'us' thing. Nikki had a lot to process, and I didn't see her out and about until she and Nate had sorted a few things out.
"Let's see, today's Thursday, right? So later on today we have karting. I need food first; my stomach is eating itself at this point," I replied just as my stomach rumbled. I hadn't paid much mind to it, but he still held my hand. It felt so natural.
We started small talk while we ate, steering clear of hard topics and just talking about the easy things. "So after this can we swing by my hotel and fetch my things? I'm thinking of letting the newlyweds take my suite to themselves, though I may ask for a room change; I doubt anyone would want to be in that room with them if last night was anything to go by, so they should have the place all to themselves," he asked politely. It sounded more like he was subtly asking me if he could move in with me. I nodded; again, I'm not touching the difficult topics, but after last night the thought of sleeping without him felt foreign.
He turned 26 this week but wouldn't tell me when; he said I had to guess but wouldn't tell me if I was right. He worked on his grandfather's ranch, predominantly with horses, which, having seen how tanned he was, the way his hair was sun-bleached, and how rough the calluses on his hands were, made sense.
He trained them up, had them racing, and would arrange breeding and studding. He just loved what he did, and he loved the ranch. The ranch his grandfather owned also held a vineyard and a winery. They held tastings and events all year round; they sold a really great quality wine and were well known. They were looking to turn parts of the property into a wedding venue and seeing where it went from there. They had a close family friend setting up and arranging that part.
Matt's mom had passed away during childbirth, and his father had remarried when he was still a young teen; his brothers had already been out of the house by then. He really had no time for his stepmom; he felt she was overbearing and only after his dad's and family's bank accounts.
She and my aunt, Chelsea's mom, had been friends for years and had started talking about him and Chelsea when they turned 16. It started with statements of 'What a cute couple they would make' to later 'You know, when you get married, it will only strengthen the family name,' and 'Chelsea is good stock; you will do what you're told and marry her.' ' Chelsea jumped at the opportunity, but Matt couldn't stand her.
Matt's father got on board with very little coaxing from Claire and even tried to push him for a wedding date when he heard Chelsea came from a well-known and very well-off family. When he realized that a family bond would be a good way to increase their pull and influence, he started pushing harder. The more Matt told them he wasn't interested in Chelsea, the less they listened and even started planning the engagement party, which he never went to. Matt had never proposed and to this day refused to propose to Chelsea; his grandfather stood wholehearted behind Matt, whereas his dad took it as a personal insult that Matt didn't agree on his chosen bride.
Matt's mother had been one of his grandfather's 2 daughters, and when his mother's heart gave out, his aunt and grandfather both swore to protect Matt at all costs. His aunt said that the Townsends were evil, and I wholeheartedly agree with her. Matt called his family 'good people,' and I believed him; they sounded amazing. It did bring back the hollow thought that I was alone again; now that Mom was gone, he at least had people who still loved him even if his dad sounded like a complete ass.
Matt had met Nate a few years prior. They went to the same high school growing up and became best friends. They then went to the same college, and over the years they had tried to help each other out of the situations the family tried to push them into. Nate's mom and dad were actually really decent people and had been like a second home to Matt when he wasn't at his grandfather's. Nate's/my gran, however, found reasons to bring Chelsea and Cathrine over whenever Matt was over at Nate's house and really began laying it on thick and forcing the issue as of late.
Over the years this not only pushed my uncle away from Gran and Gramps, but Nate, Mav, and Justin avoided them at all costs, almost to the same point Matt avoided his stepmother and father. Uncle Derick, Nate's dad, no longer allowed our grandmother there when Matt was over after a particularly heated argument they had a year ago. The only time their families really got together now was for special occasions that they had an obligation to attend.
Matt spent more time with his grandfather over holidays than he ever did at his dad's. "Dad's place is a duty and show home; that's not a family home. It stopped being a family home a very long time ago and became a duty or a threat to stay in line or remind me who was in control. "The anger showed in every word he spoke when referring to his dad's home.
"Over the past year, though, with Gramps' health deteriorating, Dad and Claire had started 'stopping over' more frequently when they were in the 'neighborhood,' as if Gramps' ranch were two hours away from civilization and the only neighbors were other farmers, not exactly the type of people Dad and Claire would socialize with."
"They really started to push the engagement issue and would try to get Gramps on board and strong-arm him into handing over Gram's ring to pass to Chelsea; he told them to go to hell and told Claire he thought her broomstick was parked out back." He smiled at that, and the swans in my stomach took flight again. He was handsome and rugged, not in a pretty boy 'I work a 9-5 desk job and have my nails manicured on Saturdays' but in a 'I work with my hands and have the strength to prove it' way.
"Dad also tried to ask for some of Grandma's jewelry so he could give it to Claire, and Gramps blew his gasket, banned them from the property, got a restraining order, and threatened to call the cops if they set foot anywhere near there. He was clever and saw every greed-filled stare when they would land on something of value he had in the house. In his words, "You didn't pay a dime on it; you're not my blood or kin, so it has absolutely nothing to do with you. What happens to it is up to my family when I'm dead and gone." He laughed at that; you could see the love he had for his grandfather as clear as day.
"This week was a gift from Gramps to enjoy my birthday and get away. I work long hours most days, and he didn't want me overdoing it. It's just before the tough winter months kick in, so he wanted this to be something special for me and my friends. Somehow Chelsea found out about it, probably from her brother Alexis," he mused.
We slowly made our way down the strip towards the hotel he was staying at. Matt had received a text from Mav, giving him the all clear for the next hour. We decided not to waste the opportunity Maverick had given us and wanted to get things sorted out and cleared out now rather than later. It felt like we were in our own little bubble together. It held a dream-like quality where reality could not intrude. People walked around us instead of pushing through.
Matt held my hand and held me close, and I felt cherished and protected by his side. For me this was not normal; I did not think with my hormones. I was not one of those girls; I was logical, but I couldn't care about that right now. We spoke about all sorts of things, getting to know each other a little better, taking down walls and handing bricks over, building bridges and forging highways between us. I suddenly realized I had fallen completely for him; slowly but surely, he worked his way into my heart. He filled the hole that was there and replaced it with something warm and fuzzy.
We reached the hotel, and a cloud of heaviness felt as if it had settled on my shoulders. I didn't want to know how he must have felt if this was my reaction. It felt like we were sneaking in without permission, about to steal something in some grand heist. Packing was rushed and chaotic. If it took Matt more than 5 minutes to get everything together, that would have been a lot. "Anything still here I can get back from Nate." He told me, "If I missed it, it can't be that important." He turned to me, taking my hand once again firmly in his, leading the way to the door. The connection between us felt intense and electric. My heart took off galloping whenever he touched me or held me.