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Her expression quickly morphed into one of practiced disinterestedness, but she wasn’t quick enough to hide the shock in her eyes when she saw the two of us tangled together in bed.
A sense of foreboding sank like a rock in my stomach.
I shouldn’t let it bother me. People were going to find out about us at some point, but the look on her face made me uneasy. As soon as she closed the door, would she send a text to my mom and Stefon?
“I am so sorry for intruding,” Miss Paulina said in a neutral tone that gave nothing away about how she felt about the situation. It was then that I noticed the large white envelope in her hand. “I thought you were outside cleaning and that the bedroom was empty. An important delivery for Mr. Galbraith just arrived by special courier.” She placed it on the dresser near the door. “Good day, gentlemen.”
With that she gently closed the door.
“Don’t freak out, okay?” Matty said, as if reading my mind. He blew out a breath as he faced me. “She’ll keep our secret, Ciaran. She’s worked here long enough to have seen everything under the sun. Discretion is a valuable commodity in her line of work.”
“Then why did she look so surprised?” I asked, not convinced.
“My guess is she thought we hated each other. Everyone thinks that, so finding us like this would surprise almost everyone. Franky might have reacted the same way.” Some of the foreboding began to ebb away. Matty continued, “One day I will tell you about the wild orgies my dad used to host. I say that because it was Miss Paulina and her staff who cleaned up afterwards. And don’t get me started on Dante and his best friend at time. He and Andy were the biggest playboys in college. There’s no telling what Miss Paulina witnessed most weekends.”
I nearly choked on my tongue after hearing all that.
Before I could sputter a reply, Matty continued. “Anyway, Dad won’t do anything like that now that he’s remarried. He went through a weird phase a few years ago. And Dante’s living in Singapore, though I think he’s dating a soccer player. I’m not sure, to be honest. My brother is private about that kind of stuff these days.”
It was information overload but my main takeaway was that Miss Paulina wasn’t a tattler.
“Did you partake in said orgies?” I pulled him back on top of me and we collapsed back down onto the bed.
Matty’s eyes twinkled. “No. I was too young, but,” he added as his eyebrows rose, “I was fully aware of them.”
“So we both grew up around naked women?” I asked rhetorically. “Me backstage at my mom’s showgirl performances and you at home watching orgies. What a pair we make.”
“Fate meant for us to meet.” Matty’s grin melted away the last of my worries.
Before I could get sappy about that statement, the aroma of fresh-ground coffee hit us then.
“Franky,” we both said at the same time.
My stomach seemed to realize it too, because it grumbled, demanding food. I’d already grown accustomed to having someone make all my food for me. It didn’t seem to have taken me long to forget the feeling of scrounging and living day-to-day.
“Last person to get dressed and sprint downstairs has to clean the pool,” Matty said as he jumped out of bed.
“Cheater,” I hollered as he threw the blanket on me, stymying my progress.
I heard his flurry of progress next door. I didn’t rush.
I couldn’t contain my smile when I finally joined Matty downstairs moments later.
Franky beamed at me from behind the kitchen counter. “Morning, Ciaran,” she said in her normal, cheery voice.
One of Franky’s green sludge drinks was in Matty’s hand. Sitting at one of the high stool seats at the counter, I took in Matty’s expression as he observed the chunky offering. It was one of forced resignation.
“Morning,” I returned as I took the seat next to Matty. He elbowed me playfully.
Franky’s eyes narrowed as she looked between us but didn’t say anything as she slid over another large cup with the same sludge drink. It was seaweed-green in color and its sharp scent of anchovies made my stomach lurch. I gave the coffeepot a look of forlorn longing.
“Thanks,” I murmured as my hands cupped the cold cylinder. “You shouldn’t have.”
She laughed. “You both look like you didn’t get much sleep last night,” Franky said by way of explaining the recovery shakes. “The yard is an absolute mess. Must have been a banger of a party. What time did it end?”
“Who said it was over?” Matty asked innocently.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” Franky commented, before diving back into the refrigerator to retrieve eggs and butter.
