Page 14 of Twisted Beauty

Whenever Matt met someone who wanted to adopt a dog, he called Jana. She’d become a good friend over the last year too. She was down to earth, never did more than pull her dark hair into a ponytail, and the only clothes she seemed to own were shorts, tanks, and flip-flops. The definition of low maintenance. And unless a man had four legs and a tail, she was as averse to relationships as he was. His idea of the perfect woman.

Jana smiled and gave Matt a cute little wave before Katie stepped between them. The two friends hugged and bounced up and down as if they hadn’t seen each other in months, even though they'd all met downtown for drinks just last weekend.

Right behind Jana stood a very pretty blonde who’d tried his patience so many times he kept his distance whenever he could.

Elle always looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine, wearing one of the many designer dresses she picked up on her trips back to New York. Today’s dress was skimpy and red, with heeled sandals that made her almost as tall as him.

Nothing screamed high maintenance like heels at a beach barbecue. Why couldn’t he have noticed that before they’d hooked up?

Naturally, Elle made a beeline for Matt as soon as she spotted him.

“Mateo, you gorgeous hunk of a man. I’ve missed you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body into his. He placed a hand lightly on her back as she hugged him. Her straight blonde hair fell across his face and he had to puff a few times to get it out of his mouth.

Elle wasn’t at all on board with his no-relationship rule. He’d made the mistake of taking her at her word when they first met, when she promised she was. Apparently, she’d planned to reform him with a black negligee and bottle of California Zin. And when that didn’t work, she’d spent every day of the next few months trying to lure him back into her life. Clearly, she was still trying. He’d made every effort to be nice about it, but she’d been here less than five minutes and had already cornered him.

With Elle wrapped around him like a band of kelp, he glanced up to see Liv studying them. She looked amused, like she was somehow enjoying his discomfort, until Katie pulled her attention away.

“Livvy, this is Jana. I told you about her. She volunteers at Mexipup.”

Liv jumped out of her lounge with a genuine smile on her face. The first Matt had seen. It almost knocked the air out of his lungs. Or maybe that was Elle’s grip. He grasped her wrists and gently peeled her off him.

“Right. That’s the dog rescue place Katie told me about. I’m so excited to meet you.” Liv reached out her hand to shake Jana’s, but true to form, Jana wrapped her in a lopsided hug instead, while still holding the dog in one arm.

“You too. I’m so happy to have another dog person here.”

Liv leaned down to the ball of fur in Jana’s arms and scratched behind its ears. “And what’s your name, beautiful girl?”

“This is Lulu,” Jana said, while the little dog licked Liv on the lips and cheeks and eyes.

Liv laughed as she took Lulu into her arms. “I want to hear all about your work, Jana. I’d love to help somehow.”

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Matt muttered under his breath.

Apparently he’d said it louder than he thought, because they both turned to look at him.

But a dog person? This girl? She looked more like the type to complain about dog hair on her clothes or muddy prints on her floor. He preferred that image of her anyway, because he didn’t need to find out there was anything else about her to like.

He noticed Zach on the far side of the deck, throwing burgers on the grill. Now there was something Matt couldn’t screw up. And it was as far from Elle as he could get and still be on the same deck.

“Time to get lunch going,” he said as he stepped back from Elle.

“Nothing sexier than a guy at a grill.” Elle ran her fingers over his jaw.

Matt forced a smile and removed her hand from his face. He headed over to Zach and set his margarita on the ground next to the grill.

“Kat’ll kill you if she sees that on the ground,” Zach said.

Kat was the least of his problems. “Did you mail it in when you started dating her?”

“You wish you were climbing into bed with that body at night. Here.” He handed a large metal spatula to Matt. “You’re the famous chef, you cook it.”

“Was,” Matt grumbled, but he took the utensil anyway. “The key word here is was.”

He missed it too. All of it. His sweeping, stainless kitchen, the adoring customers, the kitchen staff he’d trained so well to work with him. Regret sliced through his chest, as it always did when he thought about the life he’d left behind. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made the worst fucking mistake of his life.

Or second worst. Marrying Sadie still held the number one spot.

But Chez Claude, right in the heart of Malibu, had been the epitome of his career. A place every chef dreamed of working. He was the youngest person ever to hold the position of executive chef at the renowned bistro.