"I'll take it." Matt grinned.
"Separately." She stared him down.
"Not fun," he complained.
"It doesn't have to be fun, it just has to happen. We need to be on the beach in less than five hours. I need to help Andy get ready."
"Okay, even with all of that, I see a solid four hours and thirty minutes for us to fuuu"—he glanced down at the shaking screen again, and the vibrations sent a tingle up his arm—"uuuck this phone."
"Go get your clothes together. I'll see you when I get out of the shower." Shay grinned and then disappeared behind the bathroom door.
God, what he wouldn't give to be on the other side of that door. Hell, at this point, he'd take it if he simply got to watch her undress. Or if he stood outside the door while she described undressing. Maybe if he asked politely...
The spray of the shower sounded on the other side of the door, and he leaned back on the bed.
Fuck.
He had a decision to make. Apparently, Shay still hadn't felt the pull between them that he had. Or, if she did, she was doing a pretty fucking great job of hiding it. That, of course, left him with two options—to stick to their arrangement and never see her again, or to man up and tell her that he wanted more than just a fling.
The odds of her taking him seriously were slim, and the odds of her going along with his plan were even more scant than that. But, well, what could he do? Could he really go back to San Diego and work with her after he'd been with her this way? Could he ever be in the same room with her again without picturing her splayed out naked and beneath him, moaning along with his every command?
Not a fucking chance.
Then again, if he went back to the majors, he'd be touring a lot. Distance made the heart grow a lot less fond in his experience, and where Shay was concerned, he couldn't think of anything else that might dull his need to pin her up against any sturdy object and have his way with her.
"Shit." He groaned, and then pulled himself out of bed and made to get dressed. His suit was hanging on the back of the bathroom door, and he put it on with only half his concentration.
If he got drafted to the minors...
He buttoned and then shook his head. He couldn't think like that. Even if his improvement had stagnated, that didn't mean it couldn't skyrocket again with the right incentive. They'd know that, the coaches and the owners. They'd be willing to take the chance. He was worth the chance.
He straightened his vest and then glanced at himself in the mirror.
Stop kidding yourself, he thought. There is no choice to make.
After the wedding, he was going to t
ell Shay the truth. And that truth was...
Shit. He could hardly bring himself to think it. How the hell did he expect himself to say it out loud to her?
I'll just pretend she's here, that's all. I'll look her in the eyes, and then I'll say, "Shay, I love you."
The shower dripped to silence, and then Matt grabbed his phone off the bed and made for the door.
Chapter 11
It was the most beautiful wedding Matt had ever been to. It wasn't saying much, of course, since he'd only attended a handful of them, but there was just something about the simplicity of the beach, of Andy's dress, or the crowd that made it feel like nothing would ever be quite so beautiful again.
Then again, the company may also have had something to do with it. He glanced from the corner of his eye at Shay in her lavender bridesmaid gown and smiled while his sister pledged her love to Logan. Shay met his gaze for a fraction of an instant and then turned away, focusing on the couple in front of him. Was it his imagination, or was there a tear in her eye?
Weddings. You never knew how people were going to react.
When it came time for the reception, he followed the throng into the tiny white tent just beside the reception area and made for the head table. Logan and Andy had opted against big entries and announcements—they figured there would be enough of them in the paper to last them a lifetime. And, based on the number of flashes and journalists swarming around the happy couple, they were right.
"Do weddings have to be like this for celebrities?" he mumbled, and apparently Shay heard him because she shrugged.
"It's easy work. You're going to have the party and look good anyway. May as well."