M att could easily sense her confusion and it made him furious. That son of a bitch was no longer going to have the power to hurt her. No matter what he had to do. He'd gotten the rest of the details from his brother when he'd stopped to explain to Joel where he was taking Pip. He'd seen the fury in his older brother’s eyes , too .
Joel had had to deal with Gunderson tonight. Gunderson was very fortunate that Matt hadn't been there; if he had, he probably would've decked the guy for what he had done to Pip .
Instead, Matt just focused on her .
She didn't say anything other than a quiet thank you until he had her back at his house. Until they were digging into some of the homemade ice cream Pan had left in the freezer. "It's Pan’s recipe, isn't it? She's always made the best ice cream ."
Matt nodded. One thing he could say about his housekeeper, the woman knew her way around the kitchen. He was just glad there'd been some ice cream left. Especially as he watched Pip lick it off the spoon like a dainty little kitten. "I think I’ve put on ten pounds since Pan took the job ."
"I think I've lost it. I can cook, but Pan always makes the best desserts. Thank you, for tonight. Sorry to cut your evening short because of me ."
"Pip, you are my evening. The only reason I went to the damned dance at all was because you were going. I'm not going to lie to you about that ."
"I …"
He could easily see the confusion in her big blue eyes; now wasn't the time for any serious discussions about what he wanted from her .
But he couldn't resist touching her, just once. She'd left her hair down, soft and silky around her shoulders. Matt brushed it gently. Ran one finger over her cheek .
The sunburn was still there, but it didn't detract from how soft the woman’s skin was. Her lower lip trembled .
"It's you I want to be with. No one else. Whether that's in that damned community center or right here on my couch. It's you ."