Matt’s plans for the evening had changed. After laying the pavers for his new patio with his father, he was going to build the fire pit. Now, his nerves were what was on fire. Leah Saxton had occupied his mind since lunch. There were so many questions he needed answers to but was too proud to ask Terry. The last thing he wanted was to have his boss stuck in the middle of what he wanted, no needed from Leah. He walked in the house anxious. Music was pumping through the surround sound.
His brother Luke was standing in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open drinking a sports drink from the bottle.
“What are you doing in my house?”
“Hey, I came to check out your basement and help with the fire pit.” Luke closed the refrigerator door. “We talked about it last night.”
“How did you get in?” Matt asked as he closed the front door then dropped his keys on the stand.
“Adam let me in remotely.” Luke smirked. “You know he can get into all of our homes from anywhere around the world.”
Matt nodded as he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. “I know.” He stared at Luke who had taken a seat at the island.
Luke looked behind him. “What?”
“What is it with you and basements? Pearl said you spent hours in her basement last week.”
“I need to make sure I have a private place to sleep when I come over,” Luke answered as he took a drink. “You know, there is no exit from your basement without coming upstairs.”
“Yeah, and…” Matt frowned.
“There should be an exit point from every room in your house. The other rooms all have windows. Your basement needs an exit.”
“Have you become a security specialist all of a sudden?”
“This is your home,” Luke explained. “Security of you and your family should always be your first priority.”
“Uh…huh…” Matt did not believe one word of what Luke had said. Something was up with him, but Matt decided to let it go. “I don’t have a family.”
“That doesn’t mean you will not have one in the future.”
Matt glared at him.
“What?”
Matt realized his facial expression may have been a little strained and the conversation was getting weird. He leaned against the island. “I met someone today.”
“A woman?”
“Yeah.” Matt smiled as he nodded. “Not just any woman. I met my woman today.”
“Really? Who is she?”
“Leah Saxton.”
“Carter Saxton’s sister?”
Matt stood, surprised. “Do you know her?”
Luke shook his head. “No. I know of her. Their family has a charter transportation service that Nick used to pick us up from the airport when we came to town. I don’t think he uses them anymore.”
“Nick Brooks?”
“Yeah,” Luke replied. “Why?”
“I want to get to know her better. I’m just not sure how to go about it.”
“Did you get her number?”
“Yeah.” Matt smiled.
“Okay.” Luke smirked. “You got the digits, so call her.”
“Just out of the blue?”
“Yes,” Luke replied. “How else are you going to get with her.”
Matt shrugged. “What reason will I give for calling?”
“You want to hear her voice again,” Luke laughed. “Women love hearing that.”
“It sounds like a line to me.” Matt tossed his now empty beer bottle into the trash bin.
Luke shrugged. “It works for me.”
“You’re a professional athlete. All you have to do is smile and women jump your bones.”
“This is true.” Luke nodded. “However, I have to be selective in who gets a piece of me. Therefore, we have to hold at least one conversation before sex. Contrary to what you think I am not a bed hopper.”
Matt looked up. “How many women have you been with this week?”
“You just proved my point. Of all the brothers in this family I’m the one with overwhelming experience in the area.”
“More than Joshua?” Matt laughed. “You’re dreaming.”
“Well Joshua isn’t here, and you need to make this call. I’m here for you. So, what are you going to do?”
Matt checked his watch. “It’s not quite four. She may still be at work.”
“Good, tell her you couldn’t wait to hear her voice. Then ask her to have drinks with you around six.”
“That’s pushing it don’t you think? What happened to phone conversations to get to know each other?”
“Man, do you want this woman or what?”
“Yes, but not just for a night, Luke. I’m not in the market for a booty call. I want this woman in my life indefinitely.”
“How can you know that, Matt? You just met her.”
“I know,” Matt replied.
“I can tell you, you definitely won’t have her if you don’t make the call.” Luke pressed on. “And whatever you do, don’t talk lifetime. Think of the here and now.”
Matt took a seat next to his brother, then pulled out his phone. The truth was, he did not have a lot of experience with the first call. When he and Luke were on the football team, both in high school and college, women were easy. They came with little effort and open arms, in addition to other things. Since then Matt had had one serious relationship that went sour and simply hadn’t tried anymore. Leah was the first woman to make him think of a life together. He shook his head as he hesitated.
“This is crazy.”
Luke chuckled. “All the mind processing you are doing is what’s crazy. It’s a woman, man. Make the call.”
Matt nodded, then pushed the button to Leah Saxton.
“What’s happening,” Luke asked anxiously.
Matt looked at him as if he was crazy. “It’s ringing.”
“Oh. She hasn’t answered yet.”
Matt simply glared at him. Then she answered. Matt stood up.
“Hello, Leah, it’s Matt Lassiter.”
“Matt, hi.”
He smiled. “Hi.”
“What she say…what she say?” Luke asked.
Matt turned away from him. “I know this is going to sound like a line, but I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since we met at lunch.”
“No…no…don’t say that!” Luke complained.
“That is good to hear,” Leah replied. “I was praying it wasn’t just me.”
“No, not at all. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”
“If you had, it would not have mattered. Do you have plans for the evening?”
Matt smiled. “My plans to build a fire pit changed the moment I walked into the conference room.”
“What in the hell are you doing?” Luke threw his hands in the air. “Don’t talk to the woman about a fire pit.”
“You don’t have to change your plans,” Leah replied. “I’m pretty handy with pavers.”
“I’d hate to put you to work on my house on our first date.”
“First date?”
He heard her chuckle as Luke grumbled in the background.
“First and last.”
“Can I take that as an indication more dates are in the works?”
“Leah Saxton, I have a feeling we are going to have a lifetime of dates.”
“Oh hell, you did it now,” Luke huffed. “You done scared the woman off.”
“I like the sound of that,” Leah returned.
“I have a bottle of wine and a few steaks to throw on the grill. If I’m going to put you to work, the least I can do is feed you.”
“You feed her and you will never be able to get rid of her,” Luke declared.
“You know, I have half of a peach cobbler left over for dessert.”
Matt smiled. “I’m sending you my address.”
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
Matt smiled as he disconnected the call. “I’m going to need you to disappear.”
“She fell for that?” Luke asked, shocked.
Matt ran up the stairs. “I’m going to take a shower. Be gone by the time I come back down.”
As requested, twenty minutes later when Matt came down the stairs, his house was empty. Luke had disappeared. Dressed in a tank top and grey sweats, Matt walked into the kitchen to take a bottle of wine from the cooler. He pulled two steaks from the freezer and placed them in the refrigerator. He checked to make sure he had the ingredients for a salad, and butter plus sour cream for the potatoes.
Satisfied the food items were in place, he then turned to the music. He walked over to the built-in stereo system to select music for the afternoon and if he was lucky, she would hang around after dinner. The buzz from his cell phone captured his attention. He ran over to the island, looked at the picture of the caller then smiled.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, Matthew. Luke mentioned you were expecting company so I’m not going to hold you long. Just checking to see if you need me to prepare anything for dinner?”
Matt shook his head. “Thanks, Mom, but I think we’re covered.”
“I’m not that far away. It will take me no time to put two plates together and drop them off.”
Matt laughed. “You just want to see who is coming to my house.”
His mother hesitated. “Some of that is true.” She laughed. “Luke said he knows a little about her family.”
“Yes.” Matt nodded. “He told me that too.”
“Well, that’s all you are going to say?”
“Yes, Sally, since I only met her a few hours ago, there isn’t much to tell.”
“You just met her and you are inviting her into your home? Is that safe, Matt?”
“It’s fine, Mom. If I need your help, I will holler. I’m sure you will hear me around the corner.”
“I notice when you think I’m getting into your business you call me Sally. Then when you are trying to reassure me you call me Mom. One day you children are going to learn to appreciate my sixth sense.”
“What is your sixth sense telling you about this?” Matt asked.
“That this is the one.”
Matt laughed. “How can you say that and you haven’t even met her?”
“I can hear it in your voice. You’re excited. When it comes to men, that means something. Women, we get tickled whenever a man looks our way. But for my boys, it’s different. You all know when that one walks into your life. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Thank you for the insight, but I really have to go.”
“Call me later.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen tonight.” Matt smiled. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
He disconnected the call and had just turned to go back to the stereo when the doorbell sounded. Matt checked his watch then walked to the door.