38 - Matthew

Hi! It would mean so much to me if you check out my social media accounts: Insta, FB page, TikTok, and Twitter. The links are on my profile. Really, it would mean the world to me. ❤️

Matthew tugged on Christian's arm which seemed to have him in a headlock. He looked over to Cade who was nodding at their mother in approval. They were moving around the Chesterfield sofa for about half an hour.

Matthew knew better. Cade just wanted to make the moving around to stop, so he'd probably approve even if they put the damn sofa straight into the furnace.

Nathan laid the ottoman carefully on the spot she instructed.

"Christian, I missed you too. But you need to stop choking me," Matthew finally says.

His brother loosened his arm around his neck. "Sorry. I didn't realize you don't miss me as much as I do."

"You've been gone just for a few days. Besides, it wasn't like you weren't snuggling with Kylie the whole time." Matthew has an inbox full of evidence. He understands that Christian wanted to show off his flourishing love life, but he draws the line at ten pictures daily.

In the back of his mind, he knows there was something more about it than a full inbox. Christian—including his happily married brothers—makes him feel so single. It hadn't bothered him before, but it does now.

He still doesn't know why, though.

Matthew caught sight of Jessica coming toward the expansive living area. She stood in her yellow halter mini dress, beautiful green eyes finding his. Her hair rested over her shoulders like breathtaking strings of fire.

Her lips curled into a pretty smile as she waved him over.

Christian gave him a teasing nudge on the arm.

He ignored it.

"What's up?" He asks, trying not to pay attention to the idiotic smile on his face.

She clasped a hand around his wrist and pulled him to a corner. "I think I might cancel our trip to Vren's cabin."

"Oh." He could hide the disappointment in his voice, but he couldn't deny that his heart sank to his stomach.

"I have a wedding gig coming up." She scrunched her nose. "My boss needs me to cover for someone."

"It's okay." He hears himself say.

Her eyes glinted. "Really? Okay. Maybe we can go the next day."

He felt a smile bud. "Sure."

She smiled back. "Great! Now, I'm off to your mom's kitchen."

Matthew tried not to laugh at Jess' voracious appetite. Even then, he worries about one thing. Andrei chose today (Jessica is around) to test out his peanut recipe.

"Wait. Do you have your EpiPen with you?"

Jessica turns around. "Yep."

"But that doesn't mean you're going to eat the muffins with peanuts in them, right?"

"No. Of course, not." She beamed, batting her lashes.

"Jessica." Matthew was surprised at how it sounded like a reprimand.

She turns back around, this time with a cheeky smile. She raises her right hand. "I promise, Matty."

He could only sigh as he watched her sashay out of the living room. He was probably too preoccupied to notice that his mother and brothers (including Nathan) were gawking at them like creeps.

Christian walked over to him with a ginormous smirk. "EpiPen? What's next? Wedding guests?"

"I didn't realize things were going this well with you guys," Cade remarked with a ghost of a smile on his face.

Matthew gazed over at Nathan. At least he wasn't making remarks.

As if proving him wrong, Nathan gave him a teasing smile. "Whatever happens happens, right?"

Matthew's mother looks like she's seeing him waiting for his bride at the altar. He has this strong urge to dig a hole and bury himself in it.

Anddd the closest thing to that is to leave the room. Besides, he needs to check and see if Jessica hasn't eaten the forbidden apple yet.

He exited the living room and made his way to the kitchen. However, the women's voices and Andrei's stopped him in his tracks. He didn't mean to eavesdrop on them.

"A wedding gig, huh?" Kathie teased.

Matthew heard them laugh.

"I guess that means a searing wedding hookup," Andrei says in a singsong voice.

Matthew felt a frown form on his face. For some reason, it doesn't sit right with him. What bothers him most is Jessica seemed unbothered to respond. That, or she just has her mouth full of muffins.

"Or she might not be interested." This came from Chassie.

He wanted to give her a big hug for that.

Then, Chassie giggled. "She might not be interested because she's apartment hunting with Nathan's cousin."

They all squealed.

On second thought, no big hug for Chassie.

He likes the Foresters, but he doesn't at the moment.

"Which one? Which one?" Kylie and Chandra chorused.

"It's either Spencer or Colin."

He could hear Chandra screeching like a schoolgirl. "Please, let it be Reese or Walsh."

"There's lots of Foresters to go around. It's hard to choose." This surprisingly came from Kylie.

Ugh. Why is everyone against him today?

He had this childish urge to tell his brothers about their wives/girlfriend mooning over Nathan's cousins.

Chassie cleared her throat. "Reese is off the market. Julie and I have some sort of bet."

There was a moment of silence, but it didn't last long when Chandra spoke. "I hear Nathan's brother is in town?"

Andrei lets out a sharp gasp. "Ichinandra Parkinson, that's not how our mother raised us. Jett Forester is taken. Summer and Jett might not know it yet, but they belong together."

"Why didn't you tell me about that?"

Matthew could sense Chandra's pout.

"Jett is staying for good, but we can't tell Summer about it. If she finds out, she'll stop babysitting my kids to avoid the love of her life."

There were huge gasps.

"Why in the world didn't you tell me? I would've moved in with you in a second!"

His heart skips a beat.

He didn't mind that Jessica sounded like her mouth was full of muffins.

"I can help you set them up. What's with the bet with Julie?"

"I told her she wouldn't be able to snag a date with an Alpha male," Chassie replies, mirth dripping in her voice.

He hears Jessica's sarcastic snort. "I'm betting against you, Chassie dearie. Let's make this official in our group chat."

Wait, they have a group chat?

There were several pings. He assumed that their attentions were now on their phones.

"You're betting this much money?" Kylie questioned. "Wait, Audrey just bet a month-long staycation at Vren's cabin."

This isn't right. He needs to stop eavesdropping.

"Why are you all betting against me? Julie is drop-dead gorgeous. She can have any man she wants. Hell, even I would have sex with her."

Ookkayyy. This is getting sooo uncomfortable.

"We know that she's beautiful. She just can't stand Alpha men."

Matthew was about to step back when the back of his head bumped into something. He turns all the way around.

Christian was clutching his nose, Nathan was covering his left eye, and Cade was rubbing the side of his head.

"What are you guys doing?" He whispers.

"Same thing as you. What was the bet about?" Nathan whispers back.

Matthew shakes his head. "I don't know."

Christian propped an elbow to his waist. "You don't know? Matty, you look like you've been here a while."

Matthew's hand flew to his brother's mouth.

God, this is embarrassing.