Matt looked down at her and winked before sitting down at the other end. "Hey, buddy! How's London?"

Chapter 7.

Out of the corner of his eye, Matt could see that something was wrong. Vivienne was biting on her bottom lip and seemed lost in her own world. Everything had seemed fine when he came in-she was laughing with Aaron and smiling. But now? Not so much.

He didn't rush his friend off the phone, but he was certainly glad when Aaron said he had to go. Hanging up the phone, he placed it on the coffee table and shifted so he was facing Vivienne on the sofa. "So he might be back by the end of next week."

She nodded but didn't quite meet his gaze.

"And the weekend with your parents? That should be interesting."

Vivienne shrugged. "I suppose."

Yeah, something was off. While Matt knew she was entitled to her private thoughts, he couldn't help his overwhelming urge to take care of her and make her smile.

"And it should be a hoot when he brings them home with him to visit. I told him I'd just move in here with you, and he said that was fine."

"Uh-huh."

Okay. Enough. "Viv?" he said a little firmly and waited for her to look up at him. "What's going on? What did Aaron say to upset you?"

She looked away before coming to her feet and walking to the kitchen. "Nothing. It's...it's nothing." She pulled open the refrigerator and began rummaging around. "We were going to go for that beer-can chicken tonight, right?"

He was beside her in an instant, shutting the refrigerator door and backing her up against it. "I don't give a damn about dinner right now. I want to know why you're upset."

She looked up at him, her big, brown eyes filled with emotion, and he swore that look reached down into his soul and squeezed. What the hell could Aaron possibly have said to her?

"Like I said, it's nothing. I just...I get this way whenever the topic of my parents comes up."

For some reason, he didn't quite believe her. But why would she lie?

"So you're upset because he's spending the weekend with them?"

She shook her head. "No," she sighed. "It's just...he told me they invited friends over to have dinner with the three of them. They never do that when I visit. When I'm there, it's just the three of us, sitting in awkward silence. I would kill to have some distractions around them. But for whatever reason, they go out of their way to make Aaron comfortable and in the complete opposite direction with me."

He could see why she would find that upsetting. Pulling her into his embrace, he held her tight, kissing the top of her head. "What can I do?" he asked softly. "What can I do to make you feel better?"

"You're already doing it," she replied softly. "I'll be fine. It just...it pisses me off."

"Does Aaron know you feel this way?"

"I'm not mad at him, and I don't begrudge him his weekend with them. It's just something that's always been this way and neither of us can understand why."

"I'm sorry," he murmured, wanting more than anything to take away all of her hurts and disappointments.

Vivienne pulled back and smiled up at him. "So, come on. I can't believe you've been standing in the kitchen this long without calculating how long it will be until we eat."

Turning them around, he led her out of the kitchen and back to the sofa, where he cradled her in his lap as they sat down.

"Um, Matt?"

"Like I said, I don't give a damn about dinner right now. It's you I'm concerned about." He tucked her head onto his shoulder and simply enjoyed the feel of her in his arms. She let out a shuddery sigh, and he still felt like there was more to her mood than she was telling him, but he didn't want to push. "How about we get takeout tonight? I'm in the mood for Chinese."

"Oh...that does sound good. But are you sure?"

He nodded. "I'll even go with you to pick it up."

Vivienne sat straight up. "Really?"

He nodded again. "I'm not saying I'm ready to go out wearing a 'Matty Reed' neon sign or anything, but I think I can deal with going to pick up food without having to be too incognito."

"You mean you'll leave your Unabomber getup at home this time?" she teased.

"It wasn't that bad."

"Matt? It was more than bad. You wore sunglasses, a hat, and a hood inside a movie theater. It was overkill."

"Fine. It was a little excessive. This time, I'll only wear the hat. And maybe the glasses."

"It's already getting dark out," she pointed out.

"Maybe my eyes are light sensitive. Besides, celebrities do that sort of crazy thing all the time. Wearing sunglasses is acceptable at all hours of the day and night."

"It's weird."

"Says you."

"Damn straight."

He hugged her close. "Let's look at the menu and call it in. I don't think it's warm enough tonight to eat outside, though."

She looked at him strangely. "We haven't eaten outside that much since you've been here. I seem to recall us enjoying quite a few meals right here inside my house. And Aaron's."

He leaned in close and kissed her. "Yeah, but that first night I was here we ate Chinese food out on the deck. I remember looking at you and thinking how beautiful you were."

"You did not!" she said with a chuckle.

He nodded. "I did. I totally did. Then all I could think about was how mean you were to me."

Vivienne elbowed him in the ribs. "That was because I could tell you didn't remember seeing me two years ago. You looked at me like you hadn't seen me since I was a kid."

"I know, and I believe we've already established how sorry I am," he said softly, peppering her cheek with soft kisses. "But I'd be more than willing to make it up to you, repeatedly, if that's what it takes."

"Hmm," she purred. "I may need a little reminding. What did you have in mind?"

"I thought dinner could wait, and I'll show you right now all the things that raced through my mind when I first saw you."

"Right here?" she asked breathlessly.

"Right now," he murmured, his breath hot against her cheek.

"Dinner can wait."

It was after nine when Vivienne pulled up in front of the Chinese restaurant. Matt looked straight ahead and sighed.

I can do this.

He'd been chanting that to himself since she'd called in the order.

He wasn't a coward. He was ready to stop hiding, and this seemed like a safe way to start.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Vivienne said from behind him. Her tone was light and sweet, and he knew she was being supportive.

"No one's even in there," he said, noticing the lack of other customers. One of the perks of ordering late, he supposed. Turning toward her, he kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be right out."

With a deep breath, he climbed from the car and went into the restaurant. The woman behind the counter barely looked at him as she confirmed which order he was picking up. In less than two minutes, he was walking back out to Vivienne's car. When he was seated beside her, he sighed.

"Well that was pretty anticlimactic," he murmured.

"And you were so scared," she cooed.

Matt turned to her and laughed. "Such a smart-ass. Just for that, I get extra dumplings."

"What?" she cried. "That's no fair!"

"I was the one who was very nearly traumatized here," he said, doing his best to keep a straight face. "I think I deserve a reward."

Vivienne studied him for a moment. "Okay," she said with a sigh, pulling out of the parking space. "If that's what you want to claim as your reward, I guess we're good."

"Wait. What?"

She shrugged. "I mean, I had a whole other option prepared for after dinner to reward you for doing this, but if you're happy with a couple of extra dumplings, who am I to complain?"

"No, no, no, you can't just throw something like that out there. I didn't even know there was a possibility of another reward. I can't be held to a decision I made without knowing all the facts," he reasoned. "So, um, what did you have in mind?"

With a dramatic sigh, Vivienne shook her head. "No, no, no," she mimicked. "I shouldn't have said anything. You seemed perfectly happy with your bounty of dumplings." Reaching over, she patted him on the knee. "They're all yours."

"But...but I don't want them now." He pouted. "I want to know what your reward was going to be. I bet it was going to be something sexy." He looked over at her. "It was going to be sexy, right?"

She shrugged again. "Doesn't matter," she said lightly.

Slouching down into the passenger seat, he stewed. Me and my big mouth, he thought. Always thinking of the food, and now I'm missing out on something potentially sexy. Thoughts of Vivienne sprawled out on the living room floor earlier flooded his mind. He felt himself getting hard. Then, images of her on the bed with the chocolate sauce flashed too. He had to shift slightly to accommodate the hard-on he was now sporting.

The remainder of the drive was spent in silence, and Matt forced himself to push the erotic pictures from his mind as he thought about baseball stats and sandwiches and, finally, Star Wars.

"Let's just go inside and enjoy our dinner."

Matt looked up and saw they were pulling into the driveway.

He watched Vivienne climb from the car and made sure he was a little more in control before he followed. It didn't take too long, and before he knew it, they were unpacking the food at her dining room table.

"Or would you rather eat in the living room?" she asked. "We could find something to watch-a movie or something if you'd prefer."

Matt studied her for a moment and then shook his head. "No. I don't want to watch TV, I'd rather sit here and talk to you," he said sincerely.

She looked at him oddly. "Really? We talk all the time. All day. Every day. I would have thought you'd be tired of the sound of my voice by now." She chuckled, but Matt could tell it was out of nerves, like she wasn't sure of herself, and it just drew him to her more.

Stepping in close, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love the sound of your voice," he murmured against her cheek. "And I love our conversations. I've never met anyone like you before. I love getting your opinion on things, and more than anything, I love how we never really run out of things to talk about."

She seemed to melt against him, and he smiled, pulling her in close. "I love all that too," she said softly.

It would have been so easy to say that he loved her. It was right there on the tip of his tongue. But would she even believe him? Hell, he could hardly believe it himself. They barely knew each other, and yet Matt felt like he knew her better than anyone he'd ever met in his life. And, if he wanted to get technical, they had known one another for years.

"C'mon," she said, pulling back slightly. "Let's eat before this gets cold."

He allowed the distraction, and when they sat down and began opening containers and doling out food, he looked over at her and said, "So where should we go tomorrow?"

The clock on the bedside table said three a.m.

Vivienne sighed quietly and willed her brain to shut up and let her sleep.

But it wouldn't.

Earlier, Matt had gotten restless in his sleep again. She was beginning to notice a pattern. He never talked about it, but if she had to guess, it was a recurring dream that plagued him. It broke her heart to know that something was troubling him so deeply, and it bothered her more than it should have that he wouldn't talk to her about it. She would do whatever she could to take that pain away from him.

Beside her, Matt sighed and snuggled closer. He was wrapped around her, her back against his chest, their legs tangled together. She loved it.

Love.

They had used that word a lot tonight, and lately it seemed like it was happening more and more. There had definitely been...a vibe earlier. Matt's voice was so intense and serious when they had gotten home with their dinner. As he'd held her close and told her all the things he loved about her, her heart had stopped as she waited for him to say that he loved her.

But he hadn't.

And she still wasn't sure if she was disappointed by that or not.

Did she love Matt? Yes. Did it freak her out? Yes. Not so much the loving him part, but loving someone who was clearly going to leave.