Savannah nodded. “I’m holding on to all the receipts and invoices like you asked.”
“Thanks.” With a faint smile, Annabelle leaned against the counter and added, “So how are things with Matt?”
Her guard instantly shot up. She knew Annabelle was dating Matt’s best friend, and a part of her wondered if Matt had put Annabelle up to this. Was he fishing for information? After his whole date-for-sex trade, she wouldn’t put it past him.
But although she wouldn’t admit it to him, she really was starting to enjoy their dates. Yesterday they’d gone for lunch at a fish and chips place near the harbor, and when he picked her up after work that evening, they’d seen a new horror movie playing at the Royal, an old-style cinema house near San Diego’s East Village.
The talking wasn’t bad either. She loved hearing about Matt’s family and he never ran out of stories to tell about his four older sisters. Apparently they fussed over their baby brother like mother hens. His mother and grandmother sounded sweet as hell, though she could understand why he felt smothered by them sometimes. Who wouldn’t, when your mother insisted on sewing nametags with bright red fabric hearts into every piece of clothing you owned?
But she knew she couldn’t keep letting it happen anymore. All the dates, the long talks…way too close to relationship territory here, and she knew from past experience just how bad she was at those. Back when she’d actually cared to find someone to share her life with, she’d only ended up broken-hearted. Now she knew better, and no matter how much she liked Matt O’Connor, she needed to put some distance between them before anything got too serious.
Sensing Savannah’s hesitation, Annabelle’s smile widened. “He didn’t ask me to ask, I swear. It’s just that we haven’t seen him around the building the past week, so I figured he was hanging out at your place.”
“Yeah, we’ve been hanging out,” she said carefully.
“Does he make you melt in bed every time he calls you darlin’?” Annabelle mimicked Matt’s faint drawl, then laughed. “I just about did.”
Savannah’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait—you slept with Matt?”
Looking sheepish, the other woman nodded. “Yeah. I figured he’d tell you.”
“Oh. He didn’t.”
The icy jealousy coursing through her veins came out of nowhere. For some reason, her claws were out at the revelation that Matt and Annabelle had slept together. She tried to stop the annoying reaction, but it only intensified when she unwittingly pictured Matt and Annabelle naked together.
“It was just a one-night thing,” Annabelle added. “Ryan was there too.”
Savannah pasted a bright smile on her face, but she suspected Annabelle could see right through it. The other woman’s cautious tone had spoken volumes. “I’m sure it was fun,” she said, cringing at her overly cheerful voice.
Annabelle let out a laugh. “You’re jealous.”
“And you’re laughing about it,” she grumbled. “Aren’t you nice.”
“I’m not laughing at you. Well, I guess I am, a little, but that’s just because you’re totally busted.” Annabelle’s brown eyes shone with delight. “You keep acting like you don’t care about Matt one way or the other, but this proves that you do.”
Savannah eyed her suspiciously. “Did you…you purposely told me about having sex with Matt, didn’t you? You wanted to see my reaction.”
“Yep,” Annabelle said, making no move to apologize. “I just know he’s really into you, and I wanted to make sure you felt the same way. Obviously you like him more than you’re willing to admit.”
She wanted to protest, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Annabelle probably wouldn’t believe her, anyway, if she insisted she didn’t have deep feelings for Matt.
But she didn’t have deep feelings for him. She liked him. She loved having sex with him. That was as deep as her feelings ran.
Surrrre, said the mocking voice in her head.
Gritting her teeth, she ignored the internal taunt. Even her own consciousness was trying to convince her she was in love with the guy or something. Which she wasn’t. She didn’t do pesky emotions like love. Apparently she liked Matt O’Connor enough to experience a spark of jealousy at the thought of him with another woman, but that did not mean she liked him enough to have a relationship with him.
She suddenly realized she needed to make it clear to him where she stood. Matt and Annabelle believed there was some love connection happening between them, and who could blame them? Here she was, going to movies and lunch dates with the guy, listening to his funny family anecdotes. No wonder Matt and his friends thought this whole fling was turning into something more.
Maybe it was time to set them straight.