Her shoulders sagged wearily. “I always get to that point.”
Frustration creased his forehead. “So you’re just planning on living the rest of your life in fear, avoiding anything good that comes your way? Because damn it, Savannah, we are good. And you’re a fool to throw it away.” His voice hardened. “I told you how difficult it is for me to talk about my emotions, but I was willing to take the risk, to tell you how I feel.”
Pain circled her heart. “Matt…”
“Whatever,” he muttered darkly. “Obviously you can’t take a risk of your own.”
“That’s not fair,” she protested. “I’ve made it clear from day one what I wanted out of this. I never lied to you, or misled you.”
He released a heavy sigh. “You’re right. You didn’t. But things have changed since day one. We have the potential to be really good together, and you’re too scared to give us a chance.”
To her dismay, tears stung her eyelids. But the fact that she was about to cry only brought a spark of anger to her belly. Why was he pushing her? She’d told him her feelings about relationships. Just because he’d suddenly decided he was in love with her didn’t mean she was going to launch herself into his arms and profess her undying love.
Unbearable silence hung between them, until Matt finally cursed under his breath and took a step back. “Forget it,” he mumbled. “I’m not going to beg you to have a relationship with me. I’m not that guy. But I’m not going to pretend this is just a fling either.”
She blinked, trying to stop the tears from falling.
“So here you go,” he said in a tone lined with resignation. “You’ve got your wish. A couple of weeks of casual, no-string sex. Hope you had fun.”
Without another word, not even a goodbye, he turned his back on her and left the apartment.
Chapter Seven
“Are you drinking?”
The shrill and outraged female voice jolted Matt from his catnap. Cranking open one eyelid, he saw two pretty faces hovering above him. His fuzzy eyesight recognized Annabelle, but it took a few seconds to register the petite brunette beside her as Holly Scott, Carson’s wife. He wasn’t used to the haircut yet. Holly had recently chopped her long brown hair into a chin-length bob, which emphasized her emerald green eyes and the delicate angles of her face.
Propping himself up on the couch cushion with his elbow, he glanced at the half-empty beer bottle on the coffee table and mumbled, “It’s from last night.”
Annabelle planted her hands on her hips. “I can see the condensation dripping down the side. This was just opened.”
Holly rolled her eyes. “It’s ten in the morning, Matt. That’s so pathetic.”
No, what was pathetic was telling a woman he loved her for the first time in his life only to be shut down big-time.
But he decided not to say that aloud.
“Since when did you two become my mother?” he grumbled, sitting up with a tired yawn.
“Since you promised you’d let us borrow your SUV for the wedding today,” Annabelle snapped. “I texted you about it last night and you texted back yeppers. I took that to mean you’d help out.”
He straightened up, rolling his shoulders to get the kinks out. He’d been lying on the couch for about three days now, only dragging himself up to get a beer or use the john. Empty pizza boxes were stacked on the floor and he wrinkled his nose at the stale odor of old beer emanating from the empty bottles littered all over the room.
“Shit, I forgot about that,” he said, shooting them an apologetic look. “Do you just need the keys or am I driving you over to the banquet hall?”
“There’s a ton of stuff to carry in,” Holly said, “so it would be cool if you can come and help unload.”
“You don’t have to stay for the wedding obviously,” Annabelle added.
He lifted his arms above his head and stretched. “Okay. Let me hop in the shower and then I’ll take you.”
Leaving the two of them in the living room, he headed to the bathroom, where he took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and shaved three days’ worth of stubble off his face. Holly was right, he realized as he stared at his tired eyes in the steamy mirror. He was pathetic. So things had ended with Savannah. Big fucking deal. It only went to show that his initial decision to stay single had been a smart one. Love made people go nuts. His sisters had turned into mushy, sappy idiots, and so had he, the night he’d told Savannah how he felt about her.
He was better off alone. Better off reverting back to his old lifestyle, making sure things stayed light, and keeping his damn feelings to himself.