Page 133 of His Secret
“Do you have a few minutes?”
“Yeah, what’s going on? What happened?”
Matías walks a little closer, his face a mirror of what I imagine mine looks like.
“My name’s Raphael. I’m from Liberty Mortgage, and we’d?—”
“Oh, fuck off,” I say before ending the call. Matías cocks his head. “Fucking scam calls.”
Matías visibly relaxes and we both begin to laugh.
“Jesus Christ. I thought it was gonna be bad.”
“You’re gonna have to block that number.”
“I’ve blocked three already. They’re so fucking annoying.”
I pull at my tie, then unbutton my shirt before taking them both off and tossing them onto the back of one of the dining room chairs. I finally toe off my work shoes, leaving them in the kitchen.
“Well, I guess I’m gonna go,” Matías says, taking a couple steps backward. “If you need to take off tomorrow, that’s fine. Let me know and I’ll cover for you.”
I walk him toward the front door. “Thanks. Yeah, I’m not sure what will be best in this situation. To stay here and argue about it all day, or leave and let her cool off until she’s ready to talk.”
“Just let me know.”
I nod, stopping a couple steps from the door. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t go over well.”
“I guess I didn’t really expect that it would.”
“Like I said, you’re giving her a chance at a life shedeserves. To find someone who can love her the way she wants.”
I rest my hand on the doorknob. “I thought I was doing that for you, too. But you know how much I hurt you. How mad you were at me and for how long. I’ve just done the same thing to her.”
His brows knit together. “You thought you were giving me an opportunity at something better?”
“You deserved better than what I could’ve given you back then…which was nothing.”
“I had everything I needed with you. I told you I was willing to wait.”
I grab his hand and squeeze it. “It’s amazing.”
“What is?” he asks with a smile.
“How all this time can pass, and yet, I still look at you and feel exactly as I did when I was twenty-one.”
His expression changes slightly, smile falling, eyes widening. “The same way?”
I step forward, grabbing the side of his face with one hand and pressing my mouth to his. I give him a couple quick kisses. “Maybe not exactly the same. Maybe more.”
Matías wraps his arm around me, pulling me into him as he deepens the kiss. After a minute, he pulls away.
“Maybe we should discuss this more later.”
I nod. “Yes, we should.”
“Okay. Well, I’m gonna go.”