Page 37 of Worth the Fall

Patrick smacked his shoulder. “I don’t know Bobby Flay, idiot.”

“I do,” Matthew said, and we all stared at him. “What? He was a big hockey fan.”

“Then,youinvite him over,” Patrick sniped.

Clara started stomping her little feet, suddenly appearing before us.

“Why do you guys always fight?” Clara asked, and the three of us each dropped to our knees in order to look her in the eyes.

“We’re not fighting,” Matthew said.

“We’re just playing,” Patrick added.

“Matthew’s annoying,” I said at the same time, and Clara shot me a look that told me I wasn’t being very nice.

“I want to show you something,” Patrick said as he stood back up and reached for Clara’s hand.

“Is it another dog?” she asked.

“It might be better,” he responded.

“Better than a dog?” Her tone was so shocked that I couldn’t help but smile. She was so overly animated sometimes, and I loved it.

The two of them disappeared as I tried to figure out how Patrick’s overly fancy oven worked before Matthew stepped in to help. He seemed to know a hell of a lot about expensive appliances. Which made sense, considering he was the richest person in our family. He’d probably been surrounded by luxury like this whenever he traveled with his team.

“You know he built this kitchen for her, right?” Matthew looked right at me, as if expecting me to disagree.

“I do.”

“What happens if she doesn’t come back?” he asked.

I had been wondering about that a lot lately. Addison had been gone for years now, and the longer she stayed away, the less likely it was that she’d ever come home.

“Then, he’ll probably burn it to the ground with that fucking Nick Jonas song playing in the background,” I said in a joking tone, but I one hundred percent meant it.

“I swear to God, if I never hear that song again, it will be too soon.” Matthew ran a hand down his face. “Anyway, subject change. That new neighbor I was telling you about...” His tone turned mischievous, and chills instantly coursed down my spine.

“Why are you saying it like that? Why does your face look like that?” I poked at the smirk he couldn’t seem to stop, and he swatted my hand away.

“’Cause my new neighbor is Brooklyn.”

The way he said it made my heart stop and the air around me disappear. He sounded interested in her—or at least interested in fucking her. With Matthew, I never could tell. And I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it one single bit.

“She’s way hotter than I remember,” he added, and a sound I couldn’t stop tore from my throat.

“Stay away from her,” I demanded.

“Why?” He practically laughed in my face as he asked it.

“She’s an employee.”

“She’s notmyemployee,” he argued.

“She’s an employee of the resort our family owns. It isn’t appropriate,” I said, using the same logic I’d apply to myself if needed down the road. I barely even knew the woman, but I’d already fantasized about the things I could do to her.

Clara and Patrick came running down the stairs, and I was still fuming as my daughter latched on to me.

“You have to come see! Come on, Daddy.”