Madeline shrugged. “Who knows with Matthew? I’m sure you weren’t mean. But I think whatever you said to him must have struck a chord.”
“Do you think I should apologize?” Skye was serious. She didn’t think she’d said anything wrong, but she also didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Particularly Matthew’s. She’d always sensed a secret fragility hiding underneath his strong, sober, unflappable demeanor.
For no particular reason, she remembered one day back in high school. She was walking into school when she saw Matthew arriving with a cast on his wrist. Being her (and with fewer boundaries since she’d been very young), she’d gone over immediately to ask him what happened.
He’d said he broke it falling off his bike on the previous evening. She’d asked a bunch more questions and slowly discovered that he’d gone home with his injured risk and told his mother he’d hurt himself. She’d been busy baking for a community event and told him to check with his father. His father had been busy working in his home office and told him to get his mom to take care of it. Madeline hadn’t been able to drive and hadn’t been home that evening anyway.
So Matthew had driven himself to the hospital with a broken wrist.
The memory hit Skye so hard and so suddenly that her vision blurred over briefly. She could well believe that Matthew hadn’t expressed to his parents how badly he was hurt. He’d been quiet and unnaturally composed even as a kid. But still...
Someone should have cared enough to take him to the hospital. It had really upset her when she’d first heard the story—although she’d had to drag the details out of him—and it upset her again now.
“I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings,” she whispered.
“I’m sure you didn’t. There’s not a mean bone in your body.” Ria stepped closer, holding a pretty red dress that would look gorgeous with her long dark hair and slim figure. “If you’re worried, you can just check in about it with him. He’s still coming to the reunion, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Madeline confirmed. “He’s coming. He’s driving in on Friday and is planning to stay all weekend. He’s staying at my apartment, since it’s mostly empty now.”
Madeline was engaged to the county’s sheriff and was mostly living in his house now, but she still kept her old apartment above one of the storefronts in downtown Azalea. She wasn’t planning to give it up until she and Ken got married in a few months.
Skye had occasionally considered taking the apartment herself after Madeline moved out all the way, but she’d rather have a house with a yard so she could get a dog.
“I’ll try to talk to him then,” Skye said, rather nervous at the thought of having another deep conversation with Matthew. “I really didn’t mean to hurt his feelings or anything. I’m not sure why I even... It just kind of came out.” With a sigh, she added, “The truth is he made me feel like a kid, and I just lost it.”
Madeline reached over and squeezed her arm briefly before she turned back to the rack of clothes. “I’m sure he deserved it. He’s always been too uptight and kind of smug. Like he wants to be different than he actually is. I don’t know why.”
Skye was trying to focus on dresses too, but they were all blending in together as she mentally saw Matthew’s handsome, serious face. “It’s like he doesn’t want anyone to see him as less than perfect.” The words came to her without conscious reflection. They just felt right. “He doesn’t want anyone to see him as young and vulnerable. So it makes him put on this front.”
When silence greeted her comment, she turned to look at her friends. Ria and Madeline were both staring at her in astonishment.
“What?” she asked, shifting from foot to foot.
“That’s exactly right about Matthew,” Madeline said. “How did you know that?”
Skye’s cheeks warmed again like she’d given too much away. “I don’t know. Just a guess really. I could be wrong.”
“You’re not wrong. He is like that. He’s always been a perfectionist, and I guess he’s trying to shape his life to fit some ideal he has in mind.” Madeline shook her head. “He’s a really good guy, and I love him more than anything. But I don’t think he’s happy.”
Skye didn’t either, although she didn’t say so. “He is a good guy, and he’s got a good life. A lot of people love him.”
Ria reached over to put an arm around Madeline. “Jacob tried to run away in a different way, and he came home at last. Matthew will too.”
Madeline’s face relaxed. “Yeah. I know. And it’s not like he has to move back to Azalea or anything. He’s not that far away. I just want him to be more himself. To... be happy.”
“He will be,” Skye said. “Just give him some time.”
Madeline’s eyes flashed with a glint of mischief. “The truth is I’ve always secretly hoped that he’d finally open his eyes and see that you’ve been—”
“No!” Skye exclaimed, her heart jumping in her chest. “Don’t even start that. I’m not a little girl with a crush anymore, and Matthew isn’t going to fall for me. I’ve finally come to terms with that, so don’t you dare get me thinking in the wrong direction again.”
“Okay. All right. I won’t tease you about it. You’ve been doing great lately.”
“I think so too. I’ve really moved on, and I think I could even be excited about Jon. So I want to find the perfect dress for when he takes me to the reunion next week.”
Skye had met Jon through a dating app, and they’d gone out three times this month. He was cute and smart and interesting, and he seemed to really like her. She didn’t have flutters or anything about him, but there was potential, and she
