Roxy chewed her lip and then gave a wobbly smile. “Thanks. That was kind.”
Mia was ecstatic and insisted on smacking kisses on Matt’s cheek until Roxy finally peeled her away.
By the time they returned to his apartment, it was almost dark.
Frankie arranged the plants on the windowsill in the kitchen. “Do you think he’ll show up?”
“Her ex? I don’t think he’d know to look for her here, but if he does James will deal with him.” Matt consulted a recipe book and gathered the ingredients for a basic red sauce. He wondered how a man could father a child and then have no interest in raising it or protecting it. And in a way, Frankie’s situation was even worse than Roxy’s. Her father had walked out on a child he’d raised for fourteen years. What the hell made a man do that?
“Are you angry?” Frankie washed her hands and reached for a clove of garlic. “Either that onion has offended you, or you’re angry.”
“I’m not angry.”
“You’re upset about Roxy.”
He stared down at his white knuckles and his fingers, clamped around the handle of the knife.
“Not just about Roxy.” He put the knife down slowly. “Are you ever tempted to get in touch with your dad?”
“No.” She took the knife from him and finished chopping. “I thought about it at first, but too many things happened. If we met up now it would just be awkward. I needed him back then, but I don’t need him in my life now.”
“I hate to think of you going through that.”
“It’s okay, Matt.”
“It’s not okay.” The depth of his anger shocked him. “It’s not okay, Frankie.”
She shot him a puzzled look and put the knife down. “What’s the matter? Normally you are Mr. Cool. I’m not used to seeing you like this.”
He wasn’t used to feeling like this. This dark, ugly cocktail of emotions was poisoning his usual rational approach to life. “You were left to cope with it alone. That’s inexcusable.” He dragged his fingers through his hair and tried to calm himself. “No parent should put a child in the position you were in.”
“It was a long time ago. I’ve learned to live with it.”
“Have you?” It was a struggle to keep his voice steady. “He’s the reason you keep things to yourself and don’t trust easily. He’s the reason you’re scared of relationships. Scared to move in here with me.”
“I have moved in here with you.” Her hand covered his. “And I do trust you.”
He stared down at their entwined fingers. Her hand looked small and delicate against his and he felt a surge of protectiveness. “Do you?”
“Yes. I do. Calm down, Matt.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “This will be hard for you to understand because your family is so different from mine but I don’t even care anymore. I have no feelings for my father. He’s a stranger to me.”
“That’s wrong on so many levels.” Comparing it to his relationship with his own father, he pulled her against him. He didn’t feel calm. He didn’t feel calm at all. “I wish I’d been there for you.”
“You’re here now. And that’s what counts.” She eased away from him and finished preparing the food. “What happened to Roxy’s parents?”
“Her father was abusive. I think that’s one reason why Roxy is determined not to go back to Eddy no matter what.” He took the garlic from her, scraped it into the hot oil and lowered the heat. At this rate he was going to burn the food. He had to stop thinking about Eddy. And he had to stop thinking about Frankie’s father. “With everything that happened today, I forgot to ask you how plans for the rehearsal dinner are going. I know it’s an important event for the three of you.” He tried to get a grip on his emotions, but it was disturbingly difficult.
“It’s looking good. I was planning on going into the office tomorrow, but that was before most of today was wiped out.”
“Go. I always build in extra time on every job. We can afford to lose a couple of days.” Breathing deeply, he tipped in the chopped tomatoes and fresh chili and reached for the pasta.
They’d both widened their repertoire and it had become a seamless routine, cooking together and eating together. Sometimes they ate in the kitchen, but usually they took their plates up to the roof terrace and ate while watching the sun set over the Manhattan skyline.
Paige, Eva and Jake often joined them for their traditional movie night, but otherwise they were mostly on their own. Matt knew the others were busy, but he had a feeling they were intentionally keeping their distance.
Right now he could have used the distraction. “James and I will move the log seats tomorrow and there are a couple of guys I can call on to help if I need to.”
“Most of the plants are arriving Wednesday, so I’ll make sure I’m on-site for that.” Giving him a searching look, she took the pasta from him and dropped it into the pan. “You’re still angry.”