Rebound (29 page)

One couple was missing. Matt whispered
that Zipper and his date hadn’t arrived. I was overwhelmed already,
but plastered a smile that didn’t border on psychotic. Within a few
minutes, Zipper arrived with his girlfriend, Jenna. She was
beautiful and belonged in the model section of the dinner party. I
was to remain the lone normal girl in this soirée. I cursed myself
for finally meeting a man that was part of a group of supermodels.
Jenna greeted every man with hugs and kisses, and greeted the
ladies with a handshake. She came over to me and gave me a warm hug
and European kisses on the cheeks. She gave me a heartwarming smile
and welcomed me to the group.

Brady spoke to the group at large,
“Boys and beautiful ladies, we will start dinner in about an hour,
but we men will be meeting in another room. We hope to finish
before dinner is set to be served. Please, spend time together.
Have drinks and eat. We will see you soon.”

With that speech, Matt brought me
close and asked, “Will you be okay?”

I gave him a dazzling smile to rival
all smiles, “Of course. You spend time with your friends.” I gave
him a peck, and ran my thumb on his lips to wipe a tiny smudge that
collected on his bottom lip. He grabbed my hand, gripped my
fingers, and gave me a small smile as he pulled away. The men
walked out of the room. I joined the ladies in the corner of the
room where there were several appetizer plates on a buffet table.
The waiter came around and took drink orders. I didn’t want to
drink alcohol tonight. I ordered a ginger ale and cranberry juice
mix to look like I had a cocktail, and asked the waiter to keep
those coming.

Jenna turned to me, “So, I hear that
Matt’s quite taken with you. Kevin hadn’t heard him so happy in
years. So tell me, how did you two meet?” The other women huddled
and talked a few steps away.

“
I was a patient. It was
completely professional. He’s a member of the gym where I’m
Director of Sales. He showed up that afternoon to work out, but we
didn’t speak until the end of the week when we were both at Lumiere
night club. We started dancing, and we haven’t been apart since.
Well, excluding his business trip. He’s great. How about you and
Zipper? Sorry, I called him that because Matt calls him that, and
he didn’t hide his bromance with Kevin.” I stated.

“
I call him Kevin. I can’t
call him something that you find on almost every article of
clothing.” We laughed. “Kevin and I met in New York City when I was
interning at a large hotel. He was there for a conference and I was
working hospitality for the event. It was a pretty instant
connection. We’ve been dating for two years. I moved to Boston six
months ago, and so far, so good. We haven’t killed each other,
yet.”

“
Are you working in
Boston?”

“
Yes. I work for one of
the companies that Kevin works with. He has an amazing amount of
contacts. All the boys do. So how long have you been working for
the gym?”

“
Just under a year. I
started as interim Director, and I’m still on probation, but hope
to go full Director status in two months.”

“
Had you seen Matt before
at the gym?”

“
To be honest, I wasn’t
noticing anyone at the gym. I was referred to Matt’s practice by a
personal trainer who said he was a member. I only noticed him after
the doctor’s visit. But I thought it was highly inappropriate to
flirt or date my doctor. Thankfully, he didn’t feel the same way.”
I smiled. “So how do you like living in Boston?”

“
I love it. We live in a
Brownstone near Copley that Kevin renovated, so I’m decorating it
right now. I really enjoy my job. It’s challenging. I work for a
large hotelier company. I get to travel quite a bit between Boston
and Las Vegas. We’re also looking to start expanding to Miami. I
can’t wait for those trips. We’ve had so much rain and this was the
worst winter in the Northeast. Kevin and I will be traveling at the
end of the month, so I can finally have a vacation instead of a
working trip.”

“
Oh, where are you
going?”

“
We’re going to The
Seychelles. We get to go to the best places. He works hard, but he
vacations harder. I’m sure Matt will take you on great vacations.
He traveled to so many places with Sonia . . .” She brought her
hand to her lips. “Shit. Sorry. That was rude. I’m a chatterbox and
my filter often stops working.”

“
Jenna, no worries.” I put
my hand on her free hand. “I’m divorced too. We all have a history.
Matt told me that she would come to these dinners too. I know that
you’ve met her and are probably friends.” I did feel a touch of
disappointment at hearing about her. I didn’t even know her name
until Jenna mentioned it.

“
We were friendly, but we
weren’t friends.” She pulled me away from the group and we sat at
the large round table seating ten comfortably. “She was very
haughty. She came from money. These guys all come from money, with
the exception of Lark, but they didn’t behave like her. I shouldn’t
say anything. I’m sorry.”

“
Honestly, I appreciate
the heads up. I don’t know anything about her, how, or why their
relationship ended. So it’s really comforting that I’m not in
competition with his ex.”

“
Oh, you’re definitely
not. I never understood what Matt saw in her. He was in love, so he
definitely was blinded by her charms, but she didn’t have anyone
else under her spell.” I wondered if he was under a spell with
me.

“
I hate to ask, but I
would never ask Matt. Do you know what happened to their
marriage?”

“
I don’t know much. All I
know is she didn’t like how much he traveled outside of the
country. He’d ask her to go with him because they didn’t have
children and she didn’t have a job.” She was a housewife with no
children? How did she spend her day, especially when he was
away?

As if answering my thoughts, Jenna
continued, “She’d shop, go to lunch with her friends and pay for
the entire meal, go on her own trips with her girlfriends.
Basically, she spent her time spending his money. Thankfully, he
had a pre-nup or she would’ve taken half of all that he’s built.
Kevin had one of his associates write it, and she signed it, but
she still contested the pre-nup, and tried to get more of the share
she’d agreed to. In the end he was very generous, just to get out
of the marriage, it had become so bitter. Their divorce made
everyone on edge. They were concerned that their business would
suffer financially from the divorce, but Matt had the sense of
having her sign an ironclad pre-nup. It not only protected him, but
the rest of the guys.” Jenna made many revelations in the short
span of time. It sounded like they were all in business together. I
wondered if they were conducting business right now as they met. I
dared not look at the time for fear of appearing
disinterested.

Jenna was a chatterbox, giving me more
information than I ever expected. I no longer feared Sonia was a
threat to our relationship.

“
Matt is a great guy. I’m
sorry that he suffered so much in his marriage. I guess it can’t
always be a fairy tale ending . . . Jenna, don’t let our divorces
give you pause in your own relationship. I’m sure Matt taught
everyone a lesson through his own experience. Marriage is hard, but
with the right person it’s worth the work. Does that make
sense?”

“
It does make sense. I
hope I didn’t frighten you with Matt’s history. He seems happy with
you. He’s told Zipper how much he’s grown close to you in such a
short time. Fair warning, the others may be concerned that you’re a
gold digger, just because of Matt’s previous choice. Zipper knows
you’re nothing like Sonia. Goodness, I’m revealing so much.” She
took a pause and looked around. “Matt told Zipper that he’s really
serious about you, but he’s concerned that you’re too independent
for him.” Oh, really? I never considered that I’d be too
independent.

“
He’s struggling with how
he likes that you work for a living and have multiple jobs in fact.
However, he’s afraid that you won’t slow down to spend time with
him. He would like for you to be more available. He’d prefer to be
with a woman that would sacrifice her career to be the wife and
mother to the children of a doctor.” She must have seen my eyes
widen in response to the thought that Matt may consider me to be
his future wife and mother of his children. “I’m sorry. It’s too
much. I just want this for him. He’s such a great guy. I think
you’re great for him, but it really isn’t any of my
business.”

“
Jenna, no, I’m okay
talking about this. I just haven’t thought so far into the future
of being a wife and mother. I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to, but
I’m not putting myself in that mind-frame, yet. Can we change the
subject? Tell me about his friends. What’s up with these monthly
meetings?”

“
They’ve been friends for
years . . .” Jenna was interrupted by the women getting seated at
the table. When they took their places, we saw that the men had
entered the room. Each man walked over to his date and took an
empty seat beside her.

Matt walked over to me and sat at the
seat beside me. His legs were wide open to keep me close to his
body. “Hi, babe. Are you okay?” He whispered.

“
Yes, of course. I was
just chatting with Jenna. She kept me company.”

“
Did you talk to the other
girls?”

“
No. We sort of set off
into our own groups and chatted, but I’m very comfortable. Did you
have a good meeting?”

“
Yeah. Not a big deal. Are
you hungry?” He’s always so attentive.

“
A little. I didn’t get to
try any of the appetizers over there.”

“
Let me get you something
before we order. I’ll be right back.”

I turned to Jenna and Zipper. “I’m
really happy to meet you, Perla. Matt speaks highly of you.” I
smiled.

“
Thank you. It’s nice to
meet you too. Matt said you’re nothing but trouble and that I
should stay away from you.” I said with a mischievous grin. And the
three of us laughed. “He said you’re a great friend, a brother, and
I’m honored to meet you. And Jenna is such a lovely lady. She
embraced me and made me feel comfortable.” I smiled at Jenna and
she grabbed my hand.

Matt returned to the table with a
plate of assorted appetizers, which he set before me. I gave him a
peck on the lips, thanking him for his care of me. I took a piece
of shrimp and dipped it in the aioli sauce. He and Zipper pulled
their chairs out and talked for a bit behind me and Jenna. I
offered Jenna the plate of appetizers to share. We chatted about
various interests, and found out we were both dancers. She stopped
dancing in high school, and she sounded awed that I attended the
Conservatory for two years. She offered to take us to the ballet.
Apparently, Zipper funds various artistic programs around Boston,
and he has season tickets to the Boston Ballet.

A clinking glass stopped the chatter
around the room. I looked to my right and Brady who was seated
beside Matt stood and called the group to order. “Good evening
everyone. The waiter will be going around to take your order. The
condensed menu is on your plate before you. The chef has prepared a
special menu for us tonight. We hope everyone gets to enjoy our
time together. Please eat and drink in friendship. Salud.” Everyone
raised their drink in toast and answered ‘salud’ in
response.

I took the menu in hand and read
through the choice of entre. I decided on the monkfish over the
pearled barley with vegetables. Matt ordered the short ribs over
polenta. As he spoke to Zipper, he held me at my waist. While I
loved his need to keep bodily contact, his choice in body part was
discomfiting. I felt insecure in a room filled with waifs; even
Jenna was tall and slender.

After several more minutes of
conversation, our first course was brought in. There was a petit
plate of a savory dish. I ate slowly, even though I could’ve
inhaled in one bite. Matt talked to Brady, while Zipper talked to
Lark. Jenna and I ate quietly, chatting about contemporary culture.
The unanswered question that I asked about the connection between
these five men lingered in the air.

I heard a question, however I was
unsure if it was directed at me. Matt touched my wrist. I looked to
him. Matt said, “Babe, Brady asked you a question.”

“
Oh, I’m sorry.” I smiled
after wiping my lips.

“
I asked if you were
having a good night.”

“
I am. Thank you. This is
a lovely place and the food so far is incredible. The place looks
new. Had you eaten here before?”

“
I own the restaurant. One
of many. Maybe you’ve gone to one of them.” He sounded like a cocky
son of a bitch.

“
I’m sure it will continue
to be very successful. I can’t say that I’ve been to any
restaurants lately, other than Cocorico for a friend’s bridal
shower, but it’s owned by a family member of a friend.”

“
Cocorico approached me to
invest when they first started. They have great food. Who knew
Chinese Caribbean food would be a great fusion?”

“
Right? Well, I’ll have to
get a list of your other restaurants and check out the cuisine.” I
smiled and made sure my smile reached my eyes, knowingly having no
intention of patronizing any other place he owns unless I’m dragged
by Matt. Brady stared into me. I could tell I wasn’t his type based
on his blonde bombshell beside him, but I was slightly creeped out
by his intense glare.