Matthew took this opportunity to wrap Erica in his arms. He put his lips closer to hers and drank deeply. "Honey, I feel a little dizzy."
His voice was soft and seductive, like music to her ears. She hugged him happily. "Come lean on me. I'll help you in."
"Okay. You're so good to me."
The couple finally entered the villa. Erica kicked off her shoes and bent down to take Matthew's shoes off as well. He leaned against a wall for support.
Realizing what she was about to do, he yanked his foot away from her. "I'll do it myself!" He quickly took off his shoes and put on the house shoes.
"We'd better get you upstairs," Erica said. "Let me help you," she continued. 'We'd better take the elevator; we're both pretty beat.'
Erica had figured out the best way upstairs, but the man wasn't heading for the elevator. He stayed in the living room.
Confused, she looked at the man who stood rooted to the spot and asked, "What are you doing? Let's go!"
Matthew held her in his arms and cupped her cheeks. "Honey, do you love me?" His warm breath fell on her face.
She blushed and said, "What do you think?" 'Didn't I already tell him I love him?'
The man lowered his head and kissed her on the lips. "I want to hear it again." His voice was deep and hoarse.
The tenderness in his eyes and voice melted her heart. She asked uncertainly, "Matthew, is there a reason you're acting like a spoiled kid?"
He reminded her a lot of Adkins and Boswell when they wanted something from her. They came to her trying to butter her up. They looked gentle but a little cold.
She was now sure they got this from Matthew.
Colman and Damian were more like her. They often played it cute and sweet.
Embarrassed, Matthew raised his voice and retorted, "Spoiled? Seriously?" How could he act like a spoiled child? That was not like him. If word got out about that, wouldn't he become a laughingstock?
Erica stepped away from him and said, "Yeah. You should take a look in a mirror. If you're just trying to get something out of me, I'm not saying it. It doesn't matter anyway, does it?"
Matthew grabbed her wrist, stopping her right there. "It matters to me. Now say it!" This woman would drive him crazy sooner or later!
Of course he cared whether she loved him or not.
Erica snickered. "Okay, let's say I do say it. What's in it for me?"
"Seriously?" He looked at her clothes and fought the impulse to tear them from her. "I'm all yours tonight. So where do you want to do it? In the living room, dining room? Maybe on the sofa, out on the balcony..." Seeing her face turn as red as a ripe apple, he chuckled and added, "Wherever it happens, I'll make sure you have fun, too!"
Erica gritted her teeth. 'Wow! Really? This is so not cool!' "Not happening. I'm going to sleep, and you should too!" She just wanted to get some rest.
Matthew seemed to take great delight in flirting with her. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe not. He mimed taking off his clothes. "Come on, Erica. Take it all off! Do this for me, and everything I own is yours! Even me!"
The woman's reaction was beyond Matthew's wildest dreams. Her eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Of course!" This woman was still as lovely as she ever was!
Erica immediately took his hand and guided him to the elevator. "Let's get to the room! I'll take off everything and you'll be penniless!"
Matthew just stood there. When she turned to leave, he said, "No. I want to see you strip those clothes off right here, right now. We'll go back to our room later."
'Here?' Looking at the large living room, Erica hesitated.
The living room was big and bright. She didn't feel comfortable doing anything right there.
Matthew seemed to know what she was thinking. He smiled and took out his phone. As he tapped on his phone, several lights in the living room faded out, and finally, only the lights by the stairs were lit.
Erica crossed her arms over her chest in the dim light and warned the man nervously, "Don't do anything stupid!" 'This is the living room. What if our kids come in all of a sudden? The bedroom is better. That way we can lock the door, ' she thought.
"I won't." He wouldn't do anything stupid. But this wasn't stupid at all!
They stood there, staring at each other. "Don't touch me," the woman said.
"I won't," he said, inching closer to her.
A moment later, the woman said, "I mean it!"
"Okay!"
The moment hung in the air as if frozen. Time seemed to freeze. But she missed his touch as much as he missed hers. Finally, the woman said, "Alright, come on!"
Just like that, the two shared their bodies in the living room.
And, at last, Erica relented. She said "I love you," over and over, as they explored each other's bodies.
Erica was soaking in the tub after midnight, trying to recover from lovemaking. She was sore and tired. The man came in, and she only had the energy to groan at him. 'I guess that's what they mean about dying for money.'
Matthew kissed her slightly swollen lips and said, "I'll carry you to bed after I catch a shower."
'That's more like it!'
But Erica couldn't help thinking something was wrong. She had said "I love you" to Matthew many times during the course of the night. But he hadn't said it to her once!
What could she do to make Matthew, the man who always locked his feelings away, confess his love to her?
Three days later, Matthew was poking around the safe. He found some items were missing!
He knew Erica had been staying home and behaving herself. Since he had her there, he didn't need to look at the things in his safe. Those items were what kept him sane when she ran off for three years.
He had something to put in the safe. When it was safely tucked inside, he went to look at the photo of teenaged Erica, but he couldn't find it at all!
He figured out a couple more things were missing, too. When he calmed down, he remembered that Erica had opened his safe a few days ago. She must have taken the missing items.
That meant she had found the secret buried in his heart for so many years. Matthew's face changed dramatically when he realized it.
He closed the safe, and went to the bedroom to find the woman. She was still editing Dylan's photos. "Give them back to me," he said.
"What?" Erica had forgotten she'd taken anything from the safe, so she was a little confused when Matthew asked her for something.
He was visibly displeased. "You know what I mean."
"How would I know if you don't tell me?" she retorted.
The man's Adam's apple bobbed and he slowly spat out, "The photo." 'And the bottle of stars, the letter she wrote to me, the lock of hair.'
"Oh!" It was not until then that Erica remembered what she had hidden. She had wanted to ask him about those things the day they came back from the zoo, but because he went straight to work, she had never found a chance to ask him.
Keeping this in mind, Erica raised her head and asked the man, "Why did you take a pic of me while I was still a teenager?"
Matthew didn't say anything, like a child who didn't know how to explain his behavior.
"Why did you ask me to fold those stars and say they were for Phoebe?"
The man still kept silent.
Erica withdrew her hands and said, "Those things are mine now!"
Unexpectedly, Matthew reacted quickly and pulled her out of the chair. He looked at the woman with a long face and insisted, "Give them back to me!"
It was a secret he had kept for a long time. When the secret was out, and he hadn't been prepared for it, he went a little crazy.
Even if Erica was the only one who knew, Matthew hadn't had any time to psych himself up to admitting anything. He just couldn't accept that someone knew his secret before he was ready to confess it.
Erica could see that he was clearly upset. But why should she give them back? They were hers, right? If she didn't know better, she would have thought the woman in the photo was not Erica herself, but someone else entirely, and he didn't want her to know.