Who You Least Expect Read Online Free Page B

Still, it was for the best. Matt didn’t seem inclined to dig into the past at the moment, but the emotion of seeing him and finally talking to him had her off-kilter. And Cody, well, Cody had her twisted in knots, the sixty seconds that he’d been at the table more than long enough to spark her desire and leave her aching with need.
    The pull of the divergent emotions had her head swimming.
    “If you need a moment…” he said, his expression sober.
    “We don’t,” Blake said.
    “No, it’s cool. We were just catching up.”
    “Okay,” Cody said, though he still looked wary.
    ••••
    As he sat at the table, Blakely’s sweet perfume and soft body tantalizing him, Cody watched the exchange between Blakely and Matt, feeling the stir of something. However relaxed they might appear, and they did, Blakely looking genuinely pleased and the usually easygoing Poole his standard calm self, there was something else happening, some undercurrent that he didn’t fully understand. It was beyond obvious that the two of them were close, had an intimacy and familiarity that couldn’t be faked and that he couldn’t ignore.
    And he didn’t like it, not one bit, which was disconcerting. Sure, he and Blakely had a connection, and while there was no way he’d disregard the chance to explore that connection and step aside for some random dipshit, he didn’t have any claim to her, and he was a live-and-let-live kind of guy. Still, the rapport between her and Poole bothered him. And as much as he wanted her, he wouldn’t cut in on a friend, especially not one as good as Poole. He needed to get this sorted out, and quickly, and intended to do just that.
    “So you and—” Cody said.
    “Mathias.” A man’s voice cut into the conversation.
    Every head turned at the sound, and Cody glanced up at the tall older man who had to be Poole’s father. When he looked back at his friend, the other man’s eyes had gone hard, distant, and when he glanced over at Blakely, he noted that her expression had softened even more, and she looked at Matt with concern in her eyes.
    The undercurrent that had been running between Blake and Matt faded, and in its place arose a fierce, tight discomfort that put Cody on edge, which was unusual. The older man looked down at Poole expectantly, but Matt didn’t move an inch, didn’t acknowledge the other man’s presence or even act in a way that suggested he might do so.
    The moment stretched, the tension rising with each excruciating second, and Cody alternately felt charged with the energy of the moment and a bit like he was intruding on something private that he had no business witnessing.
    “How are you, Mr. Poole?” Blakely finally said, breaking the silence, though in no way alleviating the tension.
    Matt still sat rigid, but his father broke his gaze and turned to Blakely and gave her an affectionate smile, effectively ending the impromptu standoff.
    “Well, Blakely,” he whispered. “I’m doing well. Thank you for asking. Good to see you back in town.”
    “You’re welcome,” she said.
    “And how are your parents?” Mr. Poole asked.
    It was Blakely’s turn to go rigid, and at the other man’s question, Matt finally moved, glancing at Blakely with the same concern that she’d used with him. Yep, those two definitely had a history, and at the first opportunity, Cody planned to find out how deep it went.
    “Fine,” she said stiffly, turning away from Matt and his father and looking at Cody.
    He lifted one corner of his mouth in what he hoped was a commiserating smile, and though her expression remained grim, Cody could see a faint hint of appreciation in her honey-brown eyes.
    “Well, nice to run into you. Both of you,” Matt’s father said, and then he turned and walked away to sit at a table on the opposite side of the restaurant.
    Grim silence remained in the man’s wake.
    “Home sweet home,” Blakely said quietly, and the tension lifted.
    Matt laughed and she joined