"He's still alive, is he? I don't know if you have a green thumb yet, considering you've killed every other plant we've gotten you"
"Hey! Plants aren't my thing, okay? But, succulents? They're better and easier. Plants are harder than they look" my protest was weak as we both knew it.
"So am I" I nudged him away when his lousy dad joke came over my shoulder.
"Shut up. I'm going to go and fill my water bottle, so he can have some too. I'll be back and then we can have lunch"
"Noted. I hope you're better at keeping kids alive than plants" I rolled my eyes at his lame comment. "Hey, watch those eyes, or no waffles for you"
"You never have and you never will"
"You're tempting me now" he sighed, wagging his finger at me. I rolled my eyes again and rushed out of the room after seeing the look on his face. "You're going to get it, Y/N Y/L/N!"
When I return, he was smiling and I grew nervous. In one way, ever since we looked at rings last week, I felt on edge when he had a sparkle in his eye. This time, I was nervous about how he bit his lip.
"What's that look for?" I asked, gulping. I lifted my water bottle and walked to the succulent.
"Your plant just looks sad. You better hurry and water him before he dies"
I heard it, the piece stuck together when I spotted the purple wrapping paper in the middle of my desk. That wasn't there before.
"Matt-" I started, setting the water down and turning to face him.
"Open it" he cut me off, which was something I used to hate him for.
Smiling, I pick the box up into my hands, unwrapping the bow. My body jumped when he wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my head. Lifting the lid off the box, I was surprised.
"Matt"
"Try it on, Ms Lawyer. I guessed you needed one to stay organised" I nodded and he licked his lips, watching me.
"This is a lot, Matt. I-"
"Happy one and a half, honey and congratulations on your review. You deserve it. Now, try it on" he laughed and I smiled widely. I blushed more when he turned me around and leaned down to kiss my lips.
The purple band felt buttery under my fingertips. I have to ask for Matt's help, but in minutes, an Apple Watch like his, minus the purple band, sits on my wrist.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah, I love it" I sighed happily, looking at the device. He laughed as he showed me the walkie talkie feature and insisted we try it out. "I didn't get you anything. Well, nothing as nice as this"
"You don't need to get me anything nice, I'm happy with our dinner tonight. I'm excited to cook with you. There's nothing more I could want"
"I guess I'll take back your gift then" I said sarcastically, taking out the wrapped gift from a drawer in my desk.
He held back a smile as he reached out his hands. "Gimmie" he nearly squealed and I agree. I bit my nail and watched as he opened the gift. "Oh, another board game. I like this"
I laughed watching as he turned the box over in his hands. "It's boggle. You shake the dice with letters and you have to make up a word with those letters before the timer runs out. My grandma and I used to play it when...when she was alive. I found it at my Dad's, so it's not new, I'm sorry"
"Y/N" he started, meeting my eyes. Stepping forward, his hand comes to cradle my elbow. "You shouldn't have, honey. I can't imagine how special this is to you. We should play it tonight after dinner"
"I'd like that, and don't worry, it shows how much I love you" I smiled when his lips met mine. "But, I get it in the divorce. I'm putting it in the prenup"
"Stop talking and kiss me" Matt smirked, kissing me again. "I love you"
"I love you more" I said against his lips, but she shook his head.
"I can't believe you did that. What am I going to do with you?" He said, clicking his tongue at me.
Who knew it could ever be this good?
~
It was information overload and my head was ready for a break. Starting with a coffee, I walk closer to his door. That was the last thought in my mind when the door swung open and two men turned to face me.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have knocked" the words were automatic on my lips and so was the expression on Matt's face.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the other guy cut him off. "I was just leaving"
I nodded along, not knowing what to say. Instead, I looked a Matt confused.
"Y/N, this is my Dad. Dad this is Y/N, my girlfriend" he said, taking his hands out of his pocket. I couldn't stop my eyes from widening as Matt nodded at me.
"Reckon we've met before if I remember correctly. I'm Jimmy, it's nice to meet my son's girlfriend at last" I smiled and shook his hand.
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Y/N"
"Nice to meet you, Y/N, but I best be going. I have to get to work, so we can talk another time. I'd love to know more about you" he continued and I nodded.
"We'll see" Matt mumbled and his Dad nodded, before leaving the room.
"Have a good day"
Suddenly, the room grew silent and Matt only fed it when I wished he'd end it. No matter how confused I looked at him, he stayed quiet.
When he spoke, it was the last thing I expected. "Do you want to play some boggle?"
"Really, Matt? Boggle?"
Again, he stayed quiet. He sat on the couch, taking the playing items out of the box. When I sat down, I saw a blank notepad and pen sitting in front of him
When he removed the lid to set it aside, I left it at that. For the next minute, we sat in silence, concentrating on making random words of our own with the random letters.
"Times up" I said when the white sand filled the bottom of the timer. He quickly stopped writing and I laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Your writing has gotten so bad, Matt. How do you even read it?"
"Hush. I can read it, that's all that matters" he whined, running his hand through his hair.
"I can hardly though! I barely could when I was your assistant, it took me a long time to learn"
"Okay, thanks for the lecture. I'll start" he shrugged, pointing the tip of his pen to the first word on his list.
"Can we talk, Matt? I want to talk" my question was slow and gentle. My hand was when I placed it on top of his. He didn't look at me, but it was enough when he dropped his pen to take my hand.
"Are you mad I didn't tell you?"
"No, Matt. I-"
"Good, because I don't want you to be. I didn't know it was going to happen, I..." he sighed and I stroked his finger with my thumb. "I texted him and asked how he proposed to my Mom....and if he had my grandmothers ring. He asked if he could come by to talk about it, and I said okay, not thinking it would happen"
"How did it go with him?" I asked carefully, but this is a topic I want to talk about. We both ride the parent trauma train.
"It was short, but it was good" he said, finally looking over at me. "He gave me advice, and we talked about rings. It was nice and I think he was trying, that means a lot. I'm not letting him back into my life , but I'd like to try with him again"
"I'm so happy for you, babe"
"Thanks..I just hope it stays this way"
"I know, I'm sure it will, Matt"
Me too, Matt. Me too.
