Follow Your Heart

Chapter 6

        Skylar avoided Matthew at work. Her feelings for him were frightening her, now that she knew who and where Mac was. After she left Mexico, she wondered if she would ever see him again. He haunted her dreams for years.

        Dreams of him coming to her, sweeping her off of her feet, taking her away from the Montgomery legacy and loving her forever. They would move to a small cabin somewhere secluded and raise a few kids. He would love her passionately and she would love him back just the same. Her little fantasy world was perfect and then she would wake up to cold hard reality. Now, Mac was real. Her feelings for him were real. She was unable to give herself completely to any man, for fear of that man turning into Nick.

        A week passed by and she realized that she was acting childish. Avoiding him wouldn't solve anything. She had to confront him, tell him how she felt and then deal with it. Plus she missed him.

        They each had cases pending in court and in passing they would say hi at the courthouse. At work, she was locked in her office and the few times she did leave, he wasn't around. At home was the same. They would work late and miss each other.

        On Saturday night, Skylar decided to knock on his door. He opened it and his blue eyes widen in astonishment.

        "I need to talk to you. Can I come in?" she asked.

        He blocked her view so she couldn't see inside. "Um, now's not a good time. Tell you what, I'll come over later."

        "Don't be silly. I'm already here." She tried to come in but he wouldn't move. Usually his door was always opened to her but for some reason tonight was not the case. She was totally bewildered at his behavior. Was he upset with her because she ran out of his apartment a week ago? Did he know she was avoiding him? She had too many questions and no answers. "Matthew is something wrong?"

        "Matt, should I stop the movie?" a female voice came from inside. Matthew winced when Laura spoke.

        Skylar was barely able to control her gasp of surprise. They stared at each other across a sudden ringing silence until she recovered first. "I didn't know you had company." She heard the bitterness spill in her voice. "Sorry to have disturbed you." She turned around to leave but Matthew reached out, swinging her around to face him.

        "It's not what you think," his tone was apologetic.

        She flashed him a look of disdain. "You don't need to explain yourself to me. Go and enjoy your date." She vowed to show him how unconcerned she was with the situation. He searched her eyes for some emotion but she showed nothing but contempt. Thinking that it would be better to pursue this later, he released her and watched her leave. Closing his door, he turned to Laura. She was attractive in an ordinary way. Her auburn hair was loose and cut in the latest fashion, just barely touching her shoulders. Her light brown eyes were staring at him questioningly. He forced himself to smile and sat next to her on his sofa. Laura casually grabbed the remote and hit the "play" button, starting the DVD again but Matthew never noticed. He had felt guilty asking Laura out at the coffee shop but now he felt worse.

        He had given up on Skylar when she ran out of his apartment after realizing that they had met before. He just figured she was embarrassed and never wanted to see him again. That thought pained him. He didn't want to stop thinking about her as more than a friend but if that was what she wanted, so be it. When his schedule permitted, he was going to talk to her but her coming to his door tonight was the perfect opportunity, but Laura was here. What would have happened if he were just sitting home alone? They could have talked and cleared the air. Maybe even gotten closer. Damn, he was so stupid to go out on a date before finding out exactly where he stood with Skylar. Did he ruin his last chance with her? He knew when he met her at the bar she was special but after getting to know her, he needed her in his life.