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would it be like having her fixing him dinner, looking forward to his return home?  How would it feel to come home to someone like her every night?
    Hell.  What was he thinking?  She had her MBA and some sort of hot-shot marketing career.  She was on the fast-track to success.  She wouldn’t want to take care of a man—or to let a man take care of her.
    Nope, he was better off alone, just as he’d always been.
    Matthew glanced at his watch—Becket would be arriving in less than forty-eight hours.  Two days here, and he could fly back to Little Creek and forget the whole clusterfuck of seeing his best friend injured.  Of pretending things would ever be the same again.  Of trying to convince himself that Brianna was just the girl next door and not someone who could actually make him imagine a future with a woman.  Only question was, how was he supposed to get through the weekend until then?

Chapter 4
     
    “I invited the Murphy’s over for dessert tonight,” Brianna’s mother said as they loaded the dishwasher after dinner.  “Did you know Matthew’s back already?”
    Brianna nearly dropped the plate she was holding.  “What? Why?”
    “Brianna,” her mother admonished. “What’s the matter with you?  We haven’t seen Matthew in years, and he’s one of Beckett’s best friends.”
    “No, I mean why did you invite them over? We’ll see them on Sunday with everyone else.”  Heat washed over her skin as she recalled Matthew moving around the kitchen earlier.  Looking like he belonged there or something.  And the way he’d brushed his thumb across her cheek before he left?  She knew she hadn’t imagined the heat in his eyes.  The spark of interest that he’d had in that moment.
    But the entire thing was completely ridiculous—he wasn’t interested in her that way.  She was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush on the captain of the football team or something.  She was a grown woman for heaven’s sake.  If her parents wanted to invite the neighbors over, then so be it.  Maybe she should say she’d already made plans for the evening.  Then she could be polite but keep her distance from Matthew when she saw him again on Sunday.  How was she supposed to act natural with him sitting here in the same room as her?  The attraction she’d felt for him years ago had only bloomed in their time spent apart.  He wasn’t a teenage boy anymore but a grown man.  A Navy SEAL who had traveled the world.  And since he’d be gone again in a matter of days, there was no point in imagining anything happening between them.  Not now and not ever.
    “They’ve been nothing but supportive with everything we’ve been dealing with as far as Beckett’s recovery is concerned.  Plus your father ran into Mr. Murphy while he was out running errands earlier.  He mentioned Matthew was back, and we thought you kids would enjoy seeing one another.”
    Brianna laughed.  “Mom, I’m twenty-six.  Matthew is thirty.  We’re not exactly kids anymore.  And we actually ran into each other this afternoon.  If we wanted to see each other tonight, we could’ve made plans.”  She picked up her glass from the counter and took a sip.
    “I think Matthew’s mom would like to see him settled down.  You know, she always hoped you two would end up together.”
    Brianna nearly spit out her water.  “Excuse me?”
    “Matthew’s her only son.  And she’s always loved you like a daughter.”
    “I’m pretty sure Matthew only sees me as a kid sister type.  I trailed after him and Beckett for years, and when they left, I’m almost positive he forgot all about me.”
    Her mother laughed. “Well that’s not true at all.  He always asked about you when he was back in town.  More so than Beckett even,” her mom added with a chuckle.
    Brianna raised her eyebrows.  Matthew had been checking up on her all this time?  She thought the guy had practically vanished off the face of the Earth.  Funny that this