Luckily, his Calamity was right there with him. She hadn’t asked for details, instead inviting him to join her, and they’d spent the night slaughtering zombie hordes and eating cheese puffs and pizza rolls. So yeah. His shoulders ached from his afternoon at the gym, his heart hurt from Oliver’s silence and his stomach wasn’t all that happy with him at the moment. Sick.
“What do you need, Barbie?”
“Nice mood. And here I am trying to be your Fairy Gayfather again.”
Matthew pushed himself up into a sitting position, grimacing at the orange-stained shirt he’d fallen asleep in and the vile taste in his mouth. “Feel like explaining that comment? Slowly please. I had a rough night.”
The eyeroll was audible over the phone. “I had a rough night, Shamrock. I have an incredibly adventurous sex life, as you know, and even I can’t believe what some people are willing to do to themselves to get off. In a furry costume, no less. Zippers can be dangerous things. So can chew toys.”
“If I let you win this will you stop telling me about it?”
“Maybe.”
“You win.”
“Smart man. Anyway, my guys decided to take me out for breakfast, since I’m too keyed up to go home, and we were sitting around catching up on all the family gossip I missed on my double shift. First of all, Zo is a humorless brat who cheats at Catan—which isn’t easy to do—so tell Kate she’s better off. Also, did you know that Wyatt got picked for—”
“You had something to tell me specifically?” Matthew rubbed his head, glancing over at the side of the bed where Oliver should be. Would have been, if he hadn’t left him alone yesterday.
“I was working up to it. I heard about your problems with Legs McGee.”
“What? How did you—Brady told you?”
“He did. Well, he told Younger about your visit. Younger told me.”
Solomon? The police chief didn’t seem like the type to tell tales. “It’s been less than twenty-four hours and that wasn’t meant to be shared. Is there a Finn group chat I haven’t been told about?”
“Probably,” Rory said apologetically. “But I’m not on it. People just tell me things. Plus, they know I’m the one that set you two lovebirds up.”
“Oh yes, it was all you. I keep forgetting.” He ground his teeth together. “Well, that’s just grand. It’s good to know my personal problems are giving the relatives something to talk about. If that’s all you called to tell me, I’ll go pack my suitcase and head back to Ireland now. At least Grump knows how to keep his mouth shut.”
“Don’t be like that. And if that was all I called to tell you, I’d be a dickhead. I’m not a dickhead. What I am is the only one not willing to leave the newest member of our club to flounder on his own. Not when I know exactly what you need to do to fix your problem.”
Matthew flopped onto his back with a groan. “Sure you do. Can’t wait to hear it.”
“Oliver won’t deal with this until he has to, no matter how much he wants to take things to the next level. I get it, too. Family drama is the worst. My brothers and I managed to avoid talking about anything important for most of our lives, though now that we have, we’re closer than ever. But it took a tragedy to get that ball rolling, and we don’t need any more of that. So instead, you need to help Oliver take that first step, Matthew. He’s put a mountain of anxiety up between you and your future happiness. You need to climb that mountain and stick your sexy flag in it.”
“How exactly do I go about doing that, Rory?”
“Well, the first thing you need to do is drop that attitude, shower and put on something nice. And by nice, I mean no holes or stains. Then you’ll go to the address I’m about to text you, where they’re currently serving a delicious brunch menu I’m planning to Yelp about later.”
The idea of leaving his bed held no appeal whatsoever. “And why would I be making a decision like that when I have leftover pizza rolls waiting for me right downstairs?”
“Because I’m staring at Oliver and what looks to be most of his very large and demonstrative family as we speak. And if they stop hugging each other long enough, they’re about to be seated.”
“What? What?”
“I think that means you’re glad I called. Say I’m the GOAT. Go on. Say it.” Matthew heard the sound of Rory’s partners, Rig and David, laughing before his cousin said, “Shower. And hurry.”
He stared at the disconnected phone for a solid minute, his heart racing. This couldn’t be happening. What were the odds of Rory being in the same restaurant as Oliver and his family? He supposed if he took the time to calculate the size of the city and his sheer number of relatives, it might not be that astronomical, but still.