With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

either.
    I swear…if you two jinx me and I end up with a male mate, I’m going to— Well, never mind, the point is
    you can’t choose your mate. No one can.”
    “Of course not, but you wouldn’t have a mate who didn’t suit you.” Sterling sounded outraged.
    Matt nodded his agreement with Sterling and turned toward the bed, putting his back against the floor-
    to-ceiling window. His suitcases sat on the floor by the elaborate iron footboard, and his bag lay on top of the blue comforter. Should he unpack? Would Aubrey want him to stay after Matt told him about Tara?
    There was a rustling, some cussing and Sterling asked, “Matt?”
    “I wasn’t done talking,” Logan shouted. “Give that back.”
    There was more rustling. “Piss off.” Sterling’s voice held a hint of amusement. “Matt?”
    “Yeah, I’m here. What’s up, Sterling?” Matt plodded to the bed, shoved his bag aside and sat down,
    gazing out the window again.
    “Is there any way you could be mistaken?”
    “Sterling, you aren’t helping,” Logan groused in the background.
    Turning back around, Matt lay on the mattress, staring at the pristine white ceiling and recessed lights.
    “I don’t know. My sense of smell has always been pretty good. But my reaction to her is on-again, off-
    again. Is that normal? I mean, my dad doesn’t walk around with his eyes shifted all the time. Remi and Jake don’t either.” Come to think on it, Matt’s eyes hadn’t actually shifted. Matt got up and paced to the window again. He couldn’t sit still.
    “Yeah, the more you’re around them the easier it is to control your body. Man, this sucks. It just
    doesn’t seem right.” Sterling sounded sad. “Even when Remi tried to convince himself he wasn’t gay, the fates, or whatever, knew otherwise. They gave him Jake. And there’s me and I got Rhys. And—”
    “And Chay got Keaton,” Logan stated in his I’m always right tone. “You can’t choose. Now give me the damned phone back.”
    Matt grinned despite the situation. His younger brother was so overtly dominant it was ridiculous.
    Matt half-expected him to beat on his chest and grunt instead of talking. God help Logan’s mate when he

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    found one. It was surprising Logan hadn’t ripped the phone from Sterling’s hand already. He must be
    driving.
    Matt pulled the phone away from his ear and checked the time. Noon. He’d forgotten to change to Eastern Time. Matt changed it and put the phone back to his ear. This move was proving to be an
    adjustment in more ways than one. He wasn’t just going to have to adjust to living in Atlanta and going to school. He was going to have to adjust to having a female mate, because Logan was right. Destiny may
    have given Jake to Remi and Rhys to Sterling. One could even argue that Keaton got Chay, but there was
    Chay. Chay wasn’t gay and he’d ended up with Keaton.
    “Hey, bro? You okay?” Logan’s voice softened.
    “Yeah, I’m good. I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else.” Chay was content. Keaton may
    not be his preferred gender, but he loved Keaton and Chay was truly happy. Matt crossed the room and
    flopped down on the bed again. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Tell Sterling to keep quiet too. I don’t want anyone to know yet.”
    For several seconds only the sound of wind rushed over the phone speaker—they must have the top
    down in Logan’s car—then Logan asked, “What’s it worth to you?”
    “Logan! I swear I’ll kill you.”
    Logan cackled, and it was downright evil.
    He might’ve laughed too, but his brother’s mirth was like having the rug jerked out from under him.
    Matt hadn’t had a prayer of beating Logan up since he turned fifteen. “I mean it, Logan. I’ll tell Dad about you sneaking out last year to meet that girl in Sandoval County.”
    “All right, you win. I won’t tell.” Logan sounded amused rather than threatened. Which probably
    meant he’d had no plans on telling Matt’s secret in the first place.
    A soft, floral scent drifted into the room and a knock came from behind him. Pushing up on the
    mattress to his elbows, Matt turned to find Tara standing in the doorway.
    “Bree is on his way up now. I’m going to head out so I can get in the elevator when he gets here.
    Maybe I can get out without him realizing I stole his Falcons cap again.” She adjusted the cap, pulling it lower over her forehead. “I just wanted to say