Naked Love

by Jones, Lisa Renee

  The moonscape in front of her was simple and beautiful. There were a few dark trees in the foreground, and the whites, purples, and blues would be fun to play with as they layered on. This was so much better than her failed knitting attempt. Meghan and Jillian might have thought she’d gotten the hang of it, but she’d had to practice hours and hours with no true progress, and she’d never been able to cast on correctly. Painting was totally in her wheelhouse, and so much fun to do when she was with her family and friends.

  As everyone began, Shea and Abby bent their heads together, laughing at a joke at the end of their row, while Adrienne sat between a determined Thea and Roxie. Roxie had her tongue between her teeth as she tried her hardest to get the shapes right, and Adrienne knew it vexed her younger sister that, of the four siblings, she was the one who had the most problems with any kind of drawing or painting. Adrienne and Shep were tattoo artists, of course, but Thea was a baker who could decorate cakes and cookies like no one’s business. They each had their own strengths, but she knew Roxie hated that hers wasn’t the same as her siblings’.

  “Why is this so hard?” Roxie mumbled, stabbing at her canvas.

  “That’s what she said,” Thea and Adrienne said at the same time before breaking down into giggles.

  Roxie’s lips twitched before she joined them. “Such mature ladies,” she said with a snort before setting down her brush so she could have more of her wine. “And can we do like a trivia night next time or something? I’d rock at that.”

  “If we do that, we’d have to invite Shep,” Adrienne put in. “He only barely lets us have this night on our own.”

  “True,” Shea said from the other end of the row. “He not only likes wine, but he enjoys painting, as well. It’s only because we’ve banned the men from our Girls’ Night gatherings that he’s not sulking behind us at this very moment.”

  Adrienne couldn’t help but smile. After a decade of having her big brother living across the country—okay, New Orleans wasn’t that far from Colorado, but it sure as hell felt like it—she liked getting to know the adult Shep and all his idiosyncrasies.

  “I’d still beat him,” Roxie said, her chin held high even as laughter danced in her eyes. “I need to beat him at something.”

  Adrienne patted Roxie’s shoulder. “You don’t suck at this, you know.” She waved at her sister’s painting. “You just want things to be perfect, and something like this doesn’t always need to be perfect.”

  Roxie stuck out her tongue before taking another sip of her wine and setting the glass down. “That’s what Carter says, yet sometimes it’s like none of you understand me.” She rolled her eyes, making it a joke, but Adrienne couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to her words—and not just about herself.

  Adrienne turned a bit to meet Thea’s gaze, but neither of them said anything in response to Roxie’s statement. Whatever was going on with their sister and Carter wasn’t their business—yet. Of course, for all she knew, nothing was going on at all, and she was just looking too hard beneath all of Roxie’s words. After all, Carter was nothing but loving and caring when he was near the rest of the family, and even that evening, Roxie had come to the event looking wonderfully disheveled.

  She took a sip of her drink, knowing she was only running in circles around her sister’s marriage because it was easier to do than wondering what the hell she was doing with her own relationship.

  They painted some more while talking about nothing important until Shea asked how Thea’s best friend, Molly, was doing.

  Thea set down her brush and frowned. “I don’t know. She doesn’t talk to me about Dimitri or how she feels about the divorce. She just acts like nothing is wrong and that this whole thing is just a new phase of her life.”

  Adrienne winced. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “I know, right?” Thea gulped the last of her wine before setting her glass down on the cloth-covered bench a little harder than necessary. Thankfully, the glass didn’t break. “She’s just going about her business, and I can tell that Dimitri is truly hurting, but it’s not like I can talk to him about it or even be on his side because—”

  “Because she’s your best friend, and that means you’re automatically on her side.” Adrienne had already finished her wine and was on her second glass of water since she liked to hydrate, so she drank for a moment before letting out a breath. “I’m sorry you’re in the middle.”

  This was another reason she stayed out of relationships. Everything was so complicated. Every single woman at this table had a ton of baggage and history when it came to love and men yet, somehow, Shea and perhaps Roxie had made it through to the other side. Thea was perpetually single just like Adrienne, and Abby? Well, that wasn’t her story to tell.

  “But I’m not in the middle, not really,” Thea said, her sad gaze resting on her painting. “I can’t be. Dimitri was my friend too, and now…well, now he can’t be anymore, not the same way, and that sucks.” She blew out a breath then went back to painting, the subject closed. Adrienne was fine with that. It wasn’t as if she knew what to say to make it better, after all.

  She purposely didn’t bring up Mace and knew she was being a coward. It wasn’t as if she had any idea what she would or could say if someone brought it up. Her sisters saw far too much, and Adrienne had a feeling Shea and Abby were the same way when it came to ferreting out information. They’d all gone through their own levels of connections, and she knew they’d use that experience to see right through her. Or maybe she was being far too cautious and nervous about what they would say once she mentioned Mace’s name. After all, he was her best friend, and she was allowed to bring him up, especially since they also worked together. It wasn’t as if she had to tell the world she was sleeping with him.

  Often.

  And not really sleeping.

  Her muscles tightened at the thought of him, and she cursed her inner hussy. He was just as much of a harlot since he was constantly making her come, but again, she wasn’t going to think about that…no matter how much she wanted to.

  “So, big sister,” Thea began, her voice far too casual. “You seem far too relaxed these days for opening a new business. Who’s the guy?”

  “Yes, you do look too well lubed,” Roxie put in, a grin on her face.

  “Trust you to make the mechanic joke,” Adrienne said dryly. And she couldn’t lie to her sisters, not well enough, so she told them part of the truth—the only part she could. “And, well…I have been sleeping with a guy. But no one you know. It’s not that important. Just relieving some tension.”

  The others didn’t ask her any other questions, but their gazes held far too many for her liking. Shea gave her a look, and Adrienne stiffened. As soon as the words had left her mouth, she’d known they were a mistake and far too hurtful, but she hadn’t known how to make sure the others knew it wasn’t serious. If Mace ever found out…

  She stopped that line of thinking and went back to painting. The others followed suit, and she hoped none of them noticed that her hand was shaking, just a tiny bit.

  “So, how’s the shop going?” Shea asked a bit later as they all left and headed to their cars. “I know Shep’s been stressing out over whoever is trying to hurt MIT, but how do you think it’s going?”

  Adrienne tightened her scarf as she leaned against Shea’s car. The others had already left the parking lot, leaving the two of them to talk in private. She wasn’t sure any of them had meant for it to happen, but it was fine with her.

  “Financially, the shop is doing great, as you know. We’re getting in new clients daily, and we already have waiting lists for the major work coming in. But as for who wants to take us down? Other than that mystery man at the beginning, I have no clue. No matter who we ask around the building, no one knows who it could have been. That seems weird to me. To all of us.”

  Shea nodded. “I know. And I’m not from here, so it’s not like I have any idea who could have ties to the area that would want your
shop out of the way. I just hope all of you are safe, you know? I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  Adrienne reached out and squeezed Shea’s arm. “We’re being careful. So careful that the boys have gone all caveman and don’t let anyone walk to their cars at night alone. Even Thea and Abby if they can find a way to stop it.”

  “It helps that you and Mace are sleeping together, too. He’s able to watch you more often.”

  “Well, yeah, but I don’t really think that has anything to do with it.” Adrienne shut her mouth quickly, her face heating as Shea looked like a cat in cream.

  The other woman bounced from foot to foot and pointed. “I knew it. I knew it!” She danced around, wiggling her hips, and Adrienne felt all the blood leech from her face.

  “How…you tricked me!” She growled at the other woman, but Shea just continued to do her insane hip-wiggle dance.

  “Yes, I did. And I’m proud of it. I’m learning to be a Montgomery day by day.” She stopped her dance—thankfully—and reached out to grip both of Adrienne’s arms. “First, I’m happy for you. Second, I was only guessing because I got a vibe from you both last time I was in. Third, Shep has no clue. Fourth, I won’t tell him because there’s a code. However, a caveat to that is if he asks me directly for some unknown reason, I will have to tell him because I don’t lie to my husband.”

  Adrienne let out a shuddering breath. “Just…just make sure he has no reason to ask you.”

  Shea moved forward and hugged her hard. “I’ll do my best. I’m happy for you.” She whispered the last part, and for some reason, tears stung the back of Adrienne’s eyes.

  “It’s…it’s nothing. It has to be nothing. Okay?”

  Shea nodded, before frowning. “I get it. But, Adrienne? Don’t call Mace unimportant again. I think you’re doing both of you a disservice if you do that.”

  Adrienne didn’t say anything as she watched the other woman get in her car and drive away, leaving Adrienne to stand there like a lying idiot who couldn’t even come up with a good fib that didn’t hurt anyone.

  She got into her own car and looked down at her phone as it buzzed.

  Mace: You get home okay?

  She refused to feel warmth at his caring.

  Adrienne: I’m still in the parking lot. Wanted to talk to Shea a bit.

  She turned on her car before calling him on her Bluetooth. Her car might be old, but it still had at least that much since the tech wasn’t that new.

  “Sorry for calling, I just wanted to start home and didn’t want to text and drive.”

  His deep grumble of a voice came through her speakers, and she was very afraid that she’d made a mistake in listening to him like this. Talk about a distraction.

  “I’m glad you’re not texting and driving. You have fun with the girls?”

  She nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see her. Hell, he was making her act loopy, and it had nothing to do with the single glass of wine she’d finished over an hour ago.

  “It was a blast. And I have a pretty painting to put in my house.”

  His laugh went straight between her thighs. Damn man. “You’re going to have a hundred of those one day and will end up giving a few to me.”

  “You sound as if you don’t want them,” she teased. “Just for that, you’re getting this one.”

  “I’m honored,” he said dryly, but she knew he was joking.

  “Um…so I have to tell you something, and I don’t really want to.” She pulled onto her road, thankful that it wasn’t a long drive for her since she really didn’t want to be driving at all when she told him this. “Hold on, let me turn off my car so I can use my phone rather than let the whole neighborhood hear my conversation.” She’d had that happen once, forgetting that her speakers could be heard even through closed windows, and she’d never lived it down.

  “Okay,” he said, drawing out the word. “Do I need to come and get you? Are you safe?”

  She swallowed hard, her eyes stinging again as she put her phone to her ear. “I’m fine. I promise. But, well, the girls noticed that I looked, um, relaxed shall we say?”

  Mace didn’t say anything, the silence palpable.

  “So, in other words, they knew I was sleeping with someone.”

  “And what did you say?” he asked, and she couldn’t read his voice. She usually needed to see his eyes in order to guess his emotions and had never been really good at it through the phone.

  “That, yes, I was sleeping with someone. Then I lied completely because I’m an idiot and said it was someone they didn’t know and that the person wasn’t important.” She spoke quickly so he didn’t have a chance to get a word in. “I knew it was the worst thing to say as soon as I said it because you’re nothing but important to me, but I was stupid, and I’m so sorry I called you that. I know we’re walking on eggshells as we figure out exactly what this is, and I shouldn’t have called you unimportant like you were nothing. I’m so damn sorry. Oh, and Shea knows about us, by the way. Totally guessed it and got on my case for calling you what I did, but she promises not to tell Shep.” She stopped talking, her breath coming in gulps of air as she realized she’d blurted out everything without actually taking a breath.

  “Babe.”

  “Yeah?”

  “That was a lot.”

  “I know.”

  “First, I get why you said it. Hell, I probably would have said the same thing and rambled to you right after. I know you think I’m important just as I hope you know that I think you’re damn important to me. As for Shea? I figured someone would figure out one day since the two of us are constantly eye-fucking each other. Don’t get me wrong, I love imagining you bent over various pieces of furniture at the shop, but if we want to keep this between us, then we might need to hold back from doing that. As for not telling Shep?” He paused. “Well, when we’re ready to tell people what we’re doing—once we figure it out, that is—I’ll deal with whatever he has to say when it comes to it.”

  She rested her head on her steering wheel, aware that she needed to get inside at some point. “This is getting complicated.”

  He was silent for so long that she was afraid she’d lost him.

  “Yeah, it is, but we were complicated already.”

  “True. I just…I can’t lose you as my friend, Mace.”

  “You’ll never lose me, Addi. Even if we find ourselves just friends again, you’ll never lose me.”

  At that odd statement, she sat up again, wondering what the hell she was doing.

  “Goodnight, Mace.”

  He sighed. “Night, Addi girl.”

  Then there was silence again as the line cut off and she stared at her phone, wondering if their beginning was close to their ending…and if her best friend in all the world had just lied to her.

  8

  Mace couldn’t help but grin as Daisy ran into his parents’ arms, her words running into one another as she told them about her day. Everybody said kids were resilient, but the way Daisy had bounced back from that first day at his house to now was remarkable. She still talked to her mom every day on the phone and Skyped three times a week, but she’d settled into Mace’s life and routine far easier than he would have expected.

  “Hey, big brother.”

  Mace turned as Sienna made her way up the walkway, their other sister Violet right behind her. Both of the girls lived and worked up in Denver and didn’t make the drive down to the Springs as much as they used to. Their monthly family dinners, however, weren’t something anyone could get out of. And now that he had Daisy with him, he didn’t really mind.

  “Hey there.” He wrapped one arm around her shoulder, the other around Violet’s, and squeezed. “Missed you brats.”

  Violet pinched his side, and he winced. Her fingers were damn strong, and she’d had years of practice when it came to pinching him so the parents wouldn’t notice. That’s what siblings did, after all. And since they were in his arms, he gave each a gentle headlock, eliciting screeches f
rom both of his sisters and a stern look from his mother.

  He quickly let his siblings go, but not before giving them another squeeze. They were all well into their adult years, yet there was nothing more satisfying than playing around with Sienna and Violet like they had when they were kids. He wasn’t ever the jerk big brother who picked on his sisters, rather he played back just as hard as they did to him, and their relationship worked. He’d hated when they’d gone off to college in Denver, and though it was only a little over an hour away, it had felt like farther since he didn’t get to see them daily like he used to.

  He followed the girls into the house and watched as his parents doted on his kid. They hadn’t been happy with his ex when they realized what she’d done, but the fact that they had unfettered access to their grandchild now had largely made up for their ire.

  “You’re growing up so fast,” Jeff, his father, said to Daisy, his laugh deep. “One minute, you can fit in the palm of my hand; the next, you’re as tall as I am.”

  Daisy bounced from foot to foot, her grin from ear to ear. “I’m not that big, Grandpa. I still have lots of growed to do.”

  “Growing,” Mace corrected and crossed his eyes at both of his sisters when their lips quirked. He didn’t get to act like a dad around them often. Until recently, he hadn’t had the time with Daisy that he wanted, so his family would just have to deal with this not-so-new side of him now. After all, he was getting used to his role in Daisy’s life.

  “Growing,” Daisy repeated, beaming at Mace before turning back to her grandpa. “I’m a big girl now, though. Big, big, big.”

  Mace was lucky that she wasn’t looking at him then because he was pretty sure his face had gone pale at the thought of how many years had already passed in her life. She still had years to go before she was making those new milestones as a teenager and beyond, but the fact that he might now be the sole person dealing with it all was beyond overwhelming. He had no idea what Jeaniene’s next step was when it came to her job, or what would happen when she got back to the country in a few months, but he knew that, no matter what, he wouldn’t let Daisy go without a fight. He’d been unable to do what was right the first time because he’d been out of his depth, and Jeaniene had been the one with all the power. But after what she’d done this time, his lawyer had assured him things would be different. He’d have to roll with whatever came when everything fell around him, but he wouldn’t let his and Daisy’s relationship go back to how it had been before this.