“Don’t make me say it again, Sage,” he pleaded, raking one hand through this blond hair so long it now curled at the ends. Bottomless brown eyes locked with mine and silently begged me to understand.
I sat back in the chair in his office, arms and legs crossed protectively as a sudden thrill went through me. Mason wanted me to pretend we were madly in love—which wasn’t hard to do since I’d been in love with him since I was six years old—and that we were engaged to be married. I could admit to feeling disappointment that it was all for show. “Fine,” I held up my hands, “don’t repeat. Explain.”
He let out a long breath and my eyes wandered to the strong muscular forearms, extra tan from his time spent outdoors, a sprinkling of white blonde hair twinkling in the sun. “Walt thinks you’re my fiancée and I didn’t correct him.”
Okay. “Why?”
“Because his tone indicated it would be better if you were my bride to be than just a beautiful single woman working for me.”
Well if that wasn’t the absolute least flattering option. “Then just tell him that I am engaged. To someone else.”
“But he already thinks we’re engaged Sage.”
I rolled my eyes and waited. And waited. And waited.
“Please help me Sage. Pretend to be my fiancée until I’m an official member of the PTBA. I’ll do anything.”
Oh the possibilities. “Anything?”
He nodded but froze halfway through. “What did you have in mind?”
Damn he was gorgeous, even when he was being skeptical and unflattering. “Mason Manning are you afraid I might ask to unfettered access to your body?” It was a fantasy of mine but in my fantasy he wanted it to.
“Sage,” he said in warning. “What do you want?”
I wanted Mason but not as part of some devil’s deal so I went with my other dream. “Land. You have more than you need and I have none. I’d like to rent some of your land for a good deal to open my therapy center. We can work out a deal for your horses.”
He was quiet for a long time and I stood because I’ve known Mason my entire life and the man was stubborn as hell. He’d sooner part with his daughter Lily than a plot of M&M land. “How much land are we talking?”
I sighed. “I don’t have a specific amount but the land that your great grandfather used to use for goats should be plenty.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then you got the long end of the stick Mason. Why are you being so difficult about this?”
“I’m being difficult? I just asked a friend for a favor and you want half my ranch in exchange.”
I sucked in a breath as though he’d slapped me. “Oh we’re friends now, are we? Is that why you’ve hardly said five words to me since I got here Mason, a month ago?” I held up a hand to stop whatever he was about to say that would certainly make it easy to tell him no. Hell no. “Save it Mason. I’ll think about it but right now I need to get out of here.” And go back to my crappy apartment above the Double Barrel, the bar owned by my best friend.
“You’ll really think about it?”
I came to a stop at the door but didn’t turn around. I couldn’t turn around because I didn’t want to see those big disappointed brown eyes sway my opinion. “Have I ever denied you a thing Mason?” I didn’t wait for an answer, just left the door open and walked down the familiar hall, for once ignoring the photo of Mason and my brother Jack shirtless and grinning at the fishing hole on our old property.
“Hi Sage, wait up!”
I stopped at the sound of the cutest little girl in the whole world and turned around wearing a smile. “Lily bug, how are you?”
“Fine. Where were you?” Her rosebud mouth pouted adorably and her blonde pigtails hung at a lopsided angle. Green eyes filled with worry and confusion.
“I had to talk to your dad for a minute. Did you miss me?”
She bobbed her head up and down, blonde brows dipped low. “I thought you left and weren’t coming back.”
My heart went out to the little girl. She’d had too many people leave her. First her mother who left of her own free will, then her grandfather in a plane crash just a year later. Tammy Manning, the matriarch of the family was currently recovering from a broken hip which had been the result of a skiing accident. I dropped down so we were eye to eye. “We’re friends Lily bug. If I were leaving I would tell you.”
“Promise? Grandma didn’t say she was leaving,” she held up her pinky finger, the end of promises for seven-year-old little girls.
“Promise,” I told her and hooked our pinkies together. “And your grandma is injured but I know she’ll be back real soon.”
“Wanna play with me?” Her question came out of the blue, earlier sadness already forgotten.
“Oh I’d love to honey but I can’t tonight. How about you see if your dad let you stay the night with me this weekend? We can play and do girl stuff.”
Big green eyes went wide with excitement and then glee. “You mean it?”
“Of course. Friends have sleepovers don’t they?”
“Yeah!” She leapt into my arms, hanging off my neck while she whispered, “thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, you have to ask your grumpy ol’ dad.”
Lily giggled and stepped back. “Maybelle’s making meatloaf tonight so I’ll ask after his first slice.”
“Smart kid. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye Sage!”
I drove away from the ranch thinking about the Manning family, specifically if I could do what Mason wanted me to do without getting my heart smashed to pieces.
***
“So do you want me to tell you why this is a good idea or talk you out of it?” I could always count on my best friend Sierra to keep it real with me. I stopped by her bar, well the only bar in town, the Double Barrel to get some perspective on Mason’s proposal.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh come on Sage. We both know you not only want to do this, you’re straight up gagging to pretend you’re getting married to Mason Manning.”
My cheeks turned red and I buried my face in the cold beer before me. “That’s where you’re wrong smartass, I don’t want to pretend. I want it to be real.”
She gave me that sympathetic look I hated more than I hated anything but she was my best friend so I refrained from throwing my beer in her face. “Oh honey I know you do but don’t you think it’s time?”
I smacked a hand against the bar, happy there weren’t a lot of patrons in at this time to see me throw a tantrum. “Don’t you think I would if I could Sierra? I’ve tried dammit!” I had two serious relationships in college and neither produced a fraction of the emotion, the passion of that kiss from Mason. “I know it’s pathetic and believe me, I wish I could move on Sierra. But I can’t.”
Sierra sighed and pushed her lush red hair off her shoulders before she took a long slow sip from her glass. “Then you have to do it.”
“I do?” I had not expected her to say that since she’s been after me for years to end my obsession with Mason.
She nodded. “You do. Be his faux whatever but use this time wisely. Seduce him, make him see how good you could be together. Whatever it takes. And when this is over-,”
“It’s really over,” I finished for her, ignoring the stop and drop of my heart so hollow in my chest.
“Or he realizes he’s been a big fat dummy all this time and you get your happy ending,” she smiled and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Yeah or that. Except we both knew there was a better chance of keeping a snowman standing on Main Street in July. “So I shouldn’t keep asking to use his land for my equine massage business?”
Sierra finished her beer and swiped the foam from her mouth. “If you think it won’t slice you open every day to see him. Especially when he does move on, which he will.”
“Just the thought of it slices plenty, thanks.” I had already spent years watching him dat
e women who weren’t boring like me. They were tall and thin and most important they were busty and blonde. They weren’t average height with brown hair and blue eyes like me. I didn’t have pouty lips and my C cups weren’t impressing anyone. “Well I guess I need to find some land and see about getting a loan.”
“How much do you need?”
I shook my head. “No Sierra. I love you and I’m grateful for the offer but I can’t take that kind of money from you. If my business fails you’ll hate me.”
“Gee, thanks for thinking so highly of me.”
“Oh come on, you know it’s not that. That money is for your future. You paid a steep price for it.”
She shrugged like it didn’t matter but I knew it did. Her parents and baby brother died in a freak boating accident when we were fourteen and with no family to take her in she came and stayed with us until graduation. Dad couldn’t take care of two ranches so it had been sold and the money added to the trust left for her. “I know but your parents never touched that money and they should have.”
“You were family well before that and you know it. We all loved having you there and I know for a fact they wanted to make sure you could do whatever you wanted with your life with that money.”
“Fine but I’ll co-sign a loan for you because you’ll need it.”
“I can get Jack to do it.”
Sierra rolled her eyes. “Honey he’s got less collateral than you unless you count his guns and body armor.”
Crap she was right. Being a Ranger for the past six years and regular Army a decade before meant he had no home base, no car. No collateral just as Sierra said. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
“You know where to find me and my pocketbook.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I told her and finished my second beer of the night. “I have a ton of sleep to miss out on tonight.” I knew I would help Mason because I was powerless where he was concerned but I didn’t know if I had it in me to do what Sierra suggested. He hadn’t noticed me in all this time, what would make this time any different?
Mason
Sage was avoiding me. I didn’t know if it had to do with the kiss or the proposal but it could have possibly been my reaction to her asking to use my land. Why had I reacted like such a jackass? It was perfectly reasonable to expect a quid pro quo when a favor was this big. And what had she said, I hadn’t said five words to her in a month. That couldn’t be true…could it?
I hadn’t seen her in a few days but I knew she’d been at the ranch because she documented her hours—down to the minute because there was no rounding up or down with her—and because the horses she’d worked moved smoother, had a more relaxed gait and were less anxious. She’d even picked up Lily for their girls’ night while I checked on the animals after dinner
Lily was due back tonight before dinner giving me and Sage the perfect opportunity to talk. Since it was Friday it would be me and Lily for dinner, Maybelle and her husband went dancing on Fridays and the ranch hands would be at the Double Barrel looking for a pretty lady to spend the night with. I finished the chores outside and took a quick shower before grabbing a beer and settling in at my desk to go over a few things. I didn’t get more than twenty minutes of work done before I heard Lily’s boisterous yell and loud stomping the hard wood floors. “Daddy we’re here!”
With a smile I stood and caught a barrel of blonde curls coming at me full speed. “He Lily pad, did you have fun?”
“Uh-huh. We did nails and toes, and Sage put gunk on our faces so we shine!” She pushed out of my arms and stood beside Sage who just appeared in the living room. “And we’re twins!”
I looked back and forth and sure enough, they both wore short denim skirts and pale blue tank tops but where Lily looked adorable and ready for summer, Sage looked like temptation on a platter. That frayed hem made my hands itch to caress her mile long legs, to see if they were as soft as they looked. And her breasts, good god they were amazing, sat high and perky in behind her cotton tank. “You sure are. You both look beautiful.”
“Thank you Daddy!”
Sage’s lips twitched. “Yeah, thank you Daddy.”
I groaned at her words, certain I was going to hell for being a dirty old man with dirty thoughts. But yeah I could learn to like hearing Sage’s sexy voice call me daddy. “You look hungry.” I cringed at those words. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Oh yeah? Good because I’m starved.” She licked her lips before they tugged up into a smile.
“You’re gonna stay for dinner Sage? Please, oh please stay!”
“What’s for dinner?”
“Catfish,” I answered simply.
She groaned and rubbed a hand over her flat stomach. “Heck yeah I’m staying for dinner. I would do almost anything for a few pieces of Maybelle’s catfish.”
“Only almost?”
She shrugged and diverted her gaze from mine, giving me a wide berth as she made her way to the kitchen. “Come on Lily I’ll give you a boost to wash your hands.”
“I have a stool Uncle Tanner made for me,” she said and showed her.
“Very cool. Your Uncle Tanner must love you a lot.”
She nodded. “He says I’m the cutest little girl ever!”
“He’s right about that,” I told her and kissed her cheek before we all sat around the table. For a while things were quiet and tense, Sage hardly spared me a look and when she did she wore an odd expression. Luckily my little girl could win the Olympics of talking, elaborating on all the cool things she and Sage had done.
“And Sierra showed me how to make pizza. I love pizza Daddy!” She shook her head and started giving me a detailed rundown of the movie they watched. “It was so romantic and girls need romance Daddy. Sage says boys always forget,” she told me sounding about ten years too old.
I smiled because I appreciated the female influence Sage provided and in the month since she returned Lily had taken to her like she had always known her. But I hate that she won’t always be my little girl. “What do you know about romance Lily pad?”
“Lots,” she said sounding far too serious. “I know that it’s not just flowers and candy but those are really good. Sage says it’s about knowing what’s special to your girl and doing it for her once in a while.”
“Wise words,” I told her, looking right at Sage who found her plate especially interesting at that moment.
Once dinner was over Lily asked to watch TV before bed, Sage began to clear the table and I knew this was it. Now or never. “We should talk.”
“Yep,” she said, rinsing the dishes and putting them carefully in the dishwasher.
“Do you have anything to say?” The change in her demeanor didn’t bode well but I pushed forward. “Sage.”
She turned, drying her hands on a sunflower covered towel. At least I think she did but I couldn’t focus on anything but her plump breasts wondering what color those hard nipples were. Dusty rose? Raspberry pink? “Are you even listening?”
“I am now,” I told her and used every ounce of willpower to keep my gaze on her face.
“I will do this to help you out but you were right, asking for use of your land was too much. I’ll find another way to take care of it.”
Another way? “What in the hell does that mean?” I was ready to agree to use of the land and now she didn’t want it?
“It seems pretty self-explanatory to me, Mase.”
“Well what do you want then?”
“Nothing.”
That didn’t make any kind of sense. “That hardly seems fair!”
“Really?” Arms crossed giving me an even better view of her perky breasts. “Because a few days ago you thought it was unreasonable that I should ask for anything. Now we’re in agreement so take it or leave it.”
Why did women have to make everything more complicated than it had to be? “Stop being so damn stubborn!” I stood and raked a frustrated hand through my hair, walking to where she stood so she couldn’t move be
tween me and the counter. “I’ll pay you, just tell me what you want.”
She ignored me the same way she would after pulling a prank on me and Jack. I liked it even less now than I did back then, but when she bent to the close the dishwasher door and her round ass brushed up against my erection, she gasped and I groaned. “No thank you.” She attempted to push at my chest but I held her wrists so her palms laid flat on my chest. “Let go Mason.”
“No squirt, I don’t think I will.”
“Don’t call me that, damn you. Just remember you and Jack taught me how to defend myself.”
I pushed in closer so our bodies were flush. I should have stepped back but my damn feet wouldn’t listen. They didn’t give a damn that this sexy woman was Jack’s kid sister. Didn’t care that things were about to get messy and confusing. “So you’ll do it?”
She grinned. “I knew you were more than a pretty face.”
The look in her eyes, part desire and part affection, twisted me up and I stepped back and instantly missed the feel of her soft body, lush breasts pressed against me. Yanking the fridge open I pulled out two bottle of beer and handed her one. Best friend’s sister, I tried to remind myself to tamp down the heat swirling between us. “Let’s get some air.”
We moved onto the back porch, sitting side by side on the slider while crickets chirped. Long legs crossed at the ankles captured my attention, especially the thin gold chain around her left ankle. “You’ll need me in a few weeks for that dinner, right? It shouldn’t be a problem since I’m working for you.”
And here comes the hard part. “It isn’t just the dinner Sage. Members of the association will be in and out of the ranch for the next few months, checking the horses, breeding records and watching their movements. You need to move in here if we’re going to sell this.”
“Maybe we’re waiting until we’re married.”
“In this day and age, and with a child? Unlikely.” What was the big deal anyway, unless she didn’t want to live with a kid. “Are you worried about sharing space with Lily? Ow!” She slugged my arm. “What was that for?”
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