“In the car,” he repeated firmly, though he knew he’d probably give in to her pleadings one of these days.
Tori tossed her head and slid into the passenger side. He shut the door and rounded the car. In only seconds he was behind the wheel and they were on the freeway headed toward downtown.
“Dad said something about you and John breaking up,” Matt said, turning the volume down on the radio. “I was surprised. You two seemed to get along so well.”
“We did,” Tori said. “But there were some significant problems.”
Matt’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. As children it had been him and Tori against the world and he couldn’t stop a surge of concern. John had seemed like a nice guy, but Matt knew people weren’t always what they seemed. “Such as?”
“Such as he’s determined to move back to Connecticut after graduation and I want to stay here.” She lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. “Even if we could have resolved that issue, he didn’t want kids. And I definitely couldn’t marry a man who didn’t want children.”
Matt stared at his sister for a long moment. It seemed like only yesterday that she’d been a little girl playing with Barbie dolls and stuffed animals.
“You’re twenty-one years old,” Matt said. “You shouldn’t even be thinking about marriage and children at your age.”
Tori rolled her eyes. “Get real. I’ve been assessing the marriage potential of every guy I date since I was sixteen.”
“You do what?”
“My friend Katy’s mom always used to say you shouldn’t date someone you wouldn’t want to marry,” Tori said. “Because when you date someone you run the risk of falling in love with them. It made sense to me. That’s why I never just date for the heck of it. Beginning with the first date I start checking out their values and where they stand on important issues.”
“Issues such as where they want to live?” Matt asked, trying to keep his tone light and not sound too censuring. “And if they want children?”
“Among other things,” Tori said. “I also look at their views on women working outside of the home, their religious faith and if they’re ready for a committed relationship.”
Matt thought about John. He’d really liked the guy. John had been a go-getter with lots of ambition. And best of all, he’d treated Tori like a princess. “Maybe John would have changed his mind about the children issue.”
Tori shrugged. “Maybe. But then again, maybe not. I couldn’t take that chance.”
“He was a fool to let you go,” Matt said.
“My mind was made up,” Tori said with a wistful smile. “There wasn’t any point in dating him any longer.”
“Because you didn’t want to become attached to someone—”
“I don’t want to marry,” Tori said, finishing the thought. The flash of pain in her eyes tore at his heartstrings. “It was hard, but that’s the way it usually is when you’re doing the right thing.”
He wondered what Tori would think about the “relationship” he’d proposed to Sierra. Somehow, he had the feeling she wouldn’t approve.
So, on the way to the restaurant he kept the conversation focused on Tori, on her summer classes and the latest movies she’d seen until she shifted the conversation around to his new car.
“I love it,” Tori said. “But I have to say I’m surprised. I thought you’d get a coupé. You know, one of those four-doors like Dad drives, one you could use for business.”
“I can use this for business.” Matt grinned, casting an appreciative gaze around the two-seater. “I just have to limit the number of clients that ride in it at any one time.”
“You’re such a typical guy. You’re all stuck in the adolescent phase,” Tori said.
Matt groaned. He should have known he’d regret encouraging her to take that psychology course.
“You refuse to grow up,” Tori added.
“If growing up means having an old man’s car,” Matt laughed, “then you’re right, I don’t want to grow up.”
“I’m not just talking about the car.” Tori slanted him a sideways glance, her expression suddenly serious. “I’m also talking about your relationships with women.”
“I like women,” Matt said. “I always have.”
“You’re twenty-eight years old,” Tori said dryly. “You don’t even have a steady girlfriend.”
“I’m an old man,” Matt said, with a wink. “I’m too tired after working all these hours for any romance.”
“You’re twenty-eight,” Tori repeated. “And you’re not even dating. Tell me, how do you expect to find a wife if you don’t date?”
Matt tried not to take offense, but something in her tone touched a nerve. It was almost as if she were implying that he couldn’t get a woman.
“I may not be looking for a wife,” Matt said, “but I am dating someone.”
It wasn’t entirely true. After all, he and Sierra hadn’t really been on a date. But they’d discussed the option and that had to count for something.
Interest flickered across Tori’s face and she turned in her seat. “Is she marriage material?”
Matt groaned. “Tori—”
“Is she?” The determined look in her eye told Matt she wouldn’t let up until he’d answered.
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “And it doesn’t really matter. Unlike you, I’m not looking to get married. At least, not until I’m at least thirty-five.”
“Thirty-five?” Tori’s voice came out as a high-pitched squeak. “You’ll be practically ready for the nursing home.”
Matt grinned. He remembered all too well being twenty-one. Anyone past thirty was definitely over the hill. “I’m hoping I’ll still have a few good years left.”
“Seriously, Matt,” Tori said, her blue eyes blazing with strong emotion. “You don’t want to be ancient before you have children.”
“That’s another thing. I don’t know for sure that I want children,” Matt said honestly.
“Not want children?” Tori looked at him as if he’d just confessed to shopping at a discount store.
“I don’t like kids that much,” he said. “They’re messy and loud and they demand a lot of attention.”
Tori’s eyes widened and for once she didn’t have a comeback, she simply stared in stunned silence.
Matt changed the subject, relieved he didn’t have to elaborate. His arguments sounded good and they were true as far as they went, but he had deeper concerns, ones that he didn’t feel like sharing, even with his sister.
Though he wasn’t keen on kids, one of his big concerns about going the parenthood route was he didn’t think he’d be very good at it. From what he’d observed, most successful parents learned their skills from observing their own parents.
The only man Matt had to model himself after was his dad. Though Dix had tried, he’d certainly never win any parent-of-the year honors. He’d done his best after his wife had left, but he’d had very little interest in parenting his motherless children and had relied on employees to see to their needs.
Matt shoved the disturbing thought aside and pulled into a parking space on the street just around the corner from the Italian restaurant. He stepped out and rounded the car, opening Tori’s car. Once the alarm system was activated, they started down the sidewalk.
Santa Barbara was a casual town and Tori fit in perfectly. She wiggled her fingers and smiled at a guy in shorts and a pair of flip-flops walking his dog down the street.
“That’s Kyle,” Tori said. “He’s hot.”
“How do you know him?” Matt asked before giving the hostess at the sidewalk podium his name.
Tori smiled. “He’s in physics with me.”
Matt lifted an eyebrow. “A potential mate?”
“Shut up.” Tori punched him in the arm.
“I’m just asking,” Matt said with a slight shrug. “After all, you did say he was hot. I would assume physical attraction is part of your assessment criteria.”
“So he’s out?”
Tori nodded and gestured with her thumb. “Out.”
Matt shook his head and couldn’t help but laugh as they followed the hostess to a table in the sidewalk dining area. “Got any other prospects in mind?”
Tori smiled at the waiter as he pulled out her chair and placed the menu before her. “I’m tired of talking about me. I want to talk about you. I especially want to hear about this new woman you’re dating.”
“There’s not much to say.” Matt picked up her menu and handed it to her with a pointed glance. “They’ve got great Fettuccini Alfredo here.”
But Tori didn’t look at the menu. Instead her gaze had shifted toward the inside of the restaurant.
“I want that woman’s belt,” Tori said abruptly. “The lambskin one. I have a friend who has one just like it.”
Matt followed the direction of her gaze and his eyes widened. It was Sierra. She wore a multicolor stretch cotton skirt and a white sleeveless top. The belt his sister admired was wrapped around her trim waist.
“Beautiful,” he breathed. She’d pulled her hair back from her face with some kind of cloth band that complemented her skirt. Her eyes were large and green and a touch of color brightened her lips.
“Will you buy me that belt for my birthday?” Tori shifted her gaze back to him. “Dad won’t do it. He says it’s way too expensive.”
“Sure,” Matt said idly watching Sierra slowly weave her way through the crowded tables and out onto the patio in their direction.
“I knew I could count on you.” Tori reached over and squeezed his arm. “Anyway six hundred dollars isn’t that much. Not for lambskin.”
Matt’s gaze briefly jerked to his sister. “How much?”
“Six hundred,” Tori said with an innocent look that didn’t fool him in the least.
“Forget it.” Matt pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. As if Sierra could feel the heat of his stare, her steps slowed and for the first time she looked in his direction.
“Matt.” Surprise filled her voice and she walked over. “Did you just get here? I didn’t see you before.”
Her gaze flickered briefly over Tori and Matt quickly performed the introductions.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said pleasantly, shaking Tori’s hand. She nodded to Matt. “Good to see you again.”
“I love your belt,” Tori said.
Sierra glanced down as if she’d forgotten what she’d put on. “It’s lambskin.”
“I know,” Tori said. “My friend Marlys has one just like it.”
Sierra smiled again.
“Sierra.” A feminine voice called out.
Sierra turned immediately. A brunette sat at a table on the edge of the outdoor seating, holding up a cell phone.
Sierra nodded before turning back to Tori. “I’m afraid I need to go.”
Matt could tell she was in a hurry. Still, he couldn’t let her go, not quite yet. He touched her arm and met her gaze. “We need to talk.”
Uncertainty flickered for a moment in her eyes before she nodded. “I’ll be home after nine.”
“I’ll call,” Matt promised.
She inclined her head in a slight nod, said goodbye and walked away.
“Is there something going on between you two?” Tori asked, her gaze following Sierra to the table.
“She’s my new girlfriend,” he said.
Tori’s eyes widened and her gaze jerked back toward Sierra. “Why didn’t you say that when you introduced her?”
Reproach colored Tori’s question. Matt ignored it. “It’s a relatively new relationship.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want you interrogating her. It’s enough that I introduced you.”
“Does the fact that I’ve met this one mean she’s special?” Tori asked. “Will she be around for a while?”
“I doubt it,” Matt answered honestly. “She’s not looking for anything long-term, either.”
“Don’t tell me she’s like you.” A look of horror crossed Tori’s face. “Surely she doesn’t want to wait until she’s in her thirties to settle down.”
“I don’t know,” Matt said with a shrug. He had no idea what Sierra’s thoughts were about marriage. But then he couldn’t honestly say he knew much about her thoughts on anything. But if he had his way, they’d soon get to know each other better.
His gaze shifted and settled appreciatively on Sierra’s curvy figure.
Yes, he’d like to know her much better.
And that couldn’t happen soon enough to suit him.
Chapter Eight
Sierra patiently answered her mother’s question about the timing of Maddie’s allergy medication and then spoke with her daughter briefly before hanging up. She handed the phone back to Libby.
“Is everything okay with Maddie?” Libby asked.
Sierra smiled, remembering how her daughter had chattered happily about her evening with her grandmother. “She’s fine. She and my mother are having a great time.”
Libby nodded absently, her attention focused on Matt and his sister.
“Who’s the handsome hunk you were talking to?” Libby asked.
“You don’t recognize him?” Sierra asked in surprise. “Everyone says he’s the spitting image of his father.”
Libby’s gaze returned to the dark-haired young man. “Lawrence Dixon’s son?”
Sierra nodded.
“Who’s the girl?”
Sierra lifted her glass of tea that the waitress had refilled and took a drink before she answered. “That’s his sister, Tori.”
“His sister?” Libby shook her head. “Having dinner with a woman you’re related to is a complete waste of those good looks.”
Libby took a sip of water and studied Matt beneath lowered lashes. “He’s so cute. I can’t believe he’s not involved.”
“He’s so arrogant, who would want him?” Sierra said.
Libby smiled, her appreciative gaze still lingering on Matt. “You’d be surprised. I can think of a dozen women off the top of my head who’d like him.”
Something in her friend’s voice made Sierra pause. “Are you saying you want him? ’Cuz if you do, you’re welcome to him.”
Libby laughed out loud. “In case you’ve forgotten, I have Carson. I can only concentrate on one man at a time.”
Sierra wondered how she could have forgotten. After all, Carson Davies was all Libby talked about lately. Only in his late twenties, he already owned a restaurant on the pier. He was also Libby’s boss for the summer. With his sun-bleached blond hair and a surfer’s body, the guy had captured Libby’s attention from the moment she’d walked through the door pretending to be Sierra.
“Besides,” Libby added, “Matt is your boyfriend.”
Sierra thought about arguing the point, but what did it matter?
The “William Tell Overture” filled the air and Libby reached for her cell phone.
Sierra frowned. “It’s not my mother, is it?”
Libby glanced down at the phone. “I’m not sure who it is.”
“Hello,” Libby said, then rolled her eyes, pointed a finger to her chest and mouthed the word “mother.”
Sierra sat back in her chair and studied the tourists passing by on the street until Libby hung up.
“That was the weirdest call,” Libby said.
Sierra lifted an eyebrow.
“I can’t believe it. Mother really is interested in the Child Advocacy Center,” Libby said. “She called to find out if I’d met with Matt Dixon yet.”
Stella Carlyle inched up a notch in Sierra’s estimation. It was nice to know the woman wasn’t as shallow as she’d always thought.
“Mother seemed truly interested,” Libby repeated.
“She wanted to hear every detail of our meeting. For a second I wondered if she trusted the man. But I think sh
e was just curious about everything. She even wanted to know what Matt looked like.”
Sierra’s eyebrows drew together. “What does it matter what he looks like?”
“It doesn’t.” Libby lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. “But then it doesn’t really matter what the outside of the Center looks like and she wanted to know all about that, too.”
“You let her know that Matt was doing a good job, didn’t you?” Sierra didn’t know why she asked, other than she knew how important this project was to him.
Libby nodded. “I said he was doing a fabulous job. Didn’t you hear me bragging him up?”
“What did Stella say to that?”
“She seemed pleased,” Libby said. “Especially when I told him that I thought we worked well together. I even mentioned that I hit it off so well that we’ve started seeing each other socially.”
Sierra frowned in confusion. “Why did you tell her that?”
Libby wrinkled her nose. “It was a spur of the moment thing. Besides, you’re me this summer and the two of you have started dating.”
“Lib-by, Lib-by, Lib-by.” Sierra shook her head. “You shouldn’t tease your mother like that.”
“I couldn’t resist,” Libby said with a smile, seeming not the least bit sorry. “She just seemed so interested in everything that I decided to give her what she wanted and—” Libby’s smile widened “—maybe a little bit more.”
Sierra could see she wasn’t getting anywhere with her friend. From the time she’d been little, Libby had loved to “get her mother going” and this time would be no different. Sierra heaved a resigned sigh. “Okay, but will you at least promise me one thing?”
Libby’s gaze was questioning.
“Don’t embellish it too much, okay?” Sierra asked.
With all the innocence of a seasoned veteran, Libby widened her eyes. “What are you so worried about?”
“That if you keep up this charade, by the time the summer is over, your mother will have you married to the guy,” Sierra said.
Laughter crinkled the skin around Libby’s blue eyes. “That would never work.”
The agreement came too quickly. Sierra narrowed her gaze. “It wouldn’t?”
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