Sisters and Secrets

by Jennifer Ryan

  Mason didn’t know that though.

  He’d asked for a second chance of sorts because he’d let her go. She didn’t know that at the time, either, but he’d said as much to her since she’d moved back.

  Maybe this was a chance for both of them to get it right.

  “See you tomorrow, Marissa.” She took Mason’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  Mason gave Marissa a good-bye smile and walked with Sierra out of the office and onto the sidewalk. “The restaurant is up two blocks. Mind walking?”

  “Not at all.”

  They started down the street and she couldn’t help but smile up at him.

  He caught her staring. “What?”

  “This is nice. It’s been a long time since I felt this light.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I’m glad. Something feels different about you tonight.”

  “I guess I want to set aside all the worries and just enjoy being with you.”

  “You’ve had a lot on your mind and to deal with since coming home.”

  She didn’t want to ruin the night with talk of David, but had to ask, “Has your investigator found anything out yet?”

  Mason frowned and kept walking without looking at her. “No. Not yet. Something came up on a divorce case and he needed to work on that for me first.”

  “Of course.”

  Mason held the restaurant door open for her. “If there’s something to find, he’ll find it.” She walked in and settled into his side when he stood beside her with his arm around her waist in front of the reservation desk. “I just hope whatever we discover doesn’t upset you.”

  “I can’t be more upset than finding out he took out a loan and messed with my credit, made it difficult to support the kids, and never said a word about it to me.”

  “I know the why is important, but sometimes it’s worse than the deed itself.”

  “I’m already expecting the worst.”

  “Mr. Moore,” the hostess greeted them. “We’re so happy to have you back. The table you requested is ready. This way.” The hostess led them into the dining room and to the right where a private booth was set up with half a dozen tiny candles, a pretty pink-and-white floral centerpiece, a bottle of white wine in an ice bucket, and a dozen red roses bundled with greenery on the table.

  Mason picked them up and handed them to her. “For you.”

  She leaned in and inhaled their heady scent. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

  “Like you.”

  The hostess smiled. “I hope everything is to your liking, Mr. Moore.”

  “With her here, it’s perfect.”

  Sierra’s heart fluttered and melted all at the same time. “Mason, this is . . . wonderful.”

  “I want you to remember our first date.”

  The hostess left them alone.

  Sierra slid into the booth, followed by Mason.

  She set the flowers on the table, brushing her fingers over the delicate petals, and turned to Mason. “My favorite memory of you is when we rode out to that pretty spot along the creek, tied up the horses, and swam in that little pool of water, then laid out in the sun, just talking and being quiet.”

  “That was a good day. I wanted to kiss you so bad.”

  “I wanted you to kiss me, but you didn’t.”

  “I was older than you. I didn’t want to take advantage.”

  “You’re still older than me,” she pointed out, teasing.

  “Yeah, but I grew out of stupid and I know what I want now. Back then, I didn’t want to mess up our friendship.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I want to grow our friendship, strengthen it, make it better.”

  Good answer. She wanted the same thing. “I guess when you’re young you think it’s one or the other. Friends or lovers. But a real relationship is built on that friendship. Everything you add to it only makes it better. Without the friendship, how can you have real trust and intimacy?”

  Mason pulled the wine from the bucket and poured two glasses. She took hers and clinked it to the one he held up. “To building on our friendship.”

  Feeling nostalgic, she reminisced about the past. “I don’t know how we got from the cute guy next door who let me come over whenever I wanted to ride horses and just hang out to you being the man who goes out of his way to take my kids’ minds off the move, a new school, and missing their father, getting me a dream job, and taking me out to dinner with flowers and candlelight.”

  Mason settled back into the cushion. “I liked being your friend. You were easy to talk to and be with despite the draw we both felt but let simmer in the background. You liked to have fun and ride and just enjoy yourself.”

  “And yet, we never got together.”

  Mason’s smile dimmed. “I blame Amy. She tagged along more often than not.”

  Sierra put her elbow on the table and planted her chin in her hand. “She had a mad crush on you.”

  “And I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Because you knew she had a crush on me, you never seemed open to allowing yourself to want more between us.”

  True. “She’s my sister. She was in your class at school, and I was two grades behind, so she seemed like the girl you’d want.”

  “And yet, I liked you. She was . . . don’t take this the wrong way, but too high maintenance and fussy and needy.”

  Sierra frowned and laughed under her breath at the same time. “All true. Poor Amy. That’s not very flattering.”

  “Some guys don’t mind. It doesn’t appeal to me. She showed off and constantly wanted my attention. At first, it was flattering. But then it got old. You always seemed so secure in your skin.”

  “Oh, believe me, I went through that awkward stage where I thought everything was wrong with me.”

  “Amy fussed and complained about all that stuff. If she didn’t like herself, how was anyone else supposed to like her?” He held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, she grew out of it, but at the time, seeing you two together, you were so much easier to be around. I could be myself with you. Amy seemed to have a vision of what I’d be with her that didn’t fit who I am. Does that make sense?”

  Sierra actually got that very well. It was what she realized about her marriage. She’d built up a vision of what she and David would look like together as a married couple. In reality, they were the same people they’d always been.

  “You can’t make someone like you, or even love you.” She’d learned that a long time ago. “You can try to live up to their image of you, but in the end, you are who you are.” In the end, David didn’t want her.

  “You see me for who I am because we have history. You knew me before I was successful.” Mason glanced up, then back at her. “I apologize for this.” He cocked his chin toward the man walking up to their table.

  “Mason, man, good to see you.” The gentleman came right up, hand extended to shake Mason’s.

  “Allen. It’s been a while. I’d like to introduce Sierra Silva. Sierra, Allen. A former client.”

  Sierra took the gentleman’s hand. He glanced down at her other hand, looking for a wedding ring she hadn’t worn in more than six months. “I see Mason’s untangled you from the dummy who let you go.”

  Mason took her wrist, drew her hand away from Allen’s, and linked his fingers with hers. “She’s not a client. She’s my date.”

  Allen frowned. “Lucky you. Disappointing for me.”

  Mason chuckled. “Last I saw you, you and a beautiful brunette of your own were on your way to Fiji for a couple of weeks to celebrate your divorce.”

  “And celebrate we did.” The gentleman turned solemn. “Listen, I won’t take up your time, but my ex is back with more gripes about how I’m not keeping her in the lifestyle I afforded her while we were married and she wants more child support. If Sabrina wants horseback riding lessons, fine, but I want to be the one to take her.”

  “Got it,” Mason agreed.

  “Sorry to interrupt your date with this.”

/>   “No worries. Make an appointment with Louise, we’ll get this settled.”

  “Appreciate it.” Allen gave Sierra a soft smile. “Nice to meet you.”

  Mason nodded and waited for the gentleman to take his leave. “Sorry. I was hoping we’d have the evening to ourselves and some privacy.”

  “It’s fine. You obviously helped him out of a rough situation.”

  Mason chuckled. “Allen loves his daughter. He loves his ex. They just can’t seem to have a civil conversation anymore. Not that I blame her; she did catch him kissing her best friend, made a scene, it ended up going viral on someone’s Twitter. A ‘friend’ posted a video of the epic yelling match between the two women, Allen standing there dumbstruck not knowing what to do until he ultimately had to physically separate them before the cops showed up.”

  “Oh man, that sucks.”

  “I have dealt with so many people who lost their minds in the moment and regretted it almost as soon as it was over. Allen begged his ex to forgive him. She couldn’t. Not after he’d embarrassed her in public like that.” Mason sighed. “It’s too bad, too, because if they’d tried, they might have come out of it stronger.”

  “And Sabrina wouldn’t be caught in the middle.”

  Mason nodded, looking solemn, then took a sip of his wine.

  Sierra went on, “Your job is so complicated and emotionally straining.”

  “My clients aren’t happy to be ending their relationships; the anger is just a mask for the pain. Mostly they’re hurt and bitter. They think they want revenge, but what they really want is to be able to move past the pain and anxiety over starting a new life without their partner. Change is scary. Most of them are better off after the divorce, emotionally, but it takes time and perspective to get there.”

  She squeezed his hand. “It took me a while to get there after David’s death. I felt rocked by it. I didn’t know how to go on without him. I was his wife. I didn’t know how to be a widow and what was expected of me. I just knew I was still a mom and I needed to be there for the boys. But I still needed to figure out how I felt and what I wanted now that my life had changed.”

  “And then the fire happened and your life is upended again.”

  She appreciated that he got it. “So much is still in flux, but I feel anchored here now.”

  Mason brushed his thumb against her skin, sending ripples of warmth through her hand and up her arm, spreading out to every part of her body. “I hope I’m part of the reason you feel at home here again.”

  “It seems like everything in my life has been hard lately. Then you came back into my life and I don’t know . . . it just seems so easy to be with you.”

  “Because we’re friends?”

  “That part’s always been easy. Hiding the attraction in front of the kids is a bit harder.”

  Mason leaned in close, his breath whispering against her cheek. “You don’t have to hide anything tonight.” His lips brushed her skin in a light kiss that left her wanting even as every nerve in her body lit up with lust.

  Mason sat back and smiled at their waitress. “We need another minute to decide what we want.”

  Sierra didn’t need even a second to know she wanted Mason.

  The sexy smile he gave her said he knew it, too.

  She took a fortifying sip of her wine, picked up the menu, and tried to concentrate on the words and not every breath Mason took, or the way his arm brushed hers when he opened his menu.

  “They do a great steak. The potatoes au gratin are amazing. But you might like the roasted chicken with white wine sauce. It comes with a side of mac and cheese. I know you can’t resist that.” He knew her all too well.

  “I kind of want it all.”

  Mason turned and locked his gaze on her. “You can have anything you want.” He let that hang for a moment and her heart beat faster and her breath hitched when his gaze dipped to her mouth. “I’ll get one. You get the other. We’ll share.” His blazing blue eyes met hers again. “What do you say?”

  “Yes. Okay.” She had a feeling she was answering a question he hadn’t asked, but needed to be answered all the same.

  “You make it hard to concentrate.”

  His deep voice and the thoughts he invoked did the same to her. “You make me think about all the things I’ve been missing.”

  His eyes darkened with desire and the sexual tension grew thick and heady between them. She pressed her thighs together to ease the ache of it, but she didn’t take her eyes off his gorgeous face.

  “You’re coming home with me tonight, right?”

  “Yep.” The word popped off her lips.

  He chuckled, humor and frustration all packed into the light sound. “Why didn’t I think to just make you dinner at my place?”

  To ease the tension and make him smile, she teased, “Well, you can’t be brilliant all the time.”

  This time the laugh was straight from his gut and filled with self-deprecation. “Don’t tell my clients.”

  “Cross my heart.”

  His gaze dipped to the V in her dress. “Your heart is what always drew me to you. Your ability to always be kind amazed me.”

  She tried. “I imagine your clients don’t come to you with a lot of kindness for their exes. I’m sure dealing with their anger and demands all day can get to you.”

  “I have to say, coming home and seeing you and the boys every night for a few hours erases everything bad from my day.”

  That touched her deeply and brought a sheen of tears to her eyes. “I appreciate that, Mason. I find myself looking forward to seeing you at the end of the day, too. The second I walk in the door, the boys are asking to go to your place.”

  “I hope that doesn’t change.” A suspicious edge tinged that nice sentiment.

  She didn’t have time to wonder about it, or second-guess why she thought she heard something in his words that maybe wasn’t there. The waitress approached the table and Mason placed their order, then refilled her wine glass.

  * * *

  They enjoyed the rest of the evening, talking about their day, people they knew from the past that Mason was still acquainted with, plans to take the boys on a long ride and picnic over the weekend, and eating and sharing the amazing food.

  Sierra loved reconnecting with Mason, sharing a simple but lovely meal, and focusing on each other. He asked questions, trying to fill in the pieces he didn’t know about her life in Napa. He didn’t shy away from the fact she’d been married to David. He didn’t mind that David naturally came up in conversation. In fact, he asked about him, which made it easier to remember they’d once been friends and Mason missed him, too.

  In all the time since David’s death, she finally found a kind of peace about his absence. Talking to Mason about him settled her in a way that she’d tried to find this past year, but it had seemed so elusive. Now she got it. No one talked to her about David. They all tiptoed around the fact that he was dead. They stopped asking if she was okay or offering condolences because they didn’t want to make her sad. But talking about the good times and fond memories of David with Mason made her miss him and, at the same time, lessened her grief.

  Mason had no trouble filling her in on his family, either. She asked a ton of questions because she wanted to know more about him. She wanted to know everything about his life now.

  “So my dad joined a yoga class after he hurt his hip. My mom thought it was a good idea. She dropped him off, went to run an errand, then came back, walked in to pick him up, and found him bent over with a twentysomething hottie leaning over him from behind helping him with the pose and stretching his hips. She says my dad had a grin on his face and was enjoying himself far too much. She dragged him out of there and wouldn’t let him go back.”

  Sierra busted up laughing. “She knows the lady was just doing her job, right?”

  “Mom told him if he went back to her, she’d hire me to represent her in the divorce.”

  Sierra laughed even harder. “Oh no. I take
it he didn’t go back.”

  “Oh, he went back, but to a class that has a male instructor. The guy is very handsome according to my mother. Based on my father’s frowns about that, I don’t think he likes my mother sticking around to watch the class and stare at the instructor.”

  Sierra’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “Oh dear. So I guess you might be working for your father if she goes after the sexy instructor.”

  Mason shook his head. “I’m staying out of it.”

  “How is your dad’s hip now?”

  “Better. He goes to a massage therapist once a week, too. It’s helping. He’s moving better. He hates being inactive. Worse, he hates that he can’t ride the way he used to.”

  “Do they come to the ranch often?”

  “Less and less, but we keep in touch. They’re always hounding me to settle down and start a family.” Mason rolled his eyes. “Settle down? Like I’m out partying all the time or something.”

  “It’s not easy to find someone. I guess you’re more aware of what you want and don’t want because of your job.”

  “Believe me, I’ve learned that real kindness means more than a pretty face and a fat bank account.”

  “I’ve learned that trust and the truth are really important, too.”

  Mason signed the check the waitress discreetly left on the table during their talk, then turned to her. “The truth is, Sierra, I can’t wait to get you home.”

  She put her elbow on the table, planted her chin in her hand, and gave him a sexy smile. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

  Mason slid out of the booth and held his hand out to her. She took it knowing she was taking the next step in their relationship and a giant step out of her past and into a future she got more excited about each and every time she was with Mason.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Amy thought she had a plan to keep four kids happy until bedtime but that plan went south the second smoke filled the kitchen and the smoke detector blared through the house.

  Distracted with getting the kids to clean up for dinner, the organic pizza she put in the oven had burned to a crisp.