Yours to Savor (36 page)

Sandra had told him just now that the fire changed her life. She didn’t know that it had changed his, too. In the aftermath, he vowed to himself that he would never ruin another young human life again. It changed the way he operated, changed the way he approached the world. It changed everything about him. It made him
care
.

And the only thing that allowed him to put that guilt to rest was knowing that while his actions had cost a life, he had
saved
a life, too. The anonymous little girl, the scared, frightened girl with the dirty blonde hair allowed him to conquer his demons.

And now, that very same girl was on his yacht.

Brandon had no idea how he would break the news to Sandra. He couldn’t act like anything was wrong, or she’d become suspicious. He needed more time to think, more time to process all the possibilities.

He knew, in some deep part of his being, that some secrets had to be taken to the grave.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sandra didn’t know what was troubling Brandon when he left her after his nap, but it had passed by the time
VEGA
docked by Brandon’s friend’s beach house.

Brandon led her off the boat, smiling and laughing all the while, then walked her through the forest to his car, which Clarisse had parked on the street above. Brandon’s assistant was nowhere to be seen, but all the clothes they’d bought were right there in the back.

“You sneaky bastard! I can’t believe you had her bring them!”

Brandon’s satisfied grin was plain for the world to see. “I know you liked them.”

“Yes, but—
argh
!” Not knowing what to do, Sandra punched him in the ribs,
hard
. He grunted, but she got the worst of the blow. It felt like her knuckles had hit a solid wall. Brandon started to laugh, and Sandra stuck her tongue out at him.

She got in the car, and Brandon started the engine. “Where do you live?”

Sandra froze. In the magical past couple of days, she’d forgotten all about her shabby apartment. And while she knew Brandon wouldn’t think less of her for where she lived—he wasn’t like that—going back there seemed so incongruous to the fantasy of the weekend that the thought of him seeing where she really lived was unbearable.

So, she did what any reasonable woman would do.

She lied and gave him directions to Cassie’s place.

Cassie lived in a quaint, little townhouse community. It wasn’t fancy, but it was infinitely better than Sandra’s apartment. Sandra had been to the townhouse once, when Cassie hosted a move-in party the week she bought it. All the regulars from her coffee shop had been there.

When they drove through the entrance gates, Sandra put a hand on Brandon’s arm. “Just here, that’s fine.”

Brandon frowned at her. “Let me find a spot to park. I’ll help you with the bags.”

“No!” she exclaimed, feeling a flare of panic. She knew she had spoken too quickly, and tried to distract Brandon by kissing him on the cheek. “I’ll be fine, really.”

“You can’t possibly carry everything up by yourself.”

“That’s why we should have returned most of it.”

“Come on, we’re past that. I saw how much you liked trying everything on. You
deserve
those clothes.”

But what did I do to deserve
you
?
“Really, I’ll be fine.”

“Sandra.” He said her name simply, but the conviction in his voice was unmistakable. “I’m not letting you struggle to the door by yourself. This looks like a great community. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I’m not—”
ashamed
, she was going to say, but then changed her words. “You’re right.
Exactly
right. My place is a mess. I wasn’t expecting anyone when I left. I don’t want you to see it like that.”

“I won’t judge.” He pulled into a vacant spot. “Maybe I like a woman’s clutter.”

Sandra’s heart started pounding with apprehension. If Brandon went with her, he’d realized she’d lied to him. “Really, I’m going to be fine.”

“I said I’ll help.”

He turned the engine off and got out of the car in a way that left no room for arguments. Sandra cursed herself for thinking this was a good idea.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! The minute he realizes I lied to him, he’ll turn around and leave on the spot. Idiot!

Sandra got out after him, her mind working a million miles an hour trying to find some way to salvage the situation. Brandon had all the bags under his arms, and looked at her through his designer shades. “Which way?”

“Follow me,” Sandra sighed. She dragged her feet toward Cassie’s door. When they stopped before it, Sandra took a deep, shaky breath. She had no way of getting in.

She fumbled in her purse for imaginary keys, but she knew she was just delaying the inevitable. She’d
promised
Brandon that honesty would be the basis of their relationship, and failed at the very first test. When he realized she’d lied to him, everything would blow up in her face. He’d see her for the fraud she was, leave, and never speak to her again. She’d be like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight. The illusion would be over.

Brandon stood there, watching her. Regarding her without a word.

She squared her shoulders toward him. Maybe she had a chance, but only if she confessed
right now
. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and—

Was saved when Cassie threw open the door.

“Sandra!” she exclaimed, beaming. “I wasn’t expecting you. And who’s this—oh, my.”

“Hello,” Brandon said. He turned to Sandra. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

“Yes,” Sandra said in a rush. “Yes, this is my friend Cassie. Cassie, this is Brandon. Brandon, you remember Cassie from the coffee shop, don’t you?” Cassie opened her mouth to speak, but Sandra jumped in. “I asked Cassie to housesit for me,” she explained, praying that Cassie would catch on. “When you invited me to Seattle. Before I left, I had to make sure someone took care of the house.” Cassie cocked her head to the side. Sandra stressed once more, “
Housesitting.
”

Thankfully, Cassie wasn’t completely blind to social minutia. She caught on after a brief moment. “Right, that’s right. What I meant was, I wasn’t expecting you so
early
,” she clarified. “I thought you’d be back later this weekend.”

Instant relief flooded through Sandra, but she knew the charade would be over if Brandon took one look inside the townhouse and saw the pictures of Cassie and her husband on the walls. Things could still go very wrong, very fast.

“Well, I’m back now,” Sandra laughed, a nervous laugh. “I can take the bags from here.” She snatched them from Brandon’s hands, giving him a wide, fake smile in return. “And now, I’ve got to get inside. Can’t have you seeing the mess in there, can I?”

Sandra squeezed through the door and left Brandon standing there, dumfounded. When the lock clicked, Sandra sagged against the door and sighed. “Thank you so much for covering for me.”

Cassie frowned, fists on hips. “You told him
you
lived here?”

“I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do!”

Cassie tried her best to put on a stern face. “You shouldn’t have done that.” But she betrayed herself when a smile broke through the mask. “Although, I would have done the same thing if I had that gorgeous man looking at me.”

Sandra giggled, suddenly emotional with relief, and threw her arms around Cassie in an enormous hug. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Oh, I think you would have figured something out. So, I take it you and him are an item now?” Cassie wore the biggest grin on her face. “I told you he’d be good for you. You came from
Seattle
?”

“Oh, I had the most wonderful few days,” Sandra began. Everything came gushing out. The date in the Space Needle, the extravagant shopping trip, the luxurious hotel suite. The ballet. The absolutely amazing, mind-blowing…
other thing
.

“Again, I can’t thank you enough for covering for me,” Sandra finished. “I’m amazed you caught on so quickly.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?” Cassie beamed. “For a man like that, I’d lie just about anything.”

“A man like what?” Robbie
strode in from behind them, a smile splitting his wide face in two. Everything about Cassie’s husband was wide. He wasn’t tall, but he was burly, with thick shoulders and a shaggy, curly beard. If you threw overalls on him he’d be the consummate image of a lumberjack. He placed his hands around Cassie’s waist and tugged her into him, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“Oh, we were just talking about the absolute
dreamboat
Sandra’s dating.”

“Dreamboat, eh?” Robbie
mused. “Do I have anything to be worried about?”

Cassie opened her mouth to say something, but those words turned into a gasp as Robbie spun her around and kissed her. When he let her go, she murmured, half in a daze, “No, definitely not.”

“It’s good to see you again, Sandra,” Robbie
said, extending a thick hand. She hadn’t spent much time with Cassie’s husband, but remembered him being very affable. So far, he was serving the memory well.

Sandra ended up staying for dinner. She remembered the promise she’d made to Cassie about going out with her and the girls, but that obligation was not why she stayed. She stayed because of how
good
it felt to let people into her life again.

Cassie owned the coffee shop, but Sandra learned that at home, Robbie was in charge of the kitchen. He shooed her and Cassie into the living room as he prepared dinner. There, Sandra showed her friend all the extravagant clothes that Brandon had bought her.

Later, as they ate, Sandra realized it was the first time she’d had dinner with other people since moving to Ocean Shores. Had she really been so uptight that she’d avoided making
any
friends for two years in the community?

No, that wasn’t exactly true. Cassie had always been there, waiting for Sandra to emerge from her self-imposed shell. And she knew Josh, who was like a younger brother to her. Doctor Baker was always friendly, too—more than in just the employer-to-employee sort of way.

It was just that for two years, those three people had been enough to fill her nightmare-fueled existence.

But now, with a new man stretching her heart to unimaginable fullness, she felt like she had room to let everybody in.