“They aren’t going to bring up…bad memories?”
Sylvie pursed her lips and shook her head slowly and deliberately. “I don’t dwell on the bad things that happen to me. I never have and I never will, and it’s made me a happier person. All I want is to keep moving forward with you, Alex. No bad memories, no regrets, no holding anything back. No more secrets. Or, at least the secrets we have now are the ones we both hide from the rest of the world.”
She watched Alex’s eyes darken and worried that she’d said the wrong things. Until she realized he was reacting not out of anger but hunger. For her. For the life they could have together now.
No secrets. No regrets. Nothing but trust.
“One question,” Alex said.
“Oh? What’s that?”
His lips curved into a devilish smile. “Which color cord would you like me to use?”
* * *
Late afternoon,Sylvie and Alex walked the dogs up to the ranch where everyone was gathered for dinner. It had become a regular ritual for Kyle and Arden to host a big ‘family dinner’ at least once a week, usually a potluck, with practically enough leftovers to feed everyone for the next seven days. This would be Alex and Sylvie’s first family dinner since she got out of the hospital. They were on ‘wine and beer run duty’ this round, until Sylvie’s shoulder was fully healed.
“They’ll keep me on wine duty if they know what’s good for them,” Sylvie joked as they walked along. “Hate to disappoint you, but Cynthia never did turn me into a cook.”
“So I’ll do the cooking and you do the car maintenance. Sound good?”
Sylvie laughed. “You know the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach, don’t you?”
“From the sounds you were making this morning, I thought it was through other things, but if you insist.”
She felt her face go crimson. Yes, the morning and all the way into the afternoon she’d made plenty of sounds. But so had he.
They turned up the long driveway to the ranch. Cars and trucks lined the drive but one vehicle stood out to Sylvie. Brianna Taylor was there.
Sylvie’s stomach dropped and she slowed her steps. She looked around for Carla’s motorcycle but didn’t see it. Carla and Arden had met at the hospital in Sylvie’s room and Arden had invited her to join their dinners, but Carla’s bike was nowhere in sight. Sylvie was about to confront a whole group of women she didn’t know well without her partner to back her up.
And one of them was Brianna.
“Sylvie? Hey, I’m sorry about the car maintenance joke. I know you’re upset over your Mustang.”
“No, it’s okay. Alison will be fine with some TLC.”
“Then what…oh.” Alex had followed her gaze to Brianna’s car. “This is the first time you’ve seen her since…everything, isn’t it?”
She only nodded as she fought the sudden, panicky urge to turn around and go home.
Alex stopped her. The dogs circled them as he took her into his arms.
“You were saying just this morning. No bad memories. No looking back, no regrets.” He brushed his lips against her forehead.
“I know. But I don’t know how she feels. If…”
“If what?”
“If she’ll hold what happened against me.” Sylvie felt her eyes start to prickle with tears. “If she’ll blame me for…for not doing my job. For not stopping Tom in time.” She blinked hard and fast before pressing her face against his hard chest.
“Baby. Everyone in there is your friend. They know you’ve been through hell, even if they don’t know the full story. I can tell you that a lot of those ladies know exactly what hell feels like.” He tilted her chin up to look at him. “Go in with your head held high.”
“What if she hates me?” Sylvie whispered.
“She doesn’t.” He stroked her cheek carefully where she was still bruised.
“I love you,” Sylvie said.
