One Week with her (Ex) Stepbrother (Eden Manor #2) (8 page)

“I
do.”

“I
can call Vanessa and tell them to meet us somewhere—”

“I
said I like it.”

“Then
why were you frowning. You like Vanessa, don’t you?”

“Of
course, I do.”

“Really?”
Missy looked at him closely and saw nothing but sincerity on his face.

“Yes.
I like her a lot. I’d like her just because she’s been such a good friend to
you, but I like her anyway. She’s a real powerhouse, taking on that business
the way she did.”

Now
it was Missy’s turn to frown. “A powerhouse? Just how well
do
you like
her?”

With
a chuckle, Zach reached over to rub his hand along her thigh. “Not anywhere
close to the way I like you.”

After
a minute of mushy gazing, Missy pulled herself together. “So, if you like
Vanessa, then what’s the problem with dinner? You like Joe, don’t you?”

“Sure.”

She
noticed a particular nuance to the word. “You don’t like Joe?
Everyone
likes
Joe.”

“I
know they do.” He smiled at her blandly. “Joe’s a great guy.”

“You
don’t like him? Tell me the truth. Do you know something bad about him?” She
was starting to worry. If there was some dark secret to be revealed about Joe,
poor Vanessa would be heartbroken. “You have to tell me, Zach.”

Zach
cleared his throat. “There’s nothing bad. Seriously. I like him fine.”

“Then
what’s your thing about him? Don’t tell me there’s nothing. I know you too
well, remember?”

“I
know you do,” he murmured. “It’s occasionally a little inconvenient.”

When
Missy just waited with a significant look on her face, he cleared his throat
again and admitted, “It just bothered me sometimes. That he could come on so
strong with Vanessa—do all that flirting and stuff.”

Her
brows drew together, trying to follow his train of thought. “He was in love
with her. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.
Nothing. It doesn’t make sense, but I just…I just wished I could do it too.
With you, I mean. It was so easy for him—and here I’ve been waiting for ages,
trying to hide what I feel for you, so you wouldn’t freak out.”

“Oh.”
She thought about that for a long time as Zach drove in silence. “I was into
you too.”

“Yeah,
but I figured it out long before you did. And I couldn’t say anything. I wanted
to. So much. But I was always having to hold back until finally I couldn’t any
longer. It just started to spill out.”

Missy
smiled, unable to stop herself from being a little thrilled at the depth and
strength of his feelings for her. “I’m glad it did.”

“Me
too. But it was a real risk. There was a good chance you would totally freak
out about your ex-stepbrother coming on to you and then never want to see me
again.”

She
had to admit he was right, so she gave him a rueful smile as she said, “Yeah. I
guess so. It worked out, though, so you shouldn’t resent Joe.”

“I
don’t.” At her expression, his mouth twitched. “Maybe I did. A little. I wanted
it to be easy for me too.”

“It
wasn’t really easy for Joe. He was always pretending he was half-joking when he
flirted with Vanessa. There was a good chance of her freaking out too.”

“Maybe.
I think I had it harder, though.”

“Fine.
You had it harder. You win.”

They’d
gotten into town, and he pulled the truck into the parking lot. When he shifted
it into park, he reached over to brush her cheek with his knuckles. “I
definitely win.”

She
felt a little swoony, but she managed to give him a good eye-roll and an ironic
laugh, waving as she saw Vanessa getting out of Joe’s truck. “Although Joe
definitely has a nicer truck than you.”

This
comment got the grumbling she’d been hoping for, although Zach cheered up as
they walked over to meet their friends.

They
went into the restaurant and order their meals, chatting about how Zach and
Missy had gotten together, about the work on Eden Manor, and about Kelly’s
crazy grandmother.

Missy
was almost high on how happy she felt as Zach wrapped his arm around her shoulders
in the booth after they’d decided to get dessert.

When
she noticed Joe smiling at someone across the room, she turned to see Cassandra
walking over to their table. She wore a belted, sleeveless pink dress that
would have looked prim and old-fashioned on anyone else.

Missy
smiled as the other woman greeted them. There was no sense in feeling so
insecure around her anymore. Zach didn’t love Cassandra. He loved
her.

 “Are
you two together now?” Cassandra asked, obviously seeing Zach’s arm around
Missy in the booth.

“Yeah.”
Zach turned to smile at Missy, and she couldn’t help but smile back. “We are.”

“I’m
so glad. I always did wonder.” Cassandra’s smile was completely sincere. She’d
never been catty or backhanded. It was just one more thing that had bothered
Missy. She hadn’t even been able to hate her properly.

“How
long are you in town?” Joe asked. Like Missy and Zach, he’d known Cassandra in
school. “Someone said you might be moving back.”

“Just
visiting.” Her expression changed, as if she’d thought of something unpleasant.
“I’m not sure how long. At least a week, but maybe longer.” She sighed. “I’ve
got to go talk to Silas, and I’ve been procrastinating.”

There
was a tension in the air that followed this statement. They all knew how angry
Silas had been when his wife had left him. It was one of the things that had
turned him into the recluse he was now.

To
break the tension, Missy murmured lightly, “Good luck with that.”

Cassandra
smiled, still looking unusually flustered. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“I
saw him on Friday,” Vanessa said. “I was bringing a stained glass window from
Eden Manor that he’s going to work on. I mentioned you were in town. I hope
that’s okay.”

“Of
course. It’s probably good he has some warning.” Cassandra’s gaze flickered
briefly. “How is he?”

Vanessa
shrugged and looked uncomfortable. “About the same.”

Cassandra
nodded. “Okay.” Then she straightened her shoulders and smiled again. “I can be
brave. It was great to see you all. Hopefully I’ll see you around before I
leave.”

She
walked back to her table, where her parents were sitting, and the four of them
looked at each other for a minute.

Then
Zach broke the silence by murmuring to Missy, “I don’t care what you say. I
could take him.”

Missy
burst into laughter and gave Zach the response his comment deserved. Once
they’d caught on, Joe and Vanessa joined in on the teasing.

And
Missy had the strangest sensation of watching herself—with Zach and her
friends—as if from a distance, as they laughed and ate dessert and enjoyed
being with each other.

This
was life. Her real life. The world hadn’t left her behind, forgetting to make
things happen. Life had given her what she needed—and a lot of what she wanted.

And
it was good.

***

If
you haven’t already read it, the first book in the Eden Manor series,
One Night with her Rival
(about Joe and Vanessa), is already out. The next book in the series is One
Week with her Husband. An excerpt from that book can be found on the following
pages.

If
you want to read more about Peter, Kelly, and their family, you can check out
the Beaufort Brides series:
Hired Bride
,
Substitute Bride
,
and
Accidental
Bride
.

If you’d like to keep up
with my new releases and sales, you can sign up for my low-volume
newsletter
.

Cassandra
tapped on her horn three times as she turned onto the dirt drive that led
through the woods to Silas’s cabin.

The
cabin had originally belonged to Silas’s grandfather, but it had sat empty for
years until Silas had built his workshop right next to it. When they were
teenagers, they’d snuck away to the cabin sometimes to be alone, and they’d
spent many weekends here after they’d gotten married.

Cassandra
had a lot of vivid memories of the cabin, and most of those memories were good.

They
made her chest ache as parked the car at the end of the driveway and took a few
deep breaths.

Silas
would have heard her honking. She’d always honked that way when she’d come by
to visit him while he worked. He knew she was in town this week. He would guess
it was her driving up.

She
didn’t want to surprise him, and not just because he’d never taken surprises
very well. Considering the tools he worked with, surprising him could be dangerous.

She
waited a minute to see if he’d come out of the workshop, the way he used to
when she’d stopped by to visit. When he didn’t make an appearance, she made
herself get out of the car.

She
smoothed out a few wrinkles in her skirt and a few flyaways in her hair. She
couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this nervous—not even when a decent
gallery in New York had included one of her paintings in an exhibit.

She
had to be brave now, though. She couldn’t let this go on any longer. It wasn’t
good for either of them—staying married like this when they were no longer
living as a couple.

They
needed to get divorced. Silas would just have to accept it.

After
taking another deep breath, she called out, “Silas?” as she walked toward the
door of his workshop.

He
didn’t answer, but she didn’t really expect him to. He never liked to talk
while he was working.

“It’s
Cassandra,” she said, speaking loudly so she’d be heard through the door. “I’m
coming in!”

When
there was still no answer, she opened the door and was immediately washed with a
poignantly familiar scent of iron and coal and flame. It smelled like Silas.
She used to love it.

He
was holding a blow torch and working on what appeared to be a delicately
crafted wrought iron railing. His dark beard was longer than it had been when she’d
last seen him three years ago, but otherwise he looked the same. Big and strong
and rough and beautiful.

She
stood near the door without speaking until he turned the blow torch off. He was
touching up one of the joints, and so she kept waiting until he finally put
down his tools and turned toward her.

“What
d’you want?” he demanded, his face showing no expression at all.

She
raised her eyebrows. “What do you think I want?”

“No.”

And
that was it. He turned his back on her and leaned over to inspect the railing
he’d just been working on.

She
gasped in indignation but made herself control it. Getting angry didn’t work
with Silas—not when he was like this. His stubbornness had always been
astonishing and as hard as stone. Nothing could move him when he’d made up his
mind except for incredibly careful, skillful maneuvering.

She
walked over to where he stood, refusing to be intimidated by his size and
physicality. He was six inches taller than her, and the breadth of his
shoulders and chest made her feel tiny, even though she wasn’t.

“You
said no three years ago,” she murmured, speaking softly on purpose. “I accepted
it then because I just couldn’t deal with any more fighting. But I told you
back then that I wasn’t going to accept it forever. Now’s the time. We have to
get divorced.”

He
turned his head just slightly, his gray eyes smoldering with something strong.
“You’ve met someone?”

“That
isn’t the point. The point is I’m not going to stay married any longer to
someone who refuses to be a husband to me.”

“You’re
the one who left.”

“Only
because you made it impossible for me to stay with you. I can see that nothing
has changed in that regard. You don’t want to be with people, which means you
don’t want to be with me. If we can’t be married, then we have to get divorced.
And I’m not going to let it go on any longer.”

She
was pleased with the clarity and control of her words. She didn’t sound
emotional or impatient or angry, despite the flood of feeling in her chest. The
minute she conveyed any sort of strong feeling, Silas would gain the advantage
on her.

“If
you haven’t met someone, then a piece of paper shouldn’t matter,” Silas
muttered, still examining the iron joint as if it were the most important thing
in the world.

“It
matters to
me
. I need to really start again, and I can’t if I’m still
married to you.”

“You
already did start again. In New York. Isn’t it what you dreamed of?”

It
wasn’t what she’d dreamed of. It wasn’t even what she’d been hoping for in a
more mature and reasoned way. She wasn’t sure she wanted to live there anymore,
but she also didn’t know if she could move back here, when Silas was still
around.

“That’s
not the point,” she replied calmly. “I’ve talked to a lawyer, you know. I’d
like to do this amicably, for both our sakes, but we can do it the other way,
if you’re going to be stubborn.”

“Is
that a threat?”

“Yes.
It’s a threat.”

He
met her eyes, and she managed not to flinch, although she knew most people
ended up turning away from Silas when he glared at them like that.

For
just a moment, she thought she saw something else in his eyes—something
vulnerable, hurt, broken. She knew that, despite his appearance, he was neither
heartless nor ruthless. He could be very tender and sensitive, although he’d
hardened over the years.

No
matter what else had happened between them, she didn’t want to hurt him.

So
her voice was gentler as she continued, “You know it’s for the best, Silas.
Obviously, nothing has changed between us, which means we can’t live together
as man and wife.”

“You
haven’t seen me in three years. You don’t know if that’s true or not.”

Despite
her best efforts, she was starting to get frustrated. “Of course, I know it’s
true. I can clearly see nothing has changed. You’re completely closed off to
other people, to
me
. You can’t really be with someone else when you’re
closed off this way.” She took a shaky breath. “Silas, you know very well that
you can’t give me what I need.”

His
shoulders tensed, and his spine stiffened dramatically. It was like she’d just
punched him in the face.

Cassandra
gasped and raised a hand to her chest. “That’s not what I meant! Silas, you
know that’s not what I meant. I meant
everything
. I wasn’t talking about
a baby.”

“You
still want a baby, though, don’t you?” The words were rough and stilted.

“Yes,
of course.” Her eyes burned with tears she managed to keep from falling.

“And
I can’t give you that.”

“I
know that. But I never
needed
a baby, Silas. I needed for you to open up
to me, to be a real husband, and you stopped doing that. You know this was
never about a baby.”

For
a moment, it had felt like they’d really been talking, but now she’d lost him
again. He looked away from her, and his entire demeanor made it clear she
wasn’t welcome.

She
sighed. “I want a divorce, Silas. A real one this time. I’m here for the rest
of the week, and you’re going to have to agree before I leave town again. You
might as well just accept it. Otherwise, I’ll be out here to bug you every day,
and I know you don’t want that.”

Again,
he didn’t answer.

She
shook her head. “Ignoring it isn’t going to work. By the end of the week, you’re
going to agree to this divorce, whether you want it or not.”

***

You
can find out more about One Week with her Husband
here
.