“You could be right.” Tears stung her eyes. “Thank you for listening. All this time, I’ve had no one to talk to. With Diane gone, and having to keep my secret, I’ve been so lonely.”

The women linked hands. “We’re always here for you. There’s never any need to be lonely again,” Morgan said firmly.

“We’re all family now,” Raven said. “Sisters. How cool is that?”

Morgan caught her breath. “Is it almost official? You and Dalton?”

Raven grinned. “I found the ring hidden in one of my shoe boxes.” She shook her head. “Don’t men know never to hide anything with a woman’s shoes?”

Morgan and Sydney clapped their hands with delight. “I can’t wait!”

“Yeah, it’s kinda fun to imagine when and mess with his head.”

Sydney grinned. “You’re so bad. Okay, love you guys. I have to get home. Between the poker, Cynthia, and spilling my heart out, I’m exhausted.”

“I hear ya,” Raven said. “It’s been a hell of a day. Started for me way too early. Guy at the bar was spiking his coffee with Baileys and went nuts. Had to throw him out.”

“What did he do?” she asked.

“Mooned me in front of my customers.”

Sydney pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. “Well, that’s not too terrible. I haven’t seen a good mooning in forever.”

Raven raised a brow. “From the front.”

They paused for a moment. Then burst into laughter.

Lord, she’d missed her friends. Knowing they were back on her side made all the difference.

Morgan drove her home, and after quickly checking on Becca, she hesitated in front of the master bedroom. She didn’t have the energy to try hiding in another room tonight. But she wasn’t ready to have sex with him, either. She needed to sort through some of what Raven had told her regarding Tristan and figure out if she could break through the walls he’d built around his heart.

Squaring her shoulders, she marched in. He was sitting up in bed, the television droning low in the background. A book lay open in his lap. He had an obsession with Steve Berry books. He looked up from the page. “How’d it go?”

She lost her voice for a moment. All that gorgeous toasty skin displayed by his bare chest stole rational thought. Her nipples peaked, ready to come out and play, so she casually crossed her arms in front of her breasts to hide them. “Good. We talked. I’m glad I went. How’s Becca?”

He broke into a genuine, happy smile. Those white teeth flashed and showed off the result of Diane’s insistence he wear braces through the seventh grade. “She ate all the stew, even though there was stuff mixed together.”

“How’d you get her to do that?”

Guilt flickered across his face. “Bribed her with a second dessert.”

Her lips twitched. She’d tried that tactic before but it had stopped working. Guess it was different with Tristan. “Works for me. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a battleground and have to make certain decisions to offset blowing it all up.”

“Got homework done and watched America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

“Ah, that’s one of her favorites. Here’s another hint: Anything on HGTV puts her in a trance. She loves it.”

“You’re kidding.”

She laughed. “No, I’m serious. She’s definitely going to take after you. Besides redesigning her room on a rotating basis, she adores Fixer Upper and says she’d love to have her own show one day.”

His eyes glinted with a rush of emotion that threatened to burst her heart. “She kind of amazes me. I’m just afraid she may be smarter than me one day and then it’s all over.”

They shared a smile, and the surge of connection lit between them. The air sizzled with electricity and sexual awareness. Suddenly her muscles loosened, and liquid heat warmed between her legs. His gaze narrowed, raking over her figure, as if he already scented her arousal and was thinking of crossing the room to pull her into his arms, take her mouth, spread her thighs, and—

“Sydney?”

His rough growl stroked her ears. She shuddered. Blinked.

“I’m gonna—gonna—take a shower. Don’t wait up.”

She dashed past him and dove for the door, shutting and locking it behind her. She waited breathlessly as the minutes ticked by. Finally the light clicked off and she sagged in relief.

She’d be safe another night.

They were playing a dangerous game. And eventually, someone was going to lose.

She pushed the thought out of her mind and turned on the shower.

He listened to the running water and wondered whether she was looking for her vibrator.

Groaning, he rolled over to take the pressure off his aching dick. When he’d hired the moving people to pack up all her stuff, he’d made sure to retrieve her personal toy from behind the basket of nail polish. He kept it in his side bedroom drawer, tucked under his briefs for safekeeping. He figured it’d come in handy one day.

He was looking forward to it.

His hand craved to slide down his body and give relief, but he didn’t know how fast she’d return. He hoped to God he didn’t have to go searching for her again in a different bedroom. Since that first night she’d begged for his kiss, she hadn’t woken up when he placed her in his bed and tucked her in. It had taken him over an hour to find her last spot—in the damn closet with the goose down comforter on the third floor. It would’ve been funny as hell if he hadn’t been so pissed at the thought Becca could wake up and find her mother hiding from her father. He’d growled and threatened, but she just stuck her chin up in the air and told him she wanted a separate bedroom.

She was so damn stubborn.

The water finally stopped. He imagined those naked curves glistening as droplets clung to her white skin. Imagined sliding his fingers through her neatly trimmed fiery hair and stroking her to climax. He’d make her pay for forcing him to play this waiting game. He didn’t think he could take much more. Eventually one of them had to break and dissipate the crackling tension. Once he got her back in his bed, maybe they’d be able to settle into a more normal routine. A marriage that made sense. They’d blow off all this lingering steam and move forward as partners, in both business and parenting.