Restraint (Mason Family 1)

I close my eyes and imagine how long it might take me to feel better again. Days? Weeks? Months?

Ever?

Sienna reappears with two coffee mugs. She shrugs. “It was all I could find.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I actually have wine glasses.”

She sits down and looks at me like I’m crazy.

“What?” I ask, watching her open the bottle. “I don’t drink a ton. I have to stay sober to keep people out of prison.”

She hands me a glass of a deep, burgundy-colored drink. “That’s so noble of you.”

“I’ll be able to tell my nieces and nephews one day that I was an honorable, noble woman until I met this guy on vacation, and he ruined my life.”

She shakes her head. “You know, you’re much more dramatic than I would’ve guessed.”

“I don’t know why you’re surprised. I am Lance’s sister.”

We both laugh.

I take a sip of my wine and then rest my head on the pillows again. It feels good to have some distance between Holt and me. It’s easier to process.

It’s easier, too, having Sienna here.

I look at her and smile. “Thanks.”

“For what?” She curls her legs up under her. “For the wine? Don’t thank me. Thank Machlan. I took it from his bar.”

It feels good to smile. I was afraid I wouldn’t smile again for a long time.

“Thank you for coming all the way up here,” I tell her. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“No. I did.”

“You could’ve called me from home. Or met me for lunch tomorrow.”

She sets her glass down. “You still don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“Blaire, we’re friends. If you need me, I’m going to be there. I would’ve flown to Savannah if you needed me … although Walker probably would’ve come, and I’m one hundred percent sure that he could take Holt with one punch.”

She makes a face that makes me laugh.

“I was this close to sending my sister, Camilla, over to check on you,” Sienna says. “I was afraid that would freak you out, though.”

“Yeah. That might’ve been awkward.”

Sienna smiles. “You’d love Cam.”

I start to say that maybe I’ll meet her one day, but I stop myself.

I’m never setting foot in Savannah again.

Sienna stretches her arms over her head and sighs. I know she’s giving me space and avoiding the elephant in the room, but the longer we go without addressing it, the more my anxiety about the whole thing increases.

I take a deep breath. “I’m proud of myself.”

It’s an odd thing to blurt out, and it catches Sienna off guard. She drops her hands to the sofa slowly.

“Today was awful and, at times, humiliating. But I didn’t crumple. I chose to leave because it was the best choice for me—and what he really wanted, anyway. But I made that decision, and it’s not something I’ve always been able to do in my personal life. I’m proud of that.”

“I’m happy for you,” she says carefully.

“I mean it.” I scoot to a more upright position. “Today was a really hard day.”

I feel my throat tighten again as if it’s begging me not to talk anymore. But Sienna has been with me through the whole thing, and I want her to know how it ended.

We’re friends, after all.

“I went with Holt to his parents for brunch this morning.” I shake my head. “I can’t believe that was this morning.”

“How’d it go?”

“Really good and really terrible.”

My breathing stays even as I mentally replay walking into the Mason’s home.

“His family is wonderful,” I say. “I met Coy in person. He’s a train wreck.”

“But so hot.”

“He’s pretty cute,” I say with a grin. “Then I had the best chat with Rodney about a legal issue. And Siggy is just … she reminds me of my mom. Well, if my mom wore pearls.”

Sienna grins but doesn’t say anything.

“But, um …” I force a swallow. “Siggy asked me to get Holt and Oliver from the other room. And when I went to do that, I overheard them talking. I wasn’t eavesdropping,” I hurry to add. “I just heard it before I could not hear it, if that makes any sense.”

“It does. Especially if there are all kinds of noise floating around, and you’re hyper-focused on one person’s voice.”

I nod. “Anyway, Holt was telling Oliver that he didn’t have the energy or time to really deal with me. That’s not what he said verbatim but close enough. That was the point.”

My voice dips at the end as my spirits fall. Even though I’ve thought about that a hundred times since then, it still stings.

Sienna smiles sadly. “I know that wasn’t a good feeling.”

I shake my head.

She shifts in her seat as she sips her wine. Her eyes stay trained on me over the rim of her glass. Finally, she sets the glass back down.

“I’ll never forget the night when Walker’s truth hit me in the face. I was surrounded by his family—your family. Do you remember that?”