"The Townsends. Trent's parents."

"Oh yes. They stopped by the first day we got here." She must have made an involuntary face because Avery grinned.

"Don't worry, they don't like me either. I'm just the slut who drove their son out of town."

It was a strange thing to bond over but it made Mara feel a little bit better that even Avery, who had been raised in their social circle, hadn't had an easy time fitting in either.

"Well, I haven't met him yet. James. Or Sophia. Trent said that I'll probably meet them at his parent's house later this week."

Avery snorted. "Don't rush on that score. There's plenty of time for you to make Her Majesty's acquaintance." At Mara's wrinkled brow, Avery waved her off. "That's just what I call her. Sophia was born to rule some small principality. I think fate was just screwing with the rest of us by putting her here."

"I guess you don't get along with Trent's sister then?"

"Sophia is used to being the queen bee. As long as you let her, you'll get along fine." Avery glanced down at the watch on her slim wrist. "Well, I've got to go. Travis is with my mother today. I need to get back. It was so good to finally meet you."

Avery waved goodbye and walked back to the elevators. Once she heard the doors close, Mara hopped up and trotted back to the bedroom. In her closet, she stripped quickly and then walked into the bathroom. This room was just as stunning as the rest of the penthouse, boasting marble floors, honey oak cabinets and more showerheads than she knew what to do with. As she stepped under multiple streams of water, she mentally berated herself for not talking to Avery more, pumping her for information. Even though she didn't really feel comfortable with a girl that beautiful being secret friends with her man, Avery was undoubtedly a good source of information about Trent. She should have at least asked about what he'd been doing all these months when he was visiting.

Although it was amazing to come here and see where Trent came from, it was so easy to get caught up in the way he made her feel. If she wasn't careful she'd spend the entire time the way she had last night, immersed in him and dazed by passion.

Not that she was complaining. Waking up that morning had been a sensual experience. And not just because she'd been all over Trent. The sheets had been so soft against her skin and that bed was just made for snuggling.

And other things.

She blushed remembering how Trent had looked at her. If she'd given him the signal, any signal at all, he'd likely have given her an entirely different kind of wakeup call. But she wasn't sure she was ready for that. Things had been so raw last night. She wasn't sure what had made him go off like that but he'd seemed so frantic, like he was scared to let her out of his arms. They hadn't even made it to the bed.

Normally that kind of urgency would have made her feel special but there was something disturbing about the way Trent had reacted. She'd come here to get closer to him but so far she wasn't any closer to that goal. Instead, the real Trent seemed like even more of a puzzle.

And she was terrified that when she finally put all the pieces together, the picture would be something she didn't want to see.

* * * * *

HIS YOUNGER SISTER had always been nosy so Trent wasn’t surprised the next day when he received a text message from her inviting them to lunch. After he showed it to Mara, she said only “Well, at least she didn’t just show up here unannounced.”

Trent didn’t bother telling her that if she’d known they were in town, she probably would have.

When he'd gotten home last night, Mara had been in a strange mood. He'd wanted to take her out, show her the city but she had wanted to stay in. They'd spend their second evening in town cuddled on the couch watching old movies. Now he sat on the bed and watched as Mara changed clothes for the third time. She yanked a blouse over her head and then stared at her reflection critically before making a disgusted sound and pulling it over her head again.

“You look

beautiful. This lunch is no big deal. It’s just my sister.” Trent had enough experience to know that nothing he said would make a difference since women tended to see a whole host of things that men were blind to. All the outfits she’d tried on so far had looked great in his opinion.

She rolled her eyes and looked at him in exasperation. “It’s your sister and everyone else at whatever expensive place she’s picked out. I can already see how this entire trip is going to go. I’ll be constantly surrounded by people who look at me like I’m an insult to fashion. Did you see your Mom’s shoes yesterday?”

She disappeared into the walk-in closet so her voice was muffled but Trent could guess what she was saying. Not that he knew much about women’s fashion other than it seemed to matter to a lot of people.

“If you want shoes, I’ll buy you shoes.” As he’d thought, that made her come out of the closet with a scowl on her face.

“Buying me stuff is not what this is about. But oh, you’d better be glad I’m not a different person because you don’t know the things I’d do for those shoes.”

He leaned across the bed, snagging her wrist. “Tell me.”

The first tinge of a blush appeared in her cheeks. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”

She smoothed her hands up and down her outfit and then grabbed her handbag. Trent followed, trying in vain to look at anything other than how damn curvy she was.

They arrived at the restaurant to find that Sophia was already there. To his surprise, his heart gave a little pang to see her. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him, a huge smile stretching across her face. She shook her head softly as she rose to greet him.

“Hey big brother.” She raised her arms for a hug and that’s when Trent noticed what had been hidden by the table. The round swell of her belly was unmistakable beneath her fitted jacket.

Tags: M. Malone The Alexanders Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net