“You’re right, and I’ll thank them the first chance I get.” Her mom let go of her hand when she finished speaking, then yawned. “Thank you again for coming, but I’m exhausted.”

  She kissed her mom on the cheek, and Sophie only slightly tensed. “Okay, can we talk again tomorrow?” If her mom had buried her feelings, she’d have faith in Belle to navigate them through it. She just didn’t want to do it by talking about herself and Mason. Her mom nodded, but Victoria didn’t miss the thoughtful look in her eyes. “Good night, then.”

  “That was interesting,” Belle said when Sophie was well out of earshot. “I don’t think we can trust it, but hopefully it’s a starting point. She sounded rehearsed to me, and that makes me wary. Until Sophie can be truly honest, I can’t believe we’ve made any real progress. Although I know for certain we’ve made at least a dent. I think she’s seeing a lot of things about herself she doesn’t like. But whether her words will match her actions, I don’t know.”

  “I thought the same thing.”

  “If anything, this might be a correction from what happened last time. She lashed out and it delayed her leaving, so she’s pulling back and biding her time.”

  “Has she mentioned leaving?” The false contrition in her mom’s tone had been easy to make out. She’d apologize if she was wrong, but she doubted her mom was happy for her about Mason, and she definitely wasn’t thrilled she was still here. But she was making all the right noises, and Victoria knew her well enough to know she probably had some endgame in mind.

  “No, but we’ll sit and talk about it tomorrow. Before you got here, the whole day was about complaining how she was wasting time with me.” She shrugged. “That said, she’s talking. She’s opened up about things, and I do believe she’s accepting some of her culpability in this mess. Whether she thinks she’s responsible, though, I can’t say yet. I’m going to be direct tomorrow and see where we stand.”

  “I’d like to be here for some of that. Maybe my presence will get her to show her real colors. This seems like it’s taking forever, but I want her to be okay.” She rubbed her hands on her jeans, trying to get rid of the sticky feeling from her mom’s clammy hand. “Did you tell her this is Mason’s place?”

  “No, I think she was fishing, and you gave her what she wanted. And she may have seen Mason out and about on the property.” Belle shook her head and smiled. “Don’t worry about it, and I’ll call you if something comes up. If not, same time tomorrow?” Belle hesitated and Victoria waited to see what she wanted to add. “The other thing I want you to consider is maybe some one-on-one therapy sessions for you. If you’re not comfortable with me, I can recommend someone, but I think you’d benefit from sorting out your feelings about all this.”

  “Tomorrow sounds good, and I’ll think about the counseling.” She stepped outside and the darkness was welcoming. Their meeting had left her more discomfited than the one they’d had two weeks before.

  She had no reason to doubt Belle’s competence to help people like her mother, but the last hour of her life had been total bullshit. It was Sophie Roddy at her best fake self. If she was right, then all this, all the sacrifices they’d all made, were for nothing. It was her mother biding her time to get back to the chaos of the life she’d left behind, that Victoria didn’t fit into. Most likely, she was just trying to figure out how and when to do what she wanted to do.

  It was like being stuck on a hamster wheel of her mother’s construction, and she was tired of running in a circle. But what if she got off the wheel and something horrible happened? There was no way she could live with herself, but the running and the waiting to crash were draining her to the point that she’d eventually be empty for anything but her mother’s drama. That wasn’t fair to Mason or to her.

  “This must make me lucky twice in one day, Fred.”

  Mason’s voice warmed her, and Victoria laughed when Fred ran to her and licked from her hand to her elbow.

  “We’re out here looking for squirrels, and you found this beautiful woman we get to take home. Good boy.”

  “Do you have any idea how glad I am to see you?” Relief flooded her when she saw Mason’s smile.

  “We had to come looking for you. Fred missed you.” Mason hugged her and didn’t say much else as she simply held her. This was the main thing she was afraid of losing. She’d found her place, and it was with Mason, but she still had a responsibility to her mother.

  “Can we go home?”

  “Want to talk about it while we walk?” Mason took her hand as Fred tried to press a stick into the other one.

  “It really wasn’t horrible.” She threw the stick in the direction they were headed. “Mom was actually nice, and that worries me more than if she’d been her usual self. When she’s horrible, I know what to expect. But nice…that throws me. Does that make sense?”

  “You probably know Sophie better than Sophie, so I believe you. Are you worried about anything?” Mason threw the stick next, and Victoria wanted to forget everything on her mind and enjoy the rest of their night. “Does she want to leave?”

  “She didn’t talk about that. She mentioned how grateful she is that I helped her, and she thanked you for giving up your house. She’s really enjoying Blue Heaven, and she was interested that you’d become important to me. But she cut the conversation short, and I admit that I’m glad.” They stopped when her phone rang and it was Belle. “Hello.” She put it on speaker so Mason could listen in.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Belle must’ve figured there was something off.

  “I’m fine, and I’d like to believe my mother is as well. But I don’t.”

  Mason distracted Fred with the stick again, and it was like having a foot in two vastly different worlds, but only one would eventually win out for all her attention. Whichever one that was, the loss of the other would leave a gaping wound.

  Belle hesitated. “It does seem like an about-face, but maybe we’ve really turned the corner. What she says in our sessions isn’t always what you get to hear, but I’ll find out if today was an act or the beginning of something good. Try not to worry, though. That’s our job. You concentrate on the great things you have going on right now.”

  “Thanks, but call if something changes.”

  She put her phone in her pocket and faced Mason. “I want you to remember one thing.”

  “Sure.” Mason smoothed her hair back and smiled down at her.

  “No matter what, I love you, and this has been the greatest time of my life.”

  Mason’s smile faded. “Are you going somewhere?”

  “No, but I didn’t want to leave that unsaid.” No one went out of their way to get sucked into what they didn’t want, but sometimes you couldn’t fight it. “I love you, and I want you to always know it.”

  * * *

  Mason stood in the booth as Victoria and her band went through a song for the sixth time. They’d been at it for a few hours, and Victoria was a little off, and she’d been off in everything for the last five days. Five days of spending hours doing this in the morning, and every afternoon talking to Belle and Sophie, then being quiet for the rest of the night. Mason knew she wasn’t sleeping well, but she wouldn’t talk about what was bothering her no matter how often she asked. It was affecting her work as well as their time together at night.

  “Take thirty, everyone,” she said when Victoria’s head fell forward when they finished again.

  “Sorry,” Victoria said when she joined her in the studio.

  “Nothing to be sorry about.” She sat next to Victoria and kissed her cheek. “As a matter of fact, we could call it a day and start again whenever you’re ready.”

  Victoria gave a humorless laugh. “Honey, go ahead and admit I’m screwing this up. If you want to, we can call it quits. This has to be costing you a fortune.”

  “I’m sorry, have we met? You know I’m not going to tell you that.” Mason waited, but she’d learned Victoria sometimes needed a nudge. In this case perhaps a hard shove would do the trick, since gentle prodding during the week hadn’t worked. “What you can do is tell me what’s wrong. It can’t be that you’re nervous, since this isn’t your first rodeo. You killed that duet, so what’s the problem?”

  “I’m not sure. Believe me, I’d fix it if I could.”

  “Want to take a break with me? If we go for a walk, I can help you get in the right frame of mind.” She held her hand out palm up and waited. “Dr. Liner is here and ready to help.”

  “Let’s go, Dr. Liner.” Victoria accepted her hand and laughed. “Is this a private session you offer everyone?”

  “Private session for only one patient.” They headed back to the booth where she let Victoria enter first. “Lou, tell everyone to take a few hours, and have lunch brought in. We’ll be back and ready to go by then.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  “I’m not hungry,” Victoria said when they entered the elevator to the top floor.

  “Okay, I wasn’t planning to eat just yet.” They headed for her office and waved to the assistants as they went. Scarlet didn’t get up but smiled as they stepped inside. “I thought we could spend some time kissing. It might not relax you, but it’s something we both like doing.”

  “I like your thinking, Doc.” Victoria fell into her lap when she sat on her couch.

  “But if you need to, you can talk to me.”

  “You’re the best thing in my life. You know that, right?” The way Victoria traced her eyebrows with her fingertips made her close her eyes and enjoy it. “I love the way you love me.”

  “Are you trying to change the subject?” Mason tried opening her eyes, realizing this wasn’t about her.

  Victoria covered them, though and hummed for a minute.

  “Believe me, baby, whatever’s bothering you, you can tell me. Is it about your mom? Did she tell you something? You haven’t told me much about your sessions this week.”

  “Really all we talk about is you and me.” Victoria kissed her after dropping her hands. It felt like Victoria was trying to hide from her, and all she wanted was for her to find strength in what they were building together.

  “Is she upset it’s me?”

  “I don’t get that. She’s asked all this stuff about us, and I don’t want to lie, but I don’t want to be honest either. I’m sure that doesn’t make sense, but I don’t want to give her the chance to come between us. And it feels…false? Intrusive? I don’t know.”

  She hadn’t wanted to get in the middle of Victoria and Sophie as they tried to put their relationship back together, but with every meeting they had, the more of Victoria she lost. “Do you need some time away to figure all this out?” It was like getting a blow to the head with a bat, finally realizing that might be what was weighing on Victoria. She wanted out and was having a hard time telling her. “Is that what you’re afraid to tell me?”

  “What? No.” Victoria grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled. “I just know she’s asking because she’s going to use whatever I say to get to you somehow. She uses people, and I can’t imagine losing you now.”

  The answer made her shake her head. “Why would you think that, baby? You have a lot of history with your mom, and not so much with me, but I found in you the one person I want to be with. And I want that for a long time. Nothing your mom would do could change that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I haven’t said anything so I wouldn’t scare you, but I’m in this for the long haul. You’re the one who fits, and I want you in my life. I’m not going to force you into something you don’t want, but I’m going to fight like hell to keep you.”

  “That’s what I feel for you, and it scares the hell out of me.”

  “Why? Tell me what you’re afraid of.”

  “Maybe you’ll get tired of all this drama. I wouldn’t blame you, and even I think it’s too much. And she’ll always be around. It’s not like you can have me without having her around in some way too.”

  “There’s so much I could say, but they’re only words.” She moved Victoria so she was straddling her legs. “The proof of my love for you won’t come through words, but through simply loving you. If you aren’t there yet, I’ll give you time, but if you don’t want it, tell me now so I can start dealing with it.”

  The way Victoria looked at her shut her up, and she accepted her kiss. “I want all of you.” Victoria started on the buttons of her blouse and kissed her again. “Did you lock the door?”

  “Will it make me seem calculating if I said yes?” She laughed when Victoria stopped with her buttons and ripped Mason’s shirt open, sending a few buttons flying.

  “Thanks for reminding me of us,” Victoria said as she dropped her blouse behind her. She popped the buttons of her jeans and moved Mason’s hand inside.

  “That’s what I’m here for.” She moaned along with Victoria when she felt how wet she was, and Victoria slid her jeans down enough to position her hand and fingers. “Fuck, baby.”

  Victoria wasn’t as vocal as usual thanks to thin office walls, but she moved her hips with her thrusts, and her breathing picked up close to her ear. That heavy breathing and the way Victoria held on to her were driving her crazy, and her pants felt three sizes too small. “Come for me, baby.”

  The command made Victoria moan, and her movements got clumsy. She felt Victoria’s sex squeeze her fingers, and she covered Victoria’s mouth with hers to keep her from getting too loud.

  “Oh, I’m coming,” Victoria said, pulling away from her and biting her bottom lip. “I’m coming.”

  She put her other hand at the small of Victoria’s back and held her in place. “Give me what I want, baby. I’ve got you.”

  Victoria took a deep breath, and she felt a few more spasms go through her body.

  “I’m sorry for freaking out on you…again,” Victoria whispered after she’d fallen on top of her and exhaled. “You probably think I’m nuts.”

  “It’s more like you’re on overload, and you’re being pulled in one too many directions.” She stopped talking when Victoria ran her tongue along her bottom lip. It was so easy to get lost in what Victoria did to her, how she made her feel pretty much everything she hadn’t before, so she relaxed, ready to follow wherever she was willing to lead.

  “Why is it you understand me better than anyone else?” Victoria unclasped her bra. It was a good move if her intention was to keep Mason stupid for the rest of the afternoon. The reptilian part of her brain that channeled a teenage boy had a problem stringing words together when confronted with perfect breasts.

  “That’s an easy one.” She reluctantly looked up when Victoria put her fingers under her chin and forced her head up. “It’s because I love you.”

  “Good answer.”

  Victoria wrapped her fingers around her wrist and guided her hand away, and she shook her head, not ready to stop making love to Victoria.

  “Don’t pout, honey, you’re not done, but I need to take my pants off.”

  She watched Victoria strip and wondered if she’d ever get tired of the sight. Victoria wasn’t simply perfect because of every feminine curve, but also because of the way she looked at her. Her gaze when they were intimate was best described as predatory, the kind of stare that made her both hard and wanted. Add the perfect breasts, and it was a fantastic combination.

  “Stop daydreaming about my tits and take your jeans off.”

  That was all it took to make her desperate, and there was only one way to ease the crazy over-the-top desire. She needed Victoria’s mouth on her and these damn jeans off. Of course, the sight of Victoria’s white lace panties was doing things to her coordination, and in the back of her mind, she wondered what possessed her to go with the button fly jeans today.

  “Jesus.” She wasn’t loud, but it was certainly time to praise God and whoever else was responsible for the gift of Victoria kneeling between her legs.

  “Can you come quietly?”

  The way Victoria asked made her want to laugh, but she went with simply nodding. It was hard to form words her clit was so hard, and she blamed the way Victoria did justice to those panties and how hard her nipples were.

  “Promise?”

  “I promise,” she said before Victoria’s mouth became the center of her universe. It was so good she wanted it to last, but it turned out Victoria’s secret wasn’t sexy underwear, but reducing her to a hair trigger and no sense of control.

  The orgasm swept over her, and she clamped her mouth shut as her body tensed. Victoria didn’t let up until she was so sensitive she croaked out, “Stop.”

  She felt the feather kisses to her inner thigh as she tried to control her breathing, and all it did was make her want more. Victoria laughed when she picked her up, walked to the desk, and laid her down. “Can you come quietly?”

  “I’m not making any promises.”

  After today, she’d never be able to control her smile when she sat at her desk and thought about Victoria lying there with her feet on the arms of her chair, legs spread, waiting for her to touch her. This time she went slow and ran her tongue gently over Vic’s hard clit until she was desperate.

  “Harder, baby, much harder.” Victoria lifted her hips and pulled on her hair to bring her mouth down on her clit. It turned out she could orgasm quietly after all.

  Victoria seemed much better by the time they shared a shower in her private bath and found her a new shirt with all the buttons attached. “Do you think anyone out there knows what we were doing?” Victoria asked.

  “I doubt it, but the size of my smile might give us away.” She held Victoria before they opened the door, knowing she wouldn’t get another chance until their long day was over.

  “You do know how to give a rousing pep talk, honey. If anything was bothering me, I have no idea what it was.”

  When they returned to the studio, she kissed Victoria before they started again, smiling at the whistles coming from the band. “Will you do something for me?”