***
Why had he asked her if she regretted the night together in Hawaii? What difference did it make now anyway? She was staying with him for the next few days.
Each day it seemed like he learned something new about her. And the more he learned, the deeper his feelings for her grew. His feelings for her weren't the only things that were deepening. So was his guilt. Bracing both his arms on the railing, he looked over the elaborate sprawling garden. It was an unusual feature considering how modern the rest of his estate was, yet when his mom toured the Hampton Court Palace gardens, she had photographed a similar one and he had to have something like it.
Where he came from, a guy avoided dating a friend's sister. And if you did you'd better be man enough to tell the other guy. So far he'd managed to break both those rules. His lack of guts disgusted him. He never considered himself a wimp, maybe in high school he been a bit wimpy physically, but he'd never thought himself the type to shy away from difficult things. This current situation proved him wrong, and the longer he waited the worse it would be.
Maybe he should discuss it with Sara. She'd more or less agreed to keep things quiet about them for now, but she might not fully understand the complications their dating caused him. Perhaps if they discussed it, they could decide how to drop the news on Jake. The way he saw it, the sooner they told him the better.
"Wow. The garden is gorgeous," Sara said alerting him to her presence. "My mom would be so envious."
Christopher turned and stared for half a second. The sun bathed her in light, making her loose blonde hair glow as it framed her face. For a moment he wondered if he was dreaming.
"Everything okay back in DC?" he asked, his mind and mouth once again working together.
"I had a few fires to put out. Everything is okay now." She crossed toward the railing. "Can we take a walk down there later?"
Now seemed like as good a time as any. It would give them a chance to talk too. "How about now?" He took her hand and led her toward the stairs to the garden. They passed through the stone archway in silence. He'd watched the landscapers construct every part of the garden and he could navigate it with his eyes closed. He easily led them to the circle of benches nestled among the manicured shrubs.
Sitting on the bench he pulled her down next to him, one arm draped across her shoulders. For several minutes, they sat like that in silence.
"You're quiet this afternoon. Something wrong?" Sara asked, breaking the comfortable atmosphere.
Christopher raked his free hand through his hair. "We need to talk," he began before realizing how she might interpret his words. Beneath his arm he felt her body tense. "I know we said we would keep our relationship secret for now." This time he tried to pick his words more carefully. "We need to tell your brother. Where I come from you shouldn’t date your best friend's sister but if you do, he better know it."
Sara's shoulders moved under his arms as she took a deep breath and then exhaled. "You don't think it could wait a little longer?" He heard the uneasiness in her voice.
“No."
Turning her body, she looked at him. "Do you want to tell him or should I?"
No, he didn't want to tell him, but he didn't see he had any other options. It was either tell Jake or end things with her before it went any further. "No, it's got to be me, Sara."
Sara didn't argue, not that he expected her to. It was obvious she had no desire to tell Jake herself.
"You stay out here and explore while I call him." Now that he made the decision he wanted to execute it. Once he did maybe he could enjoy his time alone with Sara without feeling guilty.
Sara's mouth turned downward. "Not wasting any time."
"Make yourself at home." After brushing a kiss against her cheek, he came to his feet. "I'll be back soon."
The walk from the garden to his study was about as pleasant as a walk to the gallows. Regardless of how he felt about making the call he knew it was the right thing to do. Walking into his study, he pulled his phone from his pocket and brought up the contact list.
The phone rang several times before Jake finally answered. "What's up?" Jake asked. "How's the filming going?"
"Finished it." Christopher tried to formulate a good opening in his mind.
"That didn't take long. Sara still in LA or is she already back in DC?" Christopher could hear a lot of noise in the background.
Jake gave him the opening he needed. "She's still in California." The words that came out were not the ones he intended.
“Having some fun I hope, but knowing her, she's probably working,” Jake said.
Anything work related was not on the agenda for the next few days, at least if he had anything to say about it. “A little of both,” Christopher answered. His decision to come clean with his friend faltered the longer they spoke. “She came up here to Alicante to tour Hall headquarters and meet with Caroline to coordinate some speaking engagements.” The more he spoke the larger the hole he dug for himself. There was no way he could come clean now about their relationship.
“Good, I'm glad she didn't fly right back to DC. With all the hours she puts in I wonder sometimes who is the senator, Sara or Healy.”
Christopher tapped his index finger against his desk. Now that he'd started the lie he had to go along with it. “I noticed that in LA, but it’s her life.”
The background noise on the other end of the call became louder and Christopher used that to bring their call to an end. “Sounds like you're busy over there, let’s talk later.”
“Yeah, I'm out in the field today. But listen, next time you're in the area stop by and visit us,” Jake said.
“Will do.” A strange combination of relief and shame filled Christopher. His conversation accomplished nothing. Damn, how could he have chickened out like that? He came to his feet. Well, if nothing else Sara might be pleased. She'd been unenthusiastic about the idea of telling Jake now anyway.
Men. It never ceased to amaze her how ridiculous they could be. Sara flipped open her laptop. After Christopher left the garden, she went back inside rather than explore alone. The way she saw it she might as well get some work done while Christopher fulfilled his end of what she decided to call the “man code.”
The notion that a man couldn't date a friend's sister without some kind of permission was insane. Did all men really think that way? If Jake had dated one of her friends, it wouldn't have fazed her in the least. Evidently men had their own bizarre notions.
Sara opened her email account. She'd checked it only a half hour ago, but already five new messages waited for her. Quickly her eyes ran down the subject lines. Nothing looked urgent thankfully. Her mind wasn't in the right place to answer important emails.
Why did he have to tell him now? She stared out the window. Couldn't it have waited? A month from now they might decide whatever they thought existed between them didn't and her brother never had to know. If dating was as big a deal as Christopher thought, her relationship with Jake may suffer when the romance turned sour. All their lives she and Jake had been close even when they were sent to different boarding schools. The thought of losing her brother sent icy chills through her heart. Her relationship with Dylan still hadn't recovered fully after her treatment of Callie. And her relationship with Callie was far from normal. With all that, she didn't want to add Jake to the list.
There was an easy way to avoid that. Part of her had wanted to follow that path, but another wouldn't let her. Since Phillip she hadn't felt anything toward a man except suspicion. At least not until Christopher danced with her at the wedding. Maybe it was selfish of her but how could she not pursue seeing where things went?
Beethoven's Fur Elise erupted from her phone on the desk. Her mother's ringtone instantly took her away from her thoughts. Thankful for the distraction, she answered.
"Did you know your brother got married?" Elizabeth Sherbrooke asked, her voice still accented even though she'd lived in the United States for almost thirty years, without sayin
g hello first.
Thanks for leaving out some of the details Jake. "Yes. But I only learned about their plan when I arrived in Hawaii."
"Who else knew?"
Sara didn't miss the catch in her mother's voice. "Callie and Dylan. They helped arrange things. Jake's friend Christopher was there too." She decided not to add that Maureen had been there. Knowing that they'd invited Charlie's mom but not her seemed cruel. If Jake hadn't mentioned it, neither would she.
"I can't believe he did this. He should've had a proper wedding like Dylan."
Irritation bubbled up toward her brother when she heard the sadness in her mom's voice. While she understood her brother's desire to have their wedding private and media free, she still thought he should have included their parents. "It's not what they wanted. And if they could have had you there without the media bandwagon they would've." Despite the irritation, she felt the need to defend Jake and Charlie's decision.
"You sound like your father."
Sara didn't see how that was a bad thing, yet she kept that thought to herself. She listened for several more minutes as her mom talked about how wrong it had been of Jake. During the lecture she remained fairly quiet. For the most part her mom only wanted someone to share her displeasure with and apparently she couldn't do that with her husband. Only when she heard a knock on the door did she interrupt her mom.
"Mom, I'll be back in DC next week. I'll call you then and we'll meet for lunch." She opened the door and let Christopher in the room.
As she wrapped up the conversation Christopher remained in the doorway one shoulder leaning against the casing. She couldn't pinpoint exactly how she knew but he wasn't any more relaxed now than before. Did that mean Jake hadn't taken the news well?
"I thought you'd still be outside." He pushed away from the door frame when she put the phone down.
Sara's eyes followed him as he came toward her, his well-muscled body moving with a nonchalant grace, causing her heart rate to accelerate. "I got lonely so I came in to answer a few more emails." The air around them hummed with energy. Did he sense it too?
Christopher wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his body. "I'm all yours now."
Sara opened her mouth to reply, but Christopher silenced her with a kiss. Whatever questions she had for him died as white-hot heat shot through her body. Gradually, he worked the hem of her shirt out of her waistband and slipped his hands underneath. Caught up in the moment, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him lead her toward the king-sized bed. With a slight nudge, he pushed her down on the bed. Coming down on top of her, he used his forearms to prop himself up just enough to not crush her or stop his exploration of her mouth.
The need to touch him sent her hand wandering to the hem of his shirt. Slipping her hand underneath, she ran her hand up his back enjoying the feel of his muscles beneath her hand. Lost in the heat of his kiss and touch, her world stopped when he pulled his mouth away from hers.
“Am I a more attentive host now?” he sounded short of breath. In one smooth movement he rolled off her and onto his side, propping his head up with his hand.
“A little, but there's still room for improvement.” She enjoyed teasing him.
A sensuous smile with enough heat to melt her favorite pair of Jimmy Choo heels spread across his face. "Really." He leaned toward her, his intentions clearly written on his face.
Sara licked her bottom lip, excitement and apprehension coiling in her stomach. Every time he got close like this she forgot her promise to herself to take things slower this time. Christopher placed the gentlest of kisses on her neck. Inch by inch he moved up her neck leaving a trail of scorched skin behind as he continued his path to her mouth.
"I hope you finished everything because you won't be getting back to it tonight." He looked down at her, his eyes dark with desire. Standing, he grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked it over his head, tossing it to the floor. His pants quickly followed.
In response Sara sat up and pulled her own shirt off then reached for his hand and pulled him back down next to her on the bed.