Only You by Francis Ray Read Free Book Online

Only Morgan and Luke remained quiet. But Sierra didn’t like the way they were looking at her.
    “How were you selected?” Luke asked. As a former FBI agent and owner of a private investigation firm, he never missed the small details.
    “I applied,” she answered, knowing that wasn’t the end of it.
    “When?” Morgan wanted to know.
    “After he came here and I read about the possibility of a new venture,” she answered.
    “That was months ago,” Pierce pointed out. “Why now?”
    “Navarone Place is nearing completion,” she told them, trying to keep her gaze off Faith.
    “And your application just happened to be picked after all this time,” Luke said mildly. “Doesn’t wash for me.”
    “Me, either.” Morgan leaned across the table. “Care to tell us what the missing piece is?”
    Morgan was a top defense attorney and could interrogate with the best of them. Sierra could evade, but the end results would be the same. She didn’t lie to her family, but none of them were going to like her answer. “I met Blade Navarone when I was in San Francisco.”
    You could have heard a pin drop. Then Faith said, “Blade is a friend of mine, and I introduced them. He’s a wonderful man.”
    Brandon’s eyes narrowed. “You’re too trusting. The man is ruthless.”
    “Brandon, I love you, but I’m not stupid,” Faith said so sweetly that sugar could have dripped from every word. Being no fool, he got the message.
    Brandon blinked and quickly backpedaled. “Of course not!”
    “Sierra hasn’t said she’s going yet,” Catherine said, always the voice of calm, probably because she was a psychologist.
    “But she’s thinking about it.” From the annoyed way Pierce spoke, he didn’t like it one bit.
    “If I were selected, the commissions would be awesome,” Sierra told them. “I could open my brokerage office in style. And the association with Navarone Resorts and Spas would be invaluable.”
    “Your association with Navarone is what worries me.” Brandon loved his wife, but he wasn’t a pushover.
    Sierra was pleased to see Faith hug his arm to show she understood. Love, when it was right, had nothing to equal it.
    “I bet Blade was behind Shane’s thirty-thousand-dollar bid at the auction,” Pierce said.
    Sierra barely kept from squirming as Luke pinned her with another look. The entire family had teased her about the exorbitant amount, but since it was for charity and she’d come home safely, they had let it drop.
    “Who did you have dinner with, and where?” Luke asked.
    “Blade, at his home,” she answered.
    From the muttered words and angry faces, her brothers weren’t pleased.
    “What does he look like?” Luke asked, watching Sierra closely. She flushed. Faith bit her lip. Brandon muttered under his breath. “I see,” Luke said. “Sierra, you’re a grown woman. You’ll do what you want, but remember, we’re always here.”
    “You’re going to let her go?” Brandon almost shouted.
    “Short of locking her up, we can’t stop her.” Luke sighed. “She’d probably find a way out in any case. She has a good head on her shoulders.”
    “She’s also headstrong and reckless. She doesn’t know fear.” Pierce pursed his lips. “She’s never met a ruthless man like Navarone.”
    “She handled herself with Mitchell Shuler,” Phoenix reminded them. Sierra had put the man down when he tried to manhandle her.
    “Blade is nothing like that man,” Faith defended. “Women chase him, but it doesn’t do them any good.”
    All eyes trained on Faith. As if she realized she might have spoken too much, her chin lifted. “I’d trust Blade with my life.”
    “Something tells me he’s behind this invitation,” Luke said quietly. “Can you trust him not to take what he wants?”
    This time Faith did tuck her head. Sierra lifted hers and stared at Luke, her confidant, her protector. All her brothers had teased her about her mother’s matchmaking, but none of them were ready to see