Taken Home (Lone Star Burn) by Ruth Cardello Read Free Book Online Page B

I’ve known him half my life. He talks like he thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but he’s a good guy. Just tell him you’re not into the wild crowd.”
    “I can’t,” Chelle said curtly.
    Melanie shot a pained smile at Sarah. “You were too busy to notice, Sarah, but Chelle and Mason had a little thing at your wedding.”
    “A thing?” Sarah asked.
    Chelle tucked a long blonde curl behind one of her ears. “It was nothing.”
    “Oh, it was something,” Melanie countered. “Charles wasn’t really happy with him about it, but they’ve both gotten over it.”
    Sarah waved both hands in the air. “Hold on. Rewind. What did I miss?”
    Chelle grimaced and admitted, “I may have kissed Mason at the reception.”
    “Oh.” Sarah bit her lip. “Chelle, he’s a huge flirt. He probably kissed ten women that night.”
    “I was the only single woman there,” Chelle said in protest.
    Sarah bobbed her head a few times. “That doesn’t always matter to Mason.” She studied Chelle’s face intently for a moment. “Do you have any feelings for him?”
    “No,” Chelle said slowly.
    “Then California is still an option. Trust me, to Mason a kiss is like a handshake. He’ll be perfectly fine introducing you to his friends.”
    This is awkward. “I can’t meet his friends.”
    “Why not?” With a sigh, Sarah admonished her. “You have to stop thinking in terms of what you can’t do, and just grab this idea by the balls.” When her choice of words elicited a laugh from both Melanie and Chelle, Sarah waved her hand dismissively in the air. “You know what I mean.”
    “I do,” Chelle said with a smile. “But there is a reason why Mason probably won’t want to introduce me to anyone he knows out there.” Melanie’s eyebrows rose, and Sarah motioned for her to continue. “I’m his fake fiancée.” She gave in and recounted how she had thought Mason liked her, but had learned he’d really wanted to hire her to discourage some fling he’d been having trouble ending. She left out the part about asking David for a condom and kept her focus on how she and Mason had pretended they were a serious couple.
    Sarah glared playfully at Melanie. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me any of this.”
    Melanie shrugged. “I didn’t know.”
    “So you’re fake engaged to Mason Thorne?” Sarah asked with wonder.
    Chelle made a pained face. “I guess? Unless we fake broke up? I haven’t spoken to him since.”
    Sarah hopped to her feet. “You have to call him.”
    Chelle vehemently shook her head.
    That didn’t deter Sarah in the least. “Oh, come on. Where’s your sense of adventure? I would head right out there and play along that I was engaged to him. Imagine the parties you could attend. Have some fun.”
    Chelle stood, too, and wrapped her arms around her waist. “No. It was a mistake to take the game that far in the first place.”
    Sarah raised a finger in the air and stated, “There are no mistakes in life, just different paths leading to where we are destined to be.”
    Melanie stood and placed the two cards back in the box. “You say that, Sarah, because you accidentally showered in this house, and that led to you being with Tony.”
    “Exactly,” Sarah said. “I’m happier here than I’ve ever been anywhere else. All because I made a mistake. And you, Mel, should agree with me. Sure, you talk about how you regret spending years hiding on this ranch with your son, but look how that turned out. Jace is amazing, and you’re marrying into my family. You needed to be here, and I needed to get lost or we never would have met. And if you had never met me, you wouldn’t have thrown a glass of lemonade in my brother’s face and won his heart. See? Fate.”
    Melanie rubbed her face and laughed. “I can’t even argue with her, Chelle. She talks so fast, who can keep up?”
    Chelle let herself imagine what Mason would say if she showed up on his doorstep with the intention of perpetuating