And Sierra would share something about herself, too. No matter how much the very thought made the olives and cheese she’dnibbled on sit like lead in her stomach.
“Sorry.” A quick one-armed hug from Elena cleared the air instantly. Lily hip-checked her back with a grin. That was it? Wow.They were so easy with each other. Sierra’s art school friends had been either loudly dramatic or dramatically shy. Thesewomen were just . . . fun. “I’m a grump. Alan texted that he isn’t coming down this weekend.”
“Alan?” Karen tapped her index finger to her lips. “The city manager up in Bend?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Mollie poured the wine. She looked as skeptical as Karen. Adorable, in her black leggings and a royal blue cold-shoulder top,but still skeptical. “The city manager who also has a girlfriend stashed in Portland and another in Vancouver?”
Uh-oh. Sierra took in Elena’s perfectly bronzed skin, hourglass figure, and a smile that was powerful enough to almost makeher curious about playing for the other team. Well, pinch-hitting, maybe. How could any man cheat on a woman like that?
“We’re not exclusive.” Defensiveness wafted around Elena like a fresh squirt of perfume. “He’s got that hot nerd thing goingfor him. And Alan says he’s going to take me to stay at the Bellagio in Vegas.”
Lily poked a wooden spoon in her direction. “How long has he been stringing you along with that?”
“We’re both busy, okay?” Elena shrugged and shifted her gaze away. “Coordinating our calendars isn’t easy.”
Yep, Elena was in denial. This was a semisecret that Sierra wasn’t thrilled to know. But she could start repaying the friendshipshe’d been offered with a hard-learned truth.
Sierra set the basket of bread on the table and then crossed her arms. Looking at Elena dead-on, she stated flatly, “You deservebetter.”
Another telltale, timid shrug from a woman who usually radiated confidence and brashness. “We’re just having fun.”
“Are you, though? Because it doesn’t sound like fun to me. It sounds like he’s putting out the minimal effort required tokeep you interested. If this guy truly cared about you, truly appreciated you for the strong, sexy, fun woman that you are,then he’d bend over backward to squeeze you into his schedule. That’s what a real man would do.”
Whoops. Too late, Sierra realized the volume of her rant had risen considerably. Probably . . . no, definitely louder than was polite in Lily’s home.
Slowly, Elena picked up a glass and took a sip. Her deep brown lipstick left a perfect semicircle below the rim. “Is thisabout me and Alan? Or about you and an ex?”
Sierra paused. “Yes. To both. But that doesn’t diminish its message.”
Swirling her wine, Elena raised a single dark slash of an impeccably groomed eyebrow. Sierra had never had hers done. Wouldshe need to wax things now? All sorts of . . . things and places? To keep Flynn happy?
After another sip, Elena asked, “Because your ex penciled you in too infrequently, I’m supposed to stop seeing a real catch?”
Alan sounded more like a real louse than a real catch to Sierra. But hey, she’d dated a skeezy criminal/almost murderer, sowho was she to judge? Elena’s cool challenge almost had her backing down.
But that wasn’t the new and improved, Bandon version of Sierra. Bandon Sierra didn’t run away. Didn’t back down from stickingup for herself or her friends—even to said friends.
She did, however, grab the full glass Mollie had pushed in front of her and took a sip of something red and strong. “I didn’tsay that. What you do need to do is make sure that he starts truly seeing who you are and what you need.”
Lily clapped three times, bouncing on her toes. “Ooh, that’s good. I mean really good, Sierra. Because when you care aboutsomeone else, their needs should be at least as important as your own.”
Which made Sierra wonder what Flynn’s needs were. He had this core of . . . something that she was well aware might as wellrequire a retinal scanner to open its vault. His eyes shuttered over. Quiet descended over him, although far less often, likea moody cloak. When it happened, he sure didn’t look happy. Or content.
How could she push into that secret darkness, whatever it was? How could she make him feel better? How could she possiblygive him everything he needed when she didn’t even know what that was?
Another quick sip of the wine added concrete to Sierra’s already semi-stiffened spine. Whatever it was? She’d find out andfind a way to give it to him. Because Flynn had given her so much already.
“Hmm.” Elena clicked toward Sierra on her strappy black sandals, then bent to give her a firm hug. “Why weren’t you aroundto be this perceptive when I started dating this loser?”
Sierra smiled against the dark mass of Elena’s hair. This hug was everything. Proof that she hadn’t pushed too hard. Proofthat she’d been right to venture outside of her comfort zone. “I was off learning life lessons to impart to you.”
Everyone scraped out chairs and sat down. Happy chatter filled the room as they passed the bread, salad, and the heaping bowlof pasta with vodka sauce and sausage. As over-the-top luxurious as their party at the spa had been, to Sierra, this was better.This night—like everything about Elena’s outfit, from the red bandage top to the black leather cropped pants and choker—wasperfect.
Maybe she could ask Elena for fashion advice. In approximately a year, when she finally had enough money after saving for a car and putting aside a lot for . . . whatever she ended up doing with her life. Then Sierra could let herselfsplurge on a new outfit. One to make Flynn’s eyes pop out of his skull.
If they were still together in a year.
Because they hadn’t talked about their relationship and where it was going. Reveling in the moment was more their jam rightnow. After all, they’d only been together just under a month. Sierra absolutely couldn’t, shouldn’t rush into anything after her last debacle. The mere
