Broken Heart. Laura Browning

a wife like Stacey alone on the weekend. In fact, he hadn’t left her alone. She was here with him right now, but damn it, he wasn’t about to cross the line, not when he’d realized her wedding vows actually meant something to her. Too bad the same couldn’t be said… No, he so wasn’t going there. He would simply enjoy the gift he’d been given and try to make sure she was able to do exactly what she’d said she wanted to–get in touch with who she was.

      “Want to see what she can do?” he called to Stacey.

      She turned her head and laughed. “I’d love to. Does this mean I should hang on?”

      Mason grinned. “You got that right.”

      He eased the mainsail out to run the boat before the wind. As she gained speed, he glanced at Stacey. Hair blowing into a tangled mass of golden strands, her face was alight with enjoyment. This was a woman he had never seen before. He’d seen more than enough of the buttoned-down Barlow-Barrett lady of the manor and not nearly enough of the tigress she’d become during their sexual encounters. But this woman–laughing, giddy and almost girlish in her enjoyment–was someone Mason didn’t know. He stared now, drinking her in just in case she disappeared, and wondered how he could keep this Stacey around. She was captivating.

      As he watched, she made her way back to his side. “Please–may I take the wheel? Just for a few minutes? I want to see what she feels like.”

      “Have you ever sailed like this?” he asked, wanting her to try it, but not wanting her to take on too much.

      “No.”

      “Then why don’t I stand behind you and hold the wheel too, until you get a feel for it.” When she arched a brow, he held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor. I’m not playing you here.”

      She stuck her hands on her hips. “Were you ever a scout?”

      “No. But believe it or not, Stacey, I do understand honor.”

      Her mouth quirked. “I’m beginning to realize.”

      She slipped between him and the wheel, her hair fluttering against his cheek as he put his face near hers. This would put his honor to the test. But not for long. In next to no time, she was handling the boat as if she had always done it. Although he knew she sailed, she’d admitted she wasn’t an adventurous helmsman. Mason eased away, his eyes glued to the pure joy radiating from her.

      “God! No wonder Bran loves this so much,” she commented as her face lifted to the sails.

      “We’ll need to change course to reach my destination. You want to try it?”

      For a moment, he saw eagerness in her expression before it faded. “No. Maybe not this time.”

      He took over from her, sad she didn’t have the confidence to try, but encouraged by the fact her response indicated there might be a second time. “We’ll slip into a cove that’s normally pretty deserted other than a few shore birds. We can go swimming if you’d like.”

      She remained standing near him. “I’d love to.” Stacey tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “Thank you for this, Mason.”

      The look she gave him was almost shy. When his heart clenched, he began to realize how little they actually knew about each other. Two years ago, they’d been consumed with getting the clothes off each other so they could have sex. But lust hadn’t been enough. She had gotten engaged to someone else, and any chance they’d had to form a deeper relationship had ended.

      He’d like to get to know her better, but the feelings he still harbored for her made it difficult, because along with the passion was the pain from her rejection. She had completely blindsided him with her sudden engagement to Winchester, destroying his trust.

      He altered course and tacked toward the cove where he’d anchor. Stacey helped, doing what he asked without question. She’d stuck the baseball cap back on her head to keep her hair out of her face. As she worked, he saw the play of muscle across her arms and shoulders. Slender, she might be, but she wasn’t weak. From what Mason had heard regarding her family, they’d spent most of their summers along the coast sailing or swimming.

      They both stripped to suits once the boat was secure and went over the edge. Stacey cut through the water with the ease of someone as comfortable in the sea as on it. What amazed Mason even more as he watched her through the afternoon was how much freer she seemed, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

      As they finished lunch, he offered casually, “Let me take you out to dinner tonight. Just friends. There’s a great oyster bar not far from the naval academy.”

      “I know it. It’s been years since I’ve been there.”

      She hadn’t said no. “We could split a pitcher of beer, have some oysters…”

      “Okay.”

      Mason grinned. “Great! Why don’t you sail back and I’ll crew?”

      “Oh, I couldn’t…”

      “Yeah. You can, Stacey. You’ve got the feel of her. Sail like you would your own boat.”