Page 34 of Match Point

“Our last dinner,” Tucker said.

Sorcha hadn’t wanted to come here, and now she was reluctant to go. It was proving to be a great place to train. She might bitch about the lack of internet, but she hadn’t missed it much. At night she’d fallen into bed and slept like the dead, only to wake up to some cardio nightmare, something new every day.

“What if we stayed for a few more weeks?” Sorcha asked, anxious to see what Leo would say to her suggestion.

“You want to stay here? The woman who fucking hated me for this?”

“I apologized for it, and yes, I’d like to stay for a while, but—“

He broke eye contact and shuffled his foot against the rocks.

“Oh right, you have a date with Kat.” It took everything in her not to sneer the name. Jealous much? Sorcha stood, her aqua socks gripping the sandy bottom. The buoyancy of the water had given her a false sense of weightlessness and the closer she came to shore, the heavier her body felt. A cool breeze blew down the mountainside and goosebumps skittered across her skin, her nipples tightening beneath the black sports bra. Her back to Tucker, she was full frontal to Leo. She crossed her arms to hide her body’s natural reaction to the cold and to him, one that intensified when his green eyes sparked.

Did he look at Kat that way? Lucky bitch.

“I do, but the city’s an hour away. I can make my date and still come back here for the Saturday workout.”

“What are we having for dinner? I’m starving.” Keep moving. Pretend like you don’t care. You don’t care. Yeah. He has a girlfriend and you need to stop. It was bad enough she wanted to play tennis with him on a daily basis in addition to their excursions up the mountain.

“We’re having quinoa and chicken, the rest of the group are having spaghetti.” Leo handed her the towel and gripped the second one. His eyes widened in alarm and she snapped her head around.

Tucker had fallen near the shore, his long limbs collapsed. The effect of a broken man crushed her heart. He pushed up on the sand with his fist, then fell back to the ground.

Selfish woman. She was so wrapped up in her attraction to Leo, she neglected to even see whether Tucker would be all right. Chest heavy, she grabbed up his crutches and rushed to his side. One shining truth had become apparent to her since coming to the ranch. Her own selfishness. Leo was right. She was self-centered and rude and a whole host of other things. And either she could continue to be those things or try to correct those faults. It would be a painful road, but she was willing to travel down it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Leo turned on the light in Sorcha’s suite at Howler’s house, the faint fragrance of her perfume lingering in the sterile bedroom. The cleaning crew had made the bed, but there was nothing in the room that hadn’t been there before she moved in, except a picture of her and Kelly on the bedside table. She’d tasked him with bringing her blue suitcase back to Grams and he headed to the closet. There were a few dresses hanging up and a pair of discarded shoes on the floor. Interesting. She hadn’t unpacked even though she was supposed to be at the house for her three-month trial period.

Fetching the suitcase, he exited the room as a text came across the screen from Raina.

Crap. He’d hoped to come in, get what he needed, and leave before he was discovered. He left the suitcase by the garage door and took the stairs to the middle level. It was quiet save for a low conversation. No TV, no stereo, an odd quirk from a quirky couple.

“Hey guys,” Leo said, walking into the white kitchen where Howler was cooking dinner while Raina leaned against the white composite countertop. “I stopped by to grab some stuff for Sorcha. She’s asked to stay at Grams and finish the training program we started.”

“Wow, I figured she’d be calling me and demanding I bring her back to civilization.” Howler dipped a spoon in the creamy mac and cheese and fed it to Raina.

“If she’d had cell service the first day, she might have.”

Raina tucked a dark curl behind her ear and took the offered bite. “It’s so good. Leo, I’d ask you to stay for dinner, but Kat said you had a date tonight.”

This was what he’d been trying to avoid.

Raina’s blue eyes met his, her expression expectant.

He tucked his hands into his back pocket and shook his head. “I broke up with Kat. Not that we were in a relationship. I liked her but we weren’t in the same place.” It had been difficult, but the minute Sorcha had reminded him of his date, he’d known the fair thing to do.

“Oh, that’s a shame. She really… never mind. You’ll have to join us for dinner, once again, Howler went overkill on the mac and cheese.” Raina pasted on a false smile, but disappointment registered on her face. “I don’t want to intrude on your family time. I was heading back to Grams tonight.” To see Sorcha. Stupid that his pulse raced thinking about it. Perhaps he should stay in the city until the morning, to distance himself from her for a little while.

“Nonsense, you’re family.” Howler turned off the stove and pointed to the table. “And I want to hear about her progress.”

Resigned, Leo grabbed a plastic bottle of water from the fridge and followed them to the dining room table. Howler pulled out the chair for his petite wife, whispering something in her ear that made her color. Grinning, he went to the kitchen to retrieve the food.

While Leo was happy Howler had found his match in Raina, it made Leo’s break up with Kat even harder. Sorcha had been right. If he were truly interested in Kat, he wouldn’t have kissed Sorcha.

He settled in his chair and grabbed the napkin off the glass table. Howler put the truffle mac and cheese with a side of broccoli on the lazy Susan before taking his own seat. “Grams hasn’t called me frantic, so I’m assuming you and Sorcha are getting along well?”

“We’ve had some ups and downs. I’m working on her cardio and we’ve been mountain biking. If she weren’t a tennis star, I’d say we enroll her in some off-roading.” Leo couldn’t help but smile, thinking of the last time she’d beat him down the mountain.

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