A smile slid onto her face. "Well, that answer that then," Maeve said.

"That answers what?"

The voice put me on alert. My whole body responded to her. Rhiannon turned the corner, her white-blonde hair still lying wet on her shoulders. She wore a loose tank top and a loose skirt of white cotton with blue embroidery. Her beauty caused my breath to catch. Her nipples pebbled under her shirt and I tore my gaze from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Nothing, you nosy girl," Maeve said and bounced up from her chair. "Just catching up with Sterling. You know, you've had tons of time to get reacquainted, but I've only seen him once at Amanda's house."

Rhiannon glanced from Maeve to me. She knew her little sister too well to accept Maeve's explanation. Maeve went to the counter and cut a thick slice of fresh bread, still warm from the oven. She grabbed the honey and slathered it over the top. She smiled as she took a giant bite. The honey dripped down her chin. She swiped at the sticky mess on her chin and I was thrust into a memory of mornings when I was a boy and she did the exact same thing. The only difference was that then Amanda and I were fighting for the bread, as well.

"Want some?" Maeve asked. She'd already cut another slice and covered it with honey. She held it out and I had no choice but to take it from her.

"d.a.m.n, Mom makes the best bread," Maeve said. "I think I miss this more than anything."

There were other good things to miss, as well: being up here at Gayle's ranch early in the morning with the Bliss girls beside me drinking fresh coffee, eating fresh bread with honey, and being teased by Maeve. I glanced at Rhiannon. Surprise and confusion had slipped from her eyes and she looked at us as though she, too, had memories like mine. Memories of a family cobbled together who all desperately loved each other.

I chewed my bread with honey and let the sweetness fill my mouth. I held out a half slice toward Rhiannon. She looked at me and finally the seriousness gave way to a smile as she took the bread from me. She took a giant bite and tilted her head up and smiled as though she'd just tasted sunshine.

Her smile was sunshine. She was sunshine and freshness and seriousness and everything that was right in this world. My heart felt as if it would burst from my chest. I sat and watched her eat bread with honey, intense emotions running rampant. I didn't have a choice about whether or not I loved Rhiannon. My feelings for her were simply there. They hadn't gone away and they never would. I could pretend to control them, pretend that I could set boundaries and limits, but this girl, this woman, had captured my heart years before and nothing, not time or distance, had dimmed the feelings I had for her.

Yet, as much as I realized that yes, I loved Rhiannon Bliss, there was a part of me that couldn't open to her, a part of me that was punishing her for abandoning me. While I knew perfectly what I was doing, I couldn't seem to make myself stop, to make myself smile and slip into the easiness of being with her and letting myself love her again. Could I ever do that again? Let Rhiannon have my heart?

When she met my gaze, her smile slipped away and she reached for a napkin and wiped her face and her hands.

"We'd better go," I said.

"Yes," she said. "We'd better."

Chapter 17.

Rhiannon.

Neither of us attempted conversation on the way to Montecito. Sterling rolled calls all the way there. He worked the phone with regards to crewing The Lady's Regret-director of photography, editor, line producer, script supervisor, set decorator. He made call after call after call. I sat in the car and watched the California coastline roll by. The light changed with each curve, the color of the ocean, the clouds, and the cliffs. Even in the pa.s.senger seat heading north I had a spectacular view, and while I'd traveled PCH when I was young it had been years since I'd been up this way.

We pulled into Elizabeth Montgomery's driveway two hours later. I was nervous. I'd never met Elizabeth. I knew that she'd known my mother, that she and Joanne and Mama had been friends. I knew they'd met in an acting cla.s.s in Culver City. The three women had roomed together before they met their spouses. Elizabeth snagged Hal Montgomery, the attorney and oil magnate, when her career was starting to take off. They'd married and had had seven kids. Then, only a few years ago, Hal died from a ma.s.sive coronary and left Elizabeth one of the wealthiest women in America. My mom never said much about Elizabeth, why I wasn't sure. They'd been friends, but I a.s.sumed they had drifted apart.

The Montgomery home sat on a cliff and virtually hung over the water. It was a giant home of gla.s.s and wood that looked as though it were carved from the surrounding landscape.

"Ready for this?" Sterling asked as we approached the door.

"I guess," I said.

These couple of days were as important to Sterling and his career as they were to mine. Elizabeth was a huge patron of the arts and a giant art collector. If she decided that a young artist was important, then that young artist suddenly became important. She was a tastemaker and a trendsetter in the art world. And she seemed to like me, or she liked my art. She'd already acquired five of my pieces, and that was a huge percentage of my work. I'd only done two collections, one while still a student and the one that showed at Amanda's gallery. Elizabeth had purchased a great deal of art from Amanda's gallery even though she'd not attended the opening.

The door was opened and a young man in a crisp blue shirt and starched khaki pants greeted us and walked us out to the back terrace. He a.s.sured us our bags would be taken care of. Mom's place had a great view; Elizabeth's place had a view that was simply stunning. The waves crashed below and you could see for forever. The hills that sloped down to the water were lush and verdant with pine trees. The landscape also included interesting outcroppings of rock and the ubiquitous sand.

"Amazing," I said, to no one in particular. "The light is remarkable."

"I've heard that before."

I turned toward the voice. A regal-looking woman with blunt-cut grey hair and high cheekbones stood behind us. Her bright blue eyes were sharp and focused, but held a hint of mirth. Her skirt was trim and snug around her hips. Her shirt was a brilliant emerald green silk that caused her blue eyes to look even brighter. I knew this had to be Elizabeth Montgomery, and while she had seven children, and was nearly sixty, her figure was beyond trim.

"Rhiannon, you look so much like your mother," she said. She walked across the balcony to me and clasped my hands in hers. She stared into my eyes and smiled. I got the funniest feeling that she knew me, really knew me, even though we'd never met before. She kissed each of my cheeks. She turned to Sterling, said h.e.l.lo, and gave him the same greeting.

"How is Gayle?" she asked me. I followed Elizabeth to a seating area with a couch and two chairs around a low table with coffee, Pellegrino, and tea laid out and waiting for us. "I think it's been seven years since I've seen her." Elizabeth settled onto a chair and leaned back. "I was so sorry to hear about the accident with her ankle."

"Mama is well," I said. "My sister just returned home, too. It's been a long while since we've both been back at the same time. While Mama doesn't like hobbling about, I think she dearly loves having us both home."

"I'm certain of that," Elizabeth said. A giant smile lit up her face. "If I thought breaking an ankle would get all seven of my children here at once, I'd trip down the stairs today." Elizabeth laughed. "There is no time that I am happier than when all the children are home. The house is full and loud and just so alive!" She leaned forward and poured herself a cup of tea. "If they'd all get married and start making grandbabies for me, I'd be even happier."

"Really? Seven children and not one is married?"

"Not. One," Elizabeth said. "You'd think perhaps their father and I set a poor example for a happy marriage, but I know it's not true. We were happy. Oh my lord, there wasn't a man alive who could make me laugh like Hal Montgomery! That man, oh, that man!" Elizabeth said. Her eyes twinkled and she shook her head. "True love is the greatest gift you can be given. It is so amazing when that kind of love enters your life." Her gaze traveled from me to Sterling and back to me.

My heart beat faster in my chest and my palms grew moist. Was she talking about her life? Was she aware of the past that Sterling and I shared? How could she know? I wasn't even certain about what was happening between Sterling and me, so there was no way Elizabeth Montgomery could.

"I ramble around in this big empty house and look forward to when the children come home," Elizabeth sighed.

Sterling was sitting beside me and he smiled. "Elizabeth, I happen to know from Cami that you are an exceptionally busy woman."

Elizabeth winked at him. "You're right. I am. But I really don't want the children to know that. I want them to believe that they must come and see me. If they knew how full my social calendar is I'd never get them up here. I'm a bit surprised that Cami knows as much as she does." Elizabeth turned her blue-eyed gaze to me. "Rhiannon, how long will you be in L.A.? I hear rumors that your next series is set in Venice."

I slid my gaze toward Sterling.

"Not me. I didn't breathe a word," he said and held up his hands.

"Oh, no, darling, my spies abound, but Sterling isn't one of them."

I had a moment's apprehension at the idea that Elizabeth Montgomery had spies who knew about my work. "I'm not certain," I said. "I know that I'll stay for as long as Mama needs me, which the doctors think may be another two weeks. After that, I'll have to see."

"No desire to put down roots? To perhaps stay where you were raised?"

I shifted in my chair. Elizabeth's questions. .h.i.t too close to everything that made me uncomfortable.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I'd forgotten how much I love California and the light and the beauty. There is so much here for me to paint and so many people that I love. I've actually been considering staying on. Perhaps making California my home base."

"You have?" Sterling's voice contained surprise. His gaze locked with mine. The entire world dropped away. All that remained was the sunlight and Sterling in front of me. The heat between us crackled. I hadn't shared anything with Sterling-not what I was considering or how I knew I wanted to be with him. I wanted to be the one to give him what he needed and I knew, beyond a doubt, that Sterling had been and always would be meant for me.

"I have," I said.

He drew in a deep breath. The want on his face, the hunger was evident. Elizabeth cleared her throat and snapped us both back to the realization that we weren't alone. We were, in fact, sitting on her back patio, speaking with the woman who could help both our careers.

"I've put you both in the yellow guest house. I hope you don't mind sharing. I guessed that since you two have been friends since childhood it would be okay. Jonathan has taken your bags. Why doesn't he show you to your rooms and you can take some time to"-her gaze swept from me to Sterling and back-"to freshen up. We'll have dinner at seven. Let's reconvene then."

Jonathan, again, appeared beside us. He inclined his head a tiny bit. We all stood and Elizabeth gave us each a kiss and walked back into the house.

"This way please, Miss Bliss, Mr. Legend."

Sterling grasped my hand as we followed Jonathan down the stone steps and toward the ocean.

The beach house sat at the end of a winding path. A glen of trees opened onto a tiny yellow house with white trim. A rock walkway lined with flowers led up to a porch and a red front door. The porch wrapped around the entire house with stairs that led down the back to the beach.

"This is like something from a storybook," I said.

We entered and the high ceilings and blonde wood floors made the tiny house feel s.p.a.cious. There was a fireplace on the far side of the family room, which was open to the kitchen.

"There are two bedrooms and two and a half baths. Miss Bliss, we've put you in the white room, which is at the end of the hall, and Mr. Legend, you're in the blue room, which is on the left. The kitchen is stocked; however, if you need something else, use the landline and dial seven and the kitchen can get you anything. I'll be back at six-fifty to take to you to the main house. If you want anything please don't hesitate to call. I am direct dial 1 on the landline."

"Thank you, Jonathan," I said.

He waved and quietly shut the front door.

The beach house was filled with overstuffed couches and chairs that begged to be lounged upon. My gaze landed on the far corner of the main room, where an easel and several blank canvases plus paints and brushes waited.

My heart pounded in my chest. What a lovely invitation to simply be free with my work. How thoughtful. Elizabeth even had the right paints.

"She's amazing," Sterling said.

He opened the giant back door and the breeze from the ocean drifted gently through the cottage. His eyes remained fixed on the horizon.

"Did you mean what you said about staying in Los Angeles?" A tiny tremble vibrated through his voice.

"Yes."

He turned to me and looked directly into my eyes.

"Why?" His gaze, his voice, his very being pulled at the inner coils of heat forming within my body.

"Because of you, Sterling." I'd gone and said it. I'd told him how much he meant to me by choosing to stay in Los Angeles.

His whole face changed. The mask that he'd tried so desperately to maintain to protect himself from the love he felt dropped away. There, before me, was the Sterling I remembered with the fast smile and charm and sparkle in his eyes. He was the Sterling I wanted, the Sterling I had always wanted. He moved to me and wrapped his arms around me and his lips pressed to mine.

His kiss held want and desire, but it was also a kiss of thanks and happiness. He pulled his lips from mine.

"I love you, Rhiannon Bliss. I have loved you since I was seventeen. I never stopped loving you. I don't think that I can."

The heat in my chest broke past my fear of the past and my fears for the future. The love in my heart convinced me to forget the possibility that we would end badly, that too much lay between Sterling and me and our families. The heat and the love and this cottage, this beautiful cottage, with the light and the ocean beyond convinced me that this place wasn't magical, this time wasn't magical but we, Sterling and I, were magical together. We were a couple meant for eternity.

"I love you too, Sterling." The words didn't halt, the heat didn't change, nothing bad happened.

Instead Sterling clasped my hand and he gently led me across the room and down the hall to my room, or what I knew now would be our room for this trip.

Bathed in bright light, the eyelet comforter on the bed was already turned down. Sterling turned to me. His lips pressed to mine and I opened my lips to his. Heat flashed through my body and my s.e.x clutched as the kiss turned hotter and more demanding. His hand pressed to my bare shoulder and he lifted the straps of my top and pulled it off my shoulder. His lips left mine and the heat of his kiss slid onto my neck, my shoulder and then to my breast. The heat devoured me. This was what I wanted. I wanted Sterling. I needed Sterling. He tugged my skirt over my hips and it dropped to the floor. My body was nearly bare aside from a tiny pair of panties. He took a step back and looked at me. His eyes traveled over my body. He stopped and stepped forward and pulled the lace edges of my panties down and slipped them past my knees. I stepped from them.

"There," he said. "Now that is beautiful."

My nipples pebbled with want. G.o.d I wanted him. I wanted to feel him inside me, to know that I was Sterling's and he was mine. To finally be with the man whose face haunted me when I kissed another.

I stepped to him. My hands ran down the front of his shirt and caressed the hard planes of his chest. I pulled the fabric from his skin and up over his head. His lips were on mine and his fingertips stroked my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He pulled his lips from my mouth and leaned forward and pulled my nipple into his mouth. A moan cascaded from me. His lips moved to my other nipple and my body pressed into his maleness. I grasped the top b.u.t.ton, slid the zipper down, and pulled his jeans down over his hips. His hard c.o.c.k pressed against my belly. Our flesh pressed together.

Heat rolled through my belly. My s.e.x clenched. My hand clasped his hard s.e.x and I stroked the velvet skin. I ran my thumb over the top of him. Air hissed out over Sterling's lips and his stomach muscles tightened.

"My G.o.d, Rhiannon."

Again, he pressed his lips to mine and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his muscled waist. He carried me to the bed and lay me back onto the soft sheets. His lips traveled from my mouth over my neck.

Heat surged through me. My hips pressed upward, my s.e.x wanting him to fill me. His lips moved down my belly. Arriving at my core, he gently slid my thighs open. His mouth trailed along the sensitive skin of my inner thigh.

"You're beautiful."

With sunlight streaming through the windows and Sterling between my legs I felt beautiful.

He ran his finger around the edge of my s.e.x, but stopped just short of satisfying the nerves that throbbed with the desire to be touched. He gazed up at me over my mound and then with his eyes still locked with mine, his mouth was upon me. My hips bucked upward. His hands grasped my hips to still me and he pulled me into his mouth. His tongue made firm circles along my c.l.i.t, dragging waves of pleasure through my body. His finger slipped into me and a moan cried from my throat.

"Baby, you're so tight and you're so wet."

My hips bucked upward. His finger pulsed into me and his tongue again found my engorged c.l.i.t. His kiss and the pulsing of his fingers grew more insistent. I neared an edge. My hands clasped his well-muscled back as the waves of pleasure started in my s.e.x and rolled upward through my body, consuming my flesh, pulling me under. His tongue on my c.l.i.t created pleasure that drove through me. I clutched Sterling, bucked upward and fell over the edge, his mouth pulling me into that sweet abyss of pleasure.

I trembled and shivered as Sterling kissed his way up my leg. His mouth was on mine and I tasted me on his lips.

"Rhiannon, I want you. I want to f.u.c.k you."

My s.e.x clenched with his words. I'd wanted Sterling for seven years. It was his face I always saw when I closed my eyes in the throes of pleasure. "Please, Sterling, yes."

I reached out and grasped him. My thumb stroked the head of his c.o.c.k. A slick drop of liquid escaped. His finger stroked over my still-sensitive c.l.i.t. Then he pressed his body up over me. He knelt before me and widened my legs.

"Baby, tell me, please baby tell me. I don't want to hurt you."

"Please Sterling, I've wanted this for so long."

The head of his c.o.c.k nudged at my entrance and I tightened around him. He braced one hand beside my head and his finger continued to press my c.l.i.t. Still so near the edge of another o.r.g.a.s.m, my body throbbed for him. I wanted him to fill me, to take me, to be inside me. My hips pressed up to take more of him.

"Rhiannon," he said through gritted teeth. I knew that he held back for me. He wanted to press into me slowly. Restraint etched across his face. The restraint of not pressing into me fast and furious. Slowly he pressed his hard c.o.c.k into me. With each bit of pressure, my body stretched around him.

"Baby, are you okay?" His voice was rough and raspy.

"Yes." I pressed my hands to his chest and my hips tilted up to him.

Fire lit through me as Sterling moved into me and stretched me. Filling me with him. One final press and he was in me. So full. So complete. My body pressed toward him. I wanted him to stay there, inside me, our bodies entangled forever.

Our gazes were locked. There were no words needed. His hips pressed forward and then slowly he pulled back from me. Again and my hips rolled toward him and absorbed the pleasure of him in me, filling me, pressing into my body.

"Oh Rhiannon, my G.o.d Rhiannon, it's never been like this, I've never, I've never been with a woman like this."