up. She’d have liked to spend the rest of her life just like that, nestled in Mason’s arms, feeling that much love and joy at just being with him.
It had been that way for the past two weeks.
The boys had settled in without any apprehension. They loved their rooms and pretty much took over the rest of the house like they’d always lived here. Mason didn’t mind at all, but he’d made it clear his office was off-limits.
They’d found a routine that worked for all of them.
Mason left early for work each morning, using the extra hour in his office before any of the other staff arrived to catch up on paperwork or go over his cases for the day. Sierra dropped the kids at school, then went to work. When their schedules permitted, she met Mason for lunch since they worked so close to each other. Mason picked the kids up right after school on Fridays, saving them from going to after-school care. He took the boys horseback riding before Sierra got home.
Mason cooked Friday to Sunday. Sierra did the cooking during the week.
She loved that they found a rhythm and everything synced so easily.
Seeing Mason embrace the new structured chaos in his life and enjoy it so much made her feel safe and secure. Mason took on her and the boys with enthusiasm.
Sierra now sipped her coffee in the kitchen Mason had redone just for her.
Not only had he welcomed them into his home, he’d made it feel like theirs, too.
“What are you thinking about?” Mason walked in and went to the sink to wash his hands.
The boys chatted down the hall in their bathroom doing the same after helping Mason feed and water the horses.
“I’m standing in our beautiful kitchen thinking about how much I love living here with you.”
Mason shot her a surprised and exuberant look. His smile made her heart melt. “Everything about this place has changed. Especially the feel of it.”
She knew exactly what he meant. This was a big place for a bachelor to live in alone. Now, the house had a family. It was cozy.
It felt like home. A place where they laughed and loved and shared their lives.
Mason dried his hands, hung the towel from the oven door handle, then closed the distance between them. “You look amazing in that dress.” His gaze skimmed down to her toes and back up again, momentarily stopping at the deep V in the pretty wrap dress she’d chosen for the engagement party her mom was throwing them in half an hour. The simple white dress had tiny pink flowers sprinkled over it. It felt feminine and flirty.
With Mason’s hot gaze sweeping over her, she felt sexy and desirable.
She placed her hands on his chest. “I thought you might like it.”
Mason traced his fingers along her shoulder and settled his warm hand on her neck. “Are you ready for today?”
She heard what he didn’t ask in that question. “I asked my mom to invite Heather and Hallee to the party.”
His eyebrow shot up. “You did?”
“I listened to your argument, thought about it, and decided you were right. I can’t ignore her forever. What she did doesn’t erase the fact we are family and at some point I need to accept that the boys have a sister they should get to know better.”
“And you and Heather need to have a real talk about what happened. It’s not good to keep your feelings all bottled up.”
“I know. I heard you, Counselor. I’m not sure today is the day to do that, but as you said, I don’t want to look back and miss having everyone together to celebrate with us.” She wanted to see if she could be in the same vicinity as her sister and not want to kill her. “If nothing else, this will make my mom happy. It’s the least I can do, since she’s throwing us the engagement party.”
“Wait until she finds out we’re getting married in less than three months.”
Sierra felt the nervous butterflies in her stomach. “We have so much to do in such a short time.” The ocean view boutique hotel she fell in love with had a cancellation and because the owner and Mason were friends, they got first dibs on booking the date. They planned to keep the guest list to family and close friends, but on Mason’s side that meant a lot of people because of his status in the community. She didn’t mind. Not when it