Read Online Nothing to Hide by Isabel Sharpe - Free Book Online Page B

sophisticated and ambitious. But also down to earth. Different from the girls I grew up with who had everything handed to them.”
    “Oh, like you didn’t?”
    He pointed at her accusingly. “That is not the same.”
    “Because they’re women?”
    His infectious grin spread. “Because I’m not trying to date myself.”
    Sandra laughed. She didn’t see that coming. “Good one.”
    “I had this fantasy that things would work out between us this week.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair, stretching mournfully. “But now, I don’t know. You saw how she and Jonas were looking at each other last night.”
    “Hard to miss.”
    “That didn’t bother you?”
    “For about ten seconds. Then I got over it.”
    “Just like that?”
    “Just like that. Jonas and I are friends, Erik.”
    “Yeah?” He stared at her curiously, and then got up. “I’m getting more coffee, you want some?”
    “No, thanks.”
    “Jonas knows I want Allie. They might be having fun, but he won’t do anything.” He filled his cup and brought it back to the table. “He leaves Wednesday. Then Allie and I will be alone. I could still have a chance.”
    “Right.” Poor delusional fool. But then Sandra had been one herself, more than once. Exhibit A: Of course her parents loved her! Though they never showed the slightest sign of it and reacted to her wanting to marry a creepy thirty-year-old at seventeen not by protecting her, but by disinheriting her. Exhibit B: Of course her husband wasn’t abusive; he never hit her! Though he turned out to be a domineering, controlling jerk who made her life hell. Exhibit C: She wasn’t really addicted to amphetamines; they just helped her get through the day...
    Delusionville. Everyone lived there sometimes. Erik would be particularly susceptible as a spoiled and somewhat clueless rich kid who’d never been set straight. God knew Sandra had encountered plenty of them growing up on the gold coast of Connecticut.
    She got up and went to the kitchen window to see the property in daylight. Allie and Jonas stood by the lake on the private beach, water streaming off their bodies, faces close, laughing. Sandra smiled in spite of herself. Yeah, she was crazy about Jonas. Crazy enough to want him to look that happy all the time. Happier than he ever looked when he was with her.
    She’d seen his dismay last night when he got a peek at his brother’s face. She’d heard the stories over the years, how Jonas was always sacrificing himself for family and friends. Look how he’d dropped everything to come here this weekend for Erik’s sake. Look how many times he’d come to Sandra’s aid with support, with a willing ear, with words of encouragement, and a couple of times with loans she’d paid off as soon as she could.
    Jonas and Allie glanced toward the house. Their bodies seemed to collapse in on themselves. Their smiles disappeared. They started pulling the kayaks back into the boathouse.
    She was seized with a sudden, absolutely brilliant idea.
    Behind her, Erik was still talking, blah-blah-blah, about how Allie would settle him down, give his life purpose, give him what he’d been searching for all his life without realizing it. Not a word about what would be good for Allie. Sandra would bet Erik didn’t know her at all beyond his fantasy of what he wanted her to be.
    Sandra would step in. Give Erik a new fantasy, and keep him out of Jonas’s way. In the process, she and Erik could get to know each other. Maybe she’d still have a shot at a life of comfort and security. She doubted she’d ever have deep feelings for Erik, but she was too old and too tired and too broke to hold out for true love.
    And, if she engineered the next two minutes exactly right, she and Erik could get a little of their own back after Allie and Jonas’s giggly intimate entrance last night.
    “I don’t know, Erik.”
    He broke off his monologue. “Don’t know what?”
    “I don’t know if Allie is the right woman