“I can’t,” Chelle said curtly.
Melanie shot a pained smile at Sarah. “You were too busy to notice, Sarah, but Chelle and Mason had a little thing at your wedding.”
“A thing?” Sarah asked.
Chelle tucked a long blonde curl behind one of her ears. “It was nothing.”
“Oh, it was something,” Melanie countered. “Charles wasn’t really happy with him about it, but they’ve both gotten over it.”
Sarah waved both hands in the air. “Hold on. Rewind. What did I miss?”
Chelle grimaced and admitted, “I may have kissed Mason at the reception.”
“Oh.” Sarah bit her lip. “Chelle, he’s a huge flirt. He probably kissed ten women that night.”
“I was the only single woman there,” Chelle said in protest.
Sarah bobbed her head a few times. “That doesn’t always matter to Mason.” She studied Chelle’s face intently for a moment. “Do you have any feelings for him?”
“No,” Chelle said slowly.
“Then California is still an option. Trust me, to Mason a kiss is like a handshake. He’ll be perfectly fine introducing you to his friends.”
This is awkward. “I can’t meet his friends.”
“Why not?” With a sigh, Sarah admonished her. “You have to stop thinking in terms of what you can’t do, and just grab this idea by the balls.” When her choice of words elicited a laugh from both Melanie and Chelle, Sarah waved her hand dismissively in the air. “You know what I mean.”
“I do,” Chelle said with a smile. “But there is a reason why Mason probably won’t want to introduce me to anyone he knows out there.” Melanie’s eyebrows rose, and Sarah motioned for her to continue. “I’m his fake fiancée.” She gave in and recounted how she had thought Mason liked her, but had learned he’d really wanted to hire her to discourage some fling he’d been having trouble ending. She left out the part about asking David for a condom and kept her focus on how she and Mason had pretended they were a serious couple.
Sarah glared playfully at Melanie. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me any of this.”
Melanie shrugged. “I didn’t know.”
“So you’re fake engaged to Mason Thorne?” Sarah asked with wonder.
Chelle made a pained face. “I guess? Unless we fake broke up? I haven’t spoken to him since.”
Sarah hopped to her feet. “You have to call him.”
Chelle vehemently shook her head.
That didn’t deter Sarah in the least. “Oh, come on. Where’s your sense of adventure? I would head right out there and play along that I was engaged to him. Imagine the parties you could attend. Have some fun.”
Chelle stood, too, and wrapped her arms around her waist. “No. It was a mistake to take the game that far in the first place.”
Sarah raised a finger in the air and stated, “There are no mistakes in life, just different paths leading to where we are destined to be.”
Melanie stood and placed the two cards back in the box. “You say that, Sarah, because you accidentally showered in this house, and that led to you being with Tony.”
“Exactly,” Sarah said. “I’m happier here than I’ve ever been anywhere else. All because I made a mistake. And you, Mel, should agree with me. Sure, you talk about how you regret spending years hiding on this ranch with your son, but look how that turned out. Jace is amazing, and you’re marrying into my family. You needed to be here, and I needed to get lost or we never would have met. And if you had never met me, you wouldn’t have thrown a glass of lemonade in my brother’s face and won his heart. See? Fate.”
Melanie rubbed her face and laughed. “I can’t even argue with her, Chelle. She talks so fast, who can keep up?”
Chelle let herself imagine what Mason would say if she showed up on his doorstep with the intention of perpetuating their cover story. That talk would probably be a lot like the one where he explained that he didn’t want to sleep with her. Yeah, I’ll spare myself that. Chelle glanced at the clock on the wall. “I have a few calls I need to make for my dad, so I should get going. Sarah, I really appreciate the time you put into this. I really do.”
“That’s it,” Sarah exclaimed as inspiration hit her. “We don’t have to sit around and wonder if you can go out there or not. We can call Mason and ask him.” When Chelle didn’t immediately reach for her phone, Sarah asked, “Am I the only one who is dying to know if you two are still engaged?”
Melanie brought a hand to her mouth and said, “Okay, I’m curious.”
Chelle took out her cell phone. “First, I don’t have his number. Second, what would I say?”
Sarah snatched her phone, typed in a number before hitting “Call,” and handed it back to her. “Ask him if his fiancée can come for a visit.”
The phone rang once. Twice. Mason’s deep voice answered. “Mason Thorne.”
Sarah made a grabbing motion with both of her hands. By the balls.
Chelle laughed nervously, then cleared her throat. “Hi, Mason, it’s me, Chelle Landon.”
“Chelle.” The way he said her name was a warm caress of its own. “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”
Chelle took a step back from the two women who were leaning in to hear him. “Is this a bad time? I can call back later if it is.”
“No, it’s fine. How are you?”
“Good. And you?”
“Why do I have the feeling you didn’t call just to see how my day is going?”
“I’m considering a trip to California. I was talking to Sarah about it, and she suggested I contact you. I completely understand if you’re too busy, but Sarah said you might enjoy showing me around.”
“Enjoy showing you around?” He repeated her request slowly, and Chelle began to doubt herself.
She didn’t want him to think she was throwing herself at him again, so she blurted, “She said you could take me to parties and introduce me to your friends. Who knows, I may even hit it off with one of them. That is, unless we’re still fake together. Are we? Still together? Because I can go somewhere else if we are.”
Mason was quiet for a long moment. “You’re calling to ask me to hook you up with one of my friends?”
Chelle closed her eyes in mortification. It really didn’t sound good the way he said it. “Not hook up. I don’t hook up. I’ve never . . .” He knows that. Stop. Chelle took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called.”
“Actually,” he said slowly, “I’m glad you did. I have a charity dinner coming up this Friday and having you here with me would give my opposition something else to talk about besides their issues with my latest environmental bill. Who knows, you might soothe some ruffled feathers and help me push it through.”
“This weekend? As in two days from now?”
“Is that a problem?”
Chelle covered the mouthpiece of her phone and whispered, “We’re still engaged. He wants me to attend a dinner with him this weekend.”
Sarah hopped with joy. “You have to.”
Melanie waved at the phone. “Ask him for the name of a good hotel. Be clear that you’re not going out there to be with him.” She narrowed her eyes for emphasis. “You’re not, are you?”
“Of course not,” Chelle said with forced conviction. She removed her hand and said, “Mason, if I’m flying out that soon, I’ll need to find a place to stay. Is there a hotel you recommend?”
“I have an extra bedroom in my apartment. You could stay here.”
“He said I could stay with him,” Chelle echoed.
“No,” Melanie said. “If you do that, you’ll end up sleeping with him. That’s not a good idea. Unless it’s what you want.”
Sarah waved a hand frantically between them and pointed to the phone. She mouthed, “He can hear you.”
Chelle covered her eyes with one hand and put the phone back to her ear. “I’d be more comfortable in a hotel. But I appreciate the offer.”
“That’s entirely up to
you. Text me your flight information, and I’ll have everything set up for you on this end.”
Mason’s tone was so calm that Chelle relaxed. He hadn’t heard them. Thank God. “I’ll do that. Thanks, Mason.”
Mason added, “Oh, and tell Melanie I’m flattered she thinks I’m irresistible.”
Chelle blushed. “I will,” she said with knee-jerk politeness, then hung up on him. She stood there looking down at her phone. “Are we sure this is a good idea? Maybe I should call him back and tell him I changed my mind.”
In a matter-of-fact voice, Melanie said, “I guess it all depends which you’d regret more—going or not going.”
Sarah gave Chelle a quick hug. “I drove to Texas all by myself. Everyone thought I was insane to do it. It was the best thing I ever did. What’s the worst thing that could happen? You go out there and discover you don’t like California, Mason, or any of his friends. So what? You come back and pick another destination. Unless you decide that Fort Mavis is where you belong. See, it doesn’t matter what I think or what Melanie thinks. What matters is that you let yourself—”
“Grab life by the balls?” Chelle asked with an enthusiastic laugh.
Sarah nodded in approval.
Melanie shook her head, but she was smiling. “I was worried about you, Chelle, but something tells me Mason is the one who’d better be careful.”
“I’ve got to go, darling,” Mason said to the ebony beauty lying across the king-size hotel bed. Her cheeks were still flushed from their midmorning lovemaking, her black dreads fanned across his pillow.
Renita sat up and stretched, completely uninhibited. “Me too. My flight leaves in two hours. I was planning to finish my report this morning, but I’m glad I called you. You always send me back to Seattle glowing. Better than a morning at the spa.” She picked a white robe off the chair near her bed and slipped it on. “You look happier than usual today. Who was that on the phone?”
Mason had known Renita long enough to not have to hide the truth from her. Plus, he wanted to say it out loud. “My fiancée. She’s flying in for the weekend.”
Renita laughed. “You are hilarious. As if . . .”
Mason frowned. “I’m not joking.”
After giving him a contemplative once-over, Renita laughed again. “You almost had me feeling sorry for some woman. Mason, you are a reliably good fuck, but a woman would have to be insane to marry you.” When Mason didn’t say anything, Renita walked toward him and met his eyes. She was still chuckling when she said, “Oh my God, you’re serious. You’re really engaged?”
Mason picked his clothing off the floor and began to get dressed to distract himself from his unexpected anger. “I’m glad you find it so fucking amusing.”
“Mason, what did you expect? I mean, if you’re so in love, what are you doing still sleeping with other women?”
Mason pulled on his pants with a jerk. Maybe he was excited about the idea of seeing Chelle again, but that was it.
“Mason, I’ve known you for four years. I lost count of how many times we’ve hooked up, but I do know it took you about six months before you stopped calling me the wrong name. Honestly, I didn’t even care. You’re that good. But men like you don’t get married.”
Mason had never had an issue finding female companionship, but he’d also never asked them what they thought of him. Renita’s opinion reminded him why. He pulled on his dress shirt. “As entertaining as this conversation is, I have to get back to my office.”
Renita watched him finish dressing, then dug a card out of her purse and held it out to him. “If you really are engaged, you might want to talk to someone about it. This is my therapist’s number. She knows all about you and how I use these visits to cheer myself up between boyfriends.” As something occurred to her, Renita withdrew the card. “On second thought, she might know too much and want to test-drive you herself.”
Shaking his head in disgust, Mason tied the laces on his shoes. He wasn’t upset with Renita as much as he was annoyed with himself for caring what she thought of him. “Good-bye, Renita.”
Renita stepped between him and the door and searched his face. “What’s her name?”
“Chelle Landon.”
“What makes you think she’s the one?”
Mason was about to deny that Chelle was, but he remembered the first time they’d met. Every moment with her remained as vivid as if only a day had gone by, instead of weeks. “I smile every time I think about her.”
“And the sex?” Renita wasn’t asking out of jealousy. She and Mason had a friends-with-benefits arrangement, and he could tell she genuinely cared.
“I haven’t slept with her yet.”
“Engaged to someone you haven’t been with? Mason, this is big. Huge. And more than a little fucked up—in a sweet way.” She laid a hand on Mason’s cheek and gave him a kiss on his other. “I won’t call you next time I’m in town. If it doesn’t work out with her, call me. But do yourself a favor, and don’t sleep with anyone else while you’re engaged. Give your relationship a chance.”
Mason took Renita’s hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting it drop. “You’re a class act, Renita.”
As Mason let himself out, he heard her say, “Good luck, Mason.”
Mason took the long route back to his office. He needed time to think before he dove back into the meetings booked solid for the rest of the day.
Since he hadn’t heard from Trish once in the past two weeks, having Chelle out for a visit was not the wisest choice he’d ever made. No one knew about his fake fiancée. It would be a whole lot simpler to leave it that way.
I should call Chelle back and tell her not to come.
I don’t know why I agreed to it in the first place.
He took a corner sharply. If he was honest with himself, her comment about wanting him to introduce her to his friends had put his nose out of joint. He and Chelle made about as much sense as a tiger dating a rabbit, but that hadn’t stopped him from fantasizing about her every night. He’d tried to wipe her out of his head by sleeping with other women, but as soon as he’d heard her voice, he’d realized how ineffective that had been.
I might have to sleep with her to get her out of my system.
God, I wish she weren’t a virgin.
He ground the gears of his car. Chelle was a dangerous temptation. He already didn’t like how she was twisting him on the inside. He felt guilty about sleeping with Renita. Which was ridiculous since he and Chelle hadn’t gone on a single date. Until she’d called, he’d had no expectation of hearing from her again. She was under no illusion that either of them had feelings for the other.
Why the fuck did I perpetuate this fake engagement?
Because I don’t want her to use that condom she keeps tucked in her bra with someone else.
Shit.
Mason hadn’t reached a better mood when he entered his office a little while later. His secretary, Millie Capri, checked her watch and said, “You’re back early. Would you like me to have your lunch delivered now?”
Over the years, Mason had been asked several times why his secretary looked like a cuddly grandmother. She was in her late sixties, but didn’t believe in cosmetic surgery or excessive dieting. She was comfortably round without being an unhealthy weight, and her hair was a shocking natural salt-and-pepper bob. To Mason, she was perfect. There was no temptation to sleep with her, and she was consistently, unwaveringly professional. He knew next to nothing about her personal life, and she didn’t ask him about his.
Which made what he said next even more confusing to him. “I’m not hungry, so it doesn’t matter when. But I do have a question. What is a respectably sized diamond for an engagement ring?”
Millie raised one eyebrow, but the rest of her expression gave nothing away. “For your income bracket? Two carats. Flawless. More than that is gaudy. Less says you’re cheap.”
“I need one by Friday.”
“I’ll have a jeweler bring samples
by this afternoon. What ring size?”
Mason scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know. She’s petite.”
“A little loose is better than too tight. I’ll have him bring a range. If you find out the size, tell me, and I’ll forward that information to him before he comes.”
Mason started walking toward his office. He stopped and glanced back. Millie was already working on her computer again. “You’re not curious why I need a ring so quickly?”
Millie looked up from her work for a moment. “Should I be?”
Mason hesitated. He had cultivated a perfectly functional impersonal work relationship with Millie. There was no reason to muddle that, but there was a question eating at him that could not be contained. “Do you think a woman would have to be insane to want to marry me?”
Millie removed her glasses and let them fall on the chain around her neck. “Senator Thorne, I think people have to be insane to want to marry at all, but it stops very few from taking that leap.”
He couldn’t believe he didn’t know the answer to his next question. “Are you married?”
Millie held up her left hand. There was a small diamond ring next to a simple gold band. “Thirty-nine blissful years last January. We raised three boys together. Five grandchildren so far and another on the way.”
Mason looked around the office. “Why don’t you have any pictures of them on your desk?”
“I used to have several in the beginning. They seemed to make you uncomfortable, so I took them home.”
Mason nodded. He didn’t like to think he was that transparent when it came to his feelings about family, but there was no use denying it. “I appreciate that. Hold my calls for an hour. I need to read over Vine’s bill proposal. He won’t back mine unless I endorse his. He’s a wordy bastard, though, and tends to throw in last-minute game-changing clauses. Oh . . . and if you see Andrew come through, send him in. Also, contact Liz at Shimmer and inform her that I’ll be bringing a date to the event. And book the presidential suite at Milo’s for the weekend under the name of Chelle Landon, but bill it to me.” He spelled Chelle’s name for her.