Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-One
Mason emptied his glass of Scotch and stood up as the doorbell rang. Grace was spending the night with Carey and John and he was glad for it. He missed her presence in the house but he needed to come to terms with Andrea leaving and his guilt over what had happened to her.
“Hi,” Mason said with a frown and opened the door wider so she could step inside.
“Hi,” Sylvie said clutching a paper bag in her hand.
He followed Sylvie to the living room where she placed the paper bag on the coffee table. She sat down on the couch and her head lowered to her knees. Her shoulders shook but she made no sound at all.
“Is everything okay?” Mason asked knowing exactly why she was upset. Kelley had obviously told her about Milana and Kyzer.
She lifted her head as tears welled in her eyes. “You really have to ask?”
Mason smiled and shook his head as he sat down next to her. “You want a drink?”
Sylvie wiped her eyes and looked at him. “Why are you drinking alone?”
He filled his glass again and held it out to her. She took it and emptied it in one swallow and held it out to him again. He refilled it and this time she sipped it slower. “Andrea left.”
Sylvie nodded her head even though she had no idea who Andreas was, her hand shaking lightly as she sipped the Scotch and Mason drank straight from the bottle. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head and a dry laugh emitted from her. “I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot, Sylvie. He should’ve told you.”
Sylvie looked intently at him. “Yeah, he should have.”
At one stage Mason grabbed another glass and another bottle and settled back down on the couch. Sylvie had kicked off her shoes and her mascara had smudged around her eyelids. She dragged a hand through her hair.
“Oh, I brought Grace a dog.” Her voice slurred slightly and Mason leaned forward.
“A dog?”
Sylvie laughed. “A robot dog. I tested it for TechSavvy and it’s really awesome. I think Grace will love it.”
“Thank you, Sylvie, I’m sure she will.”
Sylvie poured her heart out about Kelley and Mason poured out his about Andrea and Grace. He told her about Marcus, their feud from high school and how she was his daughter but not really. Sylvie kept nodding her head like she understood, even though she understood very little about everything Mason was saying.
There wasn’t enough information to piece everything together and in that moment Sylvie didn’t really care to ask him to elaborate. Mason understood her pain and she understood his confusion.
“So you wanted to marry her but you don’t love her?”
Mason nodded his head. “Yep … I mean, come on, is love all that important to make something work?”
Sylvie laughed then. “Yeah, Mason, love is pretty important.”
“Did you love Kelley?”
Her smile vanished and she sat quietly for a moment. “I was in love with him, I mean, I am but he lied to me and it’s not the same situation, he’s already married.”
Mason blinked and groaned as he clenched his eyes shut again. The sun was too bright and his head pounded. How much had he had to drink last night? He had no idea but from the taste in his mouth and the pounding in his head, he gathered it was a lot.
Mason stretched and turned his head to the side. He smiled and then he scrambled out of the bed, looking down as the cold air hit his balls. His hand went to his head as the pounding increased. ‘No, please, please tell me I didn’t do what I think I did,’ he thought to himself.
She lay in his bed, naked from what he could see, dark hair cascading over his pillow. His discarded jeans lay in a heap on the floor and he pulled them on. Sylvie turned around and her eyes opened. They widened when she saw Mason and then she clutched the sheet to herself.
“Oh no,” she murmured and immediately clutched her head. “What the hell did we do?”
“Are you naked?”
Sylvie nodded her head and Mason let out another groan. “I think you can guess what we did. I was naked too.”
“We’re such idiots. Scotch is not my friend,” she said and moved to the edge of the bed. The sheet fell away and Mason stood staring at her naked back. His groin tightened and he turned around willing his half hard erection to go down.
“I should go,” Sylvie said and Mason turned around to face her.
“I could make you coffee before you leave.” Mason’s hands went into his pockets as he looked at her.
“Okay,” she said.
Sylvie followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen. Their movements were awkward in the bright light of the sun and the previous night’s memories were foggy. Mason stood with his back to her and made coffee.
“About last night …” Mason began.
“Please don’t even say it. I can’t believe that happened,” Sylvie said as her cheeks heated.
“Kelley’s my best friend, my brother.”
Sylvie huffed out a laugh. “Mason, we’re not dating or going behind his back. We broke up last night and this happened. It’s never going to happen again. Kelley’s married and I won’t ever be the other woman, well not again and we’ll never, ever talk about this again.”
She stood up from the counter, placed her empty cup in the sink and grabbed her handbag. “Well, uhm, I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Not likely, Mason. We don’t move in the same circles.”
Within a few seconds, Sylvie was gone and he heard the front door close. His head lowered to his hands resting on the counter and he let out a shuddering breath. He was such an idiot, jumping into bed with Sylvie.
Mason shoved everything to the back of his mind and went upstairs to shower and get ready for the day. An hour later, with a healthy dose of painkillers and coffee in his system, he left to go to his office at the warehouse.
