Because of Sydney (22 page)

“Syd?” he called out.

“Hold on a sec,” I instructed Eden with my hand over the phone. “I’m out here.” I swallowed hard when I saw him walk through the apartment shirtless and sweaty. He was unreal.

He pivoted on his heel and jogged toward the balcony.

“He just got back from his run, so I need to go.”

“Ok, I’m glad we talked. Call me again if you need anything. And I’m right next door. Maybe we can get together later?”

“Sounds good. I’d love to stop by later. Thanks for the talk. Bye.”

I placed the phone on the side table. I hated to rush Eden off the call, but I couldn’t talk freely with Mason in the condo. He stood in the doorway, a puzzled look painted on his face.

“Let me guess. That was my nosey niece?”

“First, I think it’s weird you call her your niece because she’s not really, and second yes. That was Eden.”

He rubbed a towel across his face. It was red from the run.

“I’m going to jump in the shower. I thought we could ride over to your place and pick up some clothes for you after breakfast.”

I titled my head. “Clothes? Are we spending the day together?”

“Hell yeah, we are.” He threw the discarded towel on my chair. “I like you in my shirt by the way.” He ducked inside.

I felt the corners of my mouth turn upward. I might wear a perpetual grin whenever he was around. I knew I was in trouble. I was falling hard and fast.

Mason parked the car in the space closest to the staircase. I told him I could drive myself over, but he seemed determined we were going to spend a Saturday together, even if it meant doing mundane weekend tasks.

He followed me up the steps. “I’ll just pick up a few things, ok?”

“Take your time. I’m in no rush. This Saturday is all about having fun.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “But not the kind of fun that doesn’t mean anything. I mean it’s fun, but not just fun—shit. I’ll just stop talking now.”

I laughed. “I know what you meant. We are going to have fun together.” I turned to kiss him, but I could only reach the side of his neck if he didn’t bend down.

We walked in and I headed for the closet. “Make yourself at home.”

He landed on the bed with a thud. He folded his hands behind his head. “You have a remote?”

I called from the closet. “Yeah, in the bedside table.” I pulled my overnight bag from the shelf, and started loading it with a few shirts and pairs of shorts. I smiled remembering I still had that lingerie I never wore in San Antonio. I placed it on top.

I emerged with my suitcase. “Shit.”

Mason stared at the drawer. He held the remote in one hand. “I think you’ve been holding out on me.”

I covered my eyes with my hands. “I didn’t mean for you to see that drawer. Shit.” My cheeks were red. I could feel the heat blistering on my skin.

“We’re packing all of this right?” His eyebrows waggled.

I rushed over and slammed the drawer. “No, that’s private stuff.”

“You seem like quite the sexually liberated woman. Why are you embarrassed? I think it’s hot you have your own little toy chest.”

“I-I just. I’ve been by myself. That’s all. I don’t use them all the time. My roommate used to sell them at parties to make extra money.”

“Hey, I don’t judge. I think we should pack at least something out of that drawer.”

“Really?”

“Hell, yeah. Do I get to choose?” He reached for the handle to pull the drawer open, and I still hadn’t decided if I could deal with him knowing about my supply.

“This is crazy.” I watched him sort through my collection.

“I say we pack these.” He laid them out on the bed. A bottle of oil and a small pink vibrator.

I unzipped my suitcase and tucked them in the side. “I’m not saying yes.” I looked at him.

“But it’s not a no.” He winked.

“It’s not a no.” I felt dizzy thinking about what he could with those. “I think I’m ready to go. What are we doing today anyway?”

He pulled the car keys from his pocket. “I thought we could do something everyone does when they come to South Padre.”

“What’s that?” I turned the handle on the lock.

“How about a day at the beach?”

I stopped at the top step. “You’re going to sit on the beach all day?”

“Sure. Why not?”

I followed him to the car. “No laptop or business channel?”

He laughed as he put the car in drive. “I keep trying to tell you I’m a fun guy. I know how to relax.”

I wasn’t convinced. From what I knew about Mason he crammed every available second with phone calls, reports, meetings, or emails. It never ended. The only time he didn’t seem interested in the stock market was when we were in bed. A day on the beach might drive him in insane.

“I guess I’ll just have to trust you.”

“That’s what this is all about, baby.” He threw a palm on my thigh, as we whipped out of the parking lot.

Neither one of us had traditional beach supplies. Mason stopped at Sandy’s so we could pick up a few things.

We walked into the store and were greeted by a woman with bright red hair. “Mason, honey, how have you been?” I couldn’t ignore the red nails or the red lipstick.

“Good, Renee. How are you?”

She tried to wipe off the smudge of lipstick on his cheek after she kissed him. I stood back and watched the exchange.

“Darlin’, I’m trying to stay inside where it’s cool. What brings you in here? And who is this pretty thing?” She smiled at me.

“This is Sydney Paige. Maybe you’ve read some of her work. She’s a reporter for the
News & Record
.”

Her arms were loaded with fluorescent bangle bracelets that rattled when we shook hands. “How did you manage to get Mason in here?” She winked. “I want to know your secret.”

I blushed. I had no idea who this woman was, but she seemed familiar with Mason.

“We have a day at the beach planned, Renee. Could you hook us up? We need it all. Umbrella, cooler, sunscreen.” He eyed me. “And throw in one of those cute bikinis over there.”

“Well, give me a second, sugar. I’ll get everything you need.” She hustled to one of the displays and started dumping bottles and towels in a basket.

I whispered to Mason, “I have a bathing suit.”

“I know, but I want to get you something new.”

Renee shuttled me in one of the dressing rooms and pulled a curtain in front of me. “Wait right here, and I’ll pick out a few things for you to try on. Although I think Mason wants to pick them out.”

I stood behind the curtain wondering how I ended up in a dressing room, while bikinis passed through an opening. Mason and Renee talked while I tried on three different suits. I finally settled on the green.

I got dressed and handed the green bikini to Renee. “Honey, I hope you two have fun at the beach. Don’t know that I’ve ever seen this one out there.” She cast a motherly look at Mason.

“Is that so?” I teased.

“Hey, I spend plenty of time on the beach running. I’m out there almost every day when I’m in town.”

I smiled when Renee handed me two of the bags. Mason lifted the cooler over the counter, and secured the umbrella under his arm.

“Ice is on the deck, Mason. Grab a few bags. You’re going to need it today.”

“It was nice meeting you, Renee. Thanks for the help.” I waved goodbye.

“You come in here anytime, honey.”

We walked out into the sun. Mason stopped by the ice machine and reached for the twenty-pound bags of ice. With the top down he could wedge the cooler in the backseat.

“She seems like a character,” I commented, strapping the seatbelt over my chest.

He laughed. “You have no idea.” He waited for a car to pass before pulling out of the parking lot. “I credit Renee for everything that happened at the Palm.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was able to help me see things differently. And she wasn’t afraid to tell me I was being an ass.”

I laughed. “You an ass? No.”

He parked by the boardwalk. “Come on, let’s get changed. We’ll leave all this here.”

I hurried up the stairs after him. I cut the tags from my new bikini and changed into it while Mason grabbed drinks from the refrigerator.

Within a few minutes we were lugging our bags and cooler onto the beach.

He dug a hole in the sand and wiggled the umbrella post until he was certain it wouldn’t fly off in the wind.

He looked around at our setup. “Pretty good I think.”

I assessed the camp he had made. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you did this every day.”

I spread a blanket under the umbrella. I heard the aluminum crack when Mason popped the top on a beer. “Here.”

“So, what you said about Renee back there. What did she do exactly?” I had been waiting for a time I could bring it up.

He propped himself on his elbows after pulling his sunglasses firmly on his nose.

“You really want to hear this story?”

“Of course. I love stories.” I slid a koozie over the can.

“Half the island knows what happened, I guess you should at least know my version of the whole thing.”

A seagull landed a few feet in front of us, nibbled on a piece of dry seaweed, then flapped his wings for takeoff. I didn’t want anything to distract Mason from talking. I had attempted to bring up his past before, and every time he blocked my questions, walked away, or turned cold. I could feel this part of our relationship was different.

“Go ahead. I’m all ears.”

He sat forward and reached in the beach bag. He pulled out a bottle of sunscreen. “Why don’t you get my back?”

I took the bottle and squirted a few drops in my palm before I started to rub it into his shoulders. It seemed to relax him. I worked lower, taking my time to cover his skin.

“Ok, so I know you’ve heard part of the story. My dad had an affair when he was a much older man. That’s how Grey and I ended up being the same age. My dad is his grandfather.”

“I had heard that part.”

“But what you might not have known is that Grey had no idea I existed. The affair didn’t come out until after Dad died. Grey found out when I showed up and sued him for ownership of the Palm Palace.” My hands stopped for a second. I added another dab to my fingertips.

He continued. “It wasn’t my finest moment, I admit. Renee called me out on it.”

“What did she say to you?”

He rotated and took the bottle from my hands. “Your turn.”

I adjusted my position so he could apply the sunscreen.

“Renee knew my father. She’s not the only one. Everyone here thinks he walked on water. They loved the Palm. They loved that he charged the spring breakers fifty dollars a night when every other hotel charged two hundred. He was a regular at Pete’s. Local island legend. Real salt of the earth kind of guy.”

“What was so bad about him?” I didn’t know the history, but it didn’t take much to realize Mason’s voice changed every time his father entered the conversation.

“He raised Grey.”

I turned around. I thought the story was starting to come together. “And not you?”

He hung his head. “Not me. When Grey’s parents died, my brother and his wife, Dad had a chance to make things right. He could have told everyone then, but he didn’t. Grey and I could have grown up like brothers. Instead I was hidden in Brees, while he grew up here admiring a man I think was a complete coward.”

He dropped the bottle in the beach bag.

“I can’t imagine how that must have made you feel. How you still feel about it.”

“I took it out on Grey. There’s no doubt. I wanted to plow this place into the ocean. It was the one thing they both loved and I couldn’t stand that it was still here. So, I rolled in here like a wrecking ball, with my team of attorneys behind me and sued the hell out of him.”

My stomach rolled. I didn’t like thinking about Mason like that. Angry. Ruthless.

“But, there was Eden, Renee, even Mac.”