City of Sin (14 page)

Bee

It really did feel like I was dreaming. I stared up at the
grand old building through the car window. I had admired it from a distance
whenever I walked through Central Park. The door opened and Mason put his hand
out for me. I hadn't even noticed he had gotten out of the car.

He looked so handsome. When I was trying to convince myself
to stay away from him, I had tried to ignore his good looks. But he was one of
the most handsome men I had ever met. And with his wool jacket unbuttoned and
his tux showing, he looked like he was straight out of a magazine. He could
have been advertising anything. I'd want to buy whatever it was. How had I
wound up here? I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

"Are you planning on driving off without me again?"
He raised his left eyebrow.

I put my hand in his and stepped out of the car. "Not in
a million years. Are you trying to get rid of me?"

He laughed and intertwined his fingers with mine. "Not
in a million years, Bee."

I looked down at our hands. I felt like my hand fit well in
his. It really seemed like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Everything
leading up to this point had been worth it if Mason was actually the guy he
seemed to be. The guy who wanted to be the reason why I stayed in New York. I
was falling for that guy.

We walked up the red carpet on the front steps. The lights on
top of the canopy above us lit up the entrance beautifully. It looked like
something out of an old movie. Mason pulled two tickets out of his front coat
pocket and handed them to the man who had just opened up the door for us.

The man looked down at the tickets. "Mr. Caldwell, the
gala is being held in the ballroom." He handed the tickets back to Mason.
"Down the hall to the left. I hope you both have a wonderful
evening."

"You too," Mason said.

I gripped Mason's hand a little tighter when we walked into
the hotel. The marble floor led to the most ornate staircase I had ever seen.
The Plaza Hotel's emblem was emblazoned on the floor in gold. And the
chandeliers completed the royal look of the entranceway.

Mason pulled me in the direction of the ballroom.

"It's beautiful," I said and looked back over my
shoulder.

"Not as beautiful as you."

"Usually your pickup lines aren't so cliché." I
smiled up at him.

"I'm not trying to pick you up. I already have
you." He squeezed my hand.

The way he said it made my body feel warm. Is that what he
thought? That I was his? It had been a long time since I had felt connected to
someone. That's what I wanted. To be a part of a "we" again.

"Have you ever been here before?" I asked.

"I come every year."

"How many years have you been coming?"

"Six, I believe."

"So you've been donating to the hospital since you
graduated? You're a bad boy with a good heart, Mason Caldwell."

"It's a good cause."

"Who do you usually bring to these events?"

"No one important in a long time." He smiled down
at me. "Have you ever been to this hotel?"

"What purpose would I ever have for going to The Plaza
Hotel?"

"Something fancy?"

I laughed. "I haven't done anything fancy in a long
time."

"I heard the mattresses are exceptionally comfortable
here."

I swallowed hard. I loved when he talked like that. I wanted
to be witty back. "We're pretty good without a mattress."

"You don't have to remind me." He stopped outside
the coat check. "Turn around, Bee."

I turned away from him. He slowly pulled my coat off of me,
tracing his fingers down my arms. The electricity shot through me even stronger
than before. He pushed my hair to the side and kissed the back of my neck.
"Truly breathtaking," he whispered. The heat of his breath on the
back of my neck made my skin tingle.

I turned around and watched him grab the tickets out of his
pocket before handing both our jackets over to the attendant.

"The hospital thanks you for your very generous
donation, Mr. Caldwell. I hope you and your lovely guest enjoy the evening. You
will both be at table three."

"Thank you."

The man opened up the door to the ballroom for us.

I followed Mason inside. Whether or not I was breathtaking
was questionable, but there was no question about this room. It was absolutely
beautiful. All the decorations were adorned with gold. And the chandeliers were
even more extravagant than the ones in the entranceway. There was a dance floor
in the middle of the room, surrounded by ornately decorated round tables. It
was like a room for a wedding reception, only way fancier than any wedding I
had ever been to.

"Come with me. I want to introduce you to someone,"
Mason said.

I held onto his hand. I was suddenly incredibly nervous. All
the people here were rich like him. If he hadn't bought me this dress, I
definitely would have stuck out in the crowd. And not in a good way.

"James," Mason said and stopped in front of a man I
instantly recognized. He was that professor who had gotten fired from the
University of New Castle. Although, I guess Mason said he had actually
resigned. He hadn't changed at all. I never had a class with him, but I had
seen him around campus. He was hard not to notice. He was ridiculously good
looking. And he had this air of authority around him. It almost transported me
right back to school.

The two men briefly hugged and slapped each other's backs. It
was funny when guys did that. They just had to make hugging masculine too. I
couldn't help but laugh.

Someone else laughing made me look away. It was the girl
standing right next to James. She was really pretty. Her long red hair looked
beautiful against the green fabric of her dress. She seemed to be tickled by
the fact that they had slapped each other's backs too. She was staring up at
James in the most loving way. I wasn't sure I had ever looked at anyone like
that.

I looked back at James as Mason and him ended their hug.
There was so much warmth in the smile James gave her as he wrapped his arm back
around her shoulders. I had heard rumors about their relationship at school.
But the horrible rumors couldn't have been true. They definitely seemed to be
in love. Not that I had much to compare it to. My parent's got divorced when I
was really young. And my relationship with Patrick had ended in disaster. Marie
and Carter were the only real couple I knew. And they seemed perfect for each
other. But even they didn't look at each other like that.

"Bee," Mason said and turned back to me. He wrapped
his arm around my back so that his hand was resting on my hip. "Bee, this
is James and Penny."

"Hi," I said, and nervously shook James' hand and
then Penny's. I liked that Mason kept his arm around me. It was like I was his
and he was excited to introduce me to his friends. I always got nervous at
things like this. But I felt comfortable next to him.

"Bee actually went to the University of New
Castle," Mason said.

"I thought you looked familiar. What year did you
graduate?" Penny asked.

"A few years ago. In 2015."

"Oh." Penny smiled up at James. "We had some
overlap, then. We moved here in 2015. Maybe we had a class together?"

"I don't know," I said. "I spent most of my
time at the Sigma Pi frat house. My ex lived there. Maybe I saw you there?"

"That must be it! One of my best friends lived there
too. Tyler Stevens."

"I knew Tyler!"

"Wait who was your boyfriend?" asked Penny.

"Patrick Huff."

"I don't recognize it. But I'm sure I ran into him.
Although, I didn't spend that much time there. James took up most of my
time." She smiled up at him again.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk so much about our exes,
Penny." James said.

Penny laughed. "Sorry." She looked up at Mason.
"Sorry, Mason, I didn't mean to remind your girlfriend of her ex."

"Very funny, Penny," Mason said.

I wasn't sure what was so funny. But I didn't want to dwell
on it.

"What did you major in, Bee?" James asked.

"Marketing. And I had a minor in advertising."

"I'm surprised I never had you in one of my
classes."

"Yeah, I always tried to get in, but your classes filled
up so fast. I heard you were a great teacher."

He laughed. "I wasn't that great. You didn't miss out on
anything."

"You were great," Penny said. "He was
definitely the best professor I ever had."

"That's just because you were sleeping with him,"
Mason said.

Oh my God.
I was about to apologize for what Mason had
said when Penny started laughing again.

"You're probably right," Penny said. "James
was definitely the highlight of my time at the University of New Castle. And
everything after that too." She looked a little embarrassed when she said
it. But her embarrassment seemed to evaporate when James leaned down and placed
a kiss on her cheek.

"I still have to do the rounds," James said.
"Want to come with me and we can spare our dates the boredom?"

"Sound like a plan," Mason said. "I'll be
right back, baby." His hand slid down my hip and he lightly squeezed my
ass before walking off with James.

Oh my God.
Did he seriously just goose me in front
of all these people?
I hoped my face wasn't as red as my dress.

Penny turned to me. "I can't believe you're from
Delaware too. I never meet anyone who grew up where I did."

"Me either," I said. "It's quite the
transition moving here."

"Yeah it is. But Central Park is really nice."

"That's what I always say to everyone whenever I miss
having a lawn."

Penny laughed. "Me too."

"Do you ever miss it?"

"Home? Or having a lawn?"

I laughed. "Both, I guess."

"Sometimes." Penny looked over at James again.
"I've found that the company is more important than the location."

"I just have to say that you and James are the most
adorable couple I've ever seen."

She laughed.

"What?"

"He does not like being called adorable. You know, I
don't think I've ever seen Mason like this."

"Like what?" I asked.

"The way he looks at you. I've never seen him look at
anyone that way. I think he really likes you."

"Why did Mason say 'very funny' when you apologized for
reminding me about my ex?"

"Oh. Nothing really."

"Come on. Us Delaware girls have to stick
together."

She smiled "I don't know. His reaction to what I said
was more so about the fact that I called you his girlfriend I think. It's just
that Mason doesn't really date. I've known him for almost two years and I've
never seen him with the same woman twice."

"Really?" I looked over at him and James. I had
never seen him like this before. He looked like he was in his element, making
small talk with these people. Maybe I didn't know him as well as I had thought.

"But you shouldn't let that bother you. Like I said,
I've never seen him like this before. He seems different."

"I feel like every time I'm with him he's
different."

"Every time?"

"We've been on a few dates already."

"See. You have nothing to worry about. You two are
already dating."

"We haven't really discussed that yet."

"Sometimes you just know."

"Like with you and James?"

"It wasn't easy with us either. I mean, he was still
married when we met."

So that part was true.
"I guess. I feel like
there's still so much I don't know about him. It's hard to let myself fall when
there are so many uncertainties."

"I still learn new things about James every day."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I haven't even met his parents yet."

"But you've been dating for a really long time."

"Mhm. Every time we make plans, they cancel at the last
minute. I guess I'm just not exactly their first choice for their son."

"I'm sure that's not true."

Penny laughed. "No, it is. James is way out of my
league."

"I'm completely out of my league with Mason too!"

She laughed again. "I am so glad that you are with
Mason. Now we can finally go on double dates. Whenever he comes over, I feel
like I end up being the third wheel."

"They are kind of cute together," I said and looked
over at them again.

"Do you know what I miss most about Delaware?"
Penny asked.

"What?"

"Grottos Pizza."

I laughed. "That is my favorite pizza ever. There's so
many on the boardwalk that whenever I eat it, it just tastes like summer."

"I know! Pizza here is great, but it doesn't taste like
summer."

Mason and James both shook someone's hand and then started
walking back over to us.

"Can I ask you something real quick?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Do you think Mason knows how to be in a
relationship?"

Penny hesitated for a second. "Yes. Mason is a really
good guy. It just takes some time to get to know the real him."

"Tell me about it."

"Please don't worry about what I said before. I think
you're perfect for him. I mean, look at how he's looking at you."

Mason was staring at me. Maybe I was imagining it, but it
wasn't that different from the way James was looking at Penny. Maybe this
really could be more.

"And you're lucky," Penny said. "You don't
have to worry about meeting Mason's parents anytime soon."

"What do you mean?"

"After everything that's happened between them? They're
not even speaking. It's been good for him, though. He seems more grounded
now."

Wait, what?
He hadn't mentioned any of that to me. An
ad executive made good money, but not great money. How were we here? How did he
afford the dress I was wearing? Or the fact that he lived in a hotel? All that
money couldn't be from his side business. Could it? I looked down at the dress
I was wearing. Was it possible that Patrick had actually paid for this dress?
The thought made me nauseous.