“Mm-hm. And if you get nervous, just pretend that everything’s gravy and you two couldn’t be more in love,” Sofia beamed. “Don’t let the haters in on the truth. Know what I mean?”
“Oh, trust me,” I laughed as I leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “I know it all too well. See you tomorrow.”
*
“Taylor, you didn’t have to come in to sign this in person. I did state in the email that an electronic signature would do,” Lori said as she closed the door of her corner office overlooking Fifth Avenue. As usual, my boss’s space was an amusing contradiction – neat, streamlined and tidy besides the island of madness that was her desk. “I’m glad you did come in though, because I did want to commend you in person on facilitating the deal between Vandermark and The Victorian. It’s going to solidify our company’s reputation among luxury hotels.” Lori adjusted her chignon as she sat behind her desk. “And, of course, I need to congratulate you on whatever deal you have going with Mason Leo.”
Standing awkwardly in front of her desk, I laughed. “Excuse me?”
Lori snorted. “You’ve been with this company since you were nineteen, Taylor. I’ve known you for longer than even Aaron has, so I know that you’re not actually dating Mason Leo. Might I remind you that I’m the one you came running to every time you needed to complain about him?”
True. My top two choices for receiving Mason rants were Aaron and Sofia, but since they were both related to him, I generally suppressed my anger till I could bring it to Lori – which always made Mondays extra Monday-like for her. I grinned and grimaced at the same time. “Can you keep a secret?”
“I can. As long as you email me the second you break and have drunk beach sex with him.”
“Wow. Thank you for the vote of confidence, but that’s not going to happen.”
“Why not? After everything Aaron put you through, I’d say you deserve to actually sleep with his brother. I mean, Aaron was cute but with Mason, you’ve got those shoulders and that ass. And it’s purely physical, so who cares? Just tape his smart mouth shut before you get into bed with him. Simple solutions,” Lori said. Looking up, she snorted at my horrified expression. “What? You’re already doing something batshit insane. You might as well have fun while you’re at it. It’s not like you’re ever going to see him again after you come back from the wedding.”
I frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that. And I guess you have a point, I just… would rather not complicate things.”
“That suggests you even have a history to complicate. Which you don’t.” Lori cocked her head as she moved a stack of papers. “Right?”
I blinked. “Right.”
“So go crazy. You’re not in St. Lucia yet but thanks to the pile of last minute paperwork your new boyfriend had me finalize over the weekend, you are technically on vacation,” she pointed out. “And considering all the work I put in for you thus far, if you don’t come back from St. Lucia with a detailed description of what Mason Leo looks like ass naked, I’m firing you.”
“If it helps, I may or may not have seen the outline of his dick last week.”
Eyebrow cocked high, Lori looked up from her work. “Spectacular?” she asked seriously. When I groaned, she grinned. “Yeah, I’ll take that as a ‘holy shit, yes.’”
“As you should, but please don’t make me think any more about it.”
“I won’t.” Lori tipped her nose up and turned back to her screen. “I’m sure you’ll find plenty of temptation on your own. And considering the lackluster sex you endured for years with Aaron, I’m pretty confident you’ll at some point break.”
Amused, I shook my head. “You’re such a wonderful mentor, Lori.”
“Oh, I know. Now get out of my office. I have work to do and so do you,” she said as she began typing busily at her computer. “And by work I mean Mason Leo.”
I laughed. “Alright, I’m leaving.”
“Keep me posted on the fauxmance, heartbreaker. See you in two weeks.”
Chapter Seven
If I had to have a coming out with Mason, Lady Mercer was undeniably the spot to do it. By the time we arrived, it was a blaring full house. Ducking my head just a bit, I let Mason guide me to our table with a hand on my back.
“In case you forgot, the point is to be seen,” he said, reading the intimidation on my face. Despite working for a restaurant group, I was inexperienced with places like these – the ultra-trendy scenes with waiters gliding about like performers and heads constantly turning to see who had just walked in. I’d definitely noticed eyes peering over as the host showed us to our reserved booth. Already in my own head, I tried to distract myself by admiring the restaurant décor.
An amber glow lit the stately shelf behind the bar, stacked from floor to ceiling with all the best wines and spirits from around the globe. Lining the
floors was distressed tile and stretching the antique mirrored walls were leather banquettes packed to the gills with beautiful people – many of whom were still looking our way as we got seated, the first in our party to arrive. Damn it. No matter how much I tried to think of something else, my mind couldn’t stop returning to the fact that this was my first time stepping out with Mason as a couple and while I’d imagined it would be fun, I couldn’t help feeling like a giant ball of nerves.
“Any chance you’ll actually survive this evening?” Mason asked, noticing the shaking in my arms as I turned to let him take my coat. I was ready to scoff some form of “of course I am” but when I turned back around, my mouth snapped shut. Damn. Having shed his own coat, Mason now stood in dark jeans and a grey, cashmere sweater that stretched just tight enough over his broad chest and the rest of that tapered torso. Woof. I had to admire for a second. Couldn’t even help it. Thankfully, his blue eyes were doing something similar to me. “Did I buy that for you?” he asked of the turtleneck sweater dress that stretched down to just an inch above my knees. Paired with knee-high boots, I had barely any skin showing. Of course, the piece was tighter than tight, thanks to the fact that my favorite red-haired devil had been the one to pick it out.
“Sofia bought it for my birthday last year,” I replied.
Mason nodded. “Remind me to thank her later.” He indulged in another second of staring before bringing his eyes to mine. “In the meantime, I’m going to need you to do something besides the deer in headlights look. You’re giving everyone the impression that I brought you here at gunpoint.”