Fiance Next Door

“No,” I answer.

And I must admit I’m feeling very confused right now.

She touches her nape. “Well, this is awkward. I could just tell you I’m an old friend of Mason’s, or a former maid, or someone he works with, or a distant cousin, or even a reporter snooping around…”

All those possibilities have crossed my mind, too.

“But I have a feeling I’ll just cause you more trouble by lying, so I’ll be honest,” Renee sighs and pushes her eyeglasses up the bridge of her nose. “I’m Mason’s former lover.”

I feel the blood drain from my cheeks as my eyebrows arch. Lover?

“Shit. You’re not going to faint, are you?”

“No.” I just feel like the floor has been pulled out from under me.

Renee scratches the back of her head. “Still, Mason should have been the one to tell you. I can’t believe he didn’t. That sneaky bastard.”

“So you’re his ex?” I ask her.

Mason never mentioned any, but he didn’t say he was never in a relationship, either. In fact, it would be surprising if he wasn’t. Why, last night, I caught at least a dozen women looking at him like they wanted to bite off a piece of him.

“Oh, not an ex-girlfriend.” Renee waves her hands in front of her face. “Mason didn’t do girlfriends. We were just… we had sex.”

“Oh.”

“It was purely physical, I promise.” She puts her hand up. “No feelings or commitments or dates or anything sappy. Just rules and sex and occasional conversations.”

Sounds like what Mason and I have.

“In bed,” she adds. “We never met outside. And it’s over now. I promise.”

I want to ask her when she last had sex with Mason but I don’t. Why am I feeling insecure, jealous? I don’t have a right. Mason and I aren’t really married. I mean we are, but we’re not. And before we signed our names on a piece of paper, we weren’t in any relationship. What Mason did then, who he slept with, was his business and none of mine.

Besides, Renee looks like she’s telling the truth.

“I’m actually here to return my key,” Renee says in a businesslike manner. “Well, my keycard or my ID or whatever that thing is that lets me through downstairs and gives me access to the special elevator. That was all I was going to do, but then I remembered Mason still has something of mine, something I left a long time ago. A bra. I’m afraid it’s one of my favorites.”

So that’s why she was rummaging through Mason’s drawers.

“I’m sure you understand. You must have one, right? A favorite bra that you can sleep in comfortably or walk around in, or one that just feels right and makes you feel like you can do anything?”

“No,” I answer. I don’t really have one. “But yeah, I understand.”

What I find harder to understand is that Renee seems perfectly fine about her relationship with Mason ending. She doesn’t look like she hates me in the least, which makes it harder for me to feel any resentment towards her.

Renee goes through one of the drawers once more, then sighs. “Oh, well. It’s not here. I guess I’ll just have to forget about it.”

“You can ask one of the maids,” I suggest. “Or Frank.”

She chuckles. “Frank has never liked me.”

“Or Mason.”

Renee falls silent. What? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?

“No.” She shakes her head. “I don’t think I’ll say another word to him.”

I frown. Does she have hard feelings after all?

“If you just happen to see a red bra with a gold clasp in front that’s size 34C, will you keep it for me?” she asks.

Now, this is awkward.

“I don’t have your number,” I tell her.

“Right.” She nods and draws a deep breath. “Well, I’ll go now before I cause any more trouble.” She gives me a smile. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

I don’t answer.

“Though of course, I’m sure you don’t feel the same,” Renee says. “And I’m sure you hope you’ll never see me again, which you won’t. If you find my bra, you can just throw it away.”

I still don’t know what to say to that.

She walks off but stops after a few steps and turns around. “You do love him, right?”

Her question takes me by surprise. “What?”

“You do love Mason? Because I think… Because he’s a man who doesn’t just trust anyone or commit to anyone. And when he makes up his mind about something, he’s determined to make it work.”

Wow. For a woman who insists her relationship with Mason was purely physical, she sure knows him.

“I’m not… I don’t want you to think I’m in love with him or anything. I’m not. I just… He’s a good man.”

On that we can agree. “I know.”

Renee nods. “Take care of him.”

She takes another step but stops again and glances over her shoulder. “Oh, and Mason likes it if you watch him when he goes down on you. And his balls can handle a bit of pressure. Just don’t squeeze. I’d also tell you he doesn’t mind a woman walking around naked, but it seems you’re already doing that.”