Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine


Despite what anyone might say, making your first appearance to a ball was scary; arriving at the top of the staircase to find a sprawling ballroom full of incredibly rich, posh, elegantly dressed people, some of whom turned to stare up at you. And knowing you had to descend said flight of stairs, without, God willing, twisting an ankle and seriously injuring yourself. Or worse, making a fool of yourself.

It was much better to have a friend with you.

Mina and I linked arms, giggling together as we descended the grand staircase into the ballroom.

###

The whole room was glittering and noisy and insanely overwhelming.

I almost broke my neck looking up at the giant crystal chandelier.

Mina gave me a little nudge and I lowered my eyes to have them land upon Mason, slowly approaching me through the crowd.

I completely lost my breath when I saw him, and I was only vaguely aware of Mina excusing herself and slipping away from my side.

Mason looked absolutely stunning in an all-black suit. It was tailored perfectly to his big body and the top few buttons of his shirt were undone.

He looked like edible sex on a stick and I wanted to grab his hand and drag him upstairs to have my way with him right then and there.

“Hi.” I breathed, gazing up at him with no doubt a goofy expression on my face.

“Hi, yourself.” He smiled down at me. He was always so calm and steady. I wanted to be more like him that way. “You look ravishing tonight, Ms. Caldwell.”

I couldn’t help but blush and again I had to fight the urge to curtsy.

“Thank you, you too. I mean, you look very dapper, that is.”

Mason gave me an indulgent grin and offered me his arm. “Shall we go find my mother so I can better show you off, my dear?”

My heart was still fluttering with nerves, but I nodded and stepped to his side to slip my arm through his.

“You’re not gonna make me dance, are you?” I asked nervously, and we both chuckled.

“No!” Mason assured me. “I can’t dance to save my life.”

“Me either.” I grinned up at him in relief, surprised that we had something in common, or that Mason Blacksteele could be bad at anything.

###

Mason led me into a smaller ballroom, adjacent to the great room, and there we found Claudia, with Colin and Evelyn standing on either side so that they looked like two not very menacing guard dogs.

Claudia herself was dressed impeccably in a black gown that was snug to her slender frame, but with its high collar, remained tasteful to her age. Her hair was even more elegantly coiffed than in the afternoon, and diamonds glittered from her person. She even had diamonds on her off-white pumps.

We went to greet her and again I had to restrain the urge to curtsy to her.

“My, my.” Claudia said when she saw me, lifting a pencil thin eyebrow. “Well, just look at you, Angie. They managed to make a proper lady out of you!”

Mason began to correct her, but I beat him to it, my smile never faltering. “It’s Annie, Mrs. Blacksteele. And I thank you, but it was all Mina’s doing.”

I glanced up at Mason in time to see him shoot a dark look at his mother.

“Well, she certainly did an exemplary job.

“Mrs. Bernstein, let me introduce my son’s new girlfriend, Annie Caldwell?” Claudia said my name very firmly and I smiled and made myself start shaking a bunch of strangers’ hands.

It was Hell.

###

I nabbed a flute of golden champagne as soon as I could to help steady my nerves. Unfortunately, it only made everything seem all the more overwhelming.

I had to stumble free of the crowd to catch my breath and gather my wits after only a few minutes of introductions.

I found a secluded side parlor and let myself in so that I could have a moment alone.

Of course, this luxury couldn’t last long.

“Oh, there you are, dear.”

I turned at the sound of that cold voice and forced another smile. “Hey.” I said weakly.

“I’m glad I caught you alone.” Claudia said, closing the door behind her and clicking across the room to me in her heels.

Well, that wasn’t ominous at all.

“Annie, dear, you seem like a nice girl, so I shall do you the justice of your Texas background and tell you bluntly that my son is only with you because, well, he’s using you, you see.”

I felt my heartrate start to pick up.

Oh no!

How did I respond to this? The truth was I already knew, but if I was to maintain my cover than I had to pretend that I didn’t know. And if I hadn’t already known...

I would be devastated.

Lucky for me, Mason wasn’t the kind of man who would use a woman without being a gentleman about it; he’d been honest right from the start and had made sure that my end of the bargain was met.

“I-I don’t understand, Mrs. Blacksteele.” I said slowly, licking my lips.

“He’s just trying to convince me that he’s serious about someone, so I’ll sign over full ownership of his silly little gym to him.

“I’m sorry, darling, and I must say, I never thought my own son would stoop to this level of treachery. Colin, dear boy, set Mason up beautifully. I wanted to see if he was petty and manipulative enough to actually rise to the bait! Can you imagine, being willing to break a young girl’s heart for the sake of his male ego?”

I bit my lip. “Mrs. Blacksteele, if I may, that can’t be true. Mason-Mason isn’t like that. And he wouldn’t. Your son...is helping me in ways I can’t even explain to you. Whatever you have going on between you as mother and son, I know that his heart is in the right place. That gym means the world to him, it’s not a passing fancy. And frankly I don’t know if your son is using me so much as I am using him.”

She stared at me and I could tell, with some satisfaction, that I had made her feel askance.

The shock didn’t last long, however. “Well, if it’s money you’re after, my dear...”

I held up my hand. “Let me stop you right there.” I said, a bit harshly. “I own my own flourishing business, thank you, and I don’t need any money. When I came to him for private coaching, I told him money wasn’t an issue and it still isn’t.

“I happen to like your son and I think he just happens to like me, but yes, things are casual between us. It’s not like he’s proposed. We’re both adults who are used to having our own space, so maybe you should give us some. How’s that for Texas bluntness?” With that, I turned on her, and left the room with my head held high.

I didn’t even trip on anything.