Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Two


Mina excused herself and I hardly blamed her.

She said she was going home and when I raised my eyebrows she explained rather dryly that they lived just a few miles from his mother’s house.

“We’ll talk later. My driver will get me home safe, don’t worry.” She kissed my cheek in farewell and I was left blinking after her, in a cloudy daze from her perfume.

I was seriously in over my head. This whole world, and all these rich people in it, I just couldn’t relate to their lifestyle.

I used public transport most of the time and these people talked about their drivers as casually as I might talk about my toaster oven.

They had their own golf courses and tennis courses and pools and yachts and private jets and helicopters and all their clothes were custom made. They all knew somebody; they were all gracing award shows, and rubbing elbows with celebrities and other brilliant billionaires.

And me, I was just a slightly chubby baker from Texas who didn’t like to be touched.

I decided I needed some air so I stepped out onto the first veranda I came across, and I’m sure there were several to choose from. It was a remarkably nice space and the cool sea breeze felt good caressing over my face.

For a while, I simply stood at the stone railing, staring out at the cold, glittering waters of the Atlantic Ocean as the waves ebbed and surged against the pale sand.

I felt a stirring then, a prickling along my spine that shot up into the back of my neck. I turned my head slightly as Mason came to stand at my side.

“What’re you doing out here, Annie? It’s freezing.” He stripped out of his dinner jacket without a second thought and draped it around my shoulders.

I shuddered as his residual warmth soaked into me and I pulled the jacket closer around me. “I was just talking to Mina.” I said, not wanting to talk about that incredibly embarrassing kiss we’d just had.

“Oh? A lady’s heart-to-heart?” He suggested, with mild tones of playfulness.

“Yes, you could say that. I feel for her. She seems like she’s in a lot of pain. She thinks your brother’s cheating on her.” I said in explanation, then winced at my own carelessness.

She had confided in me, and here I was blabbing about it to essentially the first person I came across. It was a terrible habit of mine; not only was I terrible at keeping secrets, but I undeniably babbled when I was nervous.

“Colter would never cheat on her.” Mason said with a frown now. “He adores Mina. She’s worried for nothing.”

I bit my lip. “Probably shouldn’t have told you that.”

He shrugged. “You didn’t ask to have that dumped on you.” Then he sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Annie, for everything. Maybe bringing you here was a mistake.”

I looked up searchingly into his eyes. “Do you think it was a mistake?”

He lowered his head a little. His eyes simmered with an unfathomable desire. “No. I think you’re one of the best things to ever happen to me, in fact, and to this whole, sorry little family. You’re the fresh breath of air we’ve all needed.”