Vinny was my favourite.
He chuckles at my dramatics. “Vinny’s a safe bet. If you ever need to trust a man, you’d be wise to pick him.”
I roll my eyes. They clearly have a good relationship with the way they both seem to defend one another.
Mason seems to be lost in thought, staring at his hand on my hip.
“What is it?”
He lets out a deep breath, hesitating before speaking. “Nina, I need to tell you something, something I found when I looked you up. Purely for your flat number, I should add.”
“Yeah, okay, creeper,” I joke, trying to laugh off the knot forming in my stomach. “There’s nothing in my past I want to talk about.” I lick my lips, wanting to retreat away to my safe space again. “Please drop it.”
“I don’t think you know about what I found. I think it was hidden from you. I could be wrong, but—”
“What? What could you possibly know about me that I don’t already? I mean, it’s my flipping life after all.”
“Nina, calm down, please.” He cups my cheek, pulling his lip between his teeth.
Whatever it is, he doesn’t want to tell me.
Dread fills me.
“Tell me, now, Mason.”
He works on a swallow, rolling his lips. “Have you ever met your father?”
His hand clamps down on my waist the second I go to move. “Wait, please. You said you want to start fresh, and if I don’t tell you this now, then it will come back to bite me in the ass down the line.”
Down the line? Like the future?
“Have you? Ever met him?” he asks.
“No.”
“Okay, do you know anything about him?”
“He was a client, someone who tried to have me erased. My mother found out about me too late.” I run my tongue across the front of my teeth in contempt. The more I think about the woman, the more my blood boils.
He pulls me closer, smoothing a hand down my back. “I don’t think that’s true. Your mother has been receiving payments from someone since the day you were born. Every month, for the last twenty-eight years, Nina.”
I lean back, finding his eyes. I think I’m in shock. No words leave me.
“I have a name, if you want it.”
I shake my head, unable to find the words. “I don’t understand.”
“I think he’s your dad, and if the payments are for child maintenance, they aren’t small. It’s a lot of money.”
“I need to get to the studio. I have so much to prepare for the showcase.”
He lets me get up, and I start to dress on autopilot. He stands and reaches for me, clasping my hand in his.
“I’ll call Vinny. Get us a lift. I’m here if you need me, Nina.”
I nod, swallowing the bile that threatens to come up.
It’s all too much.
