“Mason, what am I to do?”
Ignoring him, I steal a breath and stride into the office, shutting the doors behind me. I opt to sit directly in front of Nina, leant back on my desk, leaving a small space between us. It makes me feel more in control than anything else andit’s a total dick move, but it gives me the viewpoint of the rest of the office.
Jasmine isn’t here and I focus my attention solely on Nina as she stares me down, her eyes sharp and poised. I know whatever she came here for is no doubt going to knock another inch off of me.
“I’m mad at you,” she deadpans. But to my surprise, her eyes waver, dropping down my body. I can’t help but smirk.
“When are you not mad at me, Pix?”
“I’m not your Pixie, Mason.”
“Why are?—”
“You tried to buy my pictures,” she blurts out, her eyes becoming focused and locked on mine again.
Little fuck did tell her after all. I always wondered if he had, or if he would.
“So?” I shrug.
“So, I want to know why?”
“Why?”
“Yes, Mase, why?”
Why did I try to buy them? That was simple. “Because I wanted them.” And I will have them, one day.
“Exactly what I thought,” she huffs.
“I don’t see the issue. Did you really come here to have a go at me about trying to buy your photos?”
“No.” She stares at her lap before looking up at me through her lashes. “I told myself I wouldn’t get angry at you. I just find it hard to understand, that’s all. Your money won’t ever fix, gain or define situations, Mase. I’ve told you so many times not to do it.” Her words are getting faster and sharper despite the control she thinks she has. “A million pounds for acouple stupid photos. It’s embarrassing. It’s showy, and it’s ugly, and absolutely everything that I hate about you.”
I scoff and look down at her, opening myself up and hoping she finally understands. “You have no fucking clue, do you? Do you really think if it were just a couple of stupid photos, I would be willing to pay what I was?” My voice rises with my annoyance. “Do you think if they were just a couple of stupid fucking photos, that Joey would have told me no!” I snap.
“We weren’t even together at the time. You hated me!” She shakes her head as if she still doesn’t get it. “You didn’t want the photos, Mase. You wanted to prove a point. A power play over Joey. You don’t want me, but no one else can have me either, right?”
I push off the desk and crowd her, placing my hands on either side of her chair. “No. I wanted them because the thought of anyone else owning those photos makes me murderous. The thought that anyone else that isn’t me gets to wake up to that image kills me a little bit inside every day. It wasn’t about the money; it’s never been about the money with you.” I heave out a breath as I right myself, my chest rising and falling as I try to control my anger.
She looks up at me, her eyes glistening. “I don’t believe that.”
I throw my hands out to the side and snigger. “When have you ever believed me?”
I know why she’s mad; money has always been a hard limit for her. But what she fails to see is that she is my hard limit, every bit of her crazy ass.
“I didn’t come here to argue, Mason. I’m sorry. I gavemyself a couple days to process it and I thought I was ready to talk to you but clearly, I’m not.”
I can tell she means her words. She didn’t want to say the things she just did, but maybe they needed to be spoken. I place my hand on her shoulder, quickly sliding it up to palm the side of her neck and stopping her from leaving. “Don’t get upset.”
“I just wish…” She grits her teeth, trying to control her emotions. “Why can’t you leave money out of it?”
“I’ve just told you.” I shrug. “You’ll never understand.” My eyes pinch in as I watch her. “And maybe that’s okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. You’re the one who doesn’t understand, Mason. It’s not the money—God it’s not the money.” She laughs, gripping my arm that holds her. “It’s the reasoning. It’s the motive. It’s putting a price on something that is me when youhadme once!” Her voice wavers, tears slipping from her eyes that make my chest ache. “Jesus Christ, you could have me now and we both know it.”
I do know this. We probably both knew it from the day she left me. She may have broken the trust by not believing me, but I’m learning that this woman could feed me to the wolves and my heart would still find a way to beat for her. She lives inside of me, embedded in my soul so deep that I’m no longer one. We’re Mason and Nina, two halves of the same soul.
But we’re not ready yet, and I think she knows that too.
