“You know?” he says, flabbergasted.
“Yes, I do.” I raise my brows, looking pointedly at him. I know it was never Vinny’s place to tell me, it’s why I didn’t bring it up to him on the ride over. But I at least thought Mason would have filled him in on the office saga.
“Sister?” Scarlet asks, adding to the list of people who are out of the loop.
An exhausted, over-the-top huff leaves me. I really should start working through my ‘family’ problems. My mum, Jasmine, and the fact that Mason has known who my father is for the last year and a half, but I haven’t asked for the information. Truth is, life seems complicated enough as it is. Do I really need to add to that? Jasmine isn’t anything to me right now, but she is here, working in Mason’s office. I don’t even know how to feel about that, but I can’t ignore the feelings inside that come with knowing I have a sibling. The wonder is colossal. My one and only concern is Ellis. Doesn’t he deserve to know his family?
Do they deserve to know him?
“I’ll fill you in properly later, but Jasmine is the woman in the pictures with Mason. And she is also my half sister.”
“What?” She shakes her head. “Hold on… she set him up?”
“No. She didn’t know who Mason or Nina was before. It was someone else,” Vinny tells her. I watch him as he looks from her and back to me, and I wonder if he knows more than he lets on.
“She must know who?”
“Mason wanted to help her. She has children in care?—”
“One who is a similar age to Ellis,” Vinny adds.
“And he couldn’t leave her in the situation she was in. Hethought he could help her and eventually she could meet me and…”
“Jesus!” Scarlet stands, pacing on the spot.
“He had the best intentions at heart when he brought her home,” Vinny tells us both.
It’s not that I don’t believe what Vinny is saying. It’s the fact that if Mason didn’t have money in this situation, he wouldn’t be able to help Jasmine the way he has and plans to. It’s easy for him, for her even.
And that pisses me off a little, even if I am judging her unfairly.
“This is wild,” Scarlet mutters, her eyes wide as she slowly sits back down at the island.
“Yup. But the answer is still no. I don’t want to go to the office.”
“Yeah, sure. I get that.” Scarlet gives me a look that’s full of understanding.
“Excuse me, ladies.” Vinny stands and leaves the room, pulling out his phone as he closes the door behind him.
“Do you think Vinny is going to invite him instead?” Scarlet whispers.
I lift my shoulders to my ears. “Maybe.”
At least I hope so.
“And he would listen to Vinny, right?”
I doubt Mason would listen to anyone, but I know he respects Vinny. “I suppose.”
A few minutes later my phone lights up with a message and Scarlet, unashamedly leans over to look at the screen.
“You text now?” she squeaks out.
“Barely.” I frown.
“Open it!”
Mason
