“Nothing, at all,” I bit out. I grabbed a bottle of water before heading into the living room to get as comfortable as I could.
I had no clue how Teresa had gotten a key to his place or why she was here, but there was no way in hell I was going to leave her unattended. She perched herself on one of the high barstools at the breakfast bar and glared at me. I chuckled as I wondered whether she was working to put some sort of hex on me, because she sure looked like a witch with her pointy black shoes, straight black hair and long fingernails.
The front door opened once more, and I swore Mason looked about ready to puke or pass out as his eyes bounced from me to the Ice Queen sitting on her throne. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn’t going to be pretty and I figured my presence would only make it worse.
“You two talk. I’m going to run out for something to eat,” I said as I crossed to the door. There was no way I could eat, but it was the first excuse that came to mind. And believable, since I hadn’t stopped on the way down here.
“You don’t have to leave,” Mason informed me, wrapping his arm around my biceps. “You’rewelcome here.Sheis not. In fact, I’m certain she was getting ready to leave.”
“Mason, sweetie, we need to sit down and talk,” she said, so sweetly that my back teeth started to hurt. It seemed him not being here when she first walked in gave her time to put on her game face so she could play the victim if necessary. It was the role she seemed to think she was destined to play. “I don’t know what’s going on, but if you’d just come home we could figure it all out.”
“There’s nothing for me to say to you, Teresa,” he said curtly as he walked down the hall to his bedroom to change out of his workout clothes. “What in the ever-living fuck is this?” he yelled, returning moments later with Teresa’s suitcase.
“I’ve been staying with a friend in Florida and flew in early so I could talk to you,” she responded casually. “The only way we’re going to sort this out is if we spend some time together.”
I couldn’t help my snort of laughter. She turned to glare at me and the petty voice in the back of my head was screaming to point out the fine lines around her mouth and the corners of her eyes. I wanted to make this woman feel as ugly on the outside as she was on the inside, which was completely unlike me.
“Then you’re delusional,” Mason hollered. “There is nous, and there’s nothing to be worked out, other than the details tomorrow when we meet with our lawyers.”
He looked so damn smug that I wanted to walk over and plant a kiss on his gorgeous face. I wouldn’t, but it was tempting.
“How can you say that?” she asked, clutching her hand over her chest.
Rather than dignify her with a verbal response, Mason simply picked up the papers that were on the kitchen counter and tossed them in her direction. “Baby, I know you’re upset, but there has to be a way we can work this out. You never even gave me a chance to explain what you saw. Please, give me some time and you’ll see that this was all a huge misunderstanding.”
I had never in my life hit a woman, but Teresa was well on her way to being the first. Every time she opened her mouth, it seemed she dug the hole a bit deeper, but I knew that she was also tearing Mason apart with these games.
Insecurity crept into my mind, and I was terrified that he was going to believe her and give her another chance. After all, she was the one he pledged his life to, not me.
Once again, I moved toward the door, desperately needing to get away from this situation. If I was there as a friend, it’d be one thing, but I wasn’t. I was there to get Mason back, to love him the way he deserved to be loved, and I felt dirty being a part of what I hoped was the final battle of his marriage.
I found a seat in the courtyard garden and buried my head in my hands, wondering what I was doing here. I’d gone so long without anyone in my life, and I couldn’t help but think this was part of the reason why. My heart and my mind were sending me two very different messages, and I wasn’t sure which to follow.
It hurt more than I cared to admit to hear that he was meeting with the lawyers about the divorce tomorrow. Before we’d screwed things up, he would have told me something like that.
A young couple walked into the courtyard and didn’t seem to be in any hurry to go further, so I stood and walked toward the front gate. I needed to make a phone call, and I couldn’t do that where someone might overhear me. The only place privacy was guaranteed was in my car, and a drive would further help me clear my head.
I sent Mason a text letting him know I’d be back later and asked him to let me know when Teresa was gone. Until then, I had no intention of turning the car around to head back into the city. It was going to be hard enough knowing she had been there at all.
Jason offered to meet me north of the city so I could buy him a much-needed beer, and I agreed after he pointed out that driving aimlessly while I had so much on my mind likely wasn’t the best idea.
An hour later, we were tucked in a booth at the back of a dark neighborhood bar with a pitcher between us. He filled our glasses and we caught up on everything else that had been going on since the last time we’d had a chance to sit down like this. The longer we sat, the more at ease I felt about everything, and I realized why as soon as I stood up.
My legs were unsteady and everything shifted in and out of focus. I looked at Jason, confused because it didn’t seem like we’d been there that long, and he laughed.
“Buddy, I’m thinking you’re going to have to call that man of yours,” he slurred, holding up the empty pitcher. “I told the waitress to keep them coming, and apparently she took me seriously.”
I wanted to be pissed at Jason for inadvertently getting us hammered, but I had to admit I wasn’t nearly as agitated as I had been earlier. Of course, I didn’t think Mason was going to be amused when he had to pour our drunk asses into the car.
I pulled out my phone and cringed when I realized Mason had texted over three hours earlier. And again two hours ago, and forty-five minutes ago. And he’d called twenty minutes ago, but I didn’t hear the phone ring over the drone of the jukebox playing bad pop music.
I excused myself and stumbled out the back door, thankful that it wasn’t armed in any way. It was going to be bad enough calling Mason while drunk, I didn’t want to further upset him by making it hard to hear me, too.
“What the fuck, Sean?” he answered on the second ring. “You tell me you’re going for a drive to give me time alone with the bitch, and then you don’t answer? I was about ready to start calling every hospital I could find a number for!”
Shit, I couldn’t remember the last time Mason had been this pissed off, and I was certain I’d never been on the receiving end. “Mace, I’m so, so sorry. And you can bitch at me all you want later, but right now, I kinda need you to do me a favor.”
“Are you drunk? Jesus, Sean! You have to start tomorrow, and you’re out tying one on? I thought you were smarter than that,” He scolded me and then the line went quiet. I had to look at the phone to make sure it was still connected. It gave me a strange thrill to know that even though we hadn’t been speaking, he’d kept track of the starting rotation.
