Xeni was trying her best to play hostess, but even after Mr. Barber, Ms. Jordan and Bess were settled around her aunt’s large kitchen table with the refreshments Xeni had prepared, she felt like her skin was trying to relocate to another country without the rest of her vital parts. All at once, she was anxious to get this process over with and dreading the reality of taking on her aunt’s estate. Her brain couldn’t process other stuff at the moment, like what had happened the night of her birth or little pesky facts, like who her real father was.
It didn’t help that Mason was in the room. She tried to shove the time they’d spent together out of her mind, but that wasn’t happening. She’d been thinking about him since she’d woken up alone in his bed, surrounded by his scent. Her stomach had tied in little knots when she realized he’d brought her car over from Liz’s house. A trek across the farm would have been adequate penance for their wedding night booty call. Things had gotten a little out of hand and, unfortunately, Mason was now her bright spot. She could feel all types of ways about her mom, her aunts, the money, even the secrets she was keeping from her friends, but one thing was clear. She was desperately attracted to her new husband. The way he touched her, the way he made her feel? Xeni felt high from it and, if she knew herself, that feeling could only go wrong.
She waited until Mr. Barber was settled at the kitchen table before shoving the necessary paperwork in his face.
“Here’s the marriage certificate.” She’d stopped herself from cussing Deborah out when she stopped by the clerk’s office to pick it up that morning.
“They threw together a fun party,” Bess said, offering Xeni a genuine smile. Itwasa fun party. Didn’t make the reality of the situation any less fucked up. She was legally married to a man she barely knew and she couldn’t wait to get under him again.
“Why don’t we get Mason squared away first?” Mr. Barber suggested. “Then let him get on with his day.”
Mason looked over at Xeni, waiting for her to give the go ahead. “Yeah, of course. I think I’m going to have to set up the pull-out for Ms. Jordan anyway, if my stuff takes as long as I think it will. You get started.”
Xeni wanted to get up and go pace in her aunt’s garden, but she needed to stick around. This was part of Mason’s truth. Part of Sable’s plan. She sat quietly as Ms. Jordan recapped the details of his inheritance and Mr. Barber gave him various pieces of paperwork to sign.
“Can I have a portion of this transferred directly into another account?” he asked.
“Yes, if you have all the proper routing information,” Ms. Jordan replied.
“I have it right here.” Mason opened the folder he’d brought with him and slid a bank transfer slip across the table. He’d already filled most of the information out.
Ms. Jordan looked everything over. “It’s after business hours in Scotland right now, but I can initiate the transfer in the morning. It should go through Tuesday morning our time, at the latest.”
“That’d be fine.”
“Just confirming the amount,” Ms. Barber turned the paper back to Mason and pointed to the amount with the tip of her pen.
“Yes, forty-seven thousand dollars, US.”
“To Jameson McInroy.”
“Correct.”
“Okay, thank you. The remaining balance will be transferred to your account. Unless you have any more questions for us, you’re all set.”
“No more questions from me, but I have your information if anything comes up.”
“You do.”
“We don’t have to discuss it today, Mr. Barber, but if you have time soon or can refer us to another attorney who might handle this, I’d like to sit down with you and Xeni and discuss post-nuptial terms,” Mason said as he stood up from the kitchen table.“When we dissolve the marriage, I just want to make sure there’s nothing legal that says she has to share any more of the estate with me.”
“We can definitely do that.”
“Excellent. Well, I’ll be going.” Xeni was still a bit in shock from his offer. Not that she thought Mason would try and take half of everything that wasn’t even officially hers yet, but she didn’t know him that well. Clearly, money made people do crazy things, and thanks to Aunt Sable’s ridiculous terms, he was well within his rights to take Xeni to the cleaners when she eventually filed for divorce. She appreciated that he was doing what he could to protect her.
She cleared her throat when she realized she’d been gazing at him a moment too long. She stood and motioned toward the door. “Here, let me walk you out.”
He gathered up his things, saying goodbye to the rest of Aunt Sable’s legal dream team, then followed Xeni back through the house. When they stepped out onto the small porch, Mason turned to her, crowding her personal space again. She wanted to hate the overfamiliarity, the closeness, but she couldn’t. Mason reached up and smoothed the pad of his thumb down the side of her neck. A shiver ran over her. “Do you want me to stay? I’ve heard I’m very good at offering emotional support.”
“No, but thank you for asking. I feel like there’s more bullshit that I’m not ready to hear and I just—I know me. It’s better if I have a little while to process on my own.”
Mason glanced at his watch. “Let me come back at six and make you dinner. I’ll feed them too if they’re still here. One less thing for you to worry about.”
Xeni didn’t want him to go to the trouble, but she knew it was foolish to turn down the offer. She had the massive, newly remodeled kitchen. He knew how to cook. Having him back for dinner was just good sense.
“Okay, I would appreciate that. Thank you. Oh, I don’t know if I told you, but—”
“No meat, but seafood’s acceptable. Liz told me.”
