Mason nodded as he sipped his coffee. “That sounds good, but I want to pay for everything.”
“I’ll bill you when we get back to San Diego,” I lied. “But I need to do a little shopping before we go. I didn’t bring enough clothes for an international trip, so if you’re up to it, we need to hit the stores.”
Mason sat back and ran a hand through his damp hair. “Yeah, of course. I should do that too. We can hit up Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s.”
“That will be great.” The server brought our food and offered more coffee, which we accepted. We were halfway through our meal before I asked about London. “Have you ever been to the UK?”
He nodded as he wiped his mouth. “When I was sixteen, my father took me on one of his business trips.” He paused as if he were connecting the dots. “He’d come back from a trip at the end of the school year, and my mother was furious with him.When he went back to the London office in July, he took me. He said he wanted it to be a boy’s trip to celebrate my birthday. I thought that was kinda cool.” He stared unblinking as he spoke. “He wanted me to see the London office, in case I ever wanted to live there. I remember wondering what would make him think I would want to live there when I’d never been. He knew I wanted the NFL…” he trailed off. His expression changed multiple times as he glared over my shoulder. When he finally looked back at me, his brows furrowed.
“What?” I asked, curious about what he was thinking.
He knitted his brows together. “Do you think he took me there to meet them? I mean, I would have noticed Axel, but probably not my mother. She could have been in the office the whole time, and I wouldn’t have known it.”
I propped my elbow on the table and laced my hands together while leaning toward him. “It’s possible. Does that seem like something he would do?”
Mason held my gaze as he contemplated my question. “After yesterday, I think it’s definitely something he would lie about. I don’t know him anymore, Thomas. And if he took me there for that reason, what does that say about him?”
The server approached with more coffee, pausing our conversation. When she walked away, I gave him my opinion. “It wouldn’t be professional for me to give my personal opinion about your father, but I think anything is possible. And we didn’t stay around long enough to find out his story.”
He scowled. “I don’t want his story. I need you to find out what you can. I’ll pay you whatever because I don’t want to go into London blind.” I could see his wheels turning. “I need your opinion as my… friend. Do you think he’s telling me the truth?”
I took a bite of my breakfast to allow me time to contemplate my answer. He was important to me, so I had to give him what he wanted. “I think he was caught off guard and was trying to beselective about what he said. But again, we didn’t give him time to explain. My gut says there’s more to the story that you will need to hear to really understand.”
“How do you know?”
I sipped my coffee. “He stopped looking at you when he talked about Axel. He feels guilty, and a lack of eye contact can be a dead giveaway.”
His brow furrowed. “Maybe he was ashamed.”
I shrugged. He should be. “Maybe. But do you think a man with a net worth in the billions always tells the truth?”
Mason looked down at his breakfast. “I used to think he was always honest with me. Now I know I was naive to ever think that.” He pushed food around with his fork, just like he did at Carson’s party.
Reaching out, I covered his hand with mine. “Hey,” I called softly. “He’s your father. You were supposed to trust him. You can’t assume everything he ever told you was a lie. It’s a waste of energy to go back and try to analyse everything he ever said.”
Mason looked down at where my hand was over his. He turned it over, palm up, and held on to mine. He nodded, but didn’t respond.
“I don’t know him like you do, Champ. It’s just something I picked up on. And I could be very wrong about him.” I wasn’t. I could feel it. But I wouldn’t destroy him unnecessarily.
He nodded and smiled, then released a heavy breath. “Thanks, Thomas.”
After everything that happened yesterday, I knew Mason would retreat into his head if I didn’t stop him. “You can’t change the past, and we shouldn’t be guessing at his motives. Let’s find your mother and Axel, then go from there, okay?”
Needing to reassure him, I didn’t move away; instead, I curled my fingers around his hand. Mason looked back down atwhere we were skin on skin, then tightened his fist. “Thank you for doing this with me.”
Smiling at him, I told him the truth. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Afterward, we went to Macy’s to pick up everything we needed, then stopped by a bookstore to pick up the latest release in the series I was reading before heading back to the hotel to pack. At three o’clock, we checked out and took a car to JFK. Mason’s phone continued to ring periodically, but he silenced it as soon as he read the screen. He would answer when he was ready.
After checking in, I checked my email as we sat at the gate. Mason flipped through his phone while I checked in with Hudson one more time.
Me: We’re going to be away longer than anticipated. Is Erin still good to dog sit?
Hudson: It’s no problem. We love having them here.
Me: They love her and Jack. I’m glad she’s enjoying them.
Hudson: She is. Where are you off to?
