“Put this good egg on the phone, then.”
“I can’t. He’s halfway across the farm.”
“Well, when he’s done serenading the sheep or whatever, you go find him and you put his ass on this phone. She got married,” her mom grumbled.
“I’ll explain everything when I get home.”
“Is he coming with you?”
You fool!, her better sense screamed. “We haven’t worked all that out yet.”
“Oh, so you got married and you don’t know if your husband is going to come back to L.A. with you?”
“Mommy. Please. Just trust me.”
“Mmm,” she grunted.
“You called,” Xeni said, scrambling to change the subject. “You needed something?”
“I was just trying to figure out when you were coming home.”
“Soon. Next Sunday at the latest.” One week. She had one week. “I’ll let you know exactly when.”
“Okay. We’ll get you from the airport.”
“Thank you.”
“You really got married?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm,” her mother’s grunt was filled with disappointment. “What’s he look like?”
“I’ll send you pictures.”
“I still don’t believe you.”
“Let me go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll call me back as soon as Matthew’s little concert is over.”
“Mason, mom.”
“Mason. Fine. And he’s a musician, too? Lord. I know your aunt’s involved in this somehow.”
“I’ll call you back.”
“Fine.” Her mom hung up on her. Xeni let out a deep breath and realized she had maybe fifteen minutes to prepare Mason for the most uncomfortable conversation he might have in his whole life.
“Everything okay?” Liz asked when she came back up the porch.
“Yeah. I fucked up and told my parents about me and Mason.”
“Eeeyow. How did they take it?”
“As well as any Black mama who realized they missed their only daughter’s wedding. She’s definitely going to kill me when I get home.”
“I met Silas’s mom via Facetime and she thought I was using him to get back at his brother.”
“Well then.”
“But we get along great now!” Liz laughed.
Xeni closed her eyes and tried to focus on the music instead of the colossal mistake she’d just made.
17
Mason knew he was playing with fire. Doing a whole set of what could only be described as “Please notice that I’m in love with you” ballads was a gamble. He wondered if Xeni had even noticed. He could handle the sting of obliviousness better than flat-out rejection, not that he could escape rejection if it came his way. As he crossed the orchard, he realized he needed to tell her the truth. He was falling for her. Was it full blown love? No, that would be ridiculous, since it had only been a few days.
But in those few days, she’d revealed so much of herself to him. They were in a unique spot and, because of it, he’d seen her at what he imagined was her lowest, coping with unimaginable confusion and pain, and still he didn’t want to be anywhere but by her side. He knew he was taking a chance, but there was no point in romantic gestures if he didn’t have the words to back them up. He’d tell Xeni how he felt and hopefully she felt the same.
He could see her way off in the distance as he came through the trees, sitting alone on Silas’s porch. Well, alone with Hank and Morty. She stood and met him halfway across the yard. Hank joined her, just to see if Mason had something fun in his hands. Mason had planned to tell her how he felt as soon as he laid eyes on her, but when she stopped herself from stepping into his arms, he realized two things were off: her mood and how quickly he’d come to expect affection she didn’t owe him. Mason swallowed and immediately told himself it was time to pull back.
“Hello,” he said, trying to keep his tone neutral.
“Hi.”
Something wasn’t right. “Is something the matter?”
“Um. I fucked up.”
“How bad?”
“I told my mom we got married.” Xeni winced.
“Ah…”
“And she wants to talk to you. My step-dad will probably want to talk to you too. Like, right now.”
“I—okay.”
“I am so sorry.”
Mason took a deep breath and scrubbed his hand across his face. “Okay. How did this happen?”
“She called and she could hear the bagpipes and, I don’t know… I panicked. No, I didn’t panic. I just said it. Everything has felt awful and this,” she motioned between them, “this felt like something good. Temporary, but good.”
“I think it is good, but I also thought we weren’t telling our parents.” They had established pretty clearly that their situational vows were between the two of them, those dwelling in the happy bubble around Kinderack County and its governing authorities, and one of Xeni’s friends back home. Telling their parents meant complications upon complications.
“I know. I—I don’t know. I just know her. If I don’t call her, she’s gonna keep calling and then she’s gonna try and track you down, and if that doesn’t work, she’s gonna show up. ”
There was something else she wasn’t saying, but she seemed so tense that he knew pressuring her for a reasonable explanation would only make her more upset.
“Okay. Well, let’s call her.”
Xeni pulled out her phone, slid her fingers across the screen a few times then handed him the phone. He glanced at the words MAMA EVERLY CALLING...
“What’s her name?
“Joyce. She’s fine with just Joyce. Again, I cannot stress how sorry I am.”
Mason reached out and gave her shoulder a light squeeze, then shot her a little smile. “It’s not okay, but we’ll get through this.”
“Your little husband done with his concert yet?” her mother suddenly said into the phone.
“Ms. Joyce? Hello. It’s Mason.”
“Oh! So, you do exist? Mason, do you and my daughter want to tell me who the hell you are and why you two decided to get married without giving her family a call?”
Mason glanced over at Xeni and realized there was no painless way out of this. “Let me apologize for that, but I will also admit that Xeni and I both agreed to keep this information from our parents.”
“Sounds like a lousy idea, Mason. So, what now? Do you have a job? Where do you live? That’s an interesting accent there. Where are you from exactly? Are you White?”
“I am White.”
“Oh god,” Xeni groaned quietly.
“I am also a citizen. My mother’s from Cleveland and my father’s a Scot. This was not a green card marriage, but I do think we owe you an explanation.”
“I would say so. Go ahead. Explain yourself.” Mason braced himself to have two members of the Everly family upset with him at once, but he didn’t see any other way to handle it . He reached out and took Xeni’s hand. She cupped the back of his palm with her other hand, holding on to him like he was the only thing grounding her to safety.
“I have my reasons for keeping things from my parents and I’ll happily explain them to you, but I think Xeni was trying to keep you from having another reason to be upset with her Aunt Sable. Your sister left Xeni and me both a sum of money. She left Xeni a much larger sum than she left me, of course, but it was stipulated in her will that we needed to get married in order for either of us to claim our portion.”
Joyce grumbled something unintelligible, before she went on. “So, my sister told you two that you had to get married and you just went ahead and did it. I don’t see how that stopped my daughter from picking up the phone.”
“No, that doesn’t excuse our behavior, but I have a feeling Xeni didn’t want to give you another reason to be upset with Ms. Sable, especially now. We only have to stay married for thirty days. We’ve already been transferred the funds. I know telling
my parents would cause other issues.”
“Well, I don’t know what kind of people your parents are Mason, but that’s not how we do things in my house. So, you got your money and this is over in thirty days?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mason said. He didn’t like the way his chest was starting to hurt.
“I hope the money was worth it.”
Mason glanced down at Xeni and took in the worry playing across her face. “All in, I think Xeni received around twenty-three million dollars in assets—”
“Twenty-three what?!”
“Million. For marrying me. And I don’t and won’t see a dime of that. It’s all hers. I know we went about this the wrong way, but Ms. Sable meant a lot to me and if marrying your daughter meant she could claim her inheritance, I couldn’t see how I could say no. I apologize for how we went about it.”
“Well—well I think I can understand. That’s a lot of money.”
“Would you like to talk to your daughter?”
“I—in a minute. You said you won’t see a dime of that. What did you get?”
“Ms. Sable left me some money to cover my student loan debt and a bit of money I owed my father. I’m very grateful for it.”
“I bet. So, I won’t be meeting you then, since is this only temporary?”
“I’d be happy to meet you, if you like,” Mason said carefully. The pain in his chest was now joined by a pulsing on the side of his head. His brain was doing all it could to punish him via hindsight. He and Xeni had really fucked up.
“Put my daughter on the phone.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mason handed Xeni her phone. “She wants to speak with you.”
Xeni pressed her cell up to her ear, then turned and started walking through the grass. Mason went and sat on the steps, his head still throbbing. He knew they both needed the money. Xeni’s family probably needed what he knew she would end up sharing with them. Still, they’d been so focused on what they thought they had to do, they didn’t stop long enough to think about how they did it. He didn’t want to beat himself up for not considering how Xeni’s parents would react because he never thought they’d find out. He never thought she’d tell them. He never thought he’d be considering a single ‘what if’ beyond the thirty days.
“Mommy, I know, but you have to listen to me. Do not tell your sisters about this. Do not tell Anton or Rosia. I want to get you and Daddy squared away first and there’s still so much I have to sort out,” he heard her say. Suddenly his brain forced him to tune out. What the fuck had he been thinking, on the brink of asking Xeni to think about a real future where she saw the two of them together? He heard her say a tense goodbye to her mother. He looked up as she made her way back through the grass, Hank tight by her side. She was so beautiful, Mason almost reconsidered doing the right thing by letting her walk away. Another deep breath forced its way out of his lungs.
“Thinking about moving up that divorce?” she said with a humorless laugh.
“What did she say?”
“Basically told me I was selfish. Then she told me how much I’d hurt her.” Xeni tilted her head back, like she was trying to keep her tears inside her eyes. “But she doesn’t seem to be upset with you, so thank you for that.”
“I think the truth was the way to go.”
“Hmm,” was her reply and Mason knew this part of the conversation was over. He’d lost her to the inner workings of her own mind.
“Did you eat?” he asked.
“Not yet. Liz ordered pizza. It’s uh—there’s plenty inside. I’m not really hungry.”
“I might grab a slice or two, but I have to turn in early. Four-thirty start tomorrow.” Regret washed over him as he watched Xeni’s expression completely flatten out. He knew she was hearing the unsaid words. Tonight wasn’t a good night for them to be together. Tonight wasn’t a good night for them. Mason wanted to take it back, tell her she was welcome to stay over at his place and sleep in his bed, but he couldn’t.
The last few days had finally caught up with him in a wave of exhaustion and clarity. They weren’t a couple and even though they’d found layers of comfort in each other, his conversation with her mother had made one thing abundantly clear that they needed to take a more than a few steps back and remember why they’d gotten married in the first place. It had nothing to do with love, no matter what he was feeling.
“Yeah, okay. Um, yeah…” Xeni squeezed by him and grabbed her bag off the porch swing. She hurried back down the stairs, stumbling in the grass as she turned to him. He reached out to catch her, but she stepped out of reach.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, thanks. Sandal just got caught. Can you please tell Silas and Liz I’m very sorry, but I have to go?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.”
Before Mason could hug or kiss her, or even shake her hand, she took off, practically sprinting for her car.
Tabitha Chever handed Xeni her card with a smile. She hadn’t expected Sable’s realtor to be a whole twenty-five years old, but a few minutes after the young White girl with jet black hair showed up, Xeni understood why Sable had decided to work with her. Tabitha knew her shit. She’d come prepared with a thorough list of questions for Xeni and a list of people who could help her with the minor repairs the house still needed. They walked through every room and thankfully Tabitha didn’t do too much reminiscing about her own relationship with Sable.
She kept things nice and professional and by the time they’d circled back to the kitchen, Xeni felt better equipped to make an informed decision. They could get a decent little chunk for the house, but now that her financial situation was slightly different, that decent chunk wasn’t the first thing on her mind.
“Again, take your time. You have plenty on your plate. Even if you decide to rent it out, I can help you out with that.”
“Sounds great. Yeah, I just need to speak to my folks and my mom might want to come out and see the place first.”
“Exactly. It’s a big decision.”
It was just one of the two real estate decisions Xeni had to make. She still had to think about Sable’s place on Martha’s Vineyard. She walked Tabitha back through the house to the front door and shook her hand one more time.
“You’ll hear from me soon, no matter what.”
“Great,” Tabitha replied as she slipped her bag over her shoulder. “Oh, you have a package.”
Xeni looked at the medium-sized box that definitely had her name on the address label. Her confusion only lasted a few seconds. It was the sex toys she and Mason had ordered. She plastered on a smile and glanced back at Tabitha.
“Oh, thanks.”
“See ya!”
Xeni scooped up the box and waved at Tabitha as she backed down the driveway. Back inside, she found a knife and sliced open the taped seal. There was a harness, two different dildos, a butt plug, more condoms, two different kinds of lube and a six-pack of Fleet Enema. There was also a huge bag of Skittles. That had nothing to do with their previously scheduled sex acts, Xeni had just been craving candy. It was one hell of a starter kit and Xeni was pretty sure they would never get a chance to use it.
After she’d fled the scene of her epic and incredibly selfish blunder, Xeni had laid awake in the guest room and tried to pinpoint the last time she’d felt this foolish. When more than one instance came to mind and the twisting pain in her chest became too much, she knew she had two choices. Really lean into the humiliation, knowing that she’d disappointed her parents and put her temporary husband in a terrible position, or try to make things right.
She wasn’t surprised that Mason had nicely told her he needed a night off from her and her family bullshit. She didn’t blame him one bit. A week ago, he’d had no idea who she was and now her mother was probably assembling her old lady crew so they could roll up on him. He had his own problems to deal with and Xeni had opened her big mouth and piled on.
Liz had texted later that night to see if she was okay and that j
ust made Xeni feel even worse. She’d barged into these people’s lives and was making herself out to be a special kind of pain in the ass.
She put everything back in the box but the Skittles, then taped it back up. She could at least give the stuff to Mason as a parting gift. He could find someone else that didn’t drive up his blood pressure to share it with.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, the idea of Mason doing the intensely intimate stuff they’d discussed with someone else, her heart sank to her stomach. Her whole life was a mess, but she couldn’t deny that she had developed some real feelings for Mason.
She crossed the kitchen and grabbed her phone off its charger, then sent Mason a text.
Our DIY porn kit arrived.
I can leave it at the top of your steps.
Just about to text you.
Mr. Barber has a simple post nuptial agreement
for us to review.
Want to meet me at his office in an hour?
Xeni chewed the inside of her lip as she considered how to reply. She wasn’t sure she was ready to see Mason, but maybe this was a good way for them to say goodbye, stop this thing in its tracks for good.
I’ll be there.
Mason replied with a gif of SpongeBob doing a little jig. She’d miss their back and forths.
* * *
An hour later, Xeni pulled into a parking space across the street from Mr. Barber’s office. Mason was waiting out front, leaning against the brick facade. He looked up as she hopped out and offered her the hint of a smile. She grabbed the box out of the passenger seat and crossed the street.
“Hey,” she said. It took every ounce of her being to make herself sound normal. She barely pulled it off. Mason considered her for a moment, then sighed. Xeni braced herself for the most bizarre break-up in history. How do you get dumped by your husband when you weren’t even in a relationship to begin with? Mason reached out and lightly caressed her cheek with his thumb, and fuck if her whole body didn’t react. She was gonna miss those simple touches.
Xeni Page 17
