by Eden Summers
“Kitten, my mom knows you’re here. She’ll go in search of you no matter where you are.”
“God,” her voice rose in frustration. “I can’t do this.”
“Why?” He gripped her upper arms. “You know your claim about her judging you is bullshit. You know her better than that.”
Sidney scoffed. This was a new side to her he didn’t understand. In the past, she’d always loved coffee breaks with his mother, and he was sure she’d get along with Toni too. His sister was a carbon copy of him…only he was so much better.
“Do I?” She stepped away, placing a field of distance between them. “I think all this weekend has proven is that I don’t really know anyone at all.”
“Come on.” He reached out a hand, and she took another step away. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I lost everyone.” She raised her chin in defiance, staring at him without emotion. It happened in the blink of an eye, yet her whole demeanor changed. There was a solid brick wall now standing between them. “You say I know your mother, and at one time I probably would’ve agreed. But even I couldn’t anticipate my own parents disowning me.”
What? “Sid, I…” He was lost for words. The sex scandal, by far, was the most trying time for him. Yet through it all, he had his sister and mother to keep him strong. He wouldn’t have made it through otherwise. “I didn’t know. I wish—”
“I didn’t expect you to. My father is the principal of a prestigious Catholic school, and he and my mother were devastated when they found out their only child was part of such a lascivious act. Unfortunately, in the end, their embarrassment won. They said they needed to distance themselves from me for a while.” She shrugged a shoulder. “That while has been over two years.”
Fuck. Now he understood, and there were no words to bring solace to an injustice of that magnitude. “I don’t know what to say.” He wanted to pull her into his arms and make everything better, but he couldn’t imagine what it would take to make up for the loss of both parents.
“Don’t say anything.” Her lips curved, a sad smile trying to break through all the pain. “Just…don’t push me to do things when you don’t understand what I’ve been through. I’m not the person I used to be.”
She was right, yet she was entirely wrong too. He could still see the woman he fell for in those pained eyes. Her humor was still evident in the way she taunted him. Underneath all the loss was his Sidney; he just had to help her find herself again.
“You can stay in here. I’ll make sure my family doesn’t come in. They won’t bother you.”
Sidney covered her face with her hands and groaned in frustration. “Christ.”
“Hey.” He stroked a finger down her wrist, hating the war she battled because of him. “They’ll understand. I’ll tell them you need space.”
She gave a defeated sigh and dropped her hands. “Do you really think they haven’t held a grudge?”
“Kitten, my mother adores you. That video didn’t change a thing.”
She scrutinized him, gnawing on her bottom lip. “OK.” Her voice was low, ragged. She held out her hand and gave a soft smile when he entwined their fingers. “Let’s get this over and done with.”
NAUSEA GREW IN Sidney’s stomach as Mason pulled on a pair of cargo pants and led her from his room. With each step down the hall, she swallowed over the bile rising in her throat.
She didn’t want to come face to face with accusing stares from Mason’s family. The sting of her own parents’ revulsion had hurt enough. The wound was still raw. There was no scar tissue, only a gaping wound yet to heal.
Mason could never understand what it was like to lose her parents, and that was fine. She wouldn’t speak about it again. He’d endured enough at the hands of the scandal, and she didn’t want to make him feel guilty. But she was still suffering, and the thought of disgust from another parental figure made it hard to breathe.
As they entered the kitchen, Mason reached for her hand and squeezed. She gained comfort from his support, and silently prayed he wouldn’t lead her to the wolves and let her fend for herself. Sean’s disapproving stare was the first to greet her as the conversation around the dinner table halted. He glanced from her face to her fingers entwined with Mason’s then lowered his gaze.
Guilt stabbed through her chest. She’d been clear with him about her feelings. He knew there was no future between them. Yet, the rejection was still written on his face. If they were alone, she’d go to him in comfort, but the weight of more than one set of eyes laid heavy on her.
“Sidney.” Mrs. Lynch pushed from her chair, a beaming smile crossing her face as she wandered toward them.
Sidney froze. Her own mother had slapped her the day she found out about the uploaded video. Sidney’s cheek had been marked a burning shade of red, and worse than the pain was the revulsion in her parents’ eyes. All her life, she’d been her father’s doting daughter. No two parents could ever be more proud. Now, to them, she no longer existed.
Mason let go of her hand, and for a moment she glanced to him in panic, losing her tether to strength before his mom enveloped her in a hug. Oh, god. The motherly affection stole her breath. She didn’t know what to do. Her own parents left her to fend off paparazzi wolves, and made it clear they never wanted to see her again. Yet, this woman held her, her familiar floral scent like a balm over Sidney’s tattered heart.
“I’ve missed you, Sidney.”
She released a sob and couldn’t stop her heart from pounding as she returned the hug, gripping Mrs. Lynch around the waist and resting her head against her shoulder. She wanted to cry at the unfairness of someone else’s mother providing more comfort than her own. Instead, she let the warmth tilt her lips in a smile, and clung tighter to the affection, letting it strengthen her soul.
“I’ve prayed for the day you would return to my boy,” Mrs. Lynch whispered in her ear. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Sidney pulled back, her lips parting in question.
“Shh.” Mrs. Lynch smiled. “That’s our little secret.” She stepped away, sweeping a hand toward the dining table. “Have you met my daughter, Toni?”
Sidney’s lips worked, her mind still stuck on the comment about returning to Mason.
“No, she hasn’t,” Toni answered for her.
The doorbell rang, breaking the conversation, and Sean pushed from the table. “That’ll be the police. I opened the gates for them while you two were…talking.”
Mason didn’t acknowledge the jab. He gently pressed a hand to the low of her back. “Will you be OK?”
She nodded, returning his soft smile. “I think so.”
He placed a kiss at her temple, making her stomach break out in a mass of tingles before he left the room, Sean close on his heels. Silence fell heavy in the kitchen, with two pairs of eyes, exactly the same as Mason’s, staring back at her.
“I’m the sister.” Toni stood from the table and held out a hand as she strolled across the space between them. “I’d hug you, but after what you were doing with my brother, I’d prefer not to get too close. On second thought…” She gave Sidney a wave and then dropped her hand.
“Toni!” Mrs. Lynch gasped.
The tops of Sidney’s cheeks heated as a familiar smirk tilted Toni’s lips. She was the spitting image of her brother—blonde wavy hair, deep, dark eyes, a killer smile, and apparently the smartass personality to match.
“I assure you, it wasn’t as lurid as Mason made it sound,” Sidney drawled. “We were just talking.”
“Yeah, with your private parts.”
“Toni!” Mrs. Lynch cried. “Stop it. You’re embarrassing the poor woman.”
Sidney chuckled, no longer caring about the burn in her cheeks. “You’re exactly like your brother.”
“Ouch.” Toni grasped her chest. “That hurts.”
They grinned together, the three of them already settling comfortably into uncharted territory. Male voices echoed down the hall, and Sidney hoped the po
lice were optimistic about finding the stalker. She needed sleep and clarity to resolve everything else running through her mind.
“Sean filled me in on what happened.” The smile faded from Toni’s features. “You must be petrified.”
Sidney followed them to the dining room table. “More exhausted than anything. Mason thinks it’s a member of the paparazzi taunting us to get a good story. I’m beginning to believe the same thing.” She wanted to believe the same thing. The alternatives scared her.
Mrs. Lynch lowered her voice and leaned across the table toward Sidney. “Has Mason spoken to you about the…past, yet?”
“You knew?” Sidney scrutinized Mason’s mother.
“Yes, sweetheart. A mother knows when her son is hurting, and I’ve always been able to tell when Mason is lying to me. It wasn’t hard to ply the information from him…especially after I filled him with bourbon.”
Sidney shook her head and released a breath of defeated laughter. She could picture him in that moment of weakness, feeling alone with the world against him. “I still don’t know why he kept it from me.”
“That boy has too much pride. He took your anger as a rejection, and couldn’t see past the humiliation.”
“And I’m pretty sure he’s never loved a woman before,” Toni drawled. “So it’s only natural he’d fuck it up.”
Sidney’s mouth dried, waiting for one of them to amend the misleading statement. And then she waited some more. They didn’t rescind the love comment. The two women stared at her in silence.
“We were friends,” she murmured, needing to clarify. One sex tape did not equate to love. “Nothing more.”
“That’s not what Pornhub said.”
Mrs. Lynch pushed from her chair and pointed a menacing finger toward the hall. “Get out.”
“I was joking. Come on.” Toni put up her hands in surrender. “Relax, mom. She knows I’m joking.”
Not really. Two years later, and Sidney still couldn’t find the humorous side to her personal life being leaked to the world. She didn’t think she ever would. Every stranger, neighbor, or work colleague would forever have access to that footage. It would never go away. And neither would the humiliation.
“I know you and your brother like to hide behind a wall of sarcasm,” Mrs. Lynch snipped. “But I won’t stand for it today. Either apologize or leave.”
Toni’s shoulders sank, and she turned her gaze to Sidney. “I am sorry. I guess I’m more like my brother than I thought.”
“It’s OK—”
“No, it’s not OK,” Mrs. Lynch raised her voice. “What happened was grossly unfair. It wasn’t a scandal, it was a crime. And I won’t allow for it to be laughed at, or made fun of, not in my presence, and definitely not from one of my children.”
Sidney’s chest filled with an emotion she couldn’t pinpoint. A mix of relief, elation, and thankfulness toward the woman who showed more support than Sidney’s own flesh and blood. “Thank you,” she whispered to Mrs. Lynch, and the heavens.
Time may have pushed her humiliation and regret to the side, but it was still there. To finally have another person in her corner to accompany Justin was like winning the Grammys all over again. However, in this instance, she wasn’t going to have sex with Mason’s mother and sister. Lesson learned and all that jazz.
The masculine voices grew in volume down the hall, the words becoming clipped and aggressive. Sidney paused, cocking her head to the side to make out the conversation.
“Are they arguing?” Toni asked.
“I don’t know.” Sidney inched closer toward the hall and some of the muffled sounds became coherent. Mason was still muttering in a tone she couldn’t decipher, only now the male police officer’s voice was loud and clear, trying to calm the heated conversation.
“I’m going to check it out.” She left the dining area, increasing her pace down the hall. Three large profiles filled the doorframe, two of them standing toe to toe, aggressive, and ready to fight.
“Sean,” his name whispered from her lips as she approached.
He ignored her, anguish evident in his tight features, his focus narrowed on Mason. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Sean snarled, straightening to his full height. His fist clenched, his jaw ticked, and all Mason did was stand there, a brow raised in contempt.
“Guys?” She stopped beside them, wanting to break the palpable tension and have them focus on her instead. One of them was going to break, taking the aggression to the next level, and she couldn’t handle that. Not now. Not today when her broken pieces were stuck together with Elmer’s glue. “Please stop.”
“Two years, you son of a bitch.” Sean shoved Mason’s chest, pushing him backward into the door.
“Sir, I need you to calm down.” The officer stepped forward.
Mason righted himself, brushing off his shirt as the echo of footsteps traveled up the hall.
“Mason?” Mrs. Lynch called. “What’s going on?”
Sean lowered his gaze to the floor, balling his fist tight enough to make his knuckles white. “Who the fuck are you? I don’t even know you anymore.” He pushed past Mason, ramming his shoulder and sending him back into the door.
Sidney glanced from one to the other. Mason was still shielded by his arrogance, leering at Sean as he strode down the steps toward his car. It was Sean who held his heart on his sleeve, his shoulders lowered in dejection. He didn’t have anyone, not here, anyway. She had to rely on Toni and Mrs. Lynch to calm Mason, because she couldn’t leave Sean to fend for himself.
“Excuse me.” With an apologetic wince she squeezed passed Mason and jogged from the house.
MASON KEPT HIS focus on the gravel driveway, as far away as possible from where Sidney stood comforting Sean. If he was honest, he’d admit he hadn’t bothered to figure out how he would one day tell his best friend the real reason the video was uploaded. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have wanted it to go down like this. Not with the paparazzi hovering at his gate, or Sidney running after another man.
“Is there something I need to be concerned about?” The cop asked while his colleagues strolled around the inside of the stone wall spanning the perimeter of Mason’s property.
“Nope. All good here. Can we get this over and done with?”
His mother sighed behind him, announcing her disapproval with one audible breath. He supposed he should be thankful she hadn’t run after Sean too. It was a big enough kick in the teeth to watch Sidney go after his friend rather than stick by his side.
The cop’s bushy black brows pulled together. “So, these emails claim to be from the same person who uploaded the sex tape two years ago?”
Mason nodded. “Yes, that’s what they said in the message this morning. But I don’t buy it. My phone was stolen in New York, not Richmond. I think someone stumbled upon old police records and is trying to get a story.”
His gaze drifted of its own accord, falling onto Sidney, who stood at the side of Sean’s pickup. Fuck. They were leaning against the side of the car, hugging, fucking hugging, while he stood here trying to sort out a mess that was growing by the minute.
“It’ll be all right.” His mother placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, everything’s going to be peachy.”
“Mr. Lynch, I’m not going to take up any more of your time,” the officer interrupted. “I know you’ve been through similar instances before, so you should already know where we stand with cases like this. Without a definitive threat, or evidence the person responsible for the emails has trespassed, we can’t take the matter further.” He indicated Sidney and Sean with a sweep of his hand. “I’ll speak to Ms. Higgins before I leave, and make sure there is nothing we can use in the messages she received. Apart from that, all I can advise is that you play it safe and call if you have any more information.”
Mason inclined his head in thanks. “I appreciate your help.” He should’ve expected this response. Same shit, different month. This wasn’t his first stalker, and it wou
ldn’t be the last. His biggest issue was the threat to his dogs. The police had found tufts of rabbit fur strewn across the back of the property. They couldn’t ascertain if the animals were already dead and thrown over the fence as a distraction, or if Shadow and Willow had hunted them down during the night. Instinct had him assuming the former, yet without evidence there was nothing he could do about it.
The officer descended the stairs, heading toward Sidney and Sean, who still stood toe to toe in front of Sean’s electric blue pickup. They were in a heated conversation, not noticing the cop until he was right beside them. Mason stepped forward, unable to stand Sean’s hands on her a moment longer.
His mother stayed him with a firm hand on his shoulder. “Give her time to calm him down, while you do the same.”
Mason gritted his teeth. He’d had a glimpse of heaven this morning. Sidney had been in his arms, her eyes alight with affection, her body warm and soft against his. He couldn’t lose that. He couldn’t let someone else take it from him again.
“Breathe,” his mom murmured beside him. “She needs you, but not like this. Don’t make the situation worse.”
“Christ, when the hell did you become Yoda?”
Mason continued to glare toward the pickup, jealous with the familiarity Sean showed toward Sidney. He’d never been an envious man. He’d only experienced the emotion with one woman, and now it was growing to the point of no control. Friendship or not, he couldn’t stand to have anyone so close to the person Mason was infatuated with.
“Sean needs you too,” his mother continued.
Mason scrubbed a hand down his face to calm his temper. Sean was the reason all this trouble started in the first place. Mason shouldn’t have let him tag along the night of the Grammys. “He looks like he’s doing A-OK to me. Sidney’s wrapped around his little finger.”
“Jealous much?” his sister cooed.
“Shut it, Toni.” He pulled his gaze from Sidney to glare at his sister. “I don’t have the patience for your shit today.”
