by Sonya Weiss
She replaced the showerhead and kissed the corner of his lips. “Mason, what’s wrong?”
Still wrestling with his inner demons, and not realizing he was speaking out loud, he said with a groan, “This doesn’t mean anything.” As soon as he heard his own words, used to try to convince himself, he opened his eyes.
Hurt flashed across her face before it disappeared within a second. “What?” she asked in a cool tone. “Do you think I’m expecting you to drop to one knee and propose just because the sex was fantastic? Hardly. Let’s just see where this takes us and enjoy it while it lasts.” She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. “I’m going to go finish showering in my room so we can get ready.”
“Wait.” He lunged for her arm but she deftly stepped out of reach. “What do you mean we’ll see where this takes us and enjoy it while it lasts?”
Rolling her eyes, Olivia said, “You and I can simply be lovers and when it ends, it ends. I think this was too good not to do this again, don’t you?”
Something wasn’t right. The look in her eyes didn’t match the expression on her face, and her tone was too brittle. “You’re not looking for more than that?”
“Really, Mason. Like what? A walk down the aisle followed by a house in the suburbs with children and a minivan? Not even close. In case you haven’t noticed, my life is my business and always will be. I’ll be ready in about twenty minutes. I’m starving.”
When she quickly left his bathroom, closing the door behind her, Mason had distinct feeling he’d missed something very important.
…
Standing under the spray of water in her bathroom, as the warmth flowed over her satiated body, Olivia let the tears fall. If there were an award for idiot of the year, she was in the lead as winner. In fact, she could probably go ahead and get her acceptance speech ready. How could she have allowed herself to feel so deeply for Mason? How could she have denied it? That foolish, stupid thing she’d felt for him in high school had been a crush that along the way developed into a love that would never know the same response from him.
Tonight, she would weep, drink a few glasses of wine in the midst of her personal pity party, and tomorrow, she would figure out how to start making her heart let go of what it couldn’t have. That’s what she would do. She would survive. Mason wasn’t capable of giving what he didn’t have, and that was his loss. Yes, his loss.
Olivia sniffed and wiped her nose. Couldn’t he have at least waited until tomorrow before he announced their lovemaking hadn’t meant anything to him? What sucked, what really, really sucked, was that he was so damn good at it.
After she showered, Olivia smacked the water lever to the off position and then froze in the act of reaching for a towel. Wait a second. As soon as she gave Mason the paperwork giving him the land, she could leave. She would leave then. Feeling better, she snatched the fluffy towel and dried herself off. But in the meantime before she left, she would put on the performance of a lifetime as the woman who didn’t give a damn about the man who didn’t give a damn about her.
Sweeping her hair up off the back of her neck, Olivia peered at her reflection in the mirror, taking in the flush on her cheeks and the slight redness of her nose. She would make it. She always did. She stepped into her bedroom, stopping when Mason rose from the end of her bed. Sweeping a hand down the towel, she said, “I’m not ready yet.”
“Olivia, I warned you in the beginning that I don’t have a heart.”
“Uh-huh.” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“I can never love you.”
“Love?” she scoffed, even though her heart gave a silent gasp. “Are you feeling okay?”
He blinked, then scowled, fixing her with a piercing stare. “The way that you reacted after the shower…it seemed as if you wanted something from me.”
Olivia forced herself to utter a playful laugh. “Trust me, I got what I wanted from you.”
He shook his head. “I could have sworn…” In one swift motion, he turned to leave. “Never mind. I’ll leave you to dress.”
Exhaling, Olivia forced her protesting muscles to pick out a dress, then jewelry to go along with the navy-blue sheath. The last thing she wanted to do was to go out to eat and sit across from Mason, but she’d do it. She’d smile and she’d respond and he would never know the heartache he’d wrought, she promised herself.
As soon as she was ready, she found Mason waiting for her in the living room. Flashing him a bright smile, she said, “I think I’m in the mood for some seafood. What about you?”
…
A couple of weeks later, Mason slammed a hand on his desk. Damn, he wasn’t wrong. Something was off with Olivia. She’d acted strange since the night he’d said that being with her didn’t mean anything. The night they’d made love, afterward, her smile was a little too bright, her laughter a little too loud. He felt like an ass for letting what he’d thought slip out in the shower, but it hadn’t been intentional. His inability to love was something he understood, something he lived with, but that didn’t mean he wanted to hurt Olivia.
They needed to talk, but it would have to wait until he returned from Texas. Things had cropped up with the business, making it impossible for him to get away until now, and he’d been forced to put off what he intended to do about the past.
Now that he’d settled things with the company and all was running smoothly again, today was the day he, Jake, and Cole planned to have a talk with Chief Carter. The other two men were already in Texas waiting for him to arrive. He’d had conversations with the district attorney about keeping Olivia’s name quiet and had been assured it would be.
A quick series of taps sounded on his door followed by it being thrust open, and Bonnie ushered his attorney Scott inside. “He said it was urgent,” she offered by way of explanation.
Scott started speaking as soon as Bonnie left. “Before you, Cole, and Jake confront Olivia’s father, there’s something I recently uncovered.”
Mason leaned back in his chair. “What?”
Scott dropped a paper on Mason’s desk and waited for him to read it.
Mason read it and raised his gaze to the other man. “Olivia’s father is in rehabilitation after a stroke?”
“He is. Which explains why our guy could never catch the chief at his house. He finally made contact with a neighbor of the chief’s who let him know what happened.”
Dropping the paper, Mason said, “Olivia never mentioned a word about this.”
“She’s the one who’s paid for his care. I looked into the cost. Let me tell you, it’s not cheap. From what I’ve seen she’s paid the bill faithfully, but it’s been a struggle for her.”
Despite that, Olivia still hadn’t taken a cent from him. No wonder she worked so damn hard. He’d heard her on the phone discussing business with Beth late into the wee hours of the night, and yet she was up every morning working before he ever left the house. If she kept up that schedule, she’d eventually wear herself out and get sick again.
“Is there something you’d like me to do?” Scott asked.
Though it burned his gut, Mason said, “Find out how long the rehabilitation center expects him to be there and pay anything that may be owed in full with the stipulation that the payment remain anonymous.”
Scott’s eyebrows rose and he let out a whistle. “You want to do that for him? Pay to take care of the man who had you locked up for something you didn’t do?”
“I’m not doing it for him.” This would take the burden from Olivia.
“I see. I’ll get right on that.” Scott hesitated. “Are you still going to Texas?”
“I am.”
“I’ve known you a long time, Mason.”
“What’s your point?”
“This drive you have for revenge…I don’t think it’s a good idea to let it consume you.”
“That’ll be all, Scott.”
Looking surprised at the abrupt dismissal, Scott hesitated, then nodded.
As soon as the other man left, Mason buzzed his secretary and told her to notify his pilot that he was on the way. Rising, he paced the room, his gaze taking in but not really seeing the expensive leather furniture or the priceless works of art.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he clenched them into fists and moved to stare out the window. He didn’t see the Chicago view or the blue of the sky. Instead, his mind’s eye kept replaying different images it had captured of Olivia. Her beauty. Her easy smile. Her exuberance. Her body.
Though they’d made love repeatedly since that night, every time afterward, she’d refused to remain in his bed and had gone to her own. She’d rebuffed his offer that she move into his bedroom. She was strong and independent and while he did admire that, he didn’t like that she didn’t seem to need him at all.
“Damn you, Olivia. I don’t want to love you.” When a man loved, he was vulnerable no matter how strong or wealthy he was. Love found a way in and made a man weak, easy prey. The delight he felt when he saw her, the way he searched her out when he arrived home, it was chemistry. She was simply the easiest way to get that land. Nothing more. He wouldn’t let it be anything more.
…
Mason met Jake and Cole at the hotel where Jake had reserved rooms.
“I don’t know about you, but I say we get this over with before we do anything else,” Jake said gruffly.
“Hang on a second.” Mason loosened his tie and went to the minibar. With his back to his friends, he said, “Olivia’s father had a stroke a while back and is in a rehabilitation center.” He poured himself a drink and turned to gauge his friends’ reaction.
They looked as shocked as he’d felt.
Jake rubbed his face. “Hell, if we go charging in there now and confront a feeble old man, it makes us look like assholes.”
“If we don’t, it’s like we’re letting Adam down,” Cole said, slumping into a chair. He looked up at Mason. “Any ideas on how to move with this?”
Mason knew he could rail against the injustice of not having the satisfaction of confronting Chief Carter, but he wasn’t a bully. He wouldn’t react with the same careless regard for a person that Chief Carter had. “My advice is that we continue with the plan to tear down the facility. I don’t like not confronting the chief, but—” A knock on the door interrupted the men.
Closest to the door, Jake opened it and stepped back. “Larry.”
The deputy, his face expressionless, removed a ball cap from his hair and said, “Mind if I have a word with you?” He walked in after Jake moved out of his way. “I don’t know if Carl will ever get around to apologizing for what happened that night, but I came to tell you that I’m sorry.” He twisted his cap in his fingers. “I know why it all went down the way it did, but that still doesn’t make what happened right.”
“Just tell me why,” Mason said, feeling the burn in his veins when images from the night he’d been hauled from his home, shoved into the back of the police car, and later questioned for hours flashed through his mind.
“Chief Carter was told you were after his daughter. He wanted to protect her. Seth Rivers and Bobby Pressman both swore to him that you’d tried to assault Olivia the night of the fire. They said they saved her and came to blows with you. He rushed home, saw her—”
“Half naked, then saw the bloodied knuckles on my hands from kicking Seth’s ass, and assumed they were telling the truth,” Mason said.
Larry nodded. “The boys said you and your friends set the fire in retaliation.”
“And the honest Chief Carter saw a way to make Mason pay for the supposed assault on his daughter without Olivia having to face public scrutiny or a trial, right?” Jake demanded.
“That’s about right, and he was afraid to come forward after that. Afraid that he’d end up going to jail or prison. He was all Olivia had after her mother died. He didn’t want her to end up in foster care if he got busted for what he’d done to you,” Larry admitted. “So you three can have words with Carl till you’re blue in the face, but he’s never going to apologize because he did what he did for Olivia’s sake. What you’re looking for isn’t here. I knew the truth and I didn’t stand up for it. I’ll always regret that. I know we’re being investigated. I’ve already been contacted, and I’ll accept whatever punishment the law decides I deserve.”
Jake glared at Larry. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? That you decided to man up now that you’ve been busted for it? I lost my brother in that hellhole.” Jake pointed a finger at Mason and Cole. “You two can stay here and shake hands and let bygones be bygones if you want. I’ll wait in the lobby until he leaves.” He brushed by Larry, bumping the deputy hard with his shoulder. “You son of a bitch.”
Cole got up slowly. “It might have made a difference had you come forward before the investigation started. But now, it looks like you’re just trying to cover your ass. I’m out, too.” He slammed the door behind him.
Larry winced. “Kind of expected that. Whatever he is, whatever he’s done, Carl did it because he loves Olivia. He thought he was protecting her. I know that you and Olivia are together, but he’s always going to be her father and she’s always going to love him. So you’re going to have to figure a way to deal with him one way or another as long as she’s in your life.”
“Or rather he’ll have to learn to deal with me,” Mason said.
Larry gave a half smile. “Perhaps.” He turned to leave. “I really am sorry.” With a quick jerk of his wrist, he opened the door and let himself out.
Mason finished his drink and then left. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator into the lobby Jake and Cole approached. “Are we going to confront the chief?” Jake demanded.
“He’s a sick old man, barely able to communicate, from what the report Scott gave me says.”
“So that’s it? You’re leaving? Flying back home to the chief’s daughter?” Jake snarled. “Maybe that’s why you can act so damn forgiving. She wouldn’t give it up to you back then but screwing Olivia now makes everything okay. I wonder if she screwed Cole or me if we’d—” Whatever else Jake was going to say was lost when Mason punched him ass over elbow across a chair.
He moved around the chair and went to one knee beside his friend, keeping a firm hand on Jake’s shoulder. “I told you not to question her integrity. Leave her out of this.”
“Hey, come on, you two.” Cole grabbed Mason’s arm.
“You hit me. Over a woman.” Jake’s eyes widened and he touched the corner of his busted lip with the back of his hand.
Cole let go of Mason’s arm and gaped. “What’s going on?”
Jake snorted. “My guess is that Mason’s angry because he thought he was using Olivia but she’s probably using him. I think she’s using him to cover her ass for the boyfriend lie she told and there’s nothing more to it than that.” He scrambled up when Mason glared at him. “Seriously, Mason. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. If you are sleeping with her, you’d better be careful. Maybe she plans to get pregnant to get her hands on your fortune.”
“She doesn’t want my money.” Mason got up and brushed the knee of his pants.
Jake spread his hands wide. “I’m telling you the truth and you know it.”
Cole slapped Mason on the back. “You’re a rich man. She’s having some financial struggles right now. She’s a beautiful woman. She’ll play that damsel in distress act and the next thing you know, she’ll have half of your fortune.”
Chapter Thirteen
Weeks later, Olivia was thankful when her stomach finally decided to get off the roller coaster. She was well over her strep throat but still had a lot of extreme tiredness and queasiness. If it weren’t any better soon, she’d have to go to the doctor.
Maybe she’d caught something on top of the strep. She’d been working night and day lately, so it could be that she was in need of some rest. The attorney handling transferring the land to Mason had informed her that the paperwork was finished and should
arrive at the end of the week. When she got that, she would head back to Texas and then hopefully her life would return to normal.
Or as normal as it could be with producers from hit talk shows calling asking for interviews. She’d even been invited to dance on one of the dance competition shows. Olivia snorted. While she enjoyed dancing, fumbling around and having people criticize her moves wasn’t her idea of a good time.
She stretched her legs out on the blanket, listened to the birds call to one another, and tried to quiet her mind. Lately, she’d taken to pausing from work every day even if it was only for fifteen minutes to sit by the lake and meditate. That helped her to feel somewhat refreshed. She jumped when a shadow fell across her. Shading her eyes, she looked up at Mason. “Hi. I didn’t hear you come home last night.”
“I tried to be quiet so I wouldn’t wake you, but you were sleeping pretty hard because I dropped a glass right outside your bedroom and you never stirred.”
Yawning, Olivia said. “I think being sick kicked my butt.”
He frowned. “Are you better now?”
“Perfectly fine. Just tired. How was your day?”
“Unsatisfying all the way around.” He took a seat on the ground beside her. “How’s your day so far?”
Olivia looked away from his handsome face. “Beth said the air conditioner broke at the shop you rented, so I’m working on getting the guy who put it in last month to get his butt back out there and fix it, but he keeps blowing me off.”
“Who does he work for? What’s his name?”
Groaning, Olivia gathered her items to go back inside now that his presence disturbed her peace. “Mason, I don’t need you to step in and handle it. The only reason I’m even using the shop is because you were right. There wasn’t enough room in the extra bedroom. I’m trying to get the air-conditioning handled because I want it to be running smoothly for you when I leave.”
