What I wanted to forget, though, was the deep, brooding stare of Mason King. The man who’d given me the most memorable night of my life, the one I’d skulked away from because I was afraid that it would taint the memories if I’d stayed and we had to do that awkward morning after dance. That one where you talked politely around the fact that you’d just woken up withsome stranger and all you really wanted to do was run home and brush your teeth.
I couldn’t stand to have that moment with Mason. After the night we’d shared, I was afraid to see the boredom in his eyes once the fun was over. So I ran. It was easy to justify. I did have a flight to Hawaii to pack for, a wedding to get to and family waiting for me. I knew it was gutless and something that was out of character for me, but I couldn’t help myself.
When I ran, I thought Mason would be relieved by my absence, but the man that was at the resort, he looked at me like he’d just found a long-lost treasure instead of just a former one-night stand. The man who was present at the end of the night, though, he was hungry and desperate. That was the only explanation I could think of for his outburst as we were all leaving.
There was no way I was staying in that room to be bombarded with the inevitable questions, though. What was Mason thinking, announcing our fake marriage to his family like that? It’s not even a marriage. It was a night of fun. Sure, it was a night of fun that I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about, but it wasn’t anything more, it couldn’t be anything more. I had to remind myself of that too often to count, but especially when I fidgeted with the diamond ring that I’d started wearing on a necklace around my neck, underneath my clothes, where I could hide it from everyone. I didn’t want to attract the inevitable questions, but I couldn’t lock it in a box and try to forget about it either.
As much as I wanted to hide in my cabin all day, hell, every day until the wedding, I couldn’t do that to Logan. My best friend had never been the most social person, so I couldn’t have been happier when he met Chelsea. I’d quickly warmed to her and had loved the way her family, especially her mum, had just embraced me like family, too.
Logan and his brother, Jordan, were like brothers to me. Their mum had met my mum when our fathers played for Australia together. When Dad left Mum, it was Angie who brought over food and arranged play dates. She didn’t want us to feel abandoned.
That was why I found myself in the backseat of Chelsea’s car with Logan’s cousins, Lily and Sofia, as the bride to be drove us to her best friend’s salon. Apparently, she’d closed the business for the day so she could host us. Not only were we getting a cut and colour to prepare for the big day, the salon owner had organised a local nail tech to give us mani/pedi’s.
Guilt gripped my throat as I walked into Steele Cut Hair. Janelle, Chelsea, and Mason’s mum were already sitting at a station in between my mum and Angie. All three women laughed and chatted with each other as their stylists applied colour to their locks. I briefly entertained the thought that Janelle had formed a little clique of her own, one with her kid’s mother-in-laws then I instantly dismissed it. I wasn’t married to Mason and any thought of that would be a fantasy because no real marriage starts like mine did. A fake wedding, conducted within hours of meeting someone.
“It’s wonderful to see you again,” Bella said as she pulled me in to a hug. It was ridiculous how welcome I felt in this town. Hartwood Bay felt like home the minute I set foot here. It was beautiful. For months before my first visit, I’d been gushing over images I’d seen on social media, but that wasn’t what made this place feel like home. From the minute I took my first lungful of air, when I first placed my bare feet into the sand, this town called to me.
On my first visit to the Valentine Cove Resort, I went for a hike in the surrounding National Park. With each step I could feel the ancestors welcoming me to Country. The sighting of a blackcockatoo cementing that I’d reached a significant period in my life, that change was coming.
I mumbled a pleasant greeting back at Bella and headed toward a chair. A gown was wrapped around me by a stylist named Quinn who looked around my age. We discussed my hair colour; she suggested adding a few lowlights and highlights that would add depth to my hair without dramatically altering the overall tone. I relaxed back into the chair while Quinn got to work and Bella took coffee orders.
No more than fifteen minutes had passed when the door to the salon flew open and two women entered with trays of take away coffees and paper bags in their hands. Both of the newcomers exchanged looks with Janelle, who subtly nodded her head in my direction.
The coffees were distributed and both women, who I learned, were Bella’s mum, Donna, and her best friend, Debbie, who ran the cafe around the corner from the salon. They also happened to be good friends with Janelle.
In a move as discreet as a sledgehammer, Donna sidled up to me and said, “So, I’ve heard that you’re the reason that Mason King has been such a grumpy ass since he moved back home?”
I almost choked on the lemon myrtle scone at her words. The finger lime glaze that I’d just been savouring felt like a sticky mess on my fingers as I struggled to find words.
“Maybe Mason King can put on his big boy pants and realise just because my daughter gave him one night doesn’t entitle him to forever.” Mum quipped from the other side of the salon. “No offence, Janelle,” she quickly added.
“None taken, Mel, I agree. That was a dick move he pulled last night.” Janelle concurred. “I told him so this morning. My eldest son is cocky as hell. He’s very talented and good looking, combine that with his natural charm and confidence, he’s notused to hearing the word no. It’s a tough job keeping him grounded sometimes.”
I groaned. The last thing I needed was for this to become more complicated. “Look, as much as I appreciate all of this, it’s not that complicated. Mason and I met in Vegas and had a little fun. I left for Jade’s wedding. Then last night we ran into each other again. End of story.”
“I hope that fun included multiple orgasms?” Donna raised her eyebrows in expectation.
“I, uhhh…” I looked at Janelle with trepidation. Surely she didn’t want to know about her son’s sex life?
“It’s okay, hun, this is what Donna does. You should’ve seen her when her daughter finally got together with Debbie’s son.” Janelle rolled her eyes at her friend’s forthrightness. “I’ve already assumed that some of the fun you had was in a hotel room and if he’s anything like his father, he performed quite well.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Yes, Mason performed very well, but there was no way I was revealing any of those details to his mum and her friends.
“What I want to know,” Mum interrupted my thoughts. “Is why did he refer to you as his wife?”
My heart stuck in my throat as every eye in the salon fixed on me. Janelle, her friends, Mum, Angie, plus Chelsea, Lily, Sofia, and everyone who worked in the salon. Every single one of them looked at me expectantly.
I swallowed around the lump and tried to dismiss the question. “Oh, we just did one of those fake, gimmicky tourist wedding chapel things. You know those ones with the Elvis impersonator as the celebrant.” I rolled my eyes like it was something everyone did in Las Vegas.
“Ummmm, no, we don’t know the ones.” Sofia replied with her eyes wide. “We know they have those chapels where people go for quickie weddings, but I’ve never heard of them being fake.”
I huffed. Of course, the most starry-eyed of the Lovric family would say that. I told them all about how I met Mason in a bar and how he agreed to give me the most clichéd Vegas experience ever.Minus the orgasms. No one needed to hear about how one night with him ruined me for all other men.
9
Mason
The winter sun had broken through the clouds and was warming my back as I sat outside Destiny’s cabin with a bunch of flowers in my hand. The gloom of the past few weeks was slowly fading away, and I took it as a sign that I might be able to convince Destiny to give me a chance. Most importantly, it meant that the weather improving for my sister’s wedding, but Mum was superstitious and it had rubbed off on me.
