Page 58 of Karma's Kiss

I squeeze a lime wedge into the neck of the beer bottle and we drink in silence for a bit, listening to the trickle of the creek down below. It’s the same creek that feeds into Queenie’s backyard, and seeing it makes me think of Sawyer. Thinking of Sawyer makes me take another sip of my beer.

“Where are Lindsey and Cruz?”

“Swimming at Lindsey’s parents’ house. I’ll be heading over there in a little bit. You want to join?”

“Nah, it’s okay. Been a long day.”

He squints one eye at me curiously. “Things not quite workin’ out for you here the way you thought they would?”

I laugh at the question. “I’m living in my old bedroom at Mom’s house, trying to sort out her disaster of an office,anddealing with my personal life falling to pieces. Sono.”

“Eh, minor problems.” He laughs, but when I don’t join in, he reaches over to jostle my arm. “Come on, don’t look so glum. Things will smooth out. You might have thought your life in Montgomery was picture perfect, but it clearly wasn’t. Maybe a good shake-up is just what you needed.”

I don’t agree. I know I’m better off now and obviously I should have never been with Matthew, but a part of me misses the ease of being in that carefree naive existence. It felt like I had life’s equation figured out. Be the blonde Auburn girl, secure a marriage to a nice great-looking guy from a good family, and happiness would await me at every turn.

“Have you heard from his parents or anything? Matthew’s?”

I almost shiver. “His mom called me the day after we broke up.”

His brows shoot up in surprise. “No shit? What’d she say?”

I knew Matthew’s parents weren’t going to love the sudden turn of events. Quick breakups and hasty engagements are potential fodder for political opponents, and that’s not even including the fact that a secretary—while being a perfectly finejob and not something I’d ever turn my nose up at—is not good enough for the Mason family. These are people who don’t address their maids, after all. Men like Matthew Mason III might look the other way when it comes to his son’s discreet affairs with secretaries, but marital unions? Oh no, not acceptable.

I pick at the label on my beer. “She wanted to know if it was salvageable.”

She called me while Matthew was at work. I was in our—Matthew’s—apartment, packing up the last of my stuff, trying to decide if I should hide his mother’s engagement ring somewhere just to scare the living daylights out of him when her name appeared on my phone screen.

I almost didn’t answer. I didn’t want to talk to the mother of my new ex-fiancé, but at that point, I hadn’t fully let go of the fantasy of being Madison Mason, beautiful southern bride and perfect young wife.Shewould answer the phone.

“Hi, Mrs. Mason.”

“Madison.” She said my name with immense relief. “I’m so glad you answered. I can’t believe what’s been going on. Are you with Matthew?”

“No…he’s at work.”

“Right. Good. Better to keep up appearances for now. We’ll do whatever it takes to straighten this out. Matthew is going through something…must be a quarter-life crisis, and he’s not thinking reasonably. We all know you’re the perfect girl for him. Matthew’s father has already had a word with him, and I expect Matthew will rethink his decision soon, if he hasn’t already. If I were you, I’d continue on as if everything is normal. Have a good shower, style your hair, pick out a nice outfit—do everything just as you usually would. Prepare a home-cooked dinner for when Matthew comes home and let him know that you’re stillthere, the steadfast woman I know you to be. Don’t let this ridiculoussituation with the—the, wellwhatever she is, shake you up. Do you understand, dear?”

David shouldn’t have taken a sip of his beer, because upon hearing this reenactment, he does a spit take.

“She wanted you to make his fucking dinner?!”

I laugh. “And put on a nice outfit,” I remind him.

“The nerve! Did you tell her to go to hell?”

“Are you kidding?” I sound offended by the idea of it. “I asked her how the family was doing and told her to say hello to them for me, and then I got off the phone and hid my engagement ring in the back of the toilet. It was my one rebellious act in that relationship.”

David tosses his head back and cracks up.

I know Matthew eventually found the ring because the one and only text he’s sent me since our breakup was:I know you’re upset, but let’s act like adults here. That ring could have been lost forever.

“Sounds like you really dodged a bullet. What a crazy family.”

I’m beginning to understand that in a way that was hard to see when I was still in my relationship with Matthew. And though a small part of me still feels some strange sense of loyalty to them—even now I’m tempted to tell David, “They weren’t really that bad!”—I know I’m better off without the Masons than with them.

I finish off the last of my beer just as I hear two undeniably recognizable voices, and I’m already leaning forward to push off my knees as Hunter pulls up two chairs next to ours. Sawyer’s right behind him.

“Madison McCall, just the person I wanted to see,” Hunter says with a grin.

---