Page 77 of Meet Mason, the Billionaire

ouch. are u at home?

yes

ill be on my way in a bit. i just sat down to eat but then ill come with the van

thanks ur my hero

I added some heart emojis because Junebug wasn’t’ the type of guy to take them the wrong way or read more into it.

I settled in to wait, but less than ten minutes after I sat down—not nearly long enough for Junebug to eat, gas up the van and drive across town—a knock came at my door.

I went to peer through the privacy hole, part hoping, and part dreading it would be Mason. Instead, I saw Sage standing there.

I opened the door and she didn’t say a word. She just hugged me. I don’t know why, but that made me break down into sobs. I clung to my best friend while she made soothing noises and petted my hair.

Sage got me to sit down on the sofa and brought me a glass of water, since that’s all I had in my fridge to drink.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“It’s not your fault.”

“It kind of is. We all encouraged you to hook up with Mason because it seemed like he made you so happy.”

“I still don’t think that makes it your fault. How did you even find out so quickly?”

She gave me a look.

“Honey, your friends are here for you. As soon as he got off the phone with you, Junebug did a massive group text telling all the Old Bohemians what’s what. I was the closest so it was decided I would come for moral support until Junebug arrived with the van.”

“I love you guys so much.” I had to struggle not to break down into tears again. “I thought I was in love with Mason, too. Hell, I think I still am, even after what he’s done.”

“Maybe there was a reason for it?”

I frowned, anger rising in my belly. “I don’t see what reason could possibly justify what he did. Not that I gave him much of a chance to explain it to me, but then again, why should I? He just sat there and calmly told me that he was the reason my show got canceled, and he was the rich dickwad trying to buy the portrait.”

Sage winced in sympathy and hugged me again.

“I’m so sorry, babe. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Except that I did,” I shook my head in disgust. Self-disgust. “I should have known that a man like him would never fall for a woman like me.”

“Hey, let me stop you right there. You’re amazing.”

“No, YOU’RE amazing, dropping everything to come over here and nurse me through a heartbreak. Besides, Mason and I haven't been dating that long. He was a breeze through my hair.”

Even as the words left my mouth, I knew they were a lie. I broke down into a crying fit again, burying my face in her shoulder. Sage was a good friend. She did nothing but stoke my hair and say soothing words, and let me get it out so I could grieve.

I was grieving not just what I’d had with Mason, but what I might have had. I was moving fast toward the idea that we might be a permanent item. Getting married, moving to the suburbs, having 2.5 kids, all of that jazz.

The horn honked outside and I rose to peer out the window. “Junebug’s here. We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

“I’ll go tell him you’re getting ready. Pull yourself together, hon. I don’t want Brian to have the satisfaction of knowing that he made you cry. Even by proxy. Do you?”

“Hell no!” I said fiercely. “Give me a minute and I’ll be down.”

“Take ten. Or twenty. I’ll keep Junebug distracted with stories from Vegas.”

“I thought you said you worked the whole time you were in Vegas?”

---