“He too was a flirt. Young and old, there was no discriminating. Men, women, gay, straight, he was the person who made everyone feel good. The life of the party. He came from a good family, went to the best schools, and had a great job. I too came from a good family and went to good schools, so on paper, we were a perfect fit. Except, in the end, he hated my job.” She looks me dead in the eye the entire time she speaks. Making sure I hear every word.
Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m hanging off every syllable.
“What didn’t he like about your writing?”
“Apparently, writing romance isn’t classy enough for the likes of him.”
“Sounds like he was afraid he couldn’t hold a candle to themen you write about. See, there’s another thing I don’t have in common with him.”
After another dramatic eye roll, she continues. “If that weren’t enough, we were at a party at my parents’ house when I caught him screwing a needy little socialite on my dad’s pool table. When I confronted him, he couldn’t figure out what my problem was. Turns out, he didn’t really believe in monogamy. It also turns out he was only with me for my family name, connections, and of course the family money.”
What a fucking idiot.
“Mason, I’m real sorry this Grant asshole couldn’t see what he had and chose to hurt you like that.”
“To top it all off, when I went crying to my girlfriends, they weren’t surprised in the least. Seems I was the only one unaware of his constant indiscretions.”
“Your friends knew and didn’t tell you?”
“They knew all along. Even when I gave up my apartment in the city to move to the burbs with him. I worked so hard to afford that apartment and buy it on my own. Not my family's money, but my own. I started writing a column for a women’s magazine in college, and when my first series hit it big, I saved every penny and had enough for my apartment before my books became a TV series.”
“Whoa, Mason. That’s awesome. Congratulations on all of your success. So, we really do have a celebrity writer in our midst.”
“Thank you, but I’m not a celebrity by any means. If only I hadn’t given up so much of what I had worked so hard for, for him. For the man I thought I was going to marry one day. If only it hadn’t been for a man who was sleeping with most of the Upper East Side and using me as his arm candy. However, that was three years ago. Now, I have an apartment overlooking Central Park again, and I’m back where I want to be.”
“Good for you.”
“I learned a lot about myself and what I’m not willing to give up in the future.”
What I wouldn’t do to meet Grant one day. To tell him what a colossal fuckhead he is to not only waste a life with a woman like Mason but also to beat his ass for hurting her so badly.
Dick.
CHAPTER 6
Mason
I’ve been walking around with my head in the clouds since Miles’s truck drove away from Katie’s place after our spur-of-the-moment lunch. I’ve been so distracted that I completely spaced about my nail appointment and jumped out of my skin when my phone pinged, reminding me I was supposed to be at the salon.
I am never late for anything.
Well, at least I wasn’t until I met Miles Montgomery.
Luckily, Tell Me About Itis smack dab in the middle of Main Street, so I don’t have to think too hard to get there because my mind is all over the place.
If someone had told me when I woke up this morning that I would be having lunch with Miles, I would have laughed in their face. But watching him try to come up with things to do outside to delay leaving was not only obvious but also quite endearing. He wasn’t trying to get my attention, but I couldn’t help butsneak peeks out the kitchen window and maybe even the bedroom window.
I love New York City, but no penthouse, no matter how big the mortgage, has a view as good as the one I had this morning looking out into that backyard.
Central Park is nice, but the landscape here comes complete with backward baseball caps, sexy work boots worn from years of work and weather, and denim that fits in a way I didn’t know was even a thing.
The best view in town is one that has both Miles and Lou in it.
Yes, watching his tan, toned arms flex while he worked did a little something to me, but watching him with his dog is why I went to lunch with him.
I was kicking myself all the way to The Jury Room, but once we got there, our conversation flowed easily, and shockingly, I told him about Grant. Not only did he find my career and my success interesting, but he asked question after question. And the best part? His inquisitiveness seemed entirely genuine.
Now, here I am, running late and feeling as confused as Lou was when Miles would pretend to throw his ball only he couldn’t find it anywhere because it was still in his dad’s hand.