Page 73 of I Heart Mason Cartwright
“Well, Zachary, you are looking good. I didn’t expect to see you here this evening as well.” My dad stands and shakes Zach’s hand.
“What can I say, Mister Brooks. I missed you,” Zach says.
My dad stopped giving Zach hugs once he found out Zach preferred men. Zach in turn flirts with my dad and stares at him with dreamy eyes, often batting his eyelashes. I love Zach for that. Well, I love Zach for a lot of things, but especially that.
Dad turns to shake Mason’s hand, then holds his hand out to Cassandra so he can help her stand. The hostess shows us to our table, large and in the middle of the room. Just the way Dad and Cassandra like it. AshLynn whispers something in Cassandra’s ear that I don’t catch, Cassandra turns to look at me then whispers something back.
I really hate them sometimes.
“Careful, Regina George is in the house,” Zach whispers in my ear, referencing our favorite character to hate in the movieMean Girls.
I end up seated between Mason and Zach at the dinner table and across from my dad. Which is fine by me, I wanted to be near Zach and had no desire to sit next to Cassandra or AshLynn. Having Mason on my other side is just a bonus.
I do feel like I’ve known him longer than just a few days. It’s always amazing to me when that happens. That’s how it was with Zach and my friend Marlie before him. Maybe Mason and I will be friends. That would be nice.
Sure, yeah, watch him go through life with your sister. That does soundnice.
I open my mouth,thisclose to voicing my thoughts aloud back to my sarcastic thoughts in my head, then snap it shut.
Would you get it together, woman!
The table goes quiet.
I look up. Five pairs of eyes stare back at me.
“What?”
“Were you going to say something?” my dad asks.
“No. Nope. No.” I shake my head.
The server comes to take our drink order. I ask for a vodka martini, extra dirty.
I have a feeling I’m going to like the extra emotional buffer the vodka will add to the evening.
AshLynn waits until after the server leaves, then leans forward, “Mason, Daddy has a surprise for us.”
She claps her hands and smiles big. Mason tenses beside me. It’s subtle, but I catch it. Zach relaxes back in his chair and whispers, “This ought to be good,” out of the side of his mouth.
Mason clasps his hands on the table in front of him. Obviously bracing for what comes next. He may not have known this family long, but he knows enough.
I wish the cocktails were here.
“I was able to secure the main ballroom at our club back home for the wedding. There was another wedding schedule there already, but I promised at least three hundred in attendance, so they are moving the other party to a smaller room.”
“Tell him the best part, Daddy,” AshLynn squeals.
“We can do it in two weeks,” Cassandra interrupts, clapping her hands.
“Here we go,” the server says as she sets our drinks in front of us. I’m always surprised when they remember who ordered which drink when they didn’t write it down.
Mason downs his whiskey in one gulp before she’s finished setting all the drinks down. He hands the glass back to the server. “I’ll have another, please.”
She does a double take, similar to the server with the mimosas at brunch the other day. My family just has that effect on people.
He takes a deep breath. “Did you plan this?” The question directed at AshLynn.
She doesn’t answer, instead looking at my dad for the answer, who stays oddly quiet. Mason looks back and forth between Cassandra, my dad, and AshLynn. I can feel anger radiating off him from my seat.
