Page 24 of Mason Wilder
“Why the oven?” Sindy asked. “I thought people always grilled steaks.”
Lucas and Mason both turned their heads toward Sindy at the same time, forks held midway between their plates and their mouths.
“What?” she asked, shrinking back defensively. “You always cook steak on the barbecue,” she told Lucas. “And Mason’s never had us over for dinner. I think I’ve been to your apartment twice, Mason. What’s up with that?”
“I’m a single guy. I don’t entertain,” Mason replied.
“That’s my job,” Tessa said, with a smile. “I’m the hostess, remember? And to answer your question, steaks cook too quickly on the grill. It ruins the texture. The oven slow cooks the meat so it’s tender and juicy.”
“That it is!” Mason flashed a dazzling smile that made Tessa melt.
The rest of the dinner was filled with small talk, reminiscing about the tour and what lay ahead for Prodigy. Sindy helped Tessa clear the table when they were done and load the dishwasher, while the guys sat at the table enjoying a beer. Tessa imagined that this is how it could be – she and Mason and Sindy and Lucas. Two couples. It felt right, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“What freakishly over-the-top dessert did you make?” Sindy asked.
Tessa took the lid off the cake she’d spend two hours baking and decorating. “Just a cake.” The sight of it boosted her ego. She excelled in cake decoration and presentation. She used a piping bag and food coloring to make silver scrolls up and down the sides and pearls along the edge of the perimeter. Two sugary large red roses rested in a bed of cream cheese frosting on the top of the cake, as if they just bloomed.
“Just a cake?” Sindy’s lids popped wide open as she stared at it.
“It’s a lot easier than it looks. All you need is a steady hand and a piping bag.” She turned her head and called into the dining room, “Mason, I made your favorite – red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.”
Sindy tugged on Tessa’s arm. “What the hell are you doing?”
Tessa sucked in a deep breath and felt the color run from her face. She knew she couldn’t fool her best friend, but she wasn’t ready to confess. She wiped a spot of icing off the plate with a napkin and tried to act unaffected. “Nothing.”
“Don’t try to play it cool with me. I see what you’ve been doing since we’ve been back from the tour. Showing off your skills in the studio. Making his favorite dishes.” She glanced down at the floor. “Wearing those fuck-me shoes.”
Tessa gasped. “These are not fuck-me shoes!”
“It’s so fucking obvious. Something is going on with you and Mason.”
“Nothing is going on between me and Mason. Is that what you think?”
“I’m starting to think there’s been something going on all along.”
“That’s not true at all. Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re always so overprotective of him. Whenever girls in the bar would talk to him for more than two minutes, you’d always run over to rescue him.” Sindy used air quotes around the word “rescue,” knowing full well that Mason didn’t need rescuing.
“I just don’t want anyone to bother him, that’s all. He’s too nice to tell some of those gold-diggers in the neighborhood bars to leave him alone.” So far, Tessa was cleverly evading the truth. But she knew it was only a matter of time before she caved, because she wasn’t a liar. She honestly couldn’t believe it took Sindy this long to start asking questions.
Sindy eyed Tessa suspiciously, prying for more information. “What about the way you flew off the handle when you thought I was fooling around with Mason?”
“I was just worried about it interfering with the band.”
“No. You weren’t. Because it was all good when you found out it was Lucas instead of Mason that I was fooling around with.” Sindy stilled, as if she just realized something. “You thought he was cheating on you with me.”
Oh my God. Tessa couldn’t imagine how she would have reacted it that were true.
Sindy started to chuckle. “Put your eyes back in your head and close your mouth. I’m not interested in Mason. I never was.” She pointed a finger at Tessa. “Your reaction proves that there’s something going on with the two of you. Why are you hiding it? You gave me shit for trying to hide my relationship with your brother. Just admit it.”
“I’m not fooling around with Mason.”
Sindy paused, then nodded. “I get it now. You’re afraid Lucas isn’t going to approve. It’s a violation of the bro code.”
Again with the bro code. First Mason brought it up and now Sindy. Where is this code written, and why hasn’t she gotten a copy of it? “What are you talking about?”
“You’re his little sister. Lucas is naturally protective of you.”
