Page 49 of Mason Wilder
“I will.” Tessa left Kendall with a small smile and walked down the steps that led to the beach and the path back to her apartment complex. She realized that she ran into Kendall almost directly across from her building and glanced over her shoulder at where she’d sat with Kendall a few moments ago. The woman still stood in the same spot on the boardwalk, looking in Tessa’s direction. Kendall waved, not a small inconspicuous gesture either, but an exaggerated swipe of her arm in the air over her head to make sure Tessa saw it.Tessa waved back, amused at the exuberance in Kendall’s posture, but a little unnerved.
Once inside her apartment, Tessa stripped off her sweaty jogging clothes and jumped into the shower. She automatically started to sing the lyrics toRewind, one of Prodigy’s older songs that she wanted to put on the new album. She smiled as she sang, remembering Mason’s remark about how he used to listen to her sing in the shower from Lucas’ suite when they still lived with their parents. As she washed her hair, thoughts began to fill her mind, the same way Mason mentioned that the shower was the perfect time to clear one’s head and think. They weren’t exactly pleasant thoughts, though. She began to wonder about the chances of Kendall accidentally running into her on the boardwalk directly across from her apartment. Lido Beach was a mile long. Kendall could have gone to any beach. She didn’t have to come all the way to Lido Beach. She was from Brooklyn. She could have gone to Coney Island. That would be the natural place to visit, especially with the redevelopment plan that rejuvenated the area.
When she stepped out of the shower, she called Mason, not exactly sure what to say.
“Hey, babe.” Mason answered the phone with the usual cheerfulness. “Did you have a nice jog?”
“Kendall showed up.” Blurt it out, she told herself. No need to bother with subtlety.
“What? Where? At your apartment?”
“No. On the boardwalk. She said she wanted to see the beach before she went back to London and remembered I lived in Lido Beach.”
“And she just ran into you?”
“Yeah.” She waited for Mason’s reply while the line was quiet for a moment.
A laugh came through the phone. “Wow. What are the chances?”
Exactly.
“What’d she say?”
“She bought me a pretzel and we talked about how happy she was to be able to get to know the both of us.”
“She likes you, Tess. I’m glad. It means a lot to me that she’s taking an interest in my life now. It really feels like she’s trying to make up for the past. It’s giving me closure. I never realized how much it bothered me that she wasn’t around.”
Feeling guilty, Tessa dropped her chin into her chest. There was no reason to read into the chance meeting with Kendall. So what if Kendall specifically came to Lido Beach to see her? She was Mason’s girlfriend. Mason was happy to establish a relationship with his birth mother, and Kendall was taking the initiative to be in her son’s life. That’s the only thing that mattered.
“You coming by soon?” She heard the smile in his voice. “It’s only been a few hours, but I miss you like crazy.”
His words warmed her heart. “Yeah. See you in a bit. Love you.”
“Love you, too, babe.”
Traffic from Long Island into the City was soul sucking at times. When Mason was a teenager, before he got his Lamborghini, he’d spend many a night in the guest room at Tessa’s parents’ home. Once he bought his Lambo, he zipped between their homes sometimes twice in one day. Tessa had no idea how he did it. She was a ball of stress by the time she got to the parking garage of his apartment building. She was beginning to hate the Long Island Expressway. As she stepped out of her Tesla she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders at the thought of being with Mason again in a few minutes. He’s the only one she’d battle the L.I.E.andcross town traffic for. She took the elevator to his floor and let herself into his apartment. “Mase?”
“Don’t take your jacket off.” He came out of the bedroom rattling his keys in his hand. “My Aunt Kira and Uncle Brett are at my parents’ place with the twins. They’re officially New Yorkers for the next few months. Mind if we stop by?”
She let out a dramatic breath. “As long as you’re driving.”
“Road rage?” His dimples made an appearance, and Tessa forgot all about the stress from the drive.
“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “But I’m all better now that I’m in your arms, and that I get to see the kids. Plus, I can talk to Kira about some of the new tracks we recorded.”
“That’s my girl. Always working.” He kissed her, and it almost made her want to forget about visiting his family. Almost. She loved those kids. So, back into the car and into midtown traffic they went. Only a few blocks this time and not to the ‘burbs.
When they arrived at Mason’s parents’ penthouse, the usual greetings ensued. The twins, Bella and Ronnie, after having spent the last few months in the California sunshine where the family lived for half the year, bore golden tans that bathed them in a healthy glow. The eight year olds practically leapt into Mason’s arms. He lifted them as high as he could, showing off his muscles and how strong he was. It was a little game they played, and Tessa couldn’t contain her smile as she watched them.
The thing she loved most about the twins is that one of them was a girl in this family of rambunctious boys. Tessa hadn’t thought that Kira planned on having kids, considering her schedule had her all over the place, but once Michael came along it was only natural that Kira followed her older sister’s footsteps and got pregnant a year after Mason’s little brother was born.
The guys retreated to the den while the women, including little Bella, congregated in the kitchen around the center island, except Kira, who hung back to talk to Mason privately. Tessa watched them out of the corner of her eye while she helped Audra set a pitcher of lemonade and glasses on the counter. There was concern on Kira’s face and Mason’s brows were pinched together. It seemed to be mostly a one-sided conversation, with Kira taking the lead. The carefree and playful rapport the two shared was replaced by a stance that indicated heavy conversation, and Tessa immediately knew that Kira was expressing her concern about Kendall turning up in Mason’s life. It filled Tessa with unease and trepidation, but then a tick of annoyance gnawed at her. Was it really necessary for everyone in this family to air their doubts and suspicions about Mason’s birth mother?
She poured a glass of lemonade for Bella, handed it to the girl, and when she looked up, Kira was heading toward the kitchen and Mason was gone.
Kira bounced into the room as excited as a teenager and wanted to hear all about the tour and the new album.
“It was a whirlwind.” Tessa’s adrenaline kicked up several notches as she remembered the rush of the stage and the incredible reception from fans, which made her forget about the talk between Kira and Mason. “I know I’ve been waiting for this my entire life, but it’s exhausting!” Laughter flowed from her lips. “I don’t know how Immortal Angel still performs at their age.”
