Page 43 of Unromance

Bex allowed herself a little smile. “Thanks. That’s not usually the response I get.” When Sawyer raised her brows in question, Bex sighed. “Usually there’s some suggestive joke, which is ironic, because that’s kind of the whole reason my role is needed on set in the first place.”

Before Sawyer could ask more about her job, another giggle resounded from somewhere in the room. Sawyer glanced around, this time spotting the mismatched socks peeking out from behind the window curtains. Sawyer made a mental note to give the drapes a wide berth.

“So,” Lynn said loudly. Though Sawyer was beginning to suspect that was Lynn’s one and only volume level. “How do you and Mason know each other?”

The din of the kitchen died down immediately, and Sawyer found Mason’s eyes across the room. “We got trapped in an elevator together.” She wished there were a less rom-com-y way to spin it, but that was how it happened.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Lynn trilled to Mason. “After what happened on set—”

“We don’t need to talk about it,” Mason said with a flush.

At Sawyer’s confused expression, Bex leaned in. “A few years back, they were filming a scene at this sketchy warehouse, and Mason and his costar got stuck in the service elevator for half an hour.”

“In my defense, it feltmuchlonger.”

“I’m sure Davi Shah having a full-blown panic attack did not help.”

“I’ve never felt more useless or helpless in my life. I didn’t know phobias were contagious, but experiencing that with her… It stuck.”

Lynn sighed wistfully. “I always hoped the two of you would get together. You two had such good chemistry.”

“Mom,” Bex chastised. “Not in front of—” She gestured meaningfully to Sawyer.

Sawyer interjected at the same time as Mason.

“Oh, we’re not—”

“Just friends.”

The tension in the kitchen could’ve been cut with a knife, the only sound Antonio chopping, blissfully ignorant to the conversation—or too used his family’s antics to care.

Luis cleared his throat pointedly. “Personally, I’m glad you’re not together. I like you, and maybe this way, you’ll last longer than the next few months.”

Everyone laughed, save for Mason, who threw a green bean at Luis. Sawyer watched it all unfold from behind her drink, which needed refilling, but she had a feeling she needed to stay sharp around this bunch.

Any buzz she might have had was immediately squashed by Bex’s next words.

“Oh, that’s right!” she trilled. “When are you leaving? When shooting wraps?”

Sawyer expected the entire room to freeze, to slowly turn and stare at Mason, but it didn’t. Lynn was talking baby talk to Milo while Margot bounced him in her lap. Luis and Antonio were inspecting the turkey through the oven window. Mason’s back visibly tensed beneath his burgundy shirt, turning slowly. His PR Face was firmly in place, but his eyes gave him away in the nervous flick toward hismother. Moira moved a cup out of Milo’s reach as if on instinct alone, refilling her glass of wine with her other hand.

“Where are you going, dear?” she asked Mason offhand, clearly unaware of the gravity of what Bex had just revealed.

Bex’s mouth parted slightly as she realized what she’d done. Grabbing her own glass of wine, she stared down into it like she wanted to drown in it.

“To LA, for work,” Mason said with forced casualness.

Sawyer still couldn’t believe that everyone was carrying on as usual, like Mason wasn’t broaching a topic he’d spent months hiding from them. Maybe it was fine, maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal. But looking around at everyone, the natural rhythms they had together… He was leaving this behind. Sawyer wished she had more than melted ice in her glass but couldn’t get up to refill it, not when she was holding her breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Moira blinked, tearing her attention away from Milo. “Wait, why would you go thereaftershooting wrapped?”

God, the woman knew how to commandeer a room. The slightest shift in her tone, and suddenly everyone was paying attention, the silence in the kitchen now deafening.

Wild thoughts flashed through Sawyer’s brain. Maybe she could fake a violent bout of sudden-onset diarrhea and get them out of here so Mason wouldn’t have to talk about this before he was ready. Maybe she could fake an ankle sprain—but she wasn’t a very good actor, and she was in a room full of professionals. Her heart ached with the need to protect him. She knew how deep the hurt only family could cause went. All she could do was sit and watch, her eyes trained on Mason, as if she could telepathically send him support.

He met her gaze, taking a deep, steadying breath as he set downthe spatula, put aside the bowl, and carefully wiped his hands on the dish towel thrown over his shoulder. “Because I’m moving there.” His voice was quiet, but the room was quieter. The way Margot gasped, you’d think Mason had said something profane. Mason’s eyes were still locked on Sawyer’s, as if he couldn’t look away or he’d lose his nerve. “Alissa is starting her production company, Guiding Light, and she wants me as her producer.”

More silence greeted his words.

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