Page 34 of Hypnotized By Love

“I’m really confused,” I told her. “I thought you came tonight because you’re trying to hook up with him.” Which I was actively trying to stop, but I left that part out because I wouldn’t have been able to answer without breaking Mason’s confidentiality.

But keeping him safe from potential predators of both the animal and human varieties wasn’t the only reason, though.

I wasn’t able to tell myself the real reason why, let alone anyone else.

She grabbed a tissue and blotted, then threw the tissue into the trash. “Sweetie, I know a lost cause when I see one.”

“Meaning?”

Bridget put a hand on her hip and turned to face me. “Meaning there’s no point in trying to land a man who is so obviously into someone else and always has been.”

Mason liked somebody? For a split second that conversation with Sierra flashed in my head, the one that had made me wonder if she liked Mason. What if she actually was interested in him? And he was interested in her? Was he being nice to me because he had feelings for my sister? “Who?”

She rolled her eyes so hard I felt a slight breeze, and then she looked at me like I’d said something incredibly stupid. “You.”

The alarm, shock, and total disbelief I felt in that moment were off the scale, and now it was my turn to shoot her the same expression. “You can’t be serious.”

“But I am. You two have always had so much in common, and he obviously likes you.”

I couldn’t prove that he hated me, but I could refute her other statement. “The only thing Mason Beckett and I have in common is how he tried to ruin my life.”

Bewilderment settled onto her face. “Because he ghosted you for that dance? Sierra told me about it.”

Sierra knew that wasn’t the reason why, but I guessed that Bridget had probably hounded her about what was going on with me and Mason, and that was as good an explanation as any. I realized that I hadn’t ever shared the real story with Bridget since we’d renewed our friendship as adults. We hadn’t been close in high school and had hung out with different groups. I was sure she’d heard the rumor, like everybody else, but she probably had no idea that Mason was the one who had started it.

Her phone buzzed with a text. “Hang on a second,” she said as she typed a reply.

When she finished, I said, “You are my friend and I love you and would do anything for you, but please don’t try to set me up with men that I have actively fantasized about stabbing.”

She pursed her lips together as if she were trying not to smile. “He’s not all bad. That’s all I was trying to show you.”

“Even if that’s true, does it matter? It’s not like he’s doing enough good stuff now for it to cancel out the bad. I can’t just say, ‘Hey, great, you’re a decent person now and everything’s cool and don’t worry about the past and let’s just move on.’ You don’t get to spread a rumor like that and then move on.”

“What rumor?”

“The one about me and Mr. Landry.”

Her eyebrows flew up her forehead. “You’re still mad about that rumor?”

“I know it’s petty that I can’t let go of things. Other people would have moved past it. I’m sure you would have. I just can’t, and it makes me hate Mason for doing that to me.”

Bridget looked so sympathetic. “I know exactly how you feel. I know what it’s like to feel scared that people will gossip about you.” She paused for a bit and then added, “That changes things, though.I wish I’d known. Which makes my timing terrible, but that text was from my mom, and she is feeling a bit worse, so I said I’d go home and take care of her.”

She was leaving?

And I was going to be alone with Mason?

“You can’t go,” I said and instantly felt bad. “I mean, yes, please go, and say hi to your mom for me, and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help out. I can bring by some breakfast in the morning after my first appointment if you’d like.” But I still wanted to beg her to stay.

“That would be great. I’m going to go out and say goodbye to Mason, and I’ll see you later!”

Then she was gone, and I went into a bathroom stall, closed the door, and hid for a while. My mind was too muddled to think clearly, but once I calmed down, it suddenly dawned on me that there was no conflict now. Bridget had gone home, and Mason was no longer in danger, so I could just go.

I washed my hands and went back to the table. Mason wasn’t seated, and for a second I wondered if he’d ditched me, since Bridget had left. The waiter came over with our ribs and set them down.

“Can I get the check and some boxes?” I asked him.

The waiter looked a bit surprised, but he just smiled and said, “Of course. Let me box this up for you.”

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