Page 50 of Between Regrets and Promises

Excitement ripples through everyone, and Maddie tries to hold in her squeals by covering her mouth. When Lennon walks on stage, blindfolded, I nearly begin to cry because I’m so damn happy for her and Hunter. My musician friends begin playing, and soon, Hunter is down on one knee asking her to marry him. I get choked up and so does Maddie because they’ve waited so long for this and deserve a lifetime of happiness. A love like theirs is special, and they’re both so damn lucky. I think about Weston and know we’ll eventually get there, or at least, I hope. The thought of him not being here with me, experiencing this special moment, stings.

After the proposal, we eagerly wait for Lennon and Hunter to join us. From the corner of my eye, I see Mason and Liam. I freeze and try to focus on Lennon, pretending I don’t see them.To this day, Mason still causes a thunderstorm of emotions inside me. He’s like lightning, and I’ve been waiting for him to strike again. If only he hadn’t been so damn stubborn.

Trying to keep my attention on the happy couple and Allie, I suggest they take more pictures together. This moment needs to be documented and remembered forever. Maddie grabs Lennon’s phone and gets to work posing them. If dance doesn’t work out for her, she should be a professional photographer. I stand back and watch in awe. Once they’re done, Hunter tilts his head at me.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

Heat hits my cheeks. I should’ve been more prepared for this question. “Oh, he couldn’t make it. Got caught up at work.”

Lennon frowns when our eyes meet. I try to silently tell her everything is fine, but I’m not sure she’s buying it.

“Right,” Mason says behind me.

Glaring at him, I roll my eyes, but it doesn’t seem to faze him in the least. Maddie lights up when she sees Liam. Her reaction to him causes me to hold back my laughter.

As soon as Lennon and Hunter are pulled away, Mason pulls me off to the side. It’s the first time we’ve been alone together since the intense conversation we had on the patio New Year’s Eve. I’ve avoided him like a flesh-eating bacteria ever since.

“What the hell is going on with you, Sophie? Something isn’t right.” He has that same look in his eyes as Lennon did earlier as he studies my face.

I grit my teeth. “You’re out of line, Mason. Worry about yourself. It’s what you’re good at.”

“You’re acting like the boogeyman is gonna pop up at any moment. Like something’s wrong. I know the signs. I’ve seen them before. You’ve not been yourself, and no number of lies will change that.”

I glare at him, pissed that he can see straight through me and angry because he never gave me a chance. Now that I’ve moved on, he wants to play the hero.

“Where’s Weston really at? Funny how he always has something come up when there’s a group of people involved. Please tell me you aren’t that dense, Soph. I’m worried about you.” His voice is hushed.

“You haven’t earned the right to worry about me, Mason. For years, you’ve done nothing but ignore me, pretend I don’t exist, and pretend we never happened as if you wish it hadn’t. And you know what? I wish it hadn’teither.”

I glance at Mason one last time before I push away from him and walk toward Maddie. He winces as if I’ve slapped him, his jaw tight and his body tense. Perhaps that was a mean thing to say, but he pushed me too far this time questioning my decisions when he’s been absent from my life for months.

Today has been a clusterfuck of emotions, and I’m ready to get the hell away from him. I’m ready to be alone because I’m too emotionally unstable to be around people.

Maddie finishes her conversation, and we meet with our parents. After Lennon and Hunter leave, I tell Maddie I’m tired, and we make our way to the car.

“You okay?” she asks as we walk down the path through the magical park full of fairy tales and nursery rhyme characters.

“I’m fine.” But I don’t know if I am. The only thing on my mind right now is the sincerity and concern in Mason’s eyes when he looked at me. Something I haven’t seen in a long time.

The first time Mason met Weston, it was obvious he hated him. I was too inside my head and heart to listen when Mason told me to be careful.

I go home and climb into bed, not waiting up for Weston. Sleep finds me before he gets home, which is good, because I’mnot sure what I would’ve said to him otherwise, and I’m sure he’s been drinking again.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

MASON

ONE MONTH EARLIER

It’s gottento a point where I can’t stop thinking about Sophie. Every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to sleep, she’s on my mind. I’m worried as fuck, and Liam is too because she’s avoiding us. Me, I understand, but him? They were good friends and hung out all the time, but it slowed down the moment she started dating Weston and then abruptly stopped when she moved in with him.

As I’m sitting at my desk eating another shitty microwave meal, I decide I’m not going to let this sit. I can’t seem to shake the bad feeling I have about this guy.

Now that I’m playing secretary at the DA’s office until a forensics position opens in the fall when Jack retires, it’ll make getting information much easier. Just being Michael Holt’s son gives me an advantage. Though I curse it most of the time, this time it comes in handy. Considering Sophie could be in more danger than any of us realizes, I’m not afraid to use it to get what I need.

As I walk across the building to Jerad’s office, I shoot a text to Liam and ask him to call me when he goes on break. I’ve known Jerad since my first internship right after college. Back then, he was a nobody here, but now he oversees an entire department of criminal investigators and has access to information I can’t get on my own. I have no doubt he’ll help me, but I can’t just pick up the phone or shoot off an email with this request. It’ll probably require an explanation of sorts, which I’m ready to give. There’s a lot of risk asking for an off-the-record background check, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at night if I don’t find out everything I can about this prick.

When I step inside Jerad’s office, he’s busy flipping through a folder of images while eating lunch. When I glance down, I see a horrific crime scene, and I can’t believe he’s able to chew his food while looking at it.

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