Page 87 of The Secret
“Isn’t it?” he pressed, totally catching it.
“Yeah. I mean, yes. Of course. I just… I don’t want anyone getting too attached.”Except me; I was pretty sure it was too late for me.“We’re just dating. It’s a casual thing. He’s young.”
“Huh. Babe,” Mason said, turning to Victoria, who was examining her nails. “Could you give us a minute?”
She looked up and narrowed her eyes. “What? Seriously?”
“Brother talk,” Mason said. “Please.”
“Sure. Why don’t I just toddle off and amuse myself while you keep your family things to yourself? God forbid thatIbe involved in family things, or I might start to get ideas, right?”
Mason winced. “It’s not that, baby. It’s just—”
Victoria held up a hand. “I’ll goamusemyself with Constantine. Might be a novelty to talk to someonecharming.”
She stalked off… as much as a woman tottering in high heels could stalk.
“Mason. Did your girlfriend just tell us that she was going to go flirt with my boyfriend?”
“Nah. I mean… Victoria says things like that, but she doesn’t mean anything by it,” Mason said. He added a moment later, “I don’t think.”
“Lovely. Anyway, if you sent her away so you could grill me, you shouldn’t have bothered.” I headed past him into the house after giving Constantine a wave to let him know I was going. “I don’t want to talk about Con.”
“The more you deflect, the more convinced I am,” Mason warned.
I stopped dead in my tracks on the front porch. “Ido notdeflect.”
“Well, nowthatis interesting,” Mason said.
I sighed as I pulled open the screen door and stepped into the little entryway. “You’ve done an amazing job on this place,” I said, looking from the yellow hallway lined with pictures that led back to the kitchen, to the wide wooden staircase that had recently been refinished. “It didn’t look this good when MoonFlower first moved in.”
“That’s a separate issue,” Mason said, waving his hand. “Back to thetroublemaker.”
“He’s gonna be coming inside any minute now,” I warned.
“Great. Let’s cut to the chase. Leandra says you’re in love with him. I said no, but now I’m starting to wonder. Which is it?”
“I’m not—” I began. “I—”
“Wow.Wowwww. Leandra was right. Goddammit. Glad I didn’t bet money.”
I scowled. “No. That’s—”
“Please, keep digging your hole deeper.” Mason leaned against the archway to the living room. “I’m not the one whose boyfriend will be coming in any minute.”
I groaned. “There are… issues.”
“Pretty sure every relationship has issues. Next.”
“Oh, you’re a relationship guru now? No, these are insurmountable issues.”
“Pretty sure everyone with issues thinks their issues are insurmountable, until they find out differently.Next.”
“I know Leandra already told you all this, but fine.Fine.” I rolled my eyes. “No one in O’Leary knows Con and I are dating. His mother hates my guts because I’m her biggest business competition. Constantine’s dream is to take over their family business, and she won’t let him because she thinks he’s irresponsible and because their finances are tight. But, he craves her approval, so he thinks if he works hard enough and keeps her happy, she’ll eventually give in.Andhe thinks he owes her, because he’s somewhat responsible for their financial circumstances, though I swear there’s some mismanagement going on there, too. Long story longer, if he brings me to Thanksgiving dinner in a couple of weeks…”
“She’ll be pissed,” Mason concluded, scratching his chin. “I see.”
“Thank you.” I rolled my eyes.
