by Stella Rhys
“Jesus Christ, I can’t watch this sappy shit anymore.”
Breaking away from Mason, I covered my face with my hands, the rest of the table laughing now and teasing us both. My heart raced and my entire body was hot as Mason put his arm around me, good natured as he joked back with his friends and told Noah that envy wasn’t a good look. God, what just happened? I asked myself, feeling hot, bothered and worst of all, charmed by Mason, especially as he pulled me closer to him and kissed the top of my head. Peeking out from my fingers, I peered at Sofia giggling across the table, pointing at me and touching her cheeks to indicate the red in mine. I rolled my eyes at her but I couldn’t help but agree when she later came down to my end, scooting next to me and whispering, “See? I told you about the Leos. They’ll drive you fucking insane but you can’t stop loving them.”
Ugh. Love was definitely not the word.
Still, she was onto something.
Chapter Eight
Like a daily insult, Aaron’s mail continued to be sent to my address. I was in the midst of sorting through it the next day when a knock came at my door. I jumped to my feet, my instinct to change out of my baggy T-shirt and frayed sweats. But then I realized it couldn’t be Mason at the door because he’d never knock or wait so politely for me to answer.
“Hi?” I said, confused when I saw the young man outside in my hall. He was dressed far better than I was and he had a polite smile for me as he held out his hand. Blinking down, I realized he was holding an elegantly embossed black shopping bag. “For you, Miss Simms.”
“Oh.” My eyebrows shot up when I took the small bag and felt its weight drag my hand down. “Thank you,” I murmured before he gave a single nod and left. The second I closed the door, I rushed to my kitchen table, shoving Aaron’s mail haphazardly aside to make room for the bag holding something that had me more desperately curious than I could ever remember feeling.
Reaching in, I first pulled out a card. I nearly cast it right aside since I was used to cards never having actual handwritten messages on them. But this one did and sitting back down in my chair, I read it.
I’ve bought clothing for women but never jewelry. Wear this tonight and show everyone that my girlfriend has me whipped enough to buy precious stones.
Pick you up at 9.
M
I stared. Was he fucking kidding?
I didn’t care to stand around and ponder it. Suddenly, I was like a sugar-crazed kid on Christmas morning, tearing through the bag and wrapping to find myself finally holding a dark navy blue rectangular box. I stared at the name of the jeweler and held my breath, urging myself not to put it past Mason to play some elaborate joke on me. I could very well open the box and find inside a pebble from his shoe or a fucking Ring Pop. Don’t get your hopes up, I breathed as I gently lifted the top of the box. Just take it easy and relax.
But that proved impossible once I saw what lay inside the box.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, instantly floored and nearly blinded by the dazzling rock staring back at me. It was a single circular diamond pendant hanging from a yellow gold chain in the shape of a Y. And it was, in the severest understatement, beautiful. “Oh… my God,” I had to repeat, realizing that the breathy awe I heard from the leading ladies of the most romantic movies was a very real thing. Because I was truly and genuinely speechless, fully convinced that every time that diamond sparkled, it stole another breath of air from my lungs.
Rushing to the bathroom, I went to try it on. But I couldn’t bear to see the pendant sitting atop a stained, blue T-shirt so before I did, I stripped off my top, and since it was equally awful, my bottoms. And suddenly, I was in a pair of black panties with a thread of gold draped over my collarbones. Falling between my cleavage was the stem of the Y-shaped chain, and settling right between my breasts was that diamond I swore I could look at forever. It was so incredibly beautiful and it made me feel just the same.
I needed to text Sofia. It was just my girly instinct.
But the second I held my phone in my hands, I found myself typing instead to Mason. His reply came instantaneously and shocking even myself, I giggled at our conversation.
ME: Mase what the fuck. It’s beautiful.
MASON: Glad you like it
ME: Tell me not to get attached because it’s rented
MASON: It’s yours. I hope it makes you feel better than you felt yesterday
ME: It makes me feel better than I’ve felt in years.
MASON: I’ll be sure to tell Aaron
ME: Ha.
MASON: Send me a picture
ME: Of me in it?
MASON: No of the sky. What else would I be asking for?
ME: I can’t now but later.
MASON: Why?
MASON: Tell me it’s because you tried it on naked.
MASON: In case it’s not clear I’m sexting you now.
MASON: For the love of God let me see you Taylor.
I bit my lip so hard at that last text I could feel my pulse in it when I released. Ignoring Mason’s flirtation, I hit my speed dial to call Sofia, who answered right on the first ring.
“You coming to Noah’s tonight?”
I blinked. “Oh. Noah’s? Maybe. Mason said we’re going somewhere tonight, but he didn’t tell me where.”
“Probably Noah’s. He’s having people over his house tonight and in case you haven’t been, his house is ah-mazing.”
“Oh. Cool,” I said, pausing for a second and trying to think of a transition. But there was none worthy so I went for it. “So… Mason bought me a diamond.”
“What?”
I had to spend a good minute calming her down and reassuring her that Mason hadn’t lost his mind and proposed and when I did, she was still rambling “omigod” on repeat and asking to see it. So rifling through my dresser, I yanked on an easy bandeau bra, snapped a picture and sent it.
“Whoa, girl. Whoa! Whoa.” I could practically see Sofia’s progression of faces as she looked at the photo I sent. “Is that really…? Oh my God. That’s the sexiest diamond I’ve ever seen. And it looks so pretty between your boobs but girl, you cannot wear that band-aid bra tonight. That would be such a buzzkill. This kind of necklace is made for showing off cleavage, which should really not come as a shock to you.”
I laughed. I couldn’t even be mad at Mason for picking something that required a low-cut top. I was too blinded by the sparkle.
“God, I think that thing is bigger than the rock Aaron bought you,” Sofia marveled. “Is it?”
I stood in front of my full-length mirror, in almost a trance as I muttered, “Not sure. Don’t care.”
“Yeah, you probably can’t remember any other dude that exists on this earth right now,” Sofia snorted. “No one except your man.”
I wiggled my lips at myself. “Maybe.”
“‘Maybe my ass. By the way, do you have any wine at your house?”
“Bottles you bought me. Are you asking because you’re coming over?”
“If you think I trust you to pick out a dress that does that rock justice, you’re already drunk.”
“I’m not, but fair enough. You gotta do my makeup too then.”
“Deal. I’ll call Mase to tell him I’m your escort tonight!” Sofia said excitedly. On the other end, I could already hear the sound of her bounding into her room to pack up her kit of luscious blushes and lipsticks. “Alright, goodbye for now, beautiful! But I’m so excited to see you!” she trilled into the phone. “You too, Taylor,” she added before hanging up.
“Bye,” I laughed, tossing my phone on the bed to gingerly brush the tips of my fingers along my beautiful diamond. Sofia was right. I couldn’t think of anyone but Mason when I looked at it, mostly because I couldn’t wait to see his reaction to me wearing it. And somewhere in the back of my head, I wondered if he really needed to spend this kind of money on a gesture to simply lift my bad mood.
Or if there was actually a place in his heart where I was more than a prop.
“So pretty,” I breathed to myself as I turned a few degrees to admire the sparkle of the diamond at a different angle. It was just so incredibly breathtaking – the most beautiful thing I owned and probably the last thing my head needed.
*
According to Lori, every woman had not just a little black dress, but her little black dress moment. That apparently came when through either coincidence or a tireless search, you found “the one.” It would just feel right in your hands, and even better as you pulled it up on your body and felt it wrap tight around your curves. Whether it needed to be zipped up or stretched on, it would qualify as the winner if you looked in your reflection in the mirror and said, “Motherfucker, I look good.” My reaction tonight was slightly less profane, actually more of a simple “yes,” but the way I breathed it out made Sofia shudder.
“Stop! The sex faces again.”
So I held it in. But I did love the way I looked in the simple, long-sleeved dress with its short skirt and plunging V-neck. Considering the new thigh-high boots I paired with it, I knew I was flirting with danger.
“He’s going to jump your bones the second he sees you tonight,” Sofia warned as she did her makeup at my dresser. “You might have to take off that necklace and lend it to me to wear for a few hours. So you don’t lose it while you’re having your roll in the hay.”
“We’re not going to a farm.”
“Your roll in the sack. Or since we’re talking Noah’s house, your roll in the… four thousand dollar Swedish mattress.”
“Yeah, I’m not having sex with Mason at Noah’s house,” I said, my cheeks hot. Or anywhere.
“Seriously? If my boyfriend bought me that necklace, I’d have sex with him on the street if he wanted.”
“Dear God, Sofia.”
She giggled as she powdered her heart-shaped face. “Seriously. Let’s pretend Noah’s my boyfriend. If Noah fought some asshole in my honor and followed that up by dropping…” Through the mirror, she squinted at my necklace. “At least five G’s on a diamond for me, I’d gladly let him bend me over any surface in this city and fuck me till he had to carry me home.”
“Jesus, it sounds like you just want to fuck Noah,” I smirked.
“Don’t change the subject on me. We’re talking about you and Mason and the fact that he is either in love with you or falling fast.”
I let out a shrill laugh. “Whoa, let’s not talk the L word. That’s a little intense.”
“Fine. But you gotta admit that some of this is surprising. I knew he liked you, Taylor and you know I love you, but I really never expected Mase to care about any women as much as he already cares about you.”
I pursed my lips as I thought about it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised by some of Mason’s gestures. We were very much a fake couple but he was very truly angered yesterday when I told him about Aaron’s colleagues. I could excuse him chasing after them and forcing Trevor to apologize to me because there were witnesses for that – that lent well to our act. But I couldn’t think of an explanation for the way Mason had caught my eye the second I returned from the bathroom. Before anyone else even noticed, he had detected my distress from afar and I had seen the concern in his eyes. When he rushed to ask what happened, his back was turned to the dining room so no one could see the look of unfiltered anger haunting his face as he demanded to know how I was wronged. I’d thought about it last night in bed and though I knew I was indulging in over-analysis, I concluded that Mason’s need to defend my honor last night wasn’t completely an act and it was kind of nice to realize.
Of course, another part of me hated realizing that too because it confused the hell out of me. After dinner at Lady Mercer last night, and after acting a bit cutesy with Mason, I’d already woken up feeling vaguely different – happier than usual but wary of feeling that way. It was such a push and pull within my own body that I tried to numb my brain by doing something mundane and slightly torturous, like sorting Aaron’s mail.
But then that incredible damned diamond arrived at my door.
“Yeah.” I shook my head to myself, staring for the hundredth time at its radiating beauty. “This is just… so crazy.”
Sofia beamed. “Sure is. But it’s awesome and beautiful and you should just own it.”
I ran my finger along the fine chain of the necklace. “Well, he bought it for me so I think I do own it.”
“I mean your relationship with Mason,” Sofia said dryly. “I can see you being overwhelmed by it and it’s totally understandable, but you should just embrace what you’re feeling right now, Taylor. I mean when was the last time you felt as happy as you do right now?”
I frowned as I thought about it. “God, that’s a good question. Um…”
Oddly enough, the first thought that popped into mind was my first promotion at Vandermark four years ago, before I even met Aaron. Of course, I was happy with Aaron in the first eight to ten months of our relationship. But I couldn’t pin a specific day to compare to the heights I’d already felt today.
“You’re taking forever to answer, so it was clearly ages ago,” Sofia said, smacking her freshly painted lips. “Which means you’re the happiest now that you’ve been in maybe years and considering everything – everything, including things that happened before Aaron even left,” she said hastily, staring me down through the mirror to let me know she wasn’t backing down from her words, “you really and truly deserve to live in this moment and take all the pleasure that life is offering you. Stop questioning. Just enjoy. And what better place to do it than Noah van Daal’s crazy fucking bachelor pad, right?”
I smiled. “I don’t know. I’ve never been there before.”
Grabbing her clutch and coat off my dresser, Sofia spun to flash a big, dazzling smile. “Well you’re about to, lady. Now put on your coat so you can go wow your man and have the best fucking night of your life.”
Chapter Nine
I underestimated how much chefs made in New York, because Noah Van Daal’s apartment knocked me damned near off my four-inch heels. The TriBeCa penthouse was the picture of modern luxury with heated walnut floors, its own private gym and an indoor pool, where apparently the majority of the party was gathered.
“No swimsuit?” Noah grinned as he greeted Sofia with a bear hug.
“Not swimming if you don’t,” Sofia said, pulling back to frown at his dry body fully clothed in a black crew neck and black jeans. Despite short, clean-cut hair that screamed corner office, tattoos peeked out from every edge of Noah’s shirt. His dark eyes were bleary and from the way he held his drink, I guessed it probably wasn’t his first, second or even eighth of the night. “Noah, you know Taylor, of course.”
He gave me a single upward nod. Then upon spotting my necklace, he shielded his eyes. “Christ, it’s like staring into the sun.”
Sofia giggled, shedding her coat then taking mine. “Uh-huh. Your bestie bought it for her because he’s whipped.”
Noah’s eyebrows ascended with downright shock. “Mason bought you that?” He paused for several moments to process the fact. “Fuck whipped, he’s clearly neutered,” he muttered, coming closer to let his glassy eyes examine me. Giving my thigh-high boots and little black dress the onceover, he nodded at me. “And I guess you’re rewarding him by dressing like a sex kitten tonight. Good move, considering the raccoons.”
“Raccoons?”
Sofia rolled her eyes. “Mason’s groupies. Noah will explain why he calls them that. I’m not sticking around to listen though,” she snorted, going off to put our coats somewhere. Once she was out of sight, Noah smirked.
“Before we get into that, how is it so far?”
“How is what?”
“Pretending you’d voluntarily date Mason,” he replied. Before I could ask any questions, he supplied my answer. “I know the truth, he told me. But don’t blame him, I would’ve figured it out on my own. I don’t have quite as many… rainbows and unicorns in my heart as Sofia, so I wouldn’t exactly
buy the fact that you decided to hook up with Mase. Not after your rocky relationship with him the past few years.”
I arched an eyebrow. “And how do you know about my relationship with Mason? He’s talked to you about me?”
“No, I know from Aaron,” Noah said, making me feel promptly idiotic for being so hopeful. “Your ex used to come to my parties sometimes. Which gets us back on the topic of the raccoons.”
“Right,” I made a face. “The groupies. Explain the nickname to me?”
Noah laughed. “The lady stalkers… they have these big, black rings around their eyes. I think they call it makeup, but Sof would disagree. They come out only at night. Great at breaking and entering and trying to pass it off as something cute. Can get destructive when they don’t get what they want. Also might as well be rabid and foaming at the mouth considering how desperate they are to get their hands on Mase. So good job wearing…” Noah trailed off to look me up and down again. “Whatever outfit this is ‘cause that’ll keep most of them at bay tonight. Can’t really compete with this look. Especially not when it includes that fucking rock.”
I couldn’t help my smile as I touched the stone between my cleavage. Taking advantage of Noah’s inebriated state, I asked, “Are you as surprised as I am?”
“By what?”
“The fact that he bought this for me.”
“Uh.” Noah gave a short laugh, running his hand through his hair and thoroughly messing it up. “I am definitely confused, yeah. But hey, when Mase wants to do something right he goes all in so maybe this is just him trying to show Aaron and the world that you two are a legit as fuck couple,” he said. But before my shoulders could even slump in disappointment, he added, “Or who knows – maybe it’s a sign of something else.”
I bit my lip. “Like what?”
“I dunno. That he likes you more than Eva Tully at least. Six months with her and he sure as shit never bought her anything like that. Definitely never busted out the PDA with her either, like he did with you at dinner last night. That gave me fucking cavities, by the way, so thanks for that display.”