Queen In Play (The Manhattan Tales Book 2)

by Thorne, Willa

  My mouth might have hit the table. I looked at Mason, who still seemed distant and calloused.

  “What happened?” I asked the question, looking between Jackson and Mason.

  Mason remained stoic, staring at his empty scotch glass.

  “There was an accidental fire in my family’s London home. Fortunately, my mother was away at a spa when it happened. Nobody else has been hurt.” Mason responded with emphasis that lacked any emotion.

  “It is believed that my uncle had been extremely drunk and then attempted a few smokes before he fell asleep.” Jackson explained.

  “Enough.” Mason snapped. He was beastly, and the model at Jackson’s side jumped.

  “Get him home,” Jackson said to me. There was authority in his voice as he looked at me. “I’ll handle everyone’s questions and phone calls.”

  I nodded and Jackson ushered his model friend away from our table. Without a word, Mason walked with me as we exited the Met. My mind was buzzing with thoughts and questions. Was Mason’s father really dead? Did Mason know about this when we started the day?

  I bit my lower lip in the back of the town car and glanced at Mason. He was neither grieving or rejoicing. He remained masked in an emotionless state. Completely numb.

  “Mason?” I bit my lower lip as I curled into his body in the back of the car.

  He said nothing immediately. He was consumed by his thoughts. How can I comfort him and be there for him?

  I didn’t know what to do, so I rested my head against his chest and held him tightly. He wrapped his strong arms around me in a somewhat suffocating embrace, and then raked a single hand through my tousled waves.

  “I’m sorry.” I breathed, still holding him tightly. “I love you. So much.”

  I listened to his breathing and his wild heart rate in his chest. His fingers stilled in my hair.

  “Why the fuck are you sorry? You’ve done nothing.” Mason’s inflection was a growl.

  “Still… he was your father-”

  “He made my life a living hell, and my sister’s as well. He’ll never hurt another being again.”

  My breathing paused for a moment. I lie against him, with my head on his chest for the remainder of the car ride.

  “I’ll be taking a flight to Heathrow as soon as possible,” his words were empty as we entered the foyer of his penthouse. I watched him set his keys and watch down on the glass table. He spoke to me as though I was nothing more than an office assistant.

  “Do you want me to go with you?” I asked. I should go to support him and be there for him.

  “No.” That single word stabbed me in the chest.

  “But I’m going to be your wife-”

  “You’ll go to spend some time with your family in Ohio while I am in London.” He inhaled and exhaled deeply.

  Why? I was so confused. I remained silent. It really hurt that he wanted to keep me away during a time like this.

  “Jillian, look at me.” Mason finally spoke, breaking the silence between us.

  He took my chin gently between his thumb and forefinger, and tilted my gaze up to meet his.

  “Everything I do is to protect you. You are my everything, and I will do whatever is necessary to keep you safe. I am sending you to Ohio for a nice little visit while I deal with the funeral arrangements, my family, and business matters. I will not bring you into that snake pit just yet.”

  I licked my lips as I listened to everything he said to me.

  “... And when things are settled in England, I will bring you over there to visit. We’ll buy a house over there if you like. Hell, I’ll fly your whole family over there and we will have a wedding there if that is what your heart really desires. For now, let me get things squared away.”

  I could only nod my head quietly for the first few seconds. I waited to hear if he had anything more to say. When he said nothing more, I spoke in a hoarse whisper.

  “This is not about me and what my heart desires. I just want you, Mason.”

  He pulled me into an all-consuming embrace, and held me like this for a very long time.

  “I love you. So fucking much.” His voice was ragged and conflicted.

  “And I love you, my Mason.”

  He might have smiled slightly as I said this, but I don’t know because I was pressed so tightly against his hard body while he held me.

  26. Mason Woodward

  My mind was haunted by flashbacks of the last phone conversation I had with my father. He interrupted the date night I had planned with Jillian, enraged because he’d heard rumors of our engagement.

  “You will reconsider this preposterous situation.” My father had said into the phone. “I may or may not have to send someone over to pay your girlfriend a visit.”

  I was shaking as I gripped the phone in my hand. He was making suggestive threats, more powerful this time.

  “I have a network of connections all along the Eastern Seaboard, son. From Maine down to Washington D.C. Don’t you dare forget that. I’m not going to allow a penniless tramp destroy the legacy our family worked so hard to build!”

  I knew what he was saying. It was spoken to me loud and clear. How foolish I had been to believe that my father would simply disown me and allow me to carry on with my life.

  Rage boiled within me. He had threatened to have Jillian killed. He threatened to steal my love, my light. Now his death is all over BBC World News, and the front page section of the New York Times. The papers painted him as a philanthropic saint who was taken too soon in a terrible, accidental fire.

  Yet, I know better. I regret nothing. I will fucking do what is required to keep my Jilly Bean safe. I will take her to Ohio, allow her time for a nice visit with her family and let her mother and aunt help her with wedding plans while I deal with the sharks.

  I held Jillian, reveling in the way her body fit within my embrace. Her sigh disrupted my turbulent thoughts. I knew that deep down, she sometimes wondered what kind of future we had together, if she would ever fit in with my world. Tipping her chin upwards, I met her gaze with my own. “Gorgeous girl,” I whispered. “You are my future. You are my world.”

  I fucking did what was necessary.

  ~~~

  Mason’s and Jillian’s story will continue in a concluding third installment.

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