“Fine.” Mason started down the hallway toward the Emporium, and Kenzie followed, pulling Camden along with her.
Whatever it was he had to say, it wasn’t going to change her mind. She was through with him. She spent too many nights crying over him, but that was all out of her system. Stick a fork in her, she was done.
The smell of seafood hit her as they entered. Mason spoke to the hostess and she grabbed some menus, leading them to a booth in the back of the restaurant. Mason slid into one side, and Camden slid into the other. Kenzie sat by Camden and placed her hands on the table. After the hostess left, she glared at Mason. “Okay, say what you came here to say.”
He shifted and swallowed. “Look, I get that you’re mad at me. But we had something together. Something good.”
Sure, they had something all right. Something he didn’t value at all. Something he ruined by turning to the first thing in a skirt and cleaning out her tonsils with his tongue. She opened her mouth to tell him off, but he held up a hand. “Let me finish, okay?”
She snapped her mouth shut. A waitress appeared. “What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll have a Coke,” Mason said.
“Me too.” Kenzie sank down in the booth. The vinyl seat squeaked as she moved against it. All she wanted to do was go to bed and end this day. Maybe then the humiliation would stop.
“Three Cokes.” Camden folded his hands on top of his menu and looked pointedly at Mason. “Finish what you have to say,” he said after the waitress left.
“I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but we’re still married.”
“Not for long,” Kenzie said under her breath.
Mason shot her a glare, then smoothed his features out. “My parents would love for you to come to our family reunion next week.”
“Wait, what?” Kenzie held up her hand. “Why are they wanting me there?”
He shrugged and stared at the table, a guilty look on his face. “You missed last year.”
“We were only married for a week. Why did they think I would come?” There was something fishy going on; she could tell by the way Mason swallowed and tugged at his shirt. “You did tell them I left you, right?”
Mason didn’t meet her gaze. “Well . . . about that.”
“No,” she said, before she could think. “There is no ‘well’ and there certainly isn’t any ‘about that.’ What did you do?”
Mason looked at the ceiling and sighed. “Alright. My parents think we’re still married. I was hoping you’d help me out here. You cared for me at one time, if you remember.”
Now this was all starting to make sense. This wasn’t about a clerical error. This was about his parents wanting him married. She opened her mouth and the words poured out. “I helped you out already. That didn’t work out so hot for me. You should have kept your wedding vows if you wanted to keep your wife.”
“I’ll pay you,” Mason said.
Everyone stopped talking as the waitress came back with their drinks. “Do you need another minute?”
“Yes,” they all said in unison.
After she left, Camden held up a hand. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but you had your say and she said no. Now it’s time for you to leave.”
Mason frowned at Camden. “I’m talking to Kenzie. You have no part in this.”
“Stop.” Kenzie tried to calm herself before she did something she’d regret. Like dump her Coke down Mason’s shirt. She took in a breath and let it out slowly. “I know your father wanted you married. That’s why I was stupid enough to listen to your proposal. But I filed the annulment and I know I didn’t put the wrong dates in. You and I are not married. And you have to tell your family.”
Mason’s eyes took on a pleading look. “A million dollars. That’s what I’ll lose if they find out. They’ll write me out of the will, Kenzie. You don’t want me destitute, do you?”
“Destitute?” Kenzie almost laughed him out of the restaurant. “You are far from destitute, what with your BMW and your vacation home.”
A look flared in Mason’s eyes. Something she’d never quite seen in him before. “All you have to do is go to the reunion with me. That will calm my mother down. Dad’s so close to dying, he could go at any minute. You don’t want him dying thinking we’re splitting up, do you?”
“We have split up!” Kenzie flinched when her voice echoed around the room. She hadn’t meant to yell it so loudly.
Mason’s eyes turned dark. “We are still married. And you would cost me a million dollars because you’re too prideful to come to my reunion?”
Camden slid his arm around her protectively. “That’s enough. She doesn’t want to go with you. If you don’t leave willingly, I’ll call security.”
Mason flushed and narrowed his eyes at Camden. “Let Kenzie talk for herself.” He turned back to her. “A thousand dollars. That’s what I’ll pay you to come with me. Then you can leave and I promise I won’t bother you again.”
She picked up her drink, the cold glass giving her relief from the heat enveloping her. She took a long drink before setting it back down. “I’ll think about it.”
“What?” both Camden and Mason said at the same time, only Camden looked shocked, and Mason was smiling.
“I’ll think about it, but only if you leave here and let me enjoy my sister’s wedding.”
Camden frowned as if he didn’t approve. Mason, on the other hand, looked like he was five and had been given his favorite candy bar. “You won’t regret it,” he said.
“I haven’t decided anything, but if you mess up my sister’s wedding, I’ll say no so fast your head will spin.”
Mason held up his hands in a surrender position. “I promise. I’ll be invisible.”
She pointed at him. “You’re leaving.”
“If I leave, how will you tell me your final decision? Why don’t I stay, but I’ll keep away from you and your family? Cross my heart, I’ll stay hidden until Sunday night, when everything is done, and we can meet somewhere to talk about your decision.”
Kenzie was hoping if she dangled the carrot in front of him, he’d do what she wanted. But she supposed he was offering her enough. “Okay.”
He grinned. “Thank you. You won’t regret this.” He slid out of the booth. “I’ll disappear now.”
“Perfect,” she said.
As soon as Mason was gone, the waitress came back. “Have you decided?”
Kenzie picked up her menu, now starved. She pointed to the first photo that looked good. It was a shrimp and rice dish. “I’ll have this.”
Camden nodded. “That looks good. I’ll have that as well.”
The waitress took the menus and left. Camden turned to her. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“No, but it got him out of here, didn’t it?” She gave him a sly grin.
“Yes, but you have to deal with him again on Sunday.”
“At least then the wedding will be done, and I won’t have my mother threatening bodily harm if I ruin my sister’s wedding.” Bodily harm was probably the least her mother would do. She held back visions of her mother casting curses on her or tossing her out of the family for good. Well, that last one wouldn’t be so bad.
“You have a point,” Camden said. “What are you going to say to him when he comes back?”
“Go jump out a window?” She laughed at Camden’s face. “Okay, maybe that’s too on the nose.”
“And maybe too risky. Did you see how mad he got when you kept refusing him? I’m a bit worried for you.”
“Mason’s harmless.” At least she thought he was. In reality, she didn’t know him very well. They had a whirlwind romance, and he convinced her to marry him quickly. They had only dated for three weeks. Mason had a way of persuading her to go against her better judgement.
Or maybe she was stupid, and he saw that in her from a mile away.
Camden put his hand on her knee. “I’d feel better if you let me be there when you tell him.”<
br />
“That’s fine.” Probably for the best. Camden looked like a bodybuilder compared to Mason. That might come in handy.
Chapter 8
Camden hadn’t realized how hungry he was until the food came and he started eating. “This is really good,” he said.
Kenzie had stayed on his side of the booth after Mason had left, which was distracting him a little more than he’d thought it might. The heat from her leg seeped into his own. “Yes.” She looked up at him. “Better than I thought it would be. Or maybe I’m just that hungry.”
He chuckled. “Those hors d’oeuvres were good, but not very filling.”
As they ate, he tried not to look at Kenzie, but, like a magnet, she kept pulling his gaze back to her. She was more relaxed now. Maybe getting rid of Mason had her back to her old self.
He still wasn’t very happy about how she’d gotten him to go, but he could understand her desire to have this time with her sister before dealing with her ex. He was her ex, right? The question of if they were still married had his stomach in a knot.
Although he didn’t know why he was so upset about it. Kenzie had made it clear that she didn’t want anything to do with dating a man with money. And he had an obscene amount of money. That’s the word she’d used. He vowed never to let her find out. He’d be her pretend boyfriend now, and then travel back to Virginia, disappearing back into his life. Kenzie would probably leave Richmond anyway. She was a self-proclaimed nomad.
“What are you thinking?”
He hadn’t realized he’d stopped eating. He picked up his fork, trying to decide what to tell her. “I’m thinking about what I’m going to do on Monday.”
Curiosity filled her eyes. “What are you going to do?”
He smiled. “Nothing important. Go home. Back to work.”
She slowly nodded. “Uh huh. Back to work.” She looked like she didn’t quite believe that’s what he was thinking about, but stabbed a piece of shrimp and bit into it.
Tessa slid onto the seat across from them. “There you guys are. What’s going on? Is that guy really your husband?”
Kenzie shook her head vehemently. “Definitely not. I saw the papers myself. The marriage was annulled.”
“So what’s he doing here?”
“He wants me to go to some family gathering with him and pretend we’re still married.” Kenzie’s eyes grew wide and she laughed. “That sounds like some movie plot or something!”
Tessa giggled. “Yes, it sounds crazy.” She looked down at the table. “When did you marry him?”
Kenzie blinked, probably noticing the same hurt expression Camden could see on Tessa’s face. “It was over a year ago. It was stupid. I never should have done it.”
Tessa’s gaze lifted. “Why did you, then?”
Kenzie shook her head. “A lot of dumb reasons. I thought I loved him. He swore he was madly in love with me. He also convinced me that if we married quickly, then he could satisfy his father’s wishes and get his million-dollar inheritance.”
“Another overdone movie plot.” Tessa laughed, although it seemed forced. Tessa took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Why didn’t you invite any of us?”
Kenzie flinched. “I’m sorry. It all happened so fast.”
Camden wanted to console her, but stayed where he was, trying to ignore the heat from her leg, which was now pressed up against his.
“And you didn’t want Mom there.” Tessa’s voice was so quiet, it had been hard to hear her. Camden shot a glance at Kenzie, who was looking down at her hands.
“Mom wouldn’t have approved of the short engagement. Or the small wedding.”
“She would have been ecstatic about his inheritance,” Tessa said.
Kenzie nodded. “I know. And I guess a small part of me wanted to show her how normal I’d turned out. Marrying a guy with money. We were going to live in L.A. and he was going to work at his father’s office. I guess I wanted her to see I’d finally succeeded at something. Done something she would have considered as right.”
Camden couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Kenzie married Mason so she could please her mother? What kind of a sick hold did that woman have on her? He tried not to clench his teeth together. He picked up his soda and drained the glass.
Tessa frowned. “You shouldn’t listen to her. Mother has impossible expectations.” She rolled her eyes.
Kenzie leaned forward. “What do you mean?”
“This whole wedding has been a nightmare. The food we picked out is too bland. The decorations are too Martha Stewart. You wouldn’t believe what she said about my dress.”
Kenzie’s eyes widened. “What did she say?”
“It’s too revealing. I look like a hooker.”
Camden swallowed back a cough. Kenzie’s mouth dropped open. “She actually said the word ‘hooker’?”
Tessa nodded her head slowly, and then both sisters burst out laughing. Kenzie slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. That must have been awful.”
“She’s been horrible. I don’t know if it’s stress or what, but nothing pleases her anymore.”
Kenzie slid her plate back. “And I thought it was just me.”
“Oh no. It’s not just you, although lately you have been taking the brunt of it. I don’t know whether to thank you or hide you under the table.”
Kenzie held up a hand. “The table. Please. I need a little shielding.”
A giggle erupted from Tessa. “Maybe I’ll join you down there.”
Camden wanted to offer up a solution, maybe suggest they tell their mother to stuff it, but he kept his lips closed. That hadn’t worked too well last time.
“What happened with Mason? Why did you get an annulment?”
Kenzie’s face flushed. “I caught him with another woman.”
“What? How long had you been married?”
“One week.” Kenzie sank a little in her seat. “We were still on our honeymoon.”
Tessa looked appropriately shocked. “I can’t believe it. Did you deck him?”
“I should have.”
Camden almost offered to do it for her, but pressed his lips together.
“You better believe you should have,” Tessa said, her eyebrows raised. “I can’t believe he’d cheat on you, on your own honeymoon.”
Kenzie sighed and splayed her hands on the table. “Just goes to show, he never wanted to marry in the first place. He did it for the inheritance.”
“So I guess you told him to take a leap, then?”
A guilty look came over Kenzie’s face. “Kind of.”
Tessa squinted at her sister. “What does that mean?”
When Kenzie didn’t answer, Camden spoke up. “She told him if he stayed away from the wedding, she’d think about going to his family reunion.”
Tessa slapped the table, making the silverware clink. “You can’t do that!”
“I’m not going to say yes. I just wanted him to leave me alone until after the wedding.”
Tessa frowned. “You’d better not be thinking of giving in to him. He’s going to keep coming back to manipulate you.”
Camden nodded. “Tessa’s right. You can’t give in. He’ll keep using you. Hurting you.”
Tessa pointed at him. “Yes. Listen to your boyfriend. He’s smart. You have to cut all ties with Mason and let his family know you’re no longer married.”
Kenzie cringed. “I’m no good with conflict.”
Camden studied her. That’s why she’d been living out of a tent. She wasn’t experiencing the sunrises. She was running away from her problems. “It will only get worse if you don’t,” he said quietly.
“Yes. He’s right,” Tessa said. “It’s best to get it all out in the open. What’s the saying? The truth will set you free?”
“More like, the truth will humiliate me.” Kenzie scrubbed a hand over her face.
Tessa cocked her head at her sister. “You have nothing to prove to them, or to Mother. You’re a wil
d success, and nothing Mother says can make it not true. In fact, Eric’s mother cornered me after she realized you’re the one who designs Ken Z Jewelry. She’s been trying to order a piece, but you’re always sold out online.”
Kenzie looked at her plate. “I don’t want to flood the market with too many of one style. I only make a limited number, then I discontinue it.”
“Well, she really wants one, but she can’t afford to buy it from someone else. Do you know what your jewelry sells for in the secondhand market?”
Kenzie’s head snapped up. “No.”
“She said this piece is marked for three thousand in your Etsy store. An art dealer in Soho wants twelve thousand for the same piece.”
Kenzie scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.”
“No, that’s the way the art world works. You know that. Low supply and high demand drives the prices up.” Tessa gave Kenzie a satisfied smile. “You should have seen Mother’s face when Veronica said that. Mom almost swallowed her tongue. And then she couldn’t stop talking about how talented you are as an artist.”
Pink colored Kenzie’s cheeks. “She said that?”
Tessa nodded. “You’re suddenly the successful daughter. And I’m the one marrying an attorney who hasn’t even made partner yet.” A frown crossed her face.
Kenzie laid her hand on Tessa’s. “Don’t get wrapped up in trying to please her. You know it won’t ever work, and you’ll end up like me. Doing crazy things without thinking about them.”
“You’re right.” Tessa slid out of the booth. “I’d better start getting ready for tonight. Bachelorette party. You’ll be there, right?”
Kenzie smiled. “Of course.”
Tessa pointed to Camden. “And you’re partying with Eric?”
He smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Tessa leaned a little closer. “Make sure he keeps the festivities PG, okay?”
He chuckled and folded his napkin. “No strippers. Got it.”
Tessa grinned at him. “You’re my new favorite person.” She gave them a half-wave as she walked away.
They were done with their food, but Kenzie made no move to stand up. He touched her shoulder. “You okay?”
Her Big Fat Fake Billionaire Boyfriend (Billionaire Series Book 1) Page 5