Chapter 2
Chapter Two
TARA
“I see our boat,” Anne cries.
My jaw drops. “Wow, look at the lines of people!”
Several medium to large-sized vessels are docked along the King Street Wharf precinct at Darling Harbour, the majority seeming to be party boats. The area is very crowded, but gaiety permeates the atmosphere. I don’t see anyone wearing masks yet, and I don’t want to stand out like a sore thumb, so I keep mine in my shoulder bag. Plus, if Eric’s spies are around watching us, at least they’ll see me here with Odette. It would help if they assumed that I was going to board the Wild Boys showboat. Hopefully, they won’t be watching when I try to sneak away?—
Ugh, seriously, this paranoia is getting too much! Even if they see me board another boat, they won’t be able to follow because they don’t have a ticket to the sold-out A Musical Night in Masquerade. Ha!
Now I feel a lot better.
“What wharf do you need to go to?” Odette asks as we stop at the end of the long line at Wharf 8, where the big showboat is docked.
“Wharf 2.”
“I wish you were coming with us. I’m sorry you’re not.”
“Me, too. But we have the rest of the weekend together.”
“Odette!” a male voice calls out.
I glance in the direction of the caller and immediately tense. Are my eyes deceiving me? Is that Mason Abril, Odette’s cousin?
Damn it, yes, it is. He’s a decade older than when I last saw him, and I’m a little breathless at the realisation that he’s still incredibly handsome. His wavy, dark brown hair is slightly longer than I remember, but it’s still above-shoulder length, the strong breeze messing it up a tad.
Obviously, he works out. The white short-sleeved polo shirt he’s wearing showcases his muscular biceps—the kind that can make women swoon. Not me, though! Because I’m sure he’s still the same obnoxious guy I’ve ever had the misfortune of knowing. I didn’t think I’d bump into him this weekend. Bad luck, I guess.
“Mason! What are you doing here?” Odette cries, rushing to her cousin.
But Mason isn’t focusing on Odette. His brown-eyed gaze is on me, and I feel my hackles rise.
I look away, not wanting to have any interaction with him whatsoever. I don’t hear their conversation, so I assume Odette has led him away from our little group.
After a moment, she comes back alone. “Sorry, Tara. I didn’t know he’d be here. He just wanted to let me know his company is in charge of security for the showboat. He’s told his employees that we’ll be onboard in case we run into any problems.”
“Don’t worry about it. I haven’t seen him in ten years. I’m cool,” I say flippantly. I’ve heard of Mason’s successful security business. I’m a teeny-weeny bit impressed, considering I still think of him as the awful, inconsiderate asshole he was in our teenage years.
“You don’t like Mason?” Kelly asked.
“Mason is Tara’s poster boy for the kind of man she’d never want to date—again,” Odette answers.
Kelly raises her brows at me. “Again? You went out with him?”
I force out a chuckle. “Yes. We dated for two years when we were teenagers. And then he did something to humiliate me.”
Kelly’s eyes grow wide. “What did he do?”
I hesitate but decide that I’d rather tell my new friends the truth rather than have them assume something incorrectly or, worse, hear it from Mason. I take a deep breath. “For what turned out to be our last date, we went for a walk in the park. We sat on a secluded bench to talk, and we ended up chatting about our dreams for the future. We were only eighteen, but I was sure I knew what I wanted. It was pretty typical: Finish university, get a good job, get married, have a family. I made it clear that I see the two of us together in that future, and I was happy to hear his dreams were similar to mine.” The memory of our passionate kiss after that conversation tingles on my lips, and I willed it away.
“That was sweet,” says Anne tentatively.
I force myself to continue as if it didn’t matter anymore. “A couple of days later, a video of me in the park with him started circulating. The camera was focused only on me as I talked about my dream future with him. Mason wasn’t in the picture, and all the sweet things he said about me were cut off. Worse, at the end of the video, he added a text that said I was a delusional girl who wouldn’t take no for an answer, and that I was so up myself that I believed I was better than everyone else.”
“What?! That was so mean!” Anne cries. “And you said you’d been dating for two years?”
I let out a ragged breath. “Yup. My first thought was that he couldn’t have created that video. But he ghosted me. He didn’t pick up my calls or answer my texts. I knew he was around because Odette said he holed himself up at their uncle’s after the backlash from the video.”
Odette nods. “Mason got in so much trouble with our family and the whole town. Everyone was shocked, especially because he and Tara were always lovey-dovey. But Mooners rallied behind Tara. The person Mason described in that video wasn’t the Tara everyone knew. Anyway, that was the catalyst for Mason moving here to Sydney.”
“Did he tell you why he did it?” Kelly asks Odette.
“No. Everyone asked him that question, but he never answered. Rumour went around that he was doing drugs. That was the only thing that explained his behaviour.”
“If he did, I never noticed,” I murmur.
Odette shoots me a pointed look. “If he did, it was not your fault.”
“No,” I concur. I’ve already dealt with my guilt about that a long time ago.
“To be fair to Mason, he’s grown up a lot. He’s very responsible now,” Odette says. She turns to the other two. “But unless Tara says so, we are not to mention Mason in front of her again.”
I send my best friend a smile. “Thank you. I know it’s not easy for you to be caught between him and me.”
“And I appreciate that neither of you pushes me in any direction.”
Kelly raises her hand. “Do you mind if I ask for a clarification?”
“Sure,” I say.
“When you say that Mason is the kind of man you’d hate to date, you don’t mean how he looks, right? Because, let’s face it, the guy is a total hunk.”
“He is a total hunk,” I agree with a chuckle. “But you know what? I’m not fussed about looks anymore. As long as the guy is decent and honest, I’d go out with him.”
“Says the woman who’s been single for four years,” Odette teases. “You’re really quite picky. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
“Well,” Kelly interjects, “considering that the people she’ll meet tonight will be wearing masks, it’s a good thing she’s not fussed about looks.”
We all laugh.
“Speaking of meeting people,” I say, “I’m thinking of introducing myself as Juliet instead of Tara. That’s my middle name,” I inform Kelly and Anne.
Odette snickers before catching herself.
“What?” I ask. “You don’t think I should use any of my real names?”
“No, no. It’s a great idea. And you should get going. The queue might be long for your boat, too.”
“Enjoy yourself to the fullest ,” says Kelly meaningfully.
“Yes! Have lots of fun,” Anne says.
I grin. “Thank you, girls. Can’t wait to hear all about the strippers tomorrow morning. And you behave yourself,” I teasingly tell Odette, pointing a forefinger at her.
Odette snorts. “You know I’ll be all look and no touch. I’m too in love with my fiancé to do anything else. Besides, I’m more looking forward to watching my single friends go wild over the Wild Boys.” She wags her brows at Kelly and Anne.
“You girls won’t be back at the hotel until the wee hours of the morning, right?” I ask.
Kelly wags a finger at me. “I hope that will be the case for you, too.”
Laughing, I wave goodbye as I hurry away.
I don’t know what compels me to look behind, but I find myself twisting my torso and casting a glance back. My gaze lands right smack on none other than Mason.
And he’s staring at me.
I hurriedly face forward again, almost losing my footing from my whiplash-like reaction.
Why he still affects me so much after ten years, I have no clue. It’s not as if I’m not a forgiving person. I’m not someone to hold a grudge, especially after such a long period…
I shake my head. Despite the passage of time, I’m still very hurt by what he did. And I took his departure from our hometown—without a single word to me—as him never ever wanting to make things right between us.
I guess I should have processed and resolved my feelings ages ago, but because he left Moonstruck Cove, I just decided to bury them deep inside my chest. Looks like they’re still festering in there.
Mason was my first—and, so far, only—love.
And he never said sorry for shattering my heart into pieces.