Chapter 13 Thomas
Thomas
By the time Mason showered and got dressed, he still wasn’t particularly hungry, but he needed to eat. “Ready for some food?”
He groaned. “Not really, but I know I need to eat.”
“Hopefully, one bite of a breakfast sandwich will reset your appetite. Maybe pancakes and bacon will be better.” My stomach growled at the thought. We missed dinner last night, and thinking about food was enough to set off the hunger pains.
Mason’s brow furrowed. “Did you eat last night?”
“No. I wasn’t really hungry.” I was too concerned about him to order anything. But telling him that would only make him feel worse.
He hung his head. “I’m sorry about last night. I don’t handle things well sometimes, and I should have known better than to think alcohol would solve the problem.”
“Mase,” I said, approaching him. “You’re entitled to go off the rails once in a while. I’m just glad I was here to take care of you. And I’ll continue to be here if you’ll let me.”
His eyes met mine. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
There were so many things I wanted to say, but telling him how I felt while he was an emotional wreck didn’t feel like the right thing to do. “Let’s hope you never have to find out.” I patted my belly. “Let’s go, I’m starving.”
After a short walk to the Flatiron Diner, we were seated in a window booth that allowed for people watching.
Mason sipped his coffee and water, but didn’t say much.
I had no intention of addressing the moans and mumbled words from his dream because all it would do was embarrass him.
But I tucked them away in my memory as confirmation that we were on the same page when the time was right.
Turning our conversation to our plans for London was a safer option.
“I booked us one-way tickets on the 6:30 p.m. flight to Heathrow. With the time change, we’ll arrive early tomorrow morning. I’ve got a little more research to do before I book accommodations.”
Mason nodded as he sipped his coffee. “That sounds good, but I want to pay for everything.”
“I’ll bill you when we get back to San Diego,” I lied. “But I need to do a little shopping before we go. I didn’t bring enough clothes for an international trip, so if you’re up to it, we need to hit the stores.”
Mason sat back and ran a hand through his damp hair. “Yeah, of course. I should do that too. We can hit up Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s.”
“That will be great.” The server brought our food and offered more coffee, which we accepted. We were halfway through our meal before I asked about London. “Have you ever been to the UK?”
He nodded as he wiped his mouth. “When I was sixteen, my father took me on one of his business trips.” He paused as if he were connecting the dots.
“He’d come back from a trip at the end of the school year, and my mother was furious with him.
When he went back to the London office in July, he took me.
He said he wanted it to be a boy’s trip to celebrate my birthday.
I thought that was kinda cool.” He stared unblinking as he spoke.
“He wanted me to see the London office, in case I ever wanted to live there. I remember wondering what would make him think I would want to live there when I’d never been.
He knew I wanted the NFL…” he trailed off.
His expression changed multiple times as he glared over my shoulder.
When he finally looked back at me, his brows furrowed.
“What?” I asked, curious about what he was thinking.
He knitted his brows together. “Do you think he took me there to meet them? I mean, I would have noticed Axel, but probably not my mother. She could have been in the office the whole time, and I wouldn’t have known it.”
I propped my elbow on the table and laced my hands together while leaning toward him. “It’s possible. Does that seem like something he would do?”
Mason held my gaze as he contemplated my question. “After yesterday, I think it’s definitely something he would lie about. I don’t know him anymore, Thomas. And if he took me there for that reason, what does that say about him?”
The server approached with more coffee, pausing our conversation. When she walked away, I gave him my opinion. “It wouldn’t be professional for me to give my personal opinion about your father, but I think anything is possible. And we didn’t stay around long enough to find out his story.”
He scowled. “I don’t want his story. I need you to find out what you can. I’ll pay you whatever because I don’t want to go into London blind.” I could see his wheels turning. “I need your opinion as my… friend. Do you think he’s telling me the truth?”
I took a bite of my breakfast to allow me time to contemplate my answer.
He was important to me, so I had to give him what he wanted.
“I think he was caught off guard and was trying to be selective about what he said. But again, we didn’t give him time to explain.
My gut says there’s more to the story that you will need to hear to really understand. ”
“How do you know?”
I sipped my coffee. “He stopped looking at you when he talked about Axel. He feels guilty, and a lack of eye contact can be a dead giveaway.”
His brow furrowed. “Maybe he was ashamed.”
I shrugged. He should be. “Maybe. But do you think a man with a net worth in the billions always tells the truth?”
Mason looked down at his breakfast. “I used to think he was always honest with me. Now I know I was naive to ever think that.” He pushed food around with his fork, just like he did at Carson’s party.
Reaching out, I covered his hand with mine. “Hey,” I called softly. “He’s your father. You were supposed to trust him. You can’t assume everything he ever told you was a lie. It’s a waste of energy to go back and try to analyse everything he ever said.”
Mason looked down at where my hand was over his. He turned it over, palm up, and held on to mine. He nodded, but didn’t respond.
“I don’t know him like you do, Champ. It’s just something I picked up on. And I could be very wrong about him.” I wasn’t. I could feel it. But I wouldn’t destroy him unnecessarily.
He nodded and smiled, then released a heavy breath. “Thanks, Thomas.”
After everything that happened yesterday, I knew Mason would retreat into his head if I didn’t stop him. “You can’t change the past, and we shouldn’t be guessing at his motives. Let’s find your mother and Axel, then go from there, okay?”
Needing to reassure him, I didn’t move away; instead, I curled my fingers around his hand. Mason looked back down at where we were skin on skin, then tightened his fist. “Thank you for doing this with me.”
Smiling at him, I told him the truth. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Afterward, we went to Macy’s to pick up everything we needed, then stopped by a bookstore to pick up the latest release in the series I was reading before heading back to the hotel to pack.
At three o’clock, we checked out and took a car to JFK.
Mason’s phone continued to ring periodically, but he silenced it as soon as he read the screen. He would answer when he was ready.
After checking in, I checked my email as we sat at the gate. Mason flipped through his phone while I checked in with Hudson one more time.
Me: We’re going to be away longer than anticipated. Is Erin still good to dog sit?
Hudson: It’s no problem. We love having them here.
Me: They love her and Jack. I’m glad she’s enjoying them.
Hudson: She is. Where are you off to?
Me: London. Not sure how long we’ll be gone.
Me: Call or text if you need me. I’ll update you when I know more.
Hudson: Is Mason okay?
Me: He will be. We’re going to find his brother.
Hudson: His brother? Are you serious?
Me: Yes. I’ll be in touch.
Before I could put my phone away, Mason huffed out a breath. “Why do they insist on adding me to the meat market?”
I laughed at his reference to the Bachelor Auction. “It’s for charity. Suck it up, buttercup. You can do it.”
He grunted. “You’re supposed to be my person. That means you have to buy me. But I’ll pay for it.”
I rolled my eyes because I was already a step ahead of him. “It will be fine. I promise. I don’t understand your aversion to it. It might be fun.”
Mason shifted to look at me. “Are you serious?”
I grinned at him. “You never know.”
He huffed, then turned away. “The hot ones keep dropping like flies. And I’m genetically incapable of saying no to a charity. That’s why you have to buy me. I’m not interesting in the least.”
I smirked at him. “Maybe if all goes well, you can get Axel to come take your place.”
His eyes widened as a smile took over his face. “If I shave my beard, maybe he could pass as me. And women love a British accent.”
“How do you know he has one?”
He smirked. “YouTube. I found some interviews.” Mason paused, then rubbed his jaw. He looked around at the shops surrounding our gate.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Headache. I just need some pain reliever.” When he spotted a little market, he stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
I glanced over at the desk at the gate attendant as she stared at Mason.
He was difficult to miss with his broad shoulders and designer jeans.
The ladies at the auction would be fighting over him when they got a look.
It was my job to make sure they didn’t. Getting to my feet, I strode over to the desk.
The gate attendant smiled up at me. “Can I help you, sir?”
“Yes,” I said, motioning toward Mason. “My boyfriend over there is very tall and is going to need some extra space. I booked these last minute, and wondered if you could check to see if 2A or 2D is available? A review I read said those two cabins had a little more legroom on this plane.”
“I’ll be happy to check for you,” she said. As she clicked away on her keyboard, I kept an eye out for Mason. “I can move him to 2D. That’s not a problem. Would you like 2C?”
“Yes, please. Wonderful,” I beamed.
When she made the changes, I went back to my seat. Mason returned with two bottles of water, an electrolyte drink, and a pain reliever. He sat down and handed them to me.
“Have you figured out where we’re going when we get to London?” he asked.
“Not yet, but I’ve got some work to do on the plane. I’ll have it secured before long.”
Before he could ask more questions, the gate attendant made the announcement we’d been waiting for.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We’re ready to begin boarding flight 4766 with service to London Heathrow.
Please have your boarding pass ready. We will begin with our active military, followed by Platinum members and first class passengers in Zone 1. ”
Grabbing my bag, I glanced at Mason. “Let’s go find your family.”
The smile that lit his face was enough to do me in.