Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
‘Mason, I’ve been giving this a lot more thought and I think this a bad idea.’
Mason’s jaw dropped. ‘Oh, please don’t do this to me now, Poppy. You promised.’
We were in his apartment, waiting for his parents to arrive from the airport in their hire car. Mason was temptation enough, without me being thrust into this fake relationship scenario with him.
‘Look,’ he assured me, ‘I told you. It’ll only be for a couple of nights. I’ve got enough to concentrate on without my mother trying to set me up with every woman within a five-mile radius.’
I patted Darwin, who was lacing between my legs. ‘But what if they see through us and realise we’ve been lying to them?’
‘How could you lie about not falling for me?’ Mason grinned.
‘That’s what I like about you – your sheer lack of confidence.’
He afforded me a wink. ‘Just humour my parents and smile sweetly when my mum starts going on about how desperate she is to become a grandma.’
My eyes popped and he let out a bark of laughter. ‘Just kidding. I think.’
‘Oh, I’m so glad you think this is funny,’ I snapped.
‘It hasn’t been a picnic this last week, you know.
Composing this charade of our relationship has been almost as intense as studying for my sodding art degree.
’ I strode over to Mason’s apartment window, taking in the dashes of rain on the glass.
Brilliant. It couldn’t have been a sun-drenched summer day when they arrived, could it?
I’d envisaged taking some of the pressure off by suggesting a visit to the grounds of McKerron Castle and a coffee by the harbour. Instead, the likelihood of Mason and me perched side by side on his sofa, being interrogated about our ‘romance’, made my stomach roll.
‘I’ll need to go to work for a bit today,’ I insisted. ‘I can’t neglect the cottages, especially when Alex Lapley is plotting and planning.’
Mason nodded, his smoky-grey shirt competing with the colour of his eyes. ‘Of course. I’ve told Mum and Dad you have your own business and you’ve got commitments.’ A lazy smile crossed his face. ‘They were very impressed.’
I spun around, my French plait swinging down my back. ‘Don’t push it.’
‘Or what?’ Mason waggled his eyebrows. ‘This is a mutual arrangement. You promised you would do this, Poppy, and I’ll return the favour.’
‘I know. I know. And I will.’ I let out a tired sigh. ‘Thank goodness your parents aren’t staying here. We were so lucky that one of the holiday cottages was available.’
‘Yes,’ carried his voice from beside me. ‘We couldn’t have them thinking that we were sleeping together.’
I could feel his eyes on me, burning into my skin. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was enjoying this charade.
After a few moments, I snuck a glance at him, but Mason just returned my stare with an indecipherable one of his own.
The sooner all this was over, the better.
‘This is lovely, son.’ Orla Cooper smiled appreciatively at the plush surroundings of Osprey Cottage, with its swathes of pale-grey-and-lemon interior. ‘But you really didn’t need to spend your money on us.’
‘No,’ added Mason’s dad, Jack, with what I thought was a degree of suspicion. ‘We could easily have just stayed over at your place.’
I mentally appealed to Mason to provide a good reply and he did. ‘Nonsense,’ he dismissed. ‘I remembered it’s your anniversary soon and I wanted to treat you both.’
I watched Orla and Jack admire the sweeping belt of gold sand from the sitting-room windows. The grey, squashy sofa looked so inviting, dotted with yellow fabric cushions, and one of my paintings of a wind-lashed fishing boat hung over the square limestone fireplace.
Orla’s dark eyes danced out of her inquisitive face.
She had the same intensity around her mouth as her eldest son.
‘Maybe you could take us on a little guided tour of Port Starr later, Poppy,’ she suggested.
‘Mason has told us so much about all the hard work you’ve put into your business and how you were born and bred here. ’
A frisson of panic broke out in my chest. ‘Oh yes. Well, that would be good, but as it’s Saturday, I might be a bit busy.’
Mason sensed my worry and slid a reassuring arm around my waist. The touch of his fingers against my skin made a gasp hit the back of my throat. I gulped and flicked my eyes up to his face, but he just flashed me one of his deep looks.
‘Maybe I could show you around towards the end of the day,’ I conceded, trying to focus while Mason’s arm was wrapped around me. ‘Get the busier time over with first.’
Jack Cooper’s sage-green eyes crinkled. ‘We don’t mind popping by the office when you’re busy. You won’t even notice we’re there.’
I detected Mason drawing on his acting skills again. ‘Let’s not get bogged down with all that now, Dad. You get yourselves settled in here and then Poppy and I will take you out for lunch.’
I froze beside him. ‘Lunch?’ I croaked. Oh no. I couldn’t sit and be interrogated over lunch. This was bad enough. ‘But I’ve really got to get back to work … darling.’
‘You work too hard, sweetheart,’ growled Mason, before pulling me towards him and planting a deep kiss on my lips.
It happened so effortlessly, it left me in a tailspin. My mouth was tingling and my heart thudding so fast, it was almost lifting the material of my blue gingham shirt. I straightened my shirt collar and glared up at him. What the hell was he playing at?
I expected one of his non-committal expressions, but instead his eyes were white-hot. He was examining my mouth. His attention lingered there for a few moments more, as though daring me to say or do something.
I just gazed up at him, my head whirring.
‘Okay,’ he announced after a pause. ‘We’ll leave you two to sort yourselves out and meet you down by the harbour at noon?’
‘That’ll be perfect, darling,’ said Orla, reaching up to place a gentle kiss on Mason’s cheek.
I forced a rictus grin at her and her husband and allowed Mason to steer me out of the cottage.
I managed to wait until we were near the office before turning on him. ‘What the hell were you doing in there?’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘We’re supposed to be a couple, remember? Didn’t you like it?’
‘Like what?’ I barked.
‘The kiss.’
I tossed my plait back. ‘What kiss?’
‘Ha! Nice one!’
‘Now look,’ I ground out under my breath. ‘You might think this is all very amusing, but I don’t.’ I glared up at him. ‘You seem to forget that neither Katie nor Caleb know anything about this crazy situation.’
‘And they won’t need to,’ assured Mason, taking a step closer to me. ‘Mum and Dad are heading off to tour the Highlands on Monday.’ He cocked his head to one side. ‘I do appreciate what you’re doing for me, Poppy.’
‘Yes. Well,’ I stuttered, wishing his square jaw didn’t look so sexy, ‘I’m only doing it as a favour.’
‘Of course.’
‘And in return, I expect you to do what you can to help me with Alex.’
Mason nodded solemnly, the moody sky rolling behind him. With the sea breeze stirring his dark hair like that, he could’ve been auditioning for the role of Heathcliff. ‘That’s a given.’
I was so tempted again to mention why he hadn’t asked any of his other lady acquaintances to pose as his girlfriend but decided not to. Mason might wonder why I was mentioning them in the first place. He might think I was jealous.
I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my navy-blue maxi skirt. ‘Okay. Thank you. I’ll pop into the office now and be back for noon.’
‘Thanks.’
We walked in step together towards Mason’s car. ‘I won’t be rude,’ I assured him as we strolled along, ‘but I’m not going to hang around long after lunch. I think the less time there is for your mum and dad to quiz us, the better.’
I started to move away, but Mason’s arm reached out and caught me gently by the wrist. ‘I’ve got a suggestion.’
My skin reacted to his touch. ‘What?’
‘I think we should kiss again. You know, just in case Mum and Dad are watching us from behind the curtains.’
I straightened my back, trying to suppress the excited fizzing sensation in my chest. ‘Oh, do you now?’
‘Uh-huh,’ murmured Mason, a hungry glint in his eyes.
Slowly, I reached up to him, my mouth moving towards his. I hovered there for a few seconds, appreciating the scent of his citrus aftershave.
‘Nah,’ I answered after a dramatic pause. ‘For me, it has to be the real deal.’ I put emphasis into my voice. ‘You know, one hundred per cent exclusivity.’ Take that how you will, Mr Cooper.
And with that, I marched off across the damp tarmac, leaving a kiss-less Mason in my wake.