Mason (Remington Ranch Book 1) (Contemporary Western Romance) (10 page)

He shrugged. “I never made a single suggestion. It was your mind that went there, all by itself.” He took his time looking her over, letting his gaze linger on her breasts far longer than was polite. He was pleased to see her nipples harden, reassuring him that no matter how she was playing it, she was as attracted to him as he was to her. He looked up to meet her gaze and was pleased to see her cheeks flush. “And you're not going to throw yourself at me because you want to make me work for it.”

She didn't have any reply for that. Her nipples were still standing to attention, though.

He smiled. He was pretty sure he had her hooked. “Don't worry, Cassidy. I'll make an exception for you. I
will
work for it. How about we start with dinner? I'll pick you up at seven.”

She shook her head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not interested.”

Shane smirked and let his gaze travel to her breasts again. “The girls are betraying you, they're telling me otherwise. They're definitely interested.”

She put her hands on her hips. “I said, no. Did you come in for something in particular? If not, then I'd like you to leave.”

He smiled, hoping to win her over. “As a matter of fact, I came to ask how you work with local artists, whether you plan to put on shows, whether you'd be interested in working with a friend of mine. She's been working out of New York for a long time, but I'm hoping she's going to stay in the valley.”

Cassidy shook her head in disgust. “You're coming on to me while trying to find work for your girlfriend? I feel sorry for her.”

“No! I said my friend, not my girlfriend. I don't have one of those.”

“I'm sure you have dozens of them. Sorry, but I'm not interested.”

Shane realized he might be blowing an opportunity for Gina here. “Listen, I'm sorry, okay. I find you attractive, I'm the kind of guy who will give it a shot. You're not interested, you've made that clear, but please don't dismiss my friend because you think I'm an asshole.”

That drew a laugh at least. “Okay, since you put it like that, here.” She handed him a card. “Tell your
friend
to give me a call.”

Shane grinned as he turned the card over and looked at the contact information, including cell phone number and email address.

Cassidy frowned at him. “That is not for your use. Do you understand me?”

“Sure.” He met her gaze with a grin. “I'll pass it along. Thank you. It was good to meet you, Cassidy Lane. I'll be seeing you.”

She shook her head at him. “Not if I see you first.”

Shane laughed and let himself out. She was going to be a challenge, but then he hadn't had one of those for a while. He turned the card over in his hands again. He'd stop by the Delaney place and give it to Gina on his way home. Just as
he'd
made a mess of things with Cassidy back there, he was afraid that if
Mason
tried to help Gina get set up here, he'd mess up completely and she'd leave again. Gina had been his best friend when they were kids. When she and Mason had gotten together, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to Shane. Gina felt like family, she was part of the family. She and Mason were meant to be together, and Shane's world hadn't seemed right since they broke up. He was going to do everything he could to help get them back on track. He grinned as he made his way back to his truck—and if that meant having to deal with a hot gallery owner, then hell he'd do it--to help Mase and Gina, of course!

Gina stared out the window. She loved this view. How many times had she stared out of the window in her apartment in New York and looked at that brick wall she hated so much? How many times had she wished that she was sitting back here instead? Now that she was here and had the opportunity to stay here, she needed to pull herself together. The day she'd spent in the park with her camera had re-ignited her passion for the work she could do here. It was time to make a plan and get on with it.

She picked up her phone. It was time to talk to Ian and seek his input—both on what she should do about her upcoming show at the gallery and what she might be able to do here. She'd talked to a couple of old friends in California, two galleries in San Francisco were interested in helping her make a name out there. One was only interested in her previous work, but the other had loved the idea of putting on a Montana show.

She imagined Ian sitting in his office at the gallery as she listened to the phone ring. Would Liam be with him? She could picture the two of them, Ian pacing while Liam sat, feet on the desk, fingers steepled under his chin. She hoped Ian would be alone. She'd exchanged a few short texts with Liam, but he was holding to the idea that they would talk when she returned. He wasn't accepting that it was over between them, at all.

“Ian Rawlings.”

“Hey.” She had to smile at the sound of his voice.

“Gina! How are you? When are you coming back? You and Liam need to sort this out. Your show is coming up fast.”

She sighed. “There's nothing to sort out. It's over, Ian. Why won't he accept that?”

Ian didn't speak for a few moments. Gina waited. He was deliberate and measured in everything he did. “I thought that might be the case. You really mean it, don't you?”

“Yes, I do. We're not right for each other. I finally get that. He's a good man. I hope he'll find someone he will be happy with, but that someone isn't me. We weren't very good at making each other happy and I think over time we would only make each other miserable. It's better that we face that now.” She didn't like to say that she thought she already knew exactly who it was that would make Liam happy. She didn't know if Ian realized what was going on with Kaitlyn.

“I love you both, Gina. I hate to admit it, but I believe you're right. Unfortunately, Liam disagrees.”

“I'm afraid it doesn't matter whether he agrees or not. It's over between us.”

After another long silence, Ian spoke again. “So, what are your plans? What are you going to do? What about the show?”

“That's what I'm calling to ask you. I don't know if Liam will want to go ahead with the show once he finally gets it that we're done. I don't know if
you
will want to. As for my plans, I'm hoping to get your advice as to what I
should
do. I'd like to stay if I can find a way to make it out here, but I don't know if that's a pipe dream. I don't know if I can find a market, or if any of the galleries on either coast will touch me.”

“Gina, you can make it wherever you want to be. Don't you doubt that for a moment. I will help you in any way I can, you know that.”

Relief rushed through her. “Honestly, Ian, I didn't know that. I wasn't sure how you would feel, knowing that Liam and I are really done.”

Ian laughed. “Gina, we've been friends for a long time. I won't lie, part of me is sad that the two of you aren't going to make it, but part of me knows it's for the best. I'm kind of relieved. I love you both, and much as I'd love to see you together, I think you're right. You would make each other miserable over time, and I'd hate that. I think we should go ahead with the show. It wouldn't make sense to cancel it. We've already built a lot of buzz about it. However clueless Liam may be about relationships, he's pretty astute about this business. He wouldn't want to cancel it either.”

Gina could almost hear him thinking in the silence that followed. “But?” she asked.

He laughed. “But I think you need to be here for it. You're quite the celebrity these days and so many of those photographs have stories that need to be told. We both know that you're the one who needs to do the telling. So what do you say, will you come back for it?”

She nodded slowly. She'd known that if the show went ahead she would have to be there. “Of course I will.”

“Don't worry, it'll be fine. Liam will be fine.”

“I know.” Gina did know. Once Liam finally got it in his head that it was over between them, he would be cold toward her, but polite. Excruciatingly polite, if she knew him.

She could hear Ian rifling through papers. Apparently he considered the topic of her show closed and was moving on to other business. “Okay, do you remember Alison Ford? She's in San Francisco these days and...”

Gina smiled. “Thanks, Ian. I already talked to her.”

“Of course you did. And Jeannie Steele?”

“Her, too.”

“See. You always come to me to help out, but you have everything covered yourself.”

“I wish I did. Those two are about all I have, and Jeannie was only interested in the shows you and Liam already did. She was talking about simply recreating what we'd already done in New York.”

“Don't worry about her. She's too conservative, only interested in emulating what already works. Oh...”

“What?”

“Sorry, I'm scrolling through my contacts. Did you ever meet Cassidy Lane?”

Gina racked her brain. “I don't think so. I feel as though I should know the name, but I can't place her.”

“She's a painter, an absolute sweetheart, but a law unto herself. She took San Francisco by storm a couple of years back, then dropped off the face of the earth for a while. Next thing, she showed up down in Florida painting sunsets, oceans, and beaches. She licensed a lot of her work to one of those awful commercial operations that produce cheap canvasses for the masses. Everyone thought she'd sold out, but she was just bored. She made a shitload of money then disappeared again. She's just reappeared on the radar and you'll never guess where she is.”

“Where?”

“Right up the road from you, in Livingston.”

“Oh wow!”

“That definitely could be a wow. I think the two of you will hit it off wonderfully. Both creatively and personally, you have a lot in common. You should call her. I'll email you all her contact info. Tell her I put you on to her and tell her when I come out there again to visit you, she owes me dinner.”

Gina smiled. “You're going to come visit me?”

“Of course I am, you silly girl. For now though, I have to go. Let me know when you talk to Cassidy, I'll be very curious to hear what the two of you cook up together. I think you'll make a formidable team. Talk to you soon, okay?”

“Thanks, Ian. Bye.”

As soon as she put her phone down it started to ring again. Mason!

“Hello?”

“Hey, G. How you doing?”

“I'm fine thanks.” What did he want?

“I was, errr...”

She had to smile. He sounded hesitant, nervous even—very un-Mason-like.

“Well, I've been thinking. You're a single woman now. And you know I want you back. But it seems every time I see you, I grab you like a caveman.”

She let out a little laugh. It was true, but she'd hardly tried to stop him whenever he'd done that.

“So, what do you think about going out to dinner with me? Like, a real date. Start out on the right foot, get back to where we were and go from there.”

Gina's heart raced. Was she ready to start over with Mason? How could they go anywhere? Where they had gotten to was the place that broke her heart. But that was a long time ago. They were both different now, older—hopefully, wiser.

“What do you say, G?”

She smiled. “Okay. Where do you want to go?”

“How about the Valley Lodge?” She could hear the relief in his voice.

That made her smile. She knew it wasn't Mason's kind of place. It was an attempt to take her somewhere he considered
fancy
. She appreciated the thought, but if they were going to start over then she'd rather go back to their roots. How about the Riverside instead?”

“You want to?”

She laughed. “I'd love to. When are we talking about?”

“Tonight? I'll come pick you up at six?”

“I could meet you there?” She'd prefer her dad didn't see Mason coming to pick her up. She didn't want him getting his hopes up before she knew if there was anything to even hope for.

“That wouldn't be a real date. I'll be by at six.” He hung up before she could argue.

She sat there shaking her head. “Okay, Mason. See you at six,” she said to herself.

~ ~ ~

Mason wrapped a towel around his waist and came out of the bathroom. It seemed he was a little overanxious. He was showered and shaved, and it was way too early. He almost bumped into Shane, who was stepping into the hallway at the same moment.

“Whoa. You smell good,” Shane said with a grin. “Do I need to guess what you're doing tonight?”

“Nope. You already guessed. I called her up and I'm taking her out on a date.”

“Awesome. Where are you guys going?”

“The Riverside.” Mason's grin faded at Shane's response.

“Seriously, bro? You're taking her to that dive? Show a bit of class. She's been living in the big city for the last ten years. Why the hell would you want to take her there?”

“You love the Riverside.”

“Sure I do, for a burger and a beer with the guys. Not for one of the most important dates of my life!”

“Don't worry. I was going to take her to the Valley Lodge. The Riverside was
her
suggestion, and I'm hoping that it means something. See, that was where we went on our very first real date.”

Shane smiled. “Ah, sorry bro. I take it all back. Sentimentality and nostalgia trump class every time.”

Mason punched his arm. “I have class, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, right,” said Shane with a laugh. “Cowboy class is what you have.”

Mason nodded. It was true. He'd never had the need for any other kind. As he went into his room to get dressed, he couldn't help but wonder whether it would be enough for Gina now. As Shane had said, she'd been living in the big city for ten long years. What if all their fancy ways had come to be important to her? What if his cowboy ways weren't enough anymore?

He shrugged as he pulled on his jeans. If she'd changed
that
much, then she wasn't his Gina anymore and it wouldn't matter, would it?

It was a quarter till six when he pulled up out front. He wasn't surprised to see Al appear at the window and then come ambling out to greet him.

“Mason, good to see you, son. I think she's ready. Come on in and I'll give her a shout.” The big grin on the old guy's face told Mason what he'd been hoping to hear. Al still wanted to see him end up with Gina, almost as much as
he
did.

He followed Al in through the back door to the kitchen and couldn't help smiling to himself at the memory of coming out here to see her last week. When he'd arrived, he'd only wanted to make her talk to him. When he'd seen her crouched down hiding it made him laugh. He'd worried that she might have become some fancy city girl over the last ten years, but seeing her squatting down in just a T-shirt, her bare ass sticking out, he'd known that she was still his Gina. He'd also known that she still turned him on as much as she ever had, more so, in fact. When she'd stood up to him, flushed and angry, her round breasts and curves that the T-shirt couldn't hide had made very clear to him that she was all woman, and still the only woman he wanted. He shifted in his pants, hoping to hide the evidence of what the memory of the kitchen table was doing to him.

When Al went out the door to shout for her, Mason shoved his hands in his pockets, regretting having thought that his tightest jeans were the way to go. Remembering the way she'd writhed underneath him, remembering how quickly
No, Mason, no!
had turned into
Yes, Mason, yes!
had him hard as a rock and wanting more, and these jeans left no room to hide that.

He smiled as Al came back in and spoke in a low voice. “I'm not going to say much, son. I don't think I need to, do I?”

Mason raised an eyebrow. He thought they were on the same page, but meeting Al's steely gaze, he had to wonder.

“I don't know what went wrong, but it's time the two of you made it right.”

Mason let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. “Yes, sir.”

Al grinned. “That's all. I want my girl home, and I think you do, too.”

“More than anything.”

Al grinned. “Then don't fuck it up this time then, huh?”

Mason laughed. “No, sir.” He wasn't about to say that he still had no idea how he'd fucked it up last time. He had the feeling Al already knew that and besides, anything he said would sound like an excuse. “I'm not letting her go again.”

Al nodded as Gina appeared in the doorway. “Well, you kids have a good time. I'll see you tomorrow.” He let himself out the back door without waiting for a reply.