Taken Home (Lone Star Burn) (4 page)

Chelle laid a hand on Mason’s arm. The heat of that innocent touch shot through him, making it difficult to concentrate on her next words. “It’ll just take a minute. There’s something you need to know.”

Mason’s imagination was running overtime. Was she back to offer herself to him again? If so, he didn’t think he could say no, regardless of what he’d promised Charles. With an inward groan, Mason said, “I shouldn’t.”

Charles made a warning sound deep in his throat.

Mason strengthened his refusal. “I won’t.” He looked at Chelle and silently implored her to understand. “I appreciate whatever you came to say, but I really have to go inside.”

“Mason, darling, there you are,” a high-pitched female voice sang loudly from a few feet away.

“Trish,” Mason said between gritted teeth.
Fuck. This isn’t going to be pretty.
He was still weighing his exit options in his head when, to his utter shock, Chelle tucked herself beneath one of his arms.

“Mason? Is this one of your California friends?”

“Oh, honey, I’m more than his friend.”

Chelle gasped and brought a shaking hand to her mouth. The frantic look she gave him was Emmy worthy. “Tell me this isn’t the woman you cheated on me with.” She let out a tiny sob.

The actor in Mason admired the emotion Chelle was bringing to the scene. He didn’t understand why she’d changed her mind about helping him, and if Charles’s expression was anything to go by, there would be hell to pay for this later, but for the moment playing along with her made sense. “It is, but it’s over, Chelle. I meant everything I said. She was a mistake, and one I’m sorry for.”

Trish’s eyes narrowed, and she wrinkled her nose. “Mason, you can’t be seriously dating this . . . this . . .”

Chelle leaned forward in mock sympathy for the other woman. “Don’t hold back on my account. I understand why you’re upset. You came all this way to see a man who is in love with someone else. So let it out if you have to. We’ve all been there.”

Trish’s face went bright red beneath her thick makeup. “You bitch.”

Mason straightened in anger. “I think it would be best if you left, Trish.”

The blonde scoffed. “You’re threatening me?”

Mason pulled Chelle closer to his side and returned to the improv Chelle had initiated. “No, I’m asking you to respect that I’ve found a woman I care deeply for.” He looked down at Chelle. “I know I have to win back her trust, but she is worth every hoop she has me jump through to make that happen.”

“Oh please,” Trish said with disgust. “You would choose her over me?”

Without looking away from Chelle’s eyes, Mason said, “Every day for the rest of my life.”

Chelle raised a hand and gazed lovingly up into Mason’s eyes. “I’ve changed my mind. I accept your proposal, Mason Thorne. I do want to settle down with you and have those six children you keep talking about.”

“Six children?” Trish repeated in disgust. “You can have him. No man is worth those stretch marks.” Trish snorted and flounced off.

Mason was momentarily mesmerized by Chelle and the feelings her words had elicited in him. He knew it was all an act, and he’d always been able to keep that straight during his acting career, but this felt different. Words that should have terrified the confirmed bachelor in him lit a yearning in him he’d never felt before.

He’d never met a woman he could imagine waking up to more than once. In fact, he preferred their time together end well before that. Love was a mystery he was not at all interested in unraveling. He’d watched his friends pair off and always wondered why they would possibly choose one woman when they could have many.

Still, he couldn’t deny how he’d felt when Chelle had said she would marry him. For just one insane moment, he’d felt as if he weren’t alone.

Until then, he hadn’t considered that he might not want to be.

Chelle pushed back from him. “You really are a dog,” she said in a scathing tone and walked away.

Mason simply stood there watching her go, wondering how one woman could have knocked him so off kilter.

Charles cleared his throat loudly again. “I don’t want to know what any of that was about. Just promise me you’ll keep it out of the damn wedding reception.” With that, he also left.

Mason returned to his pensive stance, looking out into the night. Trish Shugarts was very likely upset enough with him to say something nasty about him to her father. Suddenly, that possibility didn’t matter. He’d weather that storm as he’d weathered all the others in his career.

No, the only problem in his life was a five-foot-two natural blonde.

And the raging hard-on she’d left him with.

Chapter Four

Chelle walked into the reception with her head held high. She couldn’t deny it had felt good to stand up to that woman. She wasn’t the least bit sorry about putting her in her place.
Thought you could come here and look down your nose at us? Think again, sweetheart. There’s a reason people say you don’t mess with Texas. Even the sweetest of us can dole out an ass-whupping when we come across a person in need of one.

She also didn’t regret telling Mason what she thought of him. Sure, he was gorgeous, but he had an ego the size of the state he represented. Chelle rolled her eyes skyward and reviewed her behavior over the past few hours.
I can’t even imagine what Mason thinks of me. I chase him around like a horny teenager, I smack him, then pretty much propose to him. If I keep this up, I’m going to end up on some government watch list.

Melanie spotted her and walked over with Charles. She looked Chelle over, then gave Charles a look. “Chelle, is everything okay? You sprinted out of here in such a hurry I thought you were upset.”

Chelle looked into Charles’s carefully expressionless face, then back at Melanie. “Weddings are emotional, even when they aren’t your own. I lost my head for a minute there, but I’m fine now.”

Melanie turned to her fiancé. “Charles, could you get me a soda water and lemon? Chelle, would you like something?”

“No, thank you.”

After Charles gave Melanie a quick kiss on the cheek and walked away, Melanie said softly, “Your turn will come, Chelle.”

Knowing the trials Melanie had gone through and how her life had turned around gave Chelle hope in that moment. “I know it will. I just don’t know if I can find what I want in this town, Mel.”

“I guess that depends on what you’re yearning for.”

Chelle looked across the reception hall at her parents. “I’m twenty-five. Do you know how many times I’ve been out of Texas? Zero. I love my parents, but living on their ranch and helping them run it is all I know. Did you ever look at yourself in the mirror and think, I thought I’d be more than this?”

“Yes, I did,” Melanie said quietly. “I remember that feeling too well.”

“But you did something about it.”

Melanie started to shake her head, then stopped herself. “I was about to say Charles did, but you’re right: it was me. I finished my degree, and even though I’m engaged, I’m still running my interior design business. My mother always said people should never be a destination, but rather a partner for the road. I like to think that’s what I am with Charles. Before I could invite him to be part of my journey, though, I had to find out for myself what my journey was. It sounds like that’s where you are. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? What would you do if you thought anything was possible?”

Possibilities were sometimes as terrifying as they were exciting to consider. “I used to want to travel. I was accepted to Boston College. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I felt I could make a difference. Then my grandmother passed away, and there was no one to watch my grandfather during the day. If I’d had sisters or brothers, maybe I could have gone away to a state school, but instead I took classes online so I could get my degree and live at home while everyone else worked.”

Melanie said softly, “It sounds like you did make a difference.”

Chelle nodded. “I don’t regret any of the decisions I’ve made. I was holding my grandfather’s hand when he passed away. I have a degree in accounting, and I’ve been able to help my parents weather some financial storms. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bring up sad topics—it’s just that I started thinking today about all the things I haven’t done yet, and I panicked.” She looked across the room and caught Mason watching her. Her cheeks warmed when she remembered how she’d thrown herself at him, only to have him explain that sex hadn’t been what he’d wanted from her. Perhaps he had done her a favor. If he had said yes, he would have been her destination, albeit probably only for that one night. Instead, he’d brought her full circle, back to a place where she needed to once again ask herself what she really wanted. Was it really a one-night stand? Would she regret it? She’d waited so long for someone to look at her the way Tony had gazed down at Sarah when he’d said his vows. Did not wanting to wait anymore mean she was settling? Giving up?

I’m going to die a virgin.

“Chelle, I know you well enough to know you’re sitting on enough money to go somewhere if you want to. So maybe you should. Life is too short to live it feeling as if you’ve missed out. Pick a destination and go. Your parents are fine. And who knows, you might discover everything you want is back here. Or discover something you love out there.”

“I can’t go by myself.”

Melanie gave her a pointed look. “Because you’re scared?”

“Shitless,” Chelle added with humor. “This is all I know.”

Melanie shrugged. “I completely understand that, too. I let my fears hold me back for a long time. I don’t have all the answers, Chelle, but I do know one thing. You can’t see the world if you never leave Texas.”

Mason folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a wall near the side exit. He considered leaving the reception early, but he couldn’t. As Chelle moved from one table to another, his fascination with her grew. Both David and Charles had described Chelle as a sweet woman, someone they didn’t want him to lead astray. How was she also the brazen beauty who had kissed him with a condom tucked in her bra? As he watched her interact with her friends and family, he saw a woman who had an extra-warm smile for both children and the elderly. A woman who seemed to know and like everyone. There had to be someone she had issues with. Someone she’d reveal she had no patience for.

No one is that fucking perfect.

He told himself curiosity was the only reason he couldn’t look away. He didn’t want to acknowledge that there was more. She was alluring in ways that were difficult for him to align with his usual partners. By his jaded standards, Trish should have been more appealing to him. Like many of the women he knew, Trish obviously prioritized her physical appearance. Endless hours in the gym. Salads with a portion of protein but no dressing. Every imperfection in her features had been professionally smoothed away.

He watched Chelle adjust her bodice again as she walked from one table to another, and smiled. He would bet she couldn’t wait to get home and take off that dress.

The idea brought his cock instantly back to attention, an uncomfortable state of affairs considering the table she’d joined. He recognized the man and woman as her parents. She was standing beside her father when she turned and sought Mason’s eyes.

My God, you’re beautiful. I can’t believe you’ve never been with anyone. The things I could teach you about yourself. Something tells me you’d be worth whatever trouble being with you brought.

Her father said something, and Chelle blushed, then turned away again. A moment later, her laughter rang out, and he wondered if the comment had been about him. Her father sent him a brief glare, and Mason fought back a guilty smile.

He knows what I’m thinking.

Chelle glanced at him again with a shy smile.
She, however, has no idea.
She leaned down and made one last comment to her parents, then began walking in his direction.

His breath caught in his throat and his heart beat crazily in his chest. Behind her, he saw Charles give a curt shake of his head.

I know. I know.

Mason pushed off the wall and exited the reception hall. He was halfway across the foyer and headed toward the stairs when he heard her voice.

“Mason, there’s something I need to say before you go.”

Mason groaned and stopped without turning around.
I am only human.
“I have to meet my plane. I’m flying out tonight.”

She stepped in front of him and looked up. The siren of earlier had been replaced by an earnest innocent. “I want to apologize for my behavior tonight. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never hit anyone in my life.” She chewed her bottom lip. “And I shouldn’t have called you a dog. I don’t know anything about you, and I only said it because my pride was smarting.”

He stood there staring at her, digesting what she’d said. He’d expected her to try to give him one final cutting remark. Or to make another play for him. He didn’t quite know what her agenda was. Women always had one. “No need to apologize. You made up for hitting me by convincing Trish we were together.”

She smiled wryly. “I’m glad it worked out the way you wanted it to.”

He frowned at her instead of answering. Glad wasn’t how he would describe how he felt. Part of him wanted to push her, see if a little temper would bring back the passionate woman he’d glimpsed within her.
Leave well enough alone,
he warned himself.

She held out a hand for him to shake. “Since you’re close with Charles, I’m sure this won’t be the last time we see each other. If you can forget my temporary lapse in sanity tonight, maybe we can be friends.”

Mason wrapped his hand around hers and simply held it. Her grip was strong and honest. Her lips, the ones that had sought his earlier, pursed sweetly as if she were holding back something she wanted to say. “Friends?”

She pulled her hand back and hugged it to her, seeming suddenly less sure. “Why not? I’ll admit I was embarrassed earlier, but my grandfather always said people are only as happy as they make up their minds to be. So I’m looking for the positive in us meeting. I’m grateful it worked out as it did.”

The more she spoke, the less happy he was. “That you didn’t leave with me?”

She smiled with shyness, and it took everything in him not to pull her into his arms. “Yes. I do want the first time to be with someone I care about. I appreciate how you respected that. Awkward as this conversation is, I wanted to say thank you.”

“Glad I could help,” Mason said tightly and turned on his heel. He needed to get out of Texas and away from the woman who had succeeded in tying his insides up into a hundred painful knots.