The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone (79 page)

We had dinner in a quaint little French restaurant and we were now sat on a private little beach that was accessible from some stone steps behind our chateau.

My back was against Mason’s chest as we sat on the sand and watched the sun go down, both of us silent and relaxed. His arms were wrapped around me, his fingers entwined with mine as his thumb stroked cross my knuckles and his chin rested on the top of my head . . . pure heaven.

“Marry me, Ava,” he whispered. My heart skipped a beat. This time the moment was perfect and it felt right straight away.

I pulled out of his embrace, turned to him and knelt between his legs. “Yes.” His eyes widened and the expression of joy and exhilaration on his face brought a huge grin to erupt on my face.

I placed my hands either side of his face. “YES! YES! YES!” I cried.

He seemed to struggle to breathe for a second. “Oh Ava,” he choked out and pulled me into him. He held me so tightly I thought he might crush my ribs as he removed a ring from his pocket and slipped it over my finger.

His mouth found mine and he kissed me so passionately and ardently that we were both gasping for breath when he broke away.

“God I love you Ava Stone. So much, baby. I need to make you mine, all mine” he declared. He frowned slightly and stared at me. “What’s Ava short for?” he asked suddenly. My eyes widened and I shook my head.

A wicked grin lifted his lips. “Tell me,” he implored but I shook my head again and looked away. “Baby, come on. I’m gonna find out soon if we are getting married.” He smirked and I sighed.

“Promise you won’t laugh?” I asked seriously, he nodded avidly. “Okay.” I took a breath and squeezed my eyes shut. “Avangeline.”

Mason was silent and I peeked a look at him. His head was tipped and he gazed softly at me. “But that’s beautiful baby, a name for an angel,” he whispered.

“I was supposed to be named Evangeline but my Dad registered the birth because my mother was so ill after having me and he spelt my name wrong.” I chuckled and he grinned at me. “That’s one of the things I can remember, my mother told me the story when I came home from school crying one day because some girls had laughed at my name.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman,” he said softly and took me in another impassioned kiss, laying me down on the sand as he made love to me slowly and tenderly in the sunset to the sound of the water crashing against the rocks and the scent of the orchids in the breeze.

We spent Sunday sight-seeing, eating and making love; Mason kept his promise of making love to me in every room. He was back to his usual happy, loving self and I didn’t give his early moodiness another thought.

Much to my displeasure Monday morning rolled round much too quickly and we were soon back in London on our way home in Sam’s car.

* * *

Mason had sat in the front with Sam to talk about some business. I was listening to my voice messages and replying to some texts when my phone rang.

“Hello,” I answered to the unknown caller.

“Hey, it’s me,” Kade said.

“Hey, Court.” I cringed slightly as Mason’s eyes flicked to mine and then back to Sam.

Kade sighed angrily, “I take it he’s there.” His voice held a touch of resentment.

“Yeah,” I answered, shifting my guilty look through the window.

“I need to see you Ava, it’s killed me knowing you spent all weekend in fucking France with
him,
” he breathed and my stomach clenched.

“I can’t,” I said, chewing on my little finger.

“Please Ava.”

“When?” I asked, hating myself for yielding to his requests so easily.

“Tomorrow, I have an apartment now so I can have you all to myself and this time I’m gonna come inside you Ava, make you scream and fill you with my cum,” he said with a growl and I squirmed at the arousal, terrified Mason could smell my lust.

Mason was studying me and his gaze kept lowering to my mouth. I dropped my hand to my lap and forced a smile on my face. His eyes were searching mine and I looked back through the window.

I knew what I had to do and the chance to be alone with Kade gave me the perfect opportunity to end our relationship. “Okay, lunch?” I asked.

I could sense his grin. “Only if I can eat you, sweetheart.”

“I’ll see you later, Courtney.”

“I’ll text you the address and time. God I can’t wait to see you.”

Suddenly I was struggling to breathe and the lump in my throat was getting painful. “Yeah, bye,” I said quickly and ended the call.

“You okay, Ava?” Mason asked over his shoulder with his eyes narrowed on me.

I nodded. “Yeah, just feel a bit sickly,” I lied. “It must be Sam’s driving.” I laughed nervously and Sam harrumphed.

He seemed to be mollified and turned back to Sam but I could see him secretly sneaking peeks at me through the mirror. I was suddenly desperate to get back to the house.

* * *

Later that afternoon Mason had gone to meet Rebecca at the hospital and I was baking between doing bouts of laundry.

The house phone rang and Sam’s voice greeted me, “Hey Ava, is Mason there?”

“No, he’s at the hospital with Rebecca,” I near growled out.

There was a long pause. “Shit!” he bit out.

“What’s wrong Sam?” I could hear him clicking his tongue.

“I’ve left Lee Benedict’s file in Mason’s office. Can you run up and see if you can find it, I need his bank account number to check something?”

“Sure.” I took the stairs two at a time and sat behind Mason’s desk, searching for the file. “I can’t see it Sam.” I heard him clicking his tongue in thought again.

“Try the top drawer, Ava.” I pulled to open it but it wouldn’t budge.

“It’s locked,” I told him and he swore.

“Oh wait Ava, the key is under the plant pot on the bookshelf.” he disclosed and true to his word, there was a little key under the ceramic pot.

“Does Mason know you know where the key is?” I smirked.

“No, so don’t tell him or he’ll move it.” He chuckled and I snickered.

“You naughty boy.”

Unlocking the drawer I quickly flicked through some files until I came to the brown manila file and read out the account number to Sam. “You are a star Ava, thank you.”

I smiled and ended the call. As I went to put the file back a large brown envelope caught my attention, the wording on the front grabbing my stomach and clenching it severely.
‘Your whore’
it said on a typed sticker.

Swallowing heavily I pulled it out and placed it on the desk in front of me. Did I really want to see what it contained?

Taking a steadying breath I reached in and pulled out the contents. My head swam and my breath froze.

SHIT!

I was hyperventilating, my hands started sweating. My eyes wouldn’t move from the photos in front of me as the bile rose.

Twelve of them, all of me and Kade in his pool, having sex; in the water, kissing and groping, me sat on the pool edge with Kade’s head between my legs. Kade knelt before me while I blew him and others of me straddled over his lap, both our heads flung back in ecstasy.

I rested my head in my hands as my heart broke for Mason; it must have ripped him in half to see these. “You fucking bastard!” I shouted to my stalker.

Now I knew why he was emotional over the weekend but why hadn’t he said anything? Why hadn’t he shouted and screamed at me, why hadn’t he tore Kade limb from limb, or me for that matter and why had he still asked me to marry him? “Oh Mason.”

I heard my phone ringing somewhere in the house but I ignored it, my mind and body numb and frozen as I cried, wept for Mason and what I had done to him.

I hurriedly placed all the photos back in the envelope and drawer, making sure I replaced everything as I had found it and locked it back up, replacing the key and dragged myself back to the kitchen.

Perching on a barstool my phone rang again, it was Kerrie. “Hi, Ava,” she greeted. I returned her greeting. “Listen Ava, Mason told me your news. I’m so pleased for the pair of you” she cried happily.

A sob erupted, guilt and self-hatred breaking free.
Shit not now!

“You okay, Ava?”

I screwed up my face. “Oh yeah, sorry. Just reading a sad book,” I lied.

She chuckled. “Oh God, you are as bad as me. Anyway I was wondering if you and Mason would join me for dinner tonight? My treat.”

I closed my eyes in distress. “Yeah that’s sounds lovely, thank you.”

“Great La Roche, tonight at 8 O’clock. I’ve invited a few others so it will be like a little engagement party. Nobody else knows yet so I thought it would be a great opportunity to tell people.”

She giggled and I grit my teeth. “Lovely,” I said, trying to keep the bitter tone away. Luckily, I don’t think she caught it as she chirped on about everything and nothing for a while.

I blew out a huge breath when she finally ended the call. Groaning, I buried my face in my hands.

“Ava?” Mason asked behind me, startling me. “There I go again, baby.” He grinned and I smiled, pulling myself out of my stupor. “You okay?” he asked, cocking his head.

I wanted to scream at him ‘No I’m not bloody okay and neither are you’ but instead I replied with, “Headache” and looked away from him.

He stood silent, regarding me with narrow eyes for a while. I kept my gaze out of the back window.

“How did you get on?” I asked without turning.

“Okay,” he answered vaguely.

I turned to look at him; my own eyes now narrow. “Just okay?”

He shrugged, reaching into his jacket pocket and retrieved a small piece of paper then handed it to me. It was a scan picture.

I stared at the tiny little image of Mason’s baby; I wanted to rip it into a thousand pieces and throw it at him. Was he showing me this to hurt me, revenge for the other photos he had in his possession? Was he doing it to torture me, laughing at me, tormenting me?

Revenge is sweet, Ava!!

I couldn’t look at him. “Wow, I’m happy for you.” I gulped and placed it on the island. “Bathroom” I choked out, keeping my face hidden behind my hair.

“Shit Ava, I’m sorry,” he rasped and reached out to me.

“No.” I shook my head fiercely, still keeping my tear filled eyes away from him as I raced upstairs and huddled myself into the bathroom, locking the door behind me and huddling in the corner.

This was payback; in fact this was fucking vicious payback. I wanted that scan to be of my baby, I wanted my baby inside me and at that moment I hated Rebecca with everything I had and felt.

I quietly sobbed in the solitude of the bathroom, trapping myself in as my heart tore itself to shreds. My life was spiralling out of control and I was desperately trying to claw it back. I needed to take stock and sort myself out. I needed to end my relationship with Kade and give Mason every single piece of me, but could I?

Did I deserve this cruel punishment? Perhaps I did. The thought that I deserved every piece of shit thrown at me made me realise that maybe I didn’t deserve Mason either.

What sort of person was I? If he had fucked Rebecca the way I had with Kade it would have broken my heart and I would never forgive him, yet here I was doing the exact thing I wouldn’t accept from him.

The bathroom doorknob rattled. “Baby, let me in,” Mason implored softly.

“I’m okay, I’ll be down in a while,” I responded, trying desperately to control the quiver in my voice.

“Ava . . . I’m so sorry, I didn’t think.”

“I’m fine Mason, I won’t be long,” I repeated.

There was a few minutes silence until I heard him retreat down the stairs.

“I need to get thoroughly pissed,” I chuntered to myself then groaned when I remembered Kerrie’s meal and groaned.

Fuck my Life!

CHAPTER 48

AT 8 O’CLOCK Mason held my hand and led me into La Roche. The urge to get drunk intensified when I saw Kade sat at the table with Brian, Brenda, Sam, Mason, Liv, Nate, Greg and Marcy and Courtney.

“Oh God” I groaned under my breath.

Mason narrowed his eyes on me. “What’s wrong?” he asked quite sternly.

I shook my head and smiled, “Nothing.”

He regarded me and then leaned into me, “Don’t you want our friends to know about our news, Ava?” From his tone I couldn’t work out if he was hurt, angry or mocking and I nodded happily at him. “Of course.” He gazed at me but then turned and walked over to the table.

I so needed a drink!!

Everybody stood and greeted us. I refused to look at Kade, knowing Mason would now be watching us very closely.

I was sat next to Courtney and she frowned at me. She could always read me explicitly and she was immediately aware that something was very wrong with me.

I saw her scrambling about under the table with her phone and a second later I felt my own vibrate in my bag. Retrieving it I saw a text from Courtney.

COURTNEY

Babe?

Xxx

ME

Mason knows! He doesn’t know I know he knows.

Xxx

I heard her gasp and her hand slid under the table and grasped mine, squeezing tightly.

“AVA!” Mason barked and I jumped.

“Sorry, what?”

He glowered at me. “Drink?” he asked harshly with a raise of his eyebrows.

“Oh, vodka and cranberry, please.”

He nodded once. “Make it a large,” I shouted after him. He narrowed his eyes on me.

This was gonna be a long night!

I managed to make it through the first few hours but it was obvious Mason was angry with me, constantly snapping and barking at me. All the other guests were looking at him warily. At one point Kerrie whispered firmly in his ear after he bit my head off when I had requested another drink, but he was managing to down more alcohol than me and at a shocking rate. I was becoming slightly nervous as he was slipping nearer and nearer to getting completely plastered.

My phone vibrated and I sneaked a peek under the table.

KADE

Why won’t you look at me?

I was just about to text back when Mason stood up. “Well, I suppose I better tell you all why Kerrie has so generously arranged this dinner this evening.”

He looked at me and cocked his head but his eyes were soft. He turned back to the group, looking at each one and finally rested his eyes on Kade. I noticed them darken. “I am so happy to tell you that Ava has agreed to be my wife” he said loudly with a smirk on his lips.