Grand Love by JC Hawke

18

Nina

It’s Wednesday,and with just three days until the ball, I know Scarlet will be stressing out. I feel anxious to go, especially since I invited Maggie and John, which means Ellis will be coming too. Vinny offered to look after him and he will take him to bed for us when he’s ready. So, with Ellis and the fact that Mason will be there, I’m feeling a little all over the place.

We have to get Mason there first, though.

I have the entire day with Ellis today, and I know Scarlet will love the company and help with final preparations. She took the week off work, but she still has to study which also means she isn’t likely to be sleeping.

“Hey!” I smile into the phone when Vinny answers.

“’Morning, love. Are you okay?”

“Yes, all good. I was hoping you were free this morning. I wanted to go to Lowerwick with Ellis.”

I only ever call Vinny for a lift to the estate. Joey has offered in the past, but I always refuse out of respect to Mason—and a cab costs a bomb.

“Of course, I’m now driving Mason to the office and then I can be with you.”

“Oh…” Shit, can he hear me?

“Good morning, Miss Anderson.”

My stomach coils tight with the rasp in his voice and I clench my eyes shut as images of him in the cubicle last night come flooding back to me.

Goddamn it, I need a cold shower!

Or something else maybe.

“’Morning!” I squeal, palming the back of my neck when nothing else comes out.

“I won’t be long, Nina love,” Vinny adds after a beat of silence.

“Ok, thank you. And Mason,”

“Hmm?”

“Miss Anderson is my mother’s name. It’s Pixie.” Earth, swallow me whole.

“Of course.”

I hang up then instantly cringe. What the fuck was that? I put my phone on the island and walk away, afraid I might launch it across the room in embarrassment if I hold on to it for a second longer.

I’m not telling the girls about this one.

* * *

The sky isgrey and looming over the estate as we pull up to the circular drive. The trees along the boundaries of the gardens are starting to swish in the wind, and the smell of moisture in the air seems to get heavier with the impending rainfall.

Scarlet is standing at the back of a truck, her hands on her dungaree-covered hips, and her hair, now a faded pastel lavender, in a messy pile on her head.

She’s definitely stressed.

“I’ll take Ellis in,” Vinny tells me with a smug smile. “I already had to deal with one Lowell today.” He winks.

To be fair, I think he drew the short straw. I’ve never seen Scarlet get on Mason’s level of… difficultness.

“It’s raining!” Scarlet tells me the second I step up next to her. “Do you think it will be raining on Saturday?”

“No, the forecast is good for Saturday,” I say optimistically.

“I can’t get the marquee up in the rain, Nina. I need it to be dry now!”

Okay… “Well, it’s not. There must be other things we can do.” I look around at the accessories she has littered on the terrace and steps.

“Like what? The lanterns? Because they’re going to get wet too,” she huffs, waving her hand in the back of the truck.

“Calm down, Scar.”

She scrubs her hand over her face as I climb onto the small platform to see what there is to unload.

“These need to go inside?” I ask, holding up one of the lanterns.

“They’re for Mum and Dad’s garden, but we will have to put them out tomorrow,” she tells me.

“Okay, then let’s put them in the library. Just until morning. See what the weather is like then?” I hand one of the glass domes out to her. “It’s only meant to be a shower. Don’t stress, okay? Everything is going to be perfect.”

“What if it isn’t?” She pauses with the lantern in her hand, looking up at the estate. “What if Mason doesn’t even come?”

“He’ll come.”

He better damn well come.

“How can you be so sure, have you spoken to him about it?”

“Not yet. I didn’t know if you wanted me to or if you were going to ask him. It might be better coming from you.”

“No, it wouldn’t. He’s used to telling me no. You do realise he didn’t come out here at all before he met you? He might drop things off or pick me or Dad up every now and then, but he never actually came inside.”

“And you think he will listen to me now, all of a sudden? If Mason is here on Saturday night, you should know it will be for you, Scar.”

“You’re talking out your ass but whatever, lady.”

“Scar!” I laugh, watching as she disappears around the open truck door.

She comes back a few minutes later empty-handed, and I offload another lantern from the boxes. “Are you going to bring Joey?”

“To the ball?” I frown.

“Yeah. You can, you know.”

“No. I can’t.” I laugh. Yes, Joey has become a friend this past year, but my priority right now, it’s fixing my family. “I don’t think Mason would be very impressed.”

“Oh, how bizarre.” She feigns shock. “I thought he was coming for me.”

I roll my eyes. “Shut up, idiot.”

“Lucy called me. She’s bringing Miller,” she says nonchalantly.

My head rears back, and I stand up straight. “Umm, what? I thought she was having a time-out on him?”

“Apparently, that’s over.” She shrugs.

“What?!” I question again. Why wouldn’t she tell me?

“Elliot’s going to be pissed, right?”

Closing my eyes, I draw in a deep breath. Lucy thinks that her relationship with Miller is going to come good, she always does. It’s what she did with Hugh and every other boyfriend before him. She thinks he will wake up one day and be Mr Right. “Elliot doesn’t really have a right to be pissed, Scar. But I see it. We will have to watch him; I don’t think he likes Miller very much.”

“I’m not exactly a fan. He seems a bit of a dick.”

“He has a penis; it’s their thing.”

She laughs at that, turning and carrying the lantern into the house.

I already know Saturday night will be eventful, it’s why I have a big ball of anxiety sitting low in my gut. Between Mason, Elliot, Lucy and Miller—and me, of course, not that I plan to cause any trouble. But with the history that is blurred between us all, yeah, I don’t hold out much hope on it being uneventful.

We unload the truck and then head inside to have some lunch.

“So… Mason?” Scarlet eyes me from behind her cup of tea. She hasn’t mentioned her brother since I first arrived and I know she wants to know when I’m going to ask him.

I can feel Vinny watching me also, but I don’t look his way. I stopped trusting him to keep my secrets from Mason a long time ago. Although, he has managed to keep the ball quiet, so I should give him some credit for that.

“He has Ellis tonight and is off work tomorrow, which means he’ll be in a good mood tomorrow evening when he drops Ellis back. What if I ask then?”

“That’s Thursday night…” I can see her leg bouncing under the kitchen island. “It’s too far away surely?”

“He’s a man. How much notice do they need?”

We both look at Vinny, and he instantly holds his hands up. “I am not getting involved in this.”

I send a glare his way, knowing we will have to prod him a bit to get the information we want. “What sort of mood was he in this morning?” I ask him.

He thinks for a moment then nods his head. “Good to be fair.” His brows lift towards his hairline. “Better than normal actually.”

Of course, he was. Orgasms make everything better.

“So maybe a text would work?” I shrug.

“Hmm, no, I think maybe face to face. Could you guys stop off at the office this afternoon?” Scarlet asks us both.

“No.” Vinny is quick to answer, looking between us. “Mason has a meeting.”

He’s lying and it takes me a second to figure out why. “Are you worried I might run into my sister?” I bite at the inside of my cheek.

“You know?” he says, flabbergasted.

“Yes, I do.” I raise my brows, looking pointedly at him. I know it was never Vinny’s place to tell me, it’s why I didn’t bring it up to him on the ride over. But I at least thought Mason would have filled him in on the office saga.

“Sister?” Scarlet asks, adding to the list of people who are out of the loop.

An exhausted over the top huff leaves me. I really should start working through my ‘family’ problems. My mum, Jasmine, and the fact that Mason has known who my father is for the last year and a half, but I haven’t asked for the information. Truth is, life seems complicated enough as it is. Do I really need to add to that? Jasmine isn’t anything to me right now, but she is here, working in Mason’s office. I don’t even know how to feel about that, but I can’t ignore the feelings inside that come with knowing I have a sibling. The wonder is colossal. My one and only concern is Ellis. Doesn’t he deserve to know his family?

Do they deserve to know him?

“I’ll fill you in properly later, but Jasmine is the woman in the pictures with Mason. And she is also my half sister.”

“What?” She shakes her head. “Hold on… she set him up?”

“No. She didn’t know who Mason or Nina was before. It was someone else,” Vinny tells her. I watch him as he looks from her and back to me, and I wonder if he knows more than he lets on.

“She must know who?”

“Mason wanted to help her. She has children in care—”

“One who is a similar age to Ellis,” Vinny adds.

“And he couldn’t leave her in the situation she was in. He thought he could help her and eventually she could meet me and…”

“Jesus!” Scarlet stands, pacing on the spot.

“He had the best intentions at heart when he brought her home,” Vinny tells us both.

It’s not that I don’t believe what Vinny is saying. It’s the fact that if Mason didn’t have money in this situation, he wouldn’t be able to help Jasmine the way he has and plans to. It’s easy for him, for her even.

And that pisses me off a little, even if I am judging her unfairly.

“This is wild,” Scarlet mutters, her eyes wide as she slowly sits back down at the island.

“Yup. But the answer is still no. I don’t want to go to the office.”

“Yeah, sure. I get that.” Scarlet gives me a look that’s full of understanding.

“Excuse me, ladies.” Vinny stands and leaves the room, pulling out his phone as he closes the door behind him.

“Do you think Vinny is going to invite him instead?” Scarlet whispers.

I lift my shoulders to my ears. “Maybe.”

At least I hope so.

“And he would listen to Vinny, right?”

I doubt Mason would listen to anyone, but I know he respects Vinny. “I suppose.”

A few minutes later my phone lights up with a message and Scarlet, unashamedly leans over to look at the screen.

“You text now?” she squeaks out.

“Barely.” I frown.

“Open it!”

Mason: Would Pixie like to stay for dinner this evening?

“OH MY GOD! He called you Pixie?! Fuck it’s happening!” She slaps my arm then falters. “But what’s happening?” She frowns. “Goddamn it, who cares!” Scarlet buzzes beside me and it makes me giggle, but I also have a lead weight pulling me back down to the ground—hard. Ellis is going to Mason’s this evening. At the penthouse. The only place I haven’t had to face since the night I found out I was pregnant.

“Will you calm down?” I swallow, needing her to chill before she sends me deeper into my anxiety.

“You have to go! You can ask him to the ball!” She claps.

I already know I’m going. This is the next step and something I told him I’d try, and I used Lowerwick to get that.

I go to the penthouse. He comes to Lowerwick.

Vinny slips back into the room and seats himself at the island next to Scarlet.

“Mason just asked Nina to dinner!” Scarlet tells him, not being able to control her mouth.

“He did?” He looks at me with a small smile.

“Yup! She’s going to ask him tonight if he will come to the ball. No! Wait! She is going to tell him tonight that he is coming to the ball.” She grins, excited, and I can’t help but join her in her glee. Scarlet is one of the most infectious people I’ve ever met.

She could get Satan smiling.

“Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?” Vinny lifts his chin to Scarlet, then turns to give me a wink.

I tilt my head a little, giving him a wary look.

The old fool is up to something.

And I bet it involves me, dinner, and the one place I’ve ever felt at home.

* * *

Mase

“We’re headed to lunch.We get to pop Jasmine’s sushi cherry today! You want anything?” George asks, poking his head into my office door. He is grinning from ear to ear, and I spot Jasmine’s head from where she stands at his back.

“No, redirect calls to Elliot.”

“Elliot left for the day.”

My head snaps towards him. “What?” I check my watch. “It’s twelve o’clock.”

“He said he had a meeting,” Jasmine adds, peeping under George’s arm which he moves to allow her room to stand next to him.

“Is everything okay, Mase?” George asks.

Meeting my ass. He’s been in and out of the office all week. Guaranteed he’s fucking someone new.

“Yeah, you guys head out.” I turn back to my screen but notice that they don’t leave. George looks at Jasmine and she hisses something back at him.

“What is it, George?”

“All it is, sir.” His head rears back. “Sir?! Gosh, I’ve never called you sir before. Ha.”

“George,” I ground out.

“Right. So, we overheard you on the phone with Vinny. And—”

“How?” I interrupt.

“How?” George’s perfectly groomed brows dip low.

“How did you overhear my call from all the way out there?” I point to the reception.

“We were listening on the phone. George thought it was Nina.”

George covers Jasmine’s mouth with his hand. “Oh my god, are you stupid! That’s not what happened,” George tells me in a panic.

“Why lie? That’s exactly what happened.” Jasmine’s lip twitches on one side.

I sit back in surprise. More at the fact Jasmine is being so relaxed in front of me.

“Just when I thought you were a classy girl,” George tells her.

“There’s nothing classy about listening in on people’s phone conversations, George.” I try to keep my own lip from twitching, moving my hand to run along my mouth. “I’m very disappointed.”

He stands looking at me with confusion in his eyes. “I-I…”

“Fuck off, you two,” I dismiss them, not wanting them to see my smile.

“That’s it?” George frowns.

“Don’t question it.” Jasmine pulls on his arm and they leave my office. I shake my head, wondering when they decided they were going to become friends and also wondering why the two of them listening in on my conversation with Vinny doesn’t bother me like it should.

“One more thing, it was the thing actually. You sort of interrupted me before.”

I drop my pen, looking up at him with an impatient glare. “Yes, George?” I say, short.

“If Nina agrees to come to the penthouse this evening.” He smiles. “Then flowers. Promise me you will buy her some flowers.”

“She’s coming over to spend time with Ellis, not for any other benefit to me or our situation. Are you sure you were listening to my conversation, George?”

“I was, sir. And I’m not sure if you have been living under a rock for the past year, but I haven’t seen you send any, nor have I been asked to send any arrangements. The woman birthed your child.”

I snigger, slapping my hands on my armrests. “Some days I wonder what I would do without you, George. Then other days, I think of how fucking peaceful my office would be without you in it.”

“I’m presuming it’s a no on the flowers…” He turns his head slightly in question. “Sushi?”

“You’re burying yourself here, George,” Jasmine tells him, pulling him from my office and letting the door close behind them.

I’ve never understood the gift of flowers. Why would someone want something that is only going to die within a matter of days? Seems morbid to me.

Nina isn’t a gifts sort of person. She hates me spending money on her, and I can already picture her beating me with any bunch I’d give her.

Nina: I can do tonight.

Nina: What time?

Whatever Vinny knows, he isn’t telling me, but that was far too easy. It only makes me feel uneasy.

Maybe flowers would soften her up? She will be anxious coming to the house.

Mase: No thorns.

George: Do I have a budget, and does she have a favourite flower?

Mase: It’s flowers?? How much do they cost?!

George: Well, your use of ‘they’ is very vague. There are about 400,000 different flower species in the world, so...

Mase: Jasmine, could you please get me a bouquet of flowers whilst on lunch. Something substantial and still alive.

Jasmine: Ok.

I quickly text Nina and tell her to come over at five thirty. It gives me enough time to get home and shower. I will order something in for dinner so I’m not having to cook.

I scroll till I find Elliot’s name and then hit call. He doesn’t skip days anymore and it pisses me off that he hasn’t even bothered to tell me he’s left for the day. I know I was a complete bastard for the months that followed Nina leaving me, but I always checked in with the guys. Elliot has been out of office the majority of the last two weeks.

Whoever he’s fucking better be worth it.

“Hello?” he answers after the fourth ring.

“Where are you?” I snap.

“’Afternoon, sunshine.”

“Where are you?” I grate out.

I hear cars roaring in the background and music playing. “I’m out.”

“Out where? And why am I the only one in the office this week? It’s bullshit.”

“Are you seriously throwing your toys out the pram when we’ve all not sto—” He pauses, cursing under his breath. “I’m fucking busy, Lowell, I’ll call you later.”

The line cuts off and I drop my phone with a thud to the hard wood of my desk.

Damn drama queen.

He’s being shady and I don’t fucking like it.