Grand Lies by JC Hawke

20

Nina

After two nightsaway with minimal sleep, I barely managed to make it to four o’clock before I passed out on Mason’s sofa. My sofa. Yeah, that does not sound right. Not yet.

Arching my back, I stretch out my muscles on a long yawn. I have no idea how long I have been sleeping, but I already know I’ll sleep like a baby tonight.

Paris has zapped me of all my energy. We didn’t stop from the moment we touched down to the moment we took off again. I’m definitely booking a girls’ trip after the showcase; some R and R will be just what I need.

I can feel my body telling me to slow down, but I only have two weeks until the showcase, and I can’t stop now. It’s everything we have worked for this year.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

My phone starts to vibrate under my head, and I pull it out from under me. I have three missed calls from Megan and two texts. It must have been what woke me. I slide my thumb across the screen and open the messages.

Luce – Nina what time does Erin get in? Meg can’t get hold of you.

Megan – Bitch where are you?

Holy shit! I completely forgot about Erin. I check the time and jump up from the sofa. It’s six thirty. I’ve napped for hours. I look around the penthouse, wondering where Mason could be.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I hotfoot it through the bedroom, searching for him. I pull the shirt I’m wearing over my head and start to change into my jeans and white T.

How could I forget Erin flying in?

God, I am a hot mess at the minute.

I find Mason in his office, and I’m slightly out of breath as I push through the door. I pause on the threshold.

“Angel,” he murmurs, not looking up from his computer.

“I forgot my friend is flying in today, I slept all afternoon and she is probably already here, and I didn’t ring her, I said I would. I’m going to go home and meet her with the girls. I completely forgot.”

Mase looks up at me, a deep frown in place. “Slow down. I can take you home. I just need to finish this. You’ll be back home later?” he questions, and I can sense his unease.

“Yeah, I will be home later.” I bite the inside of my cheek, loving how that sounds. “I can get an Uber, though. You look busy.”

“Do you drive?” he asks.

“Uh, I have a licence. I haven’t driven in years.”

“Take the Bentley.”

“No.”

“Why?” he snaps back.

“I will crash your car, Mase.”

“No, you won’t. It’s an automatic. You can’t go wrong.” He stands, rounding the desk and walking me out to the foyer.

* * *

We have spentthe time he could have driven me, teaching me all the different controls. I try to take it all in, but it’s a lot. “Maybe you should drive me. I don’t feel comfortable driving myself.”

“I will if you want me to, but you literally cannot fuck this up. I trust you.”

I stare up at him from the driver’s seat. I know he is busy.

I huff, straightening in the seat. “Fine, I will drive.”

“Good girl.” He bends down, taking my lips in a soft kiss. “Text me when you get there, okay?”

* * *

I did it.I drove for the first time in over five years. My legs are shaky when I step out of the Bentley. I parked around the corner of my building, not trusting myself on the busy street that would have been closer but so much harder to park on.

I text Luce and Megs, to let them know I am home, then call Erin.

“Hello.” she answers.

“Erin, hey! Where are you? You must have landed?”

“Only just, I was delayed. I’m now on my way to the hotel.”

“Come over. Megan and Luce are coming to mine, and we planned to get dinner together.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m shattered, Nina.”

Me too, I roll my eyes. “I did not just turn down hot sex for you to wig out on me. You know where I live still.”

She giggles down the phone. “Yes, okay. Give me an hour. I need to freshen up.”

* * *

I’m just finishing clearingthe draining board when Luce and Megan come laughing through the door. I smile over at them, excited to catch them up on the last couple days.

“Girls, it’s a Sunday!” I eye the four bottles of wine they carry between them.

“One each.” Luce shrugs.

“I’m driving, save them for tomorrow.” I roll my eyes as Megan approaches me, pulling me into a hug. Lucy joins a few seconds later, and I frown into their shoulders as they sandwich me in.

“What is going on?”

“We,” Lucy looks to Megan, “had the most incredible evening Saturday night. Like out of this world.”

“Luce pulled.” Megan nods enthusiastically.

“You did?” I laugh. It sounds like we’re back in school.

Lucy flushes red, and I become desperate for details. “Just a kiss?” I question, knowing she isn’t one for a one-night stand.

“Nope, she brought him here,” Megan offers.

My mouth drops open as Luce scoots around the sofa with a bottle of red. “Luce?”

“I was going to tell you.”

“Tell me now,” I interrupt.

“So Scarlet came out with us. She met us at Groulx for food and was going to go home straight after because of her dad, but then Vinny texted and said he was fine for a few more hours and not to rush home. So we went out.”

“Scarlet was steaming. She’s a crazy chick,” Megan adds.

“And the guy?” I ask.

“Was just a guy.”

“Bullshit.” There’s a knock at the door, and I squint my eyes at Lucy, wondering what is up with her.

Pulling open my apartment door, I’m met with the effortless beauty that is Erin O’Connor.

“Erin, it’s so good to see you!” I smile as I pull her into a hug, her fiery red hair getting stuck on my gloss.

“It’s great to see you too, sweetie. You’re looking great,” she tells me, her eyes scanning me from top to toe.

“Come in. The girls are here.”

“Hey!” they both sing, standing to hug her.

“How was the flight?” Luce asks.

“Long, it never gets any easier.”

“Damn, you look good,” Megan tells her.

She’s right. Erin is looking good; everything about her scream’s health and wealth.

“Yeah, I’ve been working on me lately.” She smooths her hair, giving us a small smile.

“It shows,” I tell her, checking out her designer bag dangling on her arm.

* * *

“So,how long are you here for?” Luce asks, looking at Erin from the other side of the coffee table.

We decided to order in Chinese. The girls couldn’t stay long with Lucy having an early start in the morning, and I want to get back to Mason’s so I can sleep. Even after my nap I am knackered.

“Two weeks,” says Erin, sucking in a noodle.

“Your mum?” I ask, “How is she? Is someone with her, or is she okay on her own now?” I give her a sad smile.

She drops her fork and I regret my question immediately.

I’ve made her uncomfortable. I know how much she has struggled with her mother’s health—I shouldn’t have brought it up.

“Uh, yeah, she is doing better, actually.”

“That’s good. Do you think you could come home soon?” I ask.

“No,” she looks into her container. “I think I want to stay in Australia now.”

I frown as I watch her, but she doesn’t meet my eyes.

Why do I feel like she is lying?

“I don’t blame you. Aus looks good on you,” Megan says, clinking her glass with Erin’s.

“Thanks,” she smiles. “Hey, you!” she perks up as she turns to look at me, changing the subject and the atmosphere instantly. “Are you going to tell me about this hot sex you are missing out on tonight?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Lucy waves her fork in the air, her eyes closed and a dreamy look on her face. “He is fit!”

“Nuh-uh, you can go first today.” I eye Lucy.

“Oh, fuck off already. It was just sex!”

“In my apartment! And it’s never just sex with you.”

“This time it was. I don’t even know his name.”

“You slut!” I shout, my mouth dropping wide as the girls all fall into a fit of giggles.

* * *

The girls have not long left,but Erin is still here. She’s stood at my sink washing the few dishes we used, even though I told her she didn’t have to.

“Thank you for this evening. It’s been just what I needed,” she tells me, smiling back over her shoulder.

“Of course, it’s good to have you home. Where are you staying anyway?”

“The Hilton.”

Shit. That’s expensive. “Perfect, it will be nice to have another female around the studio for a change, that’s for sure.” I force a smile.

“I bet. How old are the boys again?”

“Too young for you!” I laugh, and she shakes her head, tutting. “Erin, I’m sorry for bringing up your mum before, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s fine.”

“I know, but I don’t believe you. I think you were lying earlier.”

“What?” She freezes, her hands pausing on the glass she is washing.

“You don’t want to live in Australia permanently, do you? If you could come home you would, right?”

She drops the glass onto the drainer and turns to me, a sad smile on her face. “In a heartbeat.” She looks to the ground, rolling her lips as if she wants to say more. “Sorry, Nina, I better go. I need to get some sleep before tomorrow, I have so much to get sorted over the next couple weeks.”

“It must be so hard, but it will get better, I’m sure. You managed to take this trip. You will make it back here, one day.” I squeeze her arm as she reaches for her fur coat.

“Yeah, maybe.” Her lips thin into a tight-lipped grimace. She walks to the door but pauses when she gets to it.

Her throat works on a swallow as her eyes find mine. “Sorry, Nina. I hope you don’t think I’m being rude.” And then she leaves.

Her obvious discomfort leaves me feeling awful. I wish I kept my mouth shut, but I could tell she wasn’t being honest, and I was right–she doesn’t want to live in Australia. I think it’s amazing that she has given up so much to help her mum.

I finish washing up the dishes, then send Mase a message telling him I’m on my way home.

The Bentley is a welcome distraction from the worry for Erin, and instead of overthinking all the things I wish I didn’t say to her, I am forced to concentrate on the beasty machine that is Mason’s car.

Mason’s very expensive car.

The drive home is plain sailing, and I even put the radio on for the last five minutes of my drive as my confidence starts to grow. It really is an easy car to drive.

I’m about five minutes from Mason’s when my phone starts to ring, and I answer without looking—too afraid of taking my eyes from the road—then switch it to speaker.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Scar!”

“Hey! I’m just driving.” I tell her on impulse. “I’m actually in the Bentley.”

“Mason let you drive the Bentley?” She’s shocked.

I chuckle, wiggling my bum into the seat. “I know. I wouldn’t trust me either.”

Her laugh echoes through the car, making me smile. “So, I wanted to know if you would do lunch with me tomorrow? Dad has a two-hour appointment which he refuses to let me go to; he’s a stubborn fool.”

“Of course, I’d love to! How is he?”

I mentally try to remember what classes I have tomorrow.

“He’s good. Seems upbeat about it all. I just hope they find a transplant.”

“A transplant?” I frown.

“Yeah, Mason didn’t tell you?”

“No.” I bite my bottom lip in worry.

“Typical.” She huffs, and I hear her shuffling on the other end of the phone. “Dad needs a liver transplant, he is high on the list, though, and they think it will be within the next six months.”

“Wow. That’s big.” My shoulders drop as disappointment floods me. Why would Mase not tell me? “What’s his appointment for tomorrow?”

“Blood tests, I think he said. He refused to have me sit and wait the full two hours, so I said I would drop him off and meet you. If you were free.”

Two hours for blood tests? That seems like a long time.

I jolt forward in the seat, my body lurching into the steering wheel before it’s thrown back into the leather.

“What? Nina? What was that noise?”

“Oh my god!” I panic, looking over the steering wheel to see the bonnet crumpled.

“Nina?”

“Scarlet.”

“No… Nina. Tell me you haven’t?”

“Fuck, Scarlet,” I cry.

“You haven’t, tell me you haven’t.”

“I have.”

* * *

“I expected worse.”Scarlet shrugs at me as the paramedic passes me a form.

I stare down at the front of Mason’s Bentley—which is now embedded in the back of a black cab.

Luckily it was empty and the driver is fine.

“Worse? How does this get any worse?” My phone rings for the sixteenth time and I reject the call.

“I will call him,” she states, pulling out her phone.

I stare at her wide-eyed, shaking my head at her. “Scar, no!”

“Mason. I’m with Nina.”

I palm my forehead, wondering whether I should start running now.

* * *

My stomach rollsas the Audi approaches, and I’m surprised I manage to stay on my feet. I can’t believe I crashed his car. His Bentley.

My body shakes with adrenaline, and I know I’m only moments away from tears. My emotions bubble to boiling point when I see him step from the car.

He doesn’t say a word to anyone. He strides across the asphalt, walking past the Bentley as if it’s not even there—broken.

Jesus, I crashed his car.

My feet leave the ground as he wraps his arms around me, shaking his head as it burrows deep into my neck. “What are you trying to do to me, Pix.”

“I’m so sorry. Your car. I don’t know wha—”

“The car doesn’t matter,” he says, pulling back and shaking his head. “Why didn’t you call me? It’s been over an hour since you texted me.”

“I thought you’d be mad.”

“Mad? I am fucking livid, Nina. All I ask is to know you are safe.” His voice shakes as his anger rises. “Why the fuck didn’t you call me before?” he bellows at Scarlet.

“Mason, calm down,” Vinny says, stepping forward.

“She’s fine, big brother. Just chill, okay?” Scarlet says, giving him a pointed look as her eyes dart to me.

“Chill? I would be fucking chill if one of you bothered to call me.”

* * *

Mase

“Mason!”Scarlet whisper-shouts at me.

I follow her line of sight and find Nina swiping at her tear-stained cheeks.

Fuck.

“Nina,” I soothe, pulling her into my arms.

“I’m so sorry.” She sniffles into my chest, her body trembling.

I look up to the night sky willing myself to calm down.

She is safe.

A paramedic approaches us and takes some papers from Nina, and he checks them over then tears off the bottom piece. “So I’m happy for you to go home and rest without needing to go to the hospital, but please call 111 if you feel any of the symptoms listed within the next forty-eight hours, okay?”

“Yes, okay. Thank you,” Nina tells him.

Vinny looks over at me in question, and I give him a nod. “Come on, love.”

He wraps his arm around her and walks her to the Audi.

“You’re sure she doesn’t need to go to hospital?” I ask the paramedic as he starts to remove his gloves.

“The car took the brunt of the impact.” He looks at the crumpled front bumper. “She should be fine, but as I said, call if you have any concerns. She is pretty shaken up but otherwise is fit and healthy.” He nods to me before climbing into the back of the ambulance.

I start to empty the Bentley of all my belongings before it gets towed away. Scarlet stands at my side as I open the boot.

A suitcase stuffed full lies in the bed.

“She said you asked her to move in.” Scarlet smiles.

“Yeah,” I say, staring down at the small case. Does she have more than this?

“Dad has an appointment tomorrow.”

“Not now, Scar, please.” I look at her, running my hand down over my face. “Just not tonight.”

“When then, Mase? You didn’t even tell Nina!”

“Tell her what?” I frown.

“Jesus Christ. About Dad! The transplant!”

“I was going to.”

She rolls her eyes, knowing I wouldn’t have. “It’s about time you started taking his health more seriously. Before it’s too late.” She stalks off towards her car, and I slam the boot.

Nina seems to have pulled herself together once I slide into the Audi. I look to Vinny in the rearview mirror, and he gives me a warm smile that tells me she’s okay.

“Come here,” I whisper, pulling her onto my lap and breathing her in.

* * *

Nina

Words aren’t neededon the elevator ride up to the penthouse. Mason’s hold on me seems to soothe the adrenaline that invades me as much as my embrace diminishes his stress.

‘I only ask to know that you are safe.’

Guilt eats at me for not calling him sooner.

“I need a shower,” I tell him, not releasing him.

I don’t want to let him go.

As if he understands, he takes my hand and leads me up the stairs. He pulls me into his en suite, leaning in to turn on the spray as I sit on the edge of the bath.

“It’s late, baby. Let’s get you showered and in bed. Do you feel okay, still?”

I nod and stand, my body aching as I go to lift my top, but he’s already there. He pulls my T-shirt up over my arms, then removes my bra.

Leaning forward, he kisses my forehead, pausing with his lips there. “I was so fucking scared. Petrified that something had happened. I thought the worst and then Scarlet called and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel in control.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Shh,” he murmurs against my head. “It’s not your fault.”

He reaches between us, unbuttoning my jeans and shimmying them down my legs as his lips find my neck. He moves down my body, nipping at my breasts and stomach as he lowers to his knees.

His fingers hook into my lace underwear, and I frown as his eyes widen.

“Nina, you’re fucking bleeding!”

He kneels, staring at my centre, and I step back, looking down at myself. I have a small patch of blood on my underwear.

“Oh my god! Get out!” I panic, using my hands to cover myself.

“I will call an ambulance.” He stands and runs out of the bathroom.

“What? No, wait, Mase! It’s just my period.”

“What?” He comes back into the room with his face screwed up.

“I’m fine. It’s just my—”

“I heard you the first time.” He grasps the back of his neck, squeezing his eyes closed. I stand watching him, not wanting to laugh but unable to control it.

“It’s not fucking funny, woman.”

“Imagine if you called an ambulance.” I snort. “‘Excuse me can I get an ambulance my girlfriend got her period’.”

His hands find his hips, his lip tipping up on one side, and it only makes me laugh harder.

Reaching up, he grasps his T-shirt behind the neck and pulls it over his head, rendering me stupid as his solid muscles ripple with the move.

Mother nature, you are a bitch.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Shower. Now,” he tells me, nodding towards the running water.

“Uh, I don’t think so. Get out.”

He ignores me, stepping into me and lifting me in his arms. He walks us into the shower with me still in my underwear, and him in his jeans.

I’m lowered to the ground, but he keeps me close, my breasts pressed against his solid chest.

“The T-shirt couldn’t get wet but fuck the jeans, right?” I smile, teasing him.

“House rules. No smiling on your period.” I throw my head back and laugh, then he adds, “You know what it gets you.”

“Okay, Bossman. No smiling.” I school my features, leaning in to kiss my beautiful man.

His hands drift over my hips, pulling my thong down my legs. I step out of it, and he bends to pick it up, discarding it to the back of the shower. Picking up the soap, he starts to lather his hands as he rounds me.

Starting at my back, he rubs his hands expertly into my muscles, using the soap suds to glide his hands over my pebbled skin. I moan as he reaches my mid-back, the muscles feeling tender there. He moves lower, spending time to massage each leg, not missing an inch of me.

His front moulds to my back, and I sigh. The feel of his erection against my back makes my body hum with want and need.

“This isn’t fair,” I moan.

His lips fall to my neck as his large hands capture my breasts, brushing over each nipple and pulling them between his skilled fingers. He spends the most time on my breasts, growling each time I involuntarily arch back into him.

“I love you,” he tells me, tenderly kissing my temple.