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“Glad to see he didn’t waste any time. There may be hope for him yet.” The phone rings again.
I decline and then turn my phone off.
Chapter Sixteen
Mason
I pry Julia’s armsfrom around my neck and push her away to put some distance between us. I want her to be as far away from me as possible so absolutely no one can mistake what is happening here.
“What are you doing?! Julia, we’re over.” I’m angry. “You left me, remember? I have no desire to get back together. You breaking up with me was the best thing that could have happened.”
“Mason, you don’t really mean that.” A flash of anger shows in Julia’s eyes before it vanishes and her face crumbles to one of devastation. The way this woman moves from emotion to emotion is truly impressive.
The fact that I was completely blind to all sides of her is still a bit surprising to me. I consider myself to be a good judgeof character but where Julia is concerned, I was way off. But it makes sense. I wanted anyone but Emily to be the person I loved. And I was able to fool myself for years. Julia is the complete opposite of Emily in every way imaginable. Of course she would be the one I would settle for.
“I do. I’m only sorry it took me so long to see it.”
Julia no longer tries to hide her rage and I can’t help but notice how it contorts her face to an ugliness I didn’t think possible on someone I once thought so beautiful.
“It’s that girl, isn’t it?” She spits at me. “I knew it. I knew you were neverjust friends.”
“When we were dating, there was no one else but you. If you hadn’t ended things I would’ve happily married you.” I cringe as I realize how true those words are. I would’ve married her and soon found myself miserable for the rest of my life. “As devastated as I was when you left me, I need to thank you for breaking up with me. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for deciding that I wasn’t good enough.”
“Mason, I was only ever settling for you,” she snarls at me. A little laugh escapes me at her words and I don’t even try to keep it in. Suddenly I’m laughing hysterically and I can’t stop myself. People are starting to look, so I take a deep breath and get myself under control.
She was settling? Oh, if she only knew.
“Good bye, Julia. I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding a way back to your hotel?” I leave her staring at my back as I walk away with a smile on my face. I feel free. Free to fully let go of my past and free to move forward with Emily. I’m giddy.
Until I see Mike and Lily. The concern on their faces has me worried.
“What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” I ask through a dry mouth. I find myself looking around the room for Emily. I don’tsee her. Is it possible that she saw Julia kissing me? My stomach churns.
“We saw you and Julia,” Lily confirms my fear. “Emily grabbed Adam and left so quickly I didn’t have a chance to explain that it probably wasn’t what it looked like.” The confidence she has in me would warm my heart under normal circumstances, but that isn’t right now.
My heart starts to race and I wipe my hands on my pants. I just got her, I can’t lose her over something that was a misunderstanding.
I run a hand through my hair and grab at the back of my neck. I squeeze, and take a deep breath. “It’s my fault,” I mumble. “If I had just told Julia that things were over last night instead of letting my pride get the best of me I wouldn’t be in this situation. I have no one to blame but myself.” I drop my hand from my neck and grab my phone from my pocket.
“I’ll give her a call now and explain.” I turn and head out onto the patio.
A little over an hour ago, I was out here with Emily in a complete state of bliss. Now I’m worried to death that she won’t believe me. Sure I’m probably being dramatic, but I’ve never been afraid of losing something more in my entire life.
I may have just said out loud that I’m in love with her but, the truth is, I’ve been in love with her my entire life. I never let myself believe being with her was a possibility. Now, being so close to making us a reality, I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose her.
As I hit the call button I notice my hands shaking. There is one ring before my call goes to voicemail. I immediately call again. Same thing. I’m not giving up that easily so I call again. This time there is no ring and my call goes directly to voicemail.
I anxiously wait for the beep.
“Emily, it’s me. I need to explain what happened with Julia. It’s not what it looked like I swear. She kissed me. I don’t want to be with her, I want to be with you. Please, please, please call me back.” I wait a few seconds before hanging up as if that will magically make her respond to me then and there.
I stare at the phone, take a deep sigh and put it in my pocket. As I head in, I pass Lily and Mike with a shake of my head to let them know I didn’t talk to her. I keep walking and head over to get my coat from the cloakroom.
I hand my ticket to the attendant and wait. From where I’m standing I can see exactly what Emily’s view was of me and Julia, and it doesn’t look good at all. When everything happened my back was to her which means she only saw Julia’s expressions, not mine. From this vantage point one might think that I was a willing participant in that kiss. I rub my face and shake my head. A vice grips my chest.
“Don’t worry man.” Mike grabs my shoulder from behind me and gives it a squeeze. “You’ll make it right. Everything will be fine.”
“Just make sure to grovel,” Lily adds, trying to lighten the mood. “Like, a lot. Grovel like you’ve never groveled before Mason. I know you can do it.”
