Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (148 page)

But even if Hailey was willing to be the one to get Mason to leave town, it wouldn’t work. There was only one person who mattered to Mason here.

Three hours ago, the knowledge that she was that important to Mason had filled her with joy and hope and tingles in all the right places.

Now it made her nearly sick to her stomach.

If he wasn’t in love with her, she’d have no power to get him to DC to do the right thing. Now she was going to have to use his feelings for her against him.

Right then another car pulled into her driveway. At the same moment her phone started to ring. Hailey’s cell phone began beeping as well and Lauren had just answered hers.

Adrianne closed her eyes, again breathing deep. All hell was breaking loose. Deep cleansing breaths were the only things she was still sure of.

She reached for the phone and grabbed it on the fourth ring. “Hello?”

“Is this Ms. Adrianne Scott?” a man’s voice asked.

“It is.”

“This is Brandon Johnson. I am with the office of Secretary George Williams.”

Adrianne’s heart thumped and she rubbed her chest. She would have never recognized the name of the US Secretary of Agriculture if it weren’t for the articles she’d read on Mason.

“I’m looking for Dr. Mason Riley. We have this number as a backup number.”

“Why would you have this number?”

“Dr. Riley notified us that he would be in the process of moving his residence over the next several days and gave us this number in case of emergencies.”

“I see.” She didn’t. At all.

“Ms. Scott,” Brandon said. “This is an emergency. We need to speak with Dr. Riley immediately.”

“I, um…” She rubbed her chest harder as the ache increased. “He isn’t here at the moment. Can I take a message?”

“Please tell him that Secretary Williams is insisting that Dr. Riley keep the meeting next week as planned.”

“He cancelled the meeting?” What the hell was he thinking?

“He first requested a conference call. The secretary will not grant that request,” Brandon said. “Secretary Williams has also denied Dr. Riley’s request to reschedule the meeting. Tell Dr. Riley we are expecting to see him.”

Adrianne rubbed her forehead. Mason had tried to have his meeting via conference call? What was he thinking? And then he’d tried to reschedule? Until when? Once Haiti was back on its feet? He needed to be there for that to happen. He wasn’t going to singlehandedly restore all of Haiti, but he was part of the solution. He was not going to be part of the problem if she had anything to say about it. And she did.

“Of course. I’ll be sure he gets the message,” she told Brandon.

As she disconnected, Greg Porter and Jennifer Jensen, two potential business owners at Sapphire Hills, came through her front door.

Greg spoke first. “What the hell is going on, Adrianne? I heard at the lumber yard that Mason said no to the building site because you’re going to live there?”

Oh, this was bad. “Well, I—”

“Hailey said the time you were spending with him was for the project,” Jennifer added.

“Yes, he knows all the details, he’s seen our plans,” she assured them as the ache spread from her heart to her stomach.

“And he’s saying no,” Greg said. “He knows the details and is saying no.”

“Because he feels the project isn’t right for us,” Adrianne said. “It doesn’t have to do with me or us living there.”

“Why didn’t you head the meetings with him?” Jennifer rounded on Hailey. “This wouldn’t have happened if you’d been in charge.”

Hailey lifted her hands and shook her head. “Adrianne’s my friend. When I realized he was in love with her, I backed off.”

Adrianne rolled her eyes. She wasn’t sure she’d classify Hailey’s actions as backing off.

“He knows all the details and you’re sleeping with him and he still said no?” Greg asked Adrianne.

It was all unrelated, dammit. How could they not understand that? They’d fallen in love. It wasn’t about the project. It was about wanting to be together.

“That’s enough, Greg,” Adrianne said sharply. “My relationship with Mason has nothing to do with the building project.”

“Which is very disappointing,” Greg muttered.

Adrianne’s head ached now too. She rubbed her chest with one hand and her temple with the other.

“Everybody needs to shut the hell up.” Adrianne and everyone else turned as a group to face Lauren as she stepped forward. “I don’t really care if you try to sell specialty coffees to people in the middle of nowhere or not, but you all need to back off of Adrianne a little. She said she’s going to handle it and she will. Having you all yapping at her can’t possibly be helping.”

Adrianne was shocked by Lauren’s defense. She started to answer with something, but Hailey turned to her with her mouth open. “Who is that?”

“Mason’s business partner.”

“So Mason really does want to stay and grow corn?” Jennifer asked, apparently not interested in advice from the stranger.

Adrianne sighed. “Yeah.”

“And you’re really going to marry him, move onto the farm and grow corn with him and forget about what the rest of us want?” Greg asked, also completely ignoring Lauren.

Adrianne wanted all of that so badly she could taste it. Well, except for the part about forgetting what the rest of them wanted. The guilt would be oppressive. The peace she’d feel sitting on the front porch at the farm would be tainted by the thought that she was sitting precisely on the spot that would have made a lot of people very happy. “There’s nothing to worry about,” she said miserably. “I’m taking care of it.”

She was taking care of all of it. All of them.

Hailey didn’t have to worry about her political career. Greg could make his rocking chairs. Jen could sell tons of cards. The people in Haiti would have a crop and even the White House would get their way.

Everyone was going to be fine. Except her. But she was one person, one heart. And she would have what she technically had wanted all along—a quiet, simple life. No one showing up and yelling at her in her foyer for one. No one blaming her for the economic demise of their town. No visions of starving children in Haiti keeping her from sleeping well at night. And no one making her heart nearly burst with love and happiness.

A safe life and a safe heart.

“What do you mean you’re taking care of it?” Hailey asked. “If making him fall in love didn’t work, how do you know—?”

“Just shut up, Hailey,” Adrianne snapped.

Hailey, Greg and Jennifer stared at her.

But wow, telling Hailey to shut up felt good.

“The truth is,” Adrianne said as she started the biggest lie of her life. “I never said yes to the farm or to being with him.”

That wasn’t the lie. She hadn’t—very much on purpose. But she was implying she didn’t want to say yes. That was the lie.

“If last night is how you treat people you’re going to turn down, I’d love to see what you do for someone you want to keep around.”

Everyone, again, turned as a unit toward the new voice—except Adrianne. She reacted slower than the rest. It was Mason. And he’d overheard that.

While his tone was conversational, his words were harsh, and she didn’t want to face him.

She suddenly wasn’t sure she could do this. She looked for Lauren and found the other woman looking as concerned and nervous as Adrianne felt. Mason had to believe that Adrianne truly wanted him to go.

She had to do the sales job of her life.

CHAPTER TEN

FINALLY, ADRIANNE TURNED. Mason stood in the doorway. His expression and stance—hands in his pockets, weight shifted to one hip—appeared casual, but as soon as she looked into his eyes, Adrianne knew he was anything but.

His gaze was focused on her but she quickly broke eye contact. She was so glad the others were here. Yes, it would be more painful with witnesses, but she had to hurt him and she’d never be able to do it if they were alone.

Heck, she had her doubts about pulling it off anyway.

She crossed her arms, not wanting to let him get too close or he’d see in her eyes how she really felt.

“I never said I was for you keeping the house and farm, Mason. I never said I’d move out there with you.”

He looked at her for a long moment and she had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from blurting out the truth that she’d imagined them together at the farm too. Mason didn’t argue, he didn’t call her bluff, he simply nodded.

“You’re right. You never said you’d do that.”

She swallowed hard. “If you move to the farm and keep the house, I don’t get my shop. I can’t forget all those plans and dreams and you shouldn’t expect me to.”

“I thought I was offering you a different dream. Maybe even a better dream,” he said evenly.

“I’ve known you for three days, Mason. And what about everyone else? I can’t want you to move here knowing that it’s taking away their dreams. You’re asking me to choose a three-day fling over friends and neighbors I’ve had for years.”

His expression was shuttered and she knew it was painful for him to do this in front of an audience like this. She hadn’t been there eleven years ago, but she could imagine how everything with Hailey had gone. It was painful enough hearing someone tell you they didn’t want you. It was far worse in front of a crowd. Which was no doubt why Hailey had done it. And why Adrianne was doing it now. This had to sting. This had to be bad enough that he’d leave and not want to come back.

Of course the others were keeping her from caving too.

She thought about that as she watched him watching her.

Had Hailey done it with witnesses because it was meaner or had she done it to keep from throwing herself at him and forsaking her popularity, her plans to stay in Sapphire Falls, her plans to live the life she now had?

“I wouldn’t be moving here for a fling, Adrianne,” Mason said easily even as his eyes flashed with anger.

Her heart felt like someone was pulling a jagged piece of glass through it. He loved her and that was what allowed her to hurt him like this.

“I like you, Mason,” she said. “We’ve had a great time. But I want Sapphire Hills. I want my candy shop.”

“I’ll buy you a fucking candy shop,” he said, his temper finally breaking through. “I won’t let that keep us apart.”

She swallowed. He was angry. He’d told her himself that he only got emotional when he was really passionate. She was the only woman who could do that to him.

“I want it more than anything.” She was shocked she could say that without choking. She really was good at sales.

“That doesn’t make sense,” he said with a scowl. “You love me. I know you do.”

And things always had to make sense to Mason Riley. She almost smiled in spite of the pain.

“We just met. We’re attracted but it’s not…” she almost choked again but pushed to finish, “…it’s not normal to fall in love that easily.”

Complete silence met her words. No one but Phoebe knew Adrianne knew the story of what had happened between Hailey and Mason. Adrianne would have never said something like that to anyone else with that past. Normal Mason was not. He was so much better. But he wanted to be normal. She knew that.

“You’re probably right,” Mason finally said. “I don’t know much about being normal.”

She was barely holding it together as it was and hearing him say that was her second-to-last straw.

He reached into his pocket and withdrew a checkbook. Adrianne’s gut cramped and she hugged her arms over her stomach to keep from throwing up. But she stayed quiet. This was making everything okay for everyone else. She could do this. It was almost over.

Mason’s pen moved over a blank check. The sound of him tearing it from the rest of the book was thunderous in the silent foyer. When he took a step toward her, she flinched. He held it out. It was for the requested hundred thousand dollars.

“Trust me,” he said coolly. “You were worth every penny.”

She couldn’t look past the top button on his shirt. She also wouldn’t reach for it. If she let go of herself she was going to fall apart.

After five seconds ticked by, he handed it to Hailey instead. Adrianne gratefully turned her attention to her boss.

“I’ll have my lawyer look into the land situation,” Mason said. “Who should he contact when we get a deal ready?”

“Me,” Hailey said softly.

“No.” Mason’s answer was quick. “I don’t want this to be personal at all. Lawyer to lawyer.”

Hailey nodded. “Okay, we’ll have Mike Little handle it,” she said, naming a Sapphire Falls attorney who had served on the city council in the past.

Adrianne wasn’t sure if Mason nodded or sighed or frowned, but she felt his eyes on her before he stepped around her.

Lauren didn’t even flinch as he reached out and grasped her upper arm. She seemed resigned as he started for the door with her in tow.

“Excuse us. I need to confer with my partner.”

Lauren gave Adrianne an apologetic shrug and went with Mason.

The screen door slamming was like a gunshot and Adrianne tried to pull a deep breath in and couldn’t. She felt like her ribs were shrinking, crushing her heart and lungs.

“WHAT THE HELL just happened in there?” Mason demanded of his best friend—who he was less shocked to see than he probably should have been.

“Adrianne broke up with you,” Lauren said, meeting his gaze steadily.

He let go of her before he squeezed her arm too hard. “Is it a coincidence that you’re here and all of a sudden she breaks up with me?”

“Not really.” Lauren crossed her arms and risked looking belligerent. “I told her about Haiti.”

Of course she had.

“And I believe I warned you about not making me come here,” she added.

“What did you tell her?”

He could only imagine. Lauren got passionate about their work, but never as much as she did about the project in Haiti. They’d been there twice already, for two weeks each time. And while it wasn’t an easy place to visit, it was also a hard place to leave. There was so much need there, and the idea that they could do something about some of it had hit them both hard, but Lauren had, for some reason, really gotten fired up.