Seasons of Fate (7 page)

  
‘Hey I happen to love having my hair played with so Lily can use me all she wants.’ Lily continued to add to her creation until I asked her to get dressed so we could go out. She kissed Mase’s cheek and ran double speed into her room.

  
‘Wow, she’s a little tornado, but so grown up for someone so young.’ Yeah I thought, she had no choice really

  
‘She’s an old soul, I just hope she isn’t tainted by the crap we’ve experienced. I was kind of hoping these new memories would paint over all the shit she may have seen and heard. I guess only time will tell.’

I let my melancholy last a minute before putting the smile back on my face. When I looked up, Mase just stared back then said

   ‘Kids are very resilient, I’m sure she understands more than you think. Plus I don’t think you need to worry, I mean look how happy she is.’ Yea I had to agree she seemed almost blissful. I helped take the clips and bows out of his hair, using this as an excuse to run my fingers through his hair before he excused himself and took the time to get ready and join us. We went to the park and made the most of our time, Mase pushed Lily on the swings while I sat and watched, I bet from the outside we looked very much the normal family. When Lily was spent we decided to get some ice cream and went back to the hotel so Lily could nap. John and Lys were nowhere to be seen, but a note confirmed they were out for the evening. We sat and talked for a while, before Mase decided to ask about dinner.

  
‘I meant to ask if you have thought about coming to dinner at my family’s home. I know your worried about it but I would love it if both of you would join me. My Mom can’t wait to meet you.’

  
‘Oh I’m sorry I forgot, when were you thinking?’

  
‘Actually they asked me to come over tonight, but I guess Lily’s flat out for the afternoon.’ I laughed out loud

  
‘Don’t worry about that, she will be fully energised after her nap, trust me. I would love to come with you but I worry about what they may think of us, especially, the way we met.’

  
‘Don’t be silly, all they care about is that you saved me and they are looking forward to meeting the ladies who are occupying my time.’

Oh God, what if they hate me and think I
’m after his money or something, reluctantly I agreed saying

  
‘Ok, we’d love to come to dinner with you.’ He smiled that smile and kissed me. I was starting to get used to the kissing, I mean, the guy could kiss.

  
‘What time are they expecting you?’

  
‘I told them about 6ish, I didn’t think you would want to keep Lily out too late.’

  
‘Ohh you are so sweet and considerate. Where did you come from?’ I said with a stupid look on my face. He just sat back and grinned at me.

Once Lily woke up I got her ready and explained what we were doing, she was a little reserved but seemed happy to be with Mase. On the drive to his family home, Mase explained that he was brought up outside of the city but once his career took off he decided to move so he was close to everything and also to make sure his family weren
’t harassed by the paps. 

   The drive took about 30 minutes, when we finally pulled up, the drive lead to a beautiful modern home which was lit up. I could imagine the amazing life he would have had growing up here and felt a sudden pang of jealousy which was swept away with guilt at the thought. How could I even think that when Mason had literally been there since we met and knew more about me than anybody else. Anyway I shut the thought away for now. We got out of the car and Mason walked around to take care of Lily. He picked her up and she automatically wrapped her small arms around his neck, the view took my breath away. This is how is should be, with somebody who loves you regardless. I didn
’t want to think like that as our time together was limited but I couldn’t help myself. The way they clung to each other you could mistake them for father and daughter. My thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening and a woman running down the steps, she had long blond hair, a very pretty face. She was petite but had the same eyes as Mase, so I assumed this was his sister.

  
‘Mason, I’m so glad you came. ‘She stopped short and leaned in to hug him but stopped when she saw him holding Lily.

  
‘Hey pretty girl, you must be Lily, we have heard all about you sweetie. My names Melissa, but everybody calls me Mel.’ Lily looked at Mase and then said a quiet hello, before hiding her face is Mase’s neck.

  
‘Hey Sis, how’s it going? Lily here is a little shy but I’m sure she would love to meet Black, what do you think?’ Mel looked from Mase to me then back and agreed. Lily looked up, her curiosity peeked.

  
‘Who’s Black?’

  
‘That’s my horse, we keep him in the stables out back, would you like to meet him?’ With a smile, Lily nodded and then jumped down to walk in with Mel. It really doesn’t take much to get her to open up, I think she just likes to feel safe, which isn’t hard with Mason around.

  
‘Well if you didn’t already guess, that’s my kid sister Mel.’

I smiled at him and followed him into the house. His father was next to meet us just inside the front door.
‘Dad, it’s been a while’ with hugs, they smiled at one another and then his father turned to me.

  
‘Well, well, it’s about time he brought you to meet us, I’m Henry, Masons dad, and you must be Summer. It’s so nice to meet you, finally. He hasn’t stopped talking about you and I have to say he wasn’t exaggerating.’ I blushed beetroot at the compliment but decided to just jump in head first.

  
‘It’s nice to meet you Mr Stone. Mason talks about you all the time.’ I could see where Mase got his looks from, his father smiled the same smile at me, and I almost sighed in relief. ‘Thank you for inviting us to your beautiful home, I’m sorry but Lily has gone out to meet Black.’

  
‘Ahh that’s ok, Mel and Lily walked through the kitchen before going out back so we met, and I have to say, the little angel just blew me away,’ he laughed and called us into the kitchen where I presume Mason’s mother was. Henry called his wife over and she beamed our way. She had the same dark hair as Mase but her eyes were brown, his mother really was stunning and petite

  
‘Mason, I’m so glad you made it. Oh and you must be Summer. Hi, I’m Gabrielle, Mason’s mom, it’s so nice to finally meet the woman who saved my baby’s life.’ Again, my face flamed but I leaned in and greeted Mase’s mother.

  
‘It’s so nice to meet you Mrs Stone.’ She shushed me away and told me to call her Gaby. Once the formalities were over Gaby explained that they were having a BBQ out back so we walked out to the gardens, and wow was all I could think to say. The garden was huge, with a beautiful deck set for dinner, I was so not used to this. Mason grabbed some drinks and we sat back and watched as Lily ran around chasing Mel back toward us.

  
‘Lily, I hope you said thanks to Mel for showing you Black.’

  
‘Yes mummy, he is so pretty and big too. Can I have a horse mummy? Please, please.’

  
‘Baby I can’t promise you that until we decide where to settle down, remember.’

The conversation seemed to quiet instantly. I had forgotten that nobody knew about our past, so I decided to just smile and hope nobody asked any questions. Sensing that Mason was about to step in, I offered to help with dinner instead, which was greeted with a resounding
‘No’.

  
‘You’re our guest so just relax.’ I should have known that wouldn’t stop his family’s curiosity. His mother started with.

  
‘Mason tells us you’re from the UK. What part?’

I decided to stick to the truth as much as possible and just omit certain things, I mean that story is the perfect way to fuck up this dinner.

   ’I grew up in London, but we’ve decided to relocate elsewhere on our return, a fresh start. I just haven’t made a final decision where as yet.’

I thought honesty was the better option so without going into details I gave them a short version of why.

   ’My husband died a few months ago, and I brought Lily on this trip before we decide what to do next. He wasn’t a very nice person so I thought getting away from London would help both of us move forward. ‘

The silence was awkward. Mason gripped my hand under the table and squeezed, letting me know he was there. Gaby spoke first

   ’I’m sorry about that Summer, we didn’t know or we wouldn’t have asked. You seem awfully…. young to have been married?’ Oh God here goes,

  
’I was married off at 18, I had Lily when I was 21, she was my reason to carry on existing.’

Again too much information but I needed them to understand without me having to go into details. Gaby seemed to understand and gave me a silent smile, but Henry looked like he wanted to murder somebody, again the same expression Mase had on his face the night I revealed the truth to him. These men obviously took care of their own and from what I could see did not take kindly to woman being mistreated. I changed the subject back to Mase so we could enjoy the rest of the evening. Dinner was great and I realised what an amazing family he really had, both his parents were loving and had no problem showing their kids affection, which both Mel and Mason returned in kind. Gaby and Henry seemed smitten with my little princess, of course she just drew you in and I think she was a little in love with Mason
’s family. I just hoped this wouldn’t cause her more pain when we needed to leave. I watched them interact while we ate dessert and couldn’t help but feel grateful that Mason had crashed into my life.

Chapter 6

Summer

   The next day, I woke up early and had trouble going back to sleep, so I checked on Lily and my friends before making myself some tea. I decided some research was in order. I still hadn
’t decided where we were going to live once we went back to the UK. I wanted somewhere completely different, maybe near a city but more rural, especially if I was going to fulfil Lily’s wish of a horse. I e mailed some agents about properties I had seen online and waited for responses. I knew that we had some money coming our way from Mr Seymour’s estate. He had made a song and dance about making sure his mistakes were taken care of, so I was just hoping it would be enough to buy a new home for Lily and me to start over.

   A couple of hours later, a knock at the door pulled me away from my current thoughts, of course I knew it was probably Mase but my heart still began to gallop. When the door opened, he handed me a bunch of sunflowers and kissed my cheek.

  
‘Hey sorry, I couldn’t wait any longer to come over, I hope you don’t mind?’ I smiled

  
‘Don’t be silly, you know your welcome anytime, Everyone’s still asleep. Coffee?’

  
‘Yea thanks. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t scared off by my family yesterday? They can sometimes be a bit much. My Mom thought they may have upset you.’

  
‘Nah I’m good. Your family is amazing. Like you. Look…while it’s just us I wanted to talk about some stuff. It’s kind of embarrassing but I don’t think I can avoid it any longer.’ He didn’t say a word, so I pulled him down onto the sofa and carried on

  
‘I know you know everything about me so you can guess that I’m not very…umm, I mean I’m, Oh God, I’m not experienced with men if you know what I mean.’ Oh God please kill me now, I thought. He looked confused then seemed to come to an internal understanding.

  
‘Sweetheart, I understand all of that, and I wasn’t aware you felt pressured by me.’

  
‘I’m not, Oh God…. look, I like you, I like spending time with you, I like the way you make me feel, I love the way you are with Lily, and I just assumed that eventually you would probably want, well want more.’

I couldn
’t bring myself to look him in the eye, I was mortified.

  
‘Hey, look at me. I would never push for something your not ready for, we can go at your pace, but I love being with you, you make me feel alive again. Like I could do anything, I’ve even been thinking about lyrics for my own songs and that’s because of you and as for Lily, I love that little girl.’

My eyes blurred and a stray tear rolled down my cheek, he brushed it away with his thumb, before I knew what was happening we were in a tight embrace with our lips crushed together. His tongue caressed my lips and asked for entrance, which I gave automatically. I felt like this was meant to be, we were made for the other. I got lost in his kiss and didn
’t notice the clearing of throats, when Mase pulled away I turned to see my friends and daughter lined up with embarrassed smiles on their faces.

  
‘Good morning guys, anybody want breakfast?’ I said while moving to the kitchen and pouring Mason a cup of coffee.

  
‘Yes please, Oh God, my head feels like a ten tonne weight, holy crap how much did you let me drink John?’