Mason (Remington Ranch Book 1) (Contemporary Western Romance) (7 page)

“So what are you saying?” Gina's head was spinning, trying to make sense of it. Trying to deny the truth of it.

“That I am making my move to get the man I love. I don't want you to hate me for it. And I'm saying you should take a long hard look at yourself and figure out what
you
want.” She turned around and walked back out leaving Gina staring after her.

She let herself into one of the stalls and sat there dazed. It was true. She
was
always wishing that Liam was different. She didn't know what to think or what to do. Did she love him? Was Kaitlyn right, that she didn't love him at all? And how could she hate Kaitlyn if
she
loved Liam and always had? She sat there for a long time, confused by it all. She heard someone come in to the bathroom.

“Gina?”

“What, Kaitlyn?”

“I think you should come out. Liam is getting worried that you've been gone so long.”

She opened the stall door.

“I'm sorry.”

Gina shook her head. “Don't be. At least you're honest. But don't expect me to know what to say to you yet either.”

Kaitlyn nodded and left.

Mason watched their table from his perch at the bar. He'd been surprised when Shane had pointed out the fiancé. He'd expected a big guy, someone like himself. Gina had always joked that she needed a big man, a real man. This guy was more of a weedy city type. Not Gina's type at all. He was sitting there sipping a glass of wine, chatting with his friend, looking way too clean and primped to belong out here. Gina was nowhere to be seen.

After a while, a blonde woman came and sat at the table. She put a hand on the fiancé's shoulder and from the way he smiled at her, it seemed Shane was right and those two were a little
too
friendly. Mason bristled with indignation on Gina's behalf. How could he even notice another woman when he had Gina? What kind of asshole would mess around on her? The kind of asshole who wouldn't have her for much longer if
he
had anything to do with it. But where was she?

Mason watched as the fiancé and his friends sat and chatted for a few minutes then fell silent. After sitting that way for a while, the guy started to look agitated. He said something to the blonde woman and she stood up again and headed for the ladies’ room. She came out a few minutes later and Gina followed shortly afterward. She was so beautiful. But she looked pale and shaken. What was going on? He wasn't going to wait any longer to find out. He turned to Shane. “Are you coming?”

Shane grinned and nodded. “Let Operation Get Gina Back begin!”

Chance got down from his stool. “No way I'm missing out on this. Let's go.”

Mason pushed his way through the crowded bar. He shoved Shane in the back when he stopped to let a pretty redhead pass in front of him then crowded against her. She smiled up at him. Mason did not have time for Shane's flirting. He looked at the girl. “I'll send him to find you later, okay sweetheart?”

She smiled at him and then Chance. “I hope you'll both be coming with him? I'm with my friends over in the corner.”

Mason shook his head and pushed Shane forward.

Chance stopped to talk to the girl a minute and then caught up with them.

As they got closer to the table, Mason could sense the tension in the group sitting there. He had to wonder what was going on. Gina turned even paler when she saw them. The others looked up when Shane spoke.

“Good evening, folks. How's the visit going?” He looked around the table, but Ian was the only one to smile. He turned to Gina. “I thought you'd be pleased to see some more old friends.” He gestured to Mason and Chance.

She didn't say anything for a moment, just stared at Mason. He didn't know what was going on with her, but she certainly didn't look like the visit was going well.

She visibly pulled herself together and then stood up with a smile. She surprised him by coming around the table to hug Chance. “It's so good to see you. It's been too long.” Then she turned to Mason and hugged him. It wasn't just a hug though, for a moment she clung to him. He closed his arms around her and struggled to let her go when she turned back to the others. “I'd like you to meet two of my oldest and dearest friends, Mason Remington and Chance Malone.”

Mason tipped his hat at the blonde. He smiled at the other guy before turning a stony glare on the fiancé.

Gina continued with the introductions. “This is Kaitlyn Jones and Ian Rawlings. They both work with my fiancé, Liam Woodford.”

Mason couldn't help crushing the guy's hand when he shook it, then stared him down, waiting for him to speak. He sure as hell wasn't going to say it was nice to meet him. The guy stared back, looking like a rabbit in the headlights. Pussy!

The silence lasted long enough to become awkward before Gina broke it. “It's great to see you guys. Maybe we'll catch up with you later, but Liam and I were about to dance.”

She pulled the guy to his feet and they disappeared onto the crowded dance floor. The blonde chick and the other guy followed them. Mason shrugged and went to lean on the end of the bar to watch. He wasn't in a hurry.

Shane passed him a fresh beer. “She sure didn't act like she hates you.”

Mason nodded. The way she'd hugged him so tight had surprised him—in a good way. He might not be in a hurry, but he didn't intend to waste too much time before he followed up on that hug. The way she was dancing with the guy told him that things weren't good between them. He held her stiffly and she stared out over his shoulder. Mason smiled to himself.
His
Gina didn't dance like that. It seemed he needed to remind her how to dance along with everything else. He handed the beer back to Shane, who grinned at him.

He made his way out onto the dance floor and enjoyed the way Gina's eyes widened when he tapped the guy on the shoulder. “May I?”

He didn't expect a no, and he didn't get one. The guy stepped away and Mason curled an arm around her waist pulling her against him, much closer than her so-called fiancé had been holding her. He didn't enjoy the look on her face when she saw the blonde woman let go of her partner and catch Liam before he left the dance floor. She pressed herself up against him, making Mason scowl and hold Gina even tighter to his chest. She was shaking in his arms. He looked down at her.

“What the hell is going on, G?”

It hurt him to see tears well up in her eyes. He didn't want her to care enough about the guy to cry over him.

She rested her cheek against his chest. “I don't want to talk about it, Mase.”

He couldn't force her to. Instead, he made the most of holding her close. It had been years since they'd danced together, but she felt as though she'd never left his arms. Their bodies moved together as if they were two parts of the same whole. He was hard as a rock being this close to her again. She must be able to feel him, but she didn't move away. She kept her face buried against him and clung to him as they moved. Whatever he'd thought might happen tonight, it certainly wasn't this.

He looked across to see Liam dancing with blondie. He didn't seem worried that his fiancée was holding onto another guy, crying into his chest. He was too busy laughing with his
friend.
Mason saw red.

He took hold of Gina's hand and led her off the dance floor. She must be in a state, she didn't even try to resist. He led her out of the saloon and into the little courtyard out the back. She stared up at him but said nothing.

He wrapped his arms around her again and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Tell me what's going on, babe. If he's hurting you, I will...”

“No!” Finally, she sounded like Gina again, an edge of fire tinged her voice.

“It's not his fault, Mason. It's all my fault.”

“What's your fault?”

She looked up at him. “You are the last person I should be talking to about this.”

He couldn't help smiling at her. “I was always the one you could talk to, G. Always the one you came to. I don't know what changed that, but I don't think it matters anymore. All I know is I want to change it back again.”

Her eyes almost popped out of her head. “What...what are you saying, Mase?”

“I'm saying we need to put whatever happened in the past behind us. We need to start getting on with our forever. I want you back, Gina. And this time I'm not going to give up. That guy isn't right for you. You're mine babe, always have been, always will be. It's time you admit it. Don't you think?”

~ ~ ~

Gina stared at him. She could not believe this was happening. Mason still wanted her? Still wanted forever? Not ten minutes after Kaitlyn had told her that
she
didn't love Liam? She didn't know what to do with this. With any of it.

Mason was smiling at her, his eyes pleading with her. He couldn't mean it? She hadn't been his for years—because he hadn't wanted her to be.

“I don't understand.”

“I don't know how I can make it any clearer. I want you back and I'm not giving up until I get you. You can't marry that guy. He's not good enough for you.” Gina hated the pity she saw in his eyes as he added. “And I hate to say it, but if he's not messing around on you already, it won't be long before he is.”

That stung. Even though she knew exactly what he meant. Instead of pulling away from him, she sagged against him. “What makes you say that?”

“I think you already know, don't you? It looks like that
friend
he brought with him is more than just a friend.”

Gina heaved a big sigh and let out a sad little laugh. “She's certainly hoping to be. She just told me that she's making her play for him.”

Mason's arms tightened around her. A tiny voice in the back of her mind was yelling that she shouldn't let him hold her like that. That she shouldn't even be out here with him, but she ignored it. He felt so good. He made
her
feel so good, nestled against him. She felt safe, protected, in a way she hadn't felt since...well, since Mason.

He didn't say anything. He'd always known when to stay quiet and let her think. He’d always known when he could push her towards finding her own answers.

“The thing is, she also told me that she's always loved him. She doesn't think he and I belong together either. And...” Her mind was racing, replaying the conversation. When Kaitlyn had told her she didn't really love Liam, Gina had been angry. Of course, she did! But sitting in that bathroom stall pondering it all, she had started to think that perhaps she didn't. When Mason had come marching over to their table, she had known for sure that what she felt for Liam had never come anywhere close to what she felt for this man. Dancing with him, coming out here with him, had only emphasized the fact that Mason was still the man she loved. Even though he was also the man who had destroyed her.

She looked up at him. “You're right, Mase. He's not right for me. I'm not right for him, and I need to get back in there and let him know that.”

He searched her face. “And what about you and me?”

She couldn't go there. Not yet. “You broke my heart. How would we ever get past that?”

The lines around his eyes were etched with pain. “Tell me how, babe? I don't understand. I've never understood. What did I ever do to you?”

He really didn't seem to know. Maybe it was time to forget how much the boy he had been had hurt her? The man he was now seemed pretty genuine about wanting another chance. “That's not going to be a short conversation. Let me go and deal with Liam for now? We'll talk, Mase. I promise. But not tonight, okay?”

He nodded and held her close. “I'll wait, but I won't be patient. And I'm not giving up on us. Not ever again, do you hear me?” He tucked his fingers under her chin as he spoke and looked deep into her eyes.

She nodded. She wanted to believe him. Wanted more than anything in the world for him to mean it. His lips came down on hers. It was a gentle kiss, deep and tender, full of promises. Could she even dare to hope that he might mean them this time? When their lips finally parted she smiled up at him. “I'd better get back in there.”

It felt as if they'd never been apart when he patted her ass with a grin. “Go get 'em, G. I'll be waiting for you when you're ready.”

She frowned. “Not tonight.”

He smiled. “I know, babe. I'll be waiting w
henever
you're ready.”

It took everything she had to leave the circle of his arms and walk back inside. For a moment there, the last ten years had disappeared and she had felt as if they were back to the way they had been. Mason and Gina, the couple who were meant to be. As she opened the door to the saloon, she turned to look back at him. Her heart melted when she met his gaze. His smile offered the promise of future happiness while at the same time stripping away all the hurt of the past and making her remember all the love and laughter they'd shared.

He tipped his hat back and winked at her, making her smile and hurry inside. She'd once told him how much that particular little move turned her on—and he'd used it on her to great effect whenever he could after that. While part of her would love to turn around, go back to him, step into his arms and go wherever the night might take them, she couldn't. It seemed that her whole life had been turned on its head over the course of the last few days. She had to put the brakes on and sort through it all before she could let herself be swept along with it. The first thing she needed to do was talk to Liam. He was, after all, supposed to be her fiancé. Whether that was about to change or not, they needed to talk about it.

As she made her way through the bar, she had to second guess herself. Why had she forced herself to come back, to try to talk things out with Liam? He was still dancing with Kaitlyn, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had left with Mason. Kaitlyn was laughing. She flicked her long blonde hair away from her face then rested her hand on Liam's shoulder. Gina wanted to hate her for it, but she could see the love shining in Kaitlyn's eyes as she smiled up at Liam. How could she hate her? No one could help how they felt—whom they loved. She of all people knew that. She'd tried for years to stop loving Mason, but her heart bluntly refused to let go.

As she approached the dance floor, she had no idea what she should do. She'd come back in thinking she needed to take Liam aside and talk to him. Watching him dance with Kaitlyn, she didn't want to intrude. It felt like
they
were the couple and
she
was the interloper, about to ruin their evening. She didn't need to decide what to do. Liam spotted her. He smiled and spoke a few words to Kaitlyn before letting go of her and making his way to Gina.