Chapter 10

 

It was highly enjoyable for Camden to watch Kenzie squirm with embarrassment. He, on the other hand, didn’t care who saw them kissing. In fact, he was ready to start up again. But Kenzie was obviously uncomfortable that her sister had caught them making out.

Eric and Tessa climbed into the hot tub and sat on the opposite side. Eric put his arm around Tessa. “I heard there was some kind of commotion earlier.” He looked at them curiously.

Tessa elbowed him. “Don’t be rude.”

Kenzie’s cheeks flushed in a most adorable way. “It’s okay. It’s not really a secret. At least, not anymore. My ex-husband is here. I guess he’s been looking for me. When I filed the annulment papers, he didn’t respond. I guess he thought if he didn’t sign, I couldn’t get them to go through. He didn’t realize I could get the annulment even if he didn’t participate. As soon as the annulment was finalized, he started calling me. He wouldn’t stop insisting we get back together. So I tossed my phone and left L.A.”

Eric leaned back. “Do you need me to call security?”

Kenzie waved away the idea. “He’s harmless. I think I pacified him to wait until after the wedding.”

Camden wasn’t so sure the guy was harmless. He saw the look of desperation on Mason’s face. But he didn’t want to argue the point, though he would make sure he was with her when they talked.

“So,” Tessa said. “Tell me more about you two. You looked awful cozy in here. Are things getting serious?”

To anyone watching, they would have looked serious, so Camden said, “Yes.” Unfortunately, at the same time, Kenzie said, “No.”

Tessa looked between them.

“I mean,” Kenzie said, holding up her hand. “Things are starting to get serious but they’re not that serious yet.”

Tessa wiggled her eyebrows. “Sure.”

Camden grinned and slid his arm around Kenzie’s waist. “I’m not opposed to getting serious.”

Kenzie shot him a death glare before turning back to her sister. Oops. He was trying to be playful, but maybe he’d pushed it too far. “Camden’s joking,” she said. “He’s always joking around like that.”

Tessa glanced at Eric before smiling. “Whatever. I’m not trying to push you guys. You’re just a cute couple. I can tell you have a bond. And chemistry.”

They had chemistry in spades. Even now, sitting beside her, Camden’s heart was racing. Well, maybe that was still a side effect from the kissing. Needing to change the subject, he pointed to Eric. “You guys seem pretty compatible. Does Tessa do anything that really annoys you?”

Eric laughed until Tessa shot him a glare. “No. Nothing. I love everything about her.”

Kenzie leaned forward. “Ha! Come on. Fess up. I know she chews with her mouth open. That doesn’t annoy you?”

Tessa’s mouth flew open. “What? I do not.”

“It’s not so much the chewing. It’s the other little noises she makes when she eats.” Eric began making little mewling noises.

“I totally don’t do that!” Tessa elbowed Eric and he leaned over, chuckling.

“Oh my gosh, she does do that!” Kenzie grinned. “It’s like she can’t help it. She loves food way too much.”

“What about you?” Tessa said, a grin on her face as she faced Kenzie. “Your feet stink. And I’m not talking about normal feet smell. I’m talking who-let-the-cat-die kind of smell.”

Camden peered down at Kenzie. “You have dead-cat feet?”

Kenzie’s eyes widened. “They’re not that bad! Don’t listen to her! She picks her nose while she drives!”

Camden laughed and pulled Kenzie close to him. “I don’t care if your feet stink. If they do, I’ve never noticed. I only smell almond and coco butter when you’re around.”

Kenzie stared up at him and blinked. “You can smell that?”

Of course. He loved the way she smelled. “Yeah.”

She laughed, a short nervous sound. “That’s my shampoo.”

He didn’t care what it was. It was Kenzie. It fit her well.

“I do not pick my nose,” Tessa said, and everyone laughed.

 

***

 

Kenzie took a quick shower to get the chlorine off her skin before she dressed for the rehearsal dinner. As she toweled off her hair, she marveled that Camden had noticed the smell of her shampoo. Most guys didn’t even notice when she got a haircut.

She zipped up her dress and slid into her pumps. This was hopefully going to be a fun evening, playing silly games with her sister at the bachelorette party after the rehearsal. She needed a little bit of silly to take her mind off what she was feeling for Camden.

The rehearsal went about as expected. The wedding was going to be outdoors on the beach, and the hardest part would be walking on the runner and not tripping. Everything else was kept simple. After the dinner, Kenzie turned to her sister. “I’ll meet you in the clubhouse for your bachelorette party in a second. I have to run upstairs and grab your present.” Since she hadn’t been able to attend Tessa’s bridal shower, she’d brought a gift for the party tonight.

“No problem,” Tessa said. “We won’t start without you.”

Kenzie rushed upstairs to her room. She went to the closet and pulled out the gift. She’d made her sister a locket. A hurried knock came on her door. She wondered if her sister had followed her up. She opened the door. Mason stood there, his face pale. “Kenzie. I need you downstairs.”

“What? I can’t. My sister’s bachelorette party is tonight.”

Mason gripped her arm and shoved his way into her room. “Please. Mother is here. She wants to see you. She’s making such a big fuss over it.”

Kenzie yanked her arm away from Mason. “What did you do?”

Mason ran a hand through his hair. “I told her we were here for a getaway trip. She just showed up, demanding to see you. She thinks I’m lying about us being together.”

“You are lying!”

Mason cringed. “Just go downstairs with me. She’s insisting on having dinner with us. It won’t take long.”

She glared at Mason. What was he trying to pull? She had no time for this. “If I miss my sister’s bachelorette party, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Fine. Come sit down with us to show her you’re here and I haven’t been lying. Then make up some excuse and leave.” Mason stood there, wringing his hands, looking pathetic and desperate.

Ugh. Why was she even considering it? She should go down there and tell his mother the truth. Then Mason would be out of her hair. She sighed. “Alright.”

Mason smiled. “Really? Thank you. You’re a lifesaver. Come on, she’s waiting.” He held out his hand. “And put this on.”

She stared at her wedding ring. The one she’d left on his pillow. She swallowed. “No way.”

He shoved it in her hand. “Just wear it. We’re supposed to be married.”

Kenzie knew she’d regret it later, but she slid the ring on her finger. She stuffed the gift into her purse and followed Mason out the door. She practiced ways she would spill it to his mother as they walked down the hallway to the elevators. When they got to the first floor she had decided it was best to blurt it out. Mason and I aren’t married anymore. Then she could leave and let them have a fallout.

They entered the Emporium and Mason showed her to the table. His mother stood as they approached. Delores looked exactly the same as when Kenzie met her at the wedding. Her hair was swept up in a French knot, and she wore a form-fitting dress that screamed money. She smoothed her features into a smile. “Kenzie, darling, so nice of you to come out of hiding to eat dinner with me.”

The way she said it made Kenzie cringe. She knew that condescending tone—her own mother used it all too often. “Good to see you, Mrs. Wells.”

Mason cleared his throat. “Mother,” he said in a warning tone.

They all sat down. “I can’t imagine what has been so pressing for you, my dear. We missed you at our family reunion last year. Mason said it couldn’t be helped, but when you missed my husband’s birthday celebration, and then Christmas . . . well, I was beginning to think Mason wasn’t telling us something.”

Her gaze pierced through Kenzie. Accusing.

Kenzie gave Delores her sweetest smile. “I’m so terribly sorry, Mrs. Wells. It’s just been one thing after another. First, my mother got Typhoid Fever, then my father ran off with the milkmaid, then my aunt dropped acid and held up a bus full of penguins . . . it’s been one family crisis after another.”

Delores froze, her eyes widening as she stared at Kenzie. “Well . . . I . . . Mason said your business was taking off. I had no idea. . .”

Kenzie held in a laugh. She had gone against her plan to blurt out the truth, but it was totally worth it to see Mason’s mother speechless.

Mason kicked her under the table and she flinched. “Yes, that too. So, you see, I’ve been so very busy with my business and my family, I haven’t had as much time to be there for you. But I’m here now, Mrs. Wells. How are you and your husband?”

Another kick came from under the table before Delores frowned. “My husband is very sick. I’m afraid he won’t make it.”

Guilt made Kenzie’s stomach sour. “I’m so sorry.”

A small chime came from Kenzie’s clutch, and she discretely pulled out her phone.

Where are you? The party can’t start without you!

Tessa’s bachelorette party. She had to leave. But what was she going to say?

Mason put his arm around her. “We promise that we’ll be there at the reunion so Dad can see Kenzie one last time.”

Delores blinked back tears. “It would mean so much to him.”

Oh no. More guilt poured over her. She had to get out of this situation, and fast. She sat up straight. “Oh, my. I have a bathroom emergency. Please excuse me.”

Before anyone could react, she got up from the table and fled out of the restaurant. Her cheeks flamed as she ran down the hallway toward the clubhouse. The farther away she got, the more relief flooded over her. That was over. Done. She was never going back to that horrible situation. She yanked off the ring and stuffed it in her purse. Mason could lie and tell his family whatever he wanted. Apparently he’d been doing just that this past year and a half anyway. She shook her head. What a creep.

She pushed open the door and entered. The giant room was decorated with flowers and tulle, totally transformed from earlier in the day. She placed her gift on the table with the others. Tessa grabbed her and gave her a hug. “Now the party can start!”

The couches and chairs were set up in a large circle. Kenzie didn’t see her mother, which was a relief. The chairs were filled with women Tessa’s age. Adele, Shelley, and Brenda sat together on the left. Tessa sat at the head of the circle and motioned to the empty one next to her. “Have a seat.”

Kenzie sank down on the chair and crossed her ankles. Everyone in the room was staring at her. She tried not to pay attention to it as Brenda handed out pieces of paper to everyone. “We’re going to play Bachelorette Balderdash.”

Kenzie got into the game, writing down crazy answers to the questions when she wasn’t sure of the right answer. She filled out all the questions, smiling at some of them. They collected all the sheets and then started reading them out loud.

From the corner of her eye she saw movement, and she turned to see Mason outside the door, frantically waving at her through the small glass panel. Her stomach clenched. She shook her head a little, but Mason kept waving and he looked a little distraught.

Great.

Tessa patted her knee and Kenzie whipped around to pay attention. Tessa grinned at her. “You’re in so much trouble.”

“What?” Panic jumped into her throat. Her sister had seen Mason?

“Bride’s favorite pastime: Smelling my lovely scented feet. I know you wrote that one.”

Everyone laughed, and Kenzie forced a smile. “Yeah, that was me.”

“A point goes to Kenzie.”

Another movement caught her attention. The door creaked open and Mason stuck his head inside. He was not going to give up. Kenzie widened her eyes and said, “Oh! Bathroom emergency! I’ll be right back.”

She dashed off her chair toward Mason, who ducked back outside when he saw her coming. She shoved her way into the hall and rounded on him. “What are you doing? I told you: I have to be at my sister’s party!”

“You need to come back. My mother thinks you’re on the toilet dying.”

“So? Maybe that’s an okay ending to this fake relationship.”

He wrung his hands. “Please, come back for a few minutes.”

Kenzie found herself running down the hallway with him, stuffing her wedding ring back on her finger. What was she doing? Why couldn’t she say no to him? What was she going to say when she got there?

She plopped down at the table with Delores. Her cell phone still sat on the table. Apparently she’d forgotten it. “Sorry. Got lost. Mason found me wandering around the place. This resort is huge, isn’t it?”

Delores pinched her lips together, but she didn’t say anything. A waitress was already at the table, tapping her pencil on a pad of paper.

Mason slid his arm over her shoulders. “Do you want your usual, dear?”

She had no idea what Mason thought was her usual, but she wasn’t going to stick around and eat it anyway. “Sure, sweetheart,” she said, giving him a smile.

She wondered if faking a heart attack would be enough to get her out of the meal.