The elevator dinged and Kenzie desperately wanted a thousand clowns to come pouring out of it. Anything to take all the eyes away from her face. Unfortunately, all that emerged was a woman in a perfectly normal looking pencil skirt.

“We can’t still be married,” Kenzie said, her throat dry. “I went to court. Even though you didn’t show up, they said the annulment was finalized. It’s like we were never married.”

Her mother cringed at the words. Mason shook his head. “I received notice in the mail. You put in the wrong date on the paperwork. It messed everything up.”

She closed her eyes. This wasn’t happening. A low buzzing noise started in her ears, and she couldn’t swallow. “No,” she whispered.

“I tried to contact you, but you’d left. I couldn’t find you.”

Her mother pinched the bridge of her nose. “You mean to tell me that you married this man without telling us, then you changed your mind but messed up the annulment?”

Tessa tugged on Helene’s arm. “Maybe it’s best if we let them talk it out, Mom. Let’s go back to the party.”

Helene nodded, plastering on a fake smile. “You go in, dear. I’ll be right with you.”

Tessa gave Kenzie a small sorry-but-I-tried shrug and left. Helene came toward Kenzie. At first she thought her mother was going to slap her, and she flinched, but Helene simply stuck her nose in Kenzie’s face. “This is your sister’s wedding,” she said, her voice low. “If you do anything to ruin it, you’ll have me to deal with.” She turned and stalked down the hallway, disappearing into the clubhouse.

Kenzie couldn’t hold back anymore. She rounded on Mason. “Why did you come here? Messing up our wedding wasn’t good enough for you? You had to come mess up my sister’s wedding too?”

Mason looked stricken. Good. She wasn’t done with him yet. He staggered back. “I couldn’t find you,” he said. “But after a long time searching, I found your family. When I heard about your sister’s wedding, I hoped you’d be here.”

“Didn’t you stop to think that my sister’s wedding wouldn’t be the appropriate time to bring all this up?” She clenched her hands, wanting so bad to sock him.

He glanced between her and Camden. Camden put his arm protectively around her. “Sorry,” Mason mumbled.

“I’ve moved on, as you can see. If there’s a problem with the paperwork, I’ll fix it. There’s no getting back together. Ever.” She gave him the evil eye to punctuate her point.

“Please. Can’t we go somewhere and talk?” He gave her that look. The one that made her run off to California with him in the first place. Stupid look. She cursed that look.

She grabbed onto Camden’s waist. “Not without my boyfriend.”

Mason nodded. “Fair enough.”

Camden shot her a glance but didn’t say anything.

“Let’s get a table at the Emporium restaurant. You can say what you came to say, and then you can leave,” Kenzie said.

“Fine.” Mason started down the hallway toward the Emporium, and Kenzie followed, pulling Camden along with her.

Whatever it was he had to say, it wasn’t going to change her mind. She was through with him. She spent too many nights crying over him, but that was all out of her system. Stick a fork in her, she was done.

The smell of seafood hit her as they entered. Mason spoke to the hostess and she grabbed some menus, leading them to a booth in the back of the restaurant. Mason slid into one side, and Camden slid into the other. Kenzie sat by Camden and placed her hands on the table. After the hostess left, she glared at Mason. “Okay, say what you came here to say.”

He shifted and swallowed. “Look, I get that you’re mad at me. But we had something together. Something good.”

Sure, they had something all right. Something he didn’t value at all. Something he ruined by turning to the first thing in a skirt and cleaning out her tonsils with his tongue. She opened her mouth to tell him off, but he held up a hand. “Let me finish, okay?”

She snapped her mouth shut. A waitress appeared. “What can I get you to drink?”

“I’ll have a Coke,” Mason said.

“Me too.” Kenzie sank down in the booth. The vinyl seat squeaked as she moved against it. All she wanted to do was go to bed and end this day. Maybe then the humiliation would stop.

“Three Cokes.” Camden folded his hands on top of his menu and looked pointedly at Mason. “Finish what you have to say,” he said after the waitress left.

“I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but we’re still married.”

“Not for long,” Kenzie said under her breath.

Mason shot her a glare, then smoothed his features out. “My parents would love for you to come to our family reunion next week.”

“Wait, what?” Kenzie held up her hand. “Why are they wanting me there?”

He shrugged and stared at the table, a guilty look on his face. “You missed last year.”

“We were only married for a week. Why did they think I would come?” There was something fishy going on; she could tell by the way Mason swallowed and tugged at his shirt. “You did tell them I left you, right?”

Mason didn’t meet her gaze. “Well . . . about that.”

“No,” she said, before she could think. “There is no ‘well’ and there certainly isn’t any ‘about that.’ What did you do?”

Mason looked at the ceiling and sighed. “Alright. My parents think we’re still married. I was hoping you’d help me out here. You cared for me at one time, if you remember.”

Now this was all starting to make sense. This wasn’t about a clerical error. This was about his parents wanting him married. She opened her mouth and the words poured out. “I helped you out already. That didn’t work out so hot for me. You should have kept your wedding vows if you wanted to keep your wife.”

“I’ll pay you,” Mason said.

Everyone stopped talking as the waitress came back with their drinks. “Do you need another minute?”

“Yes,” they all said in unison.

After she left, Camden held up a hand. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but you had your say and she said no. Now it’s time for you to leave.”

Mason frowned at Camden. “I’m talking to Kenzie. You have no part in this.”

“Stop.” Kenzie tried to calm herself before she did something she’d regret. Like dump her Coke down Mason’s shirt. She took in a breath and let it out slowly. “I know your father wanted you married. That’s why I was stupid enough to listen to your proposal. But I filed the annulment and I know I didn’t put the wrong dates in. You and I are not married. And you have to tell your family.”

Mason’s eyes took on a pleading look. “A million dollars. That’s what I’ll lose if they find out. They’ll write me out of the will, Kenzie. You don’t want me destitute, do you?”

“Destitute?” Kenzie almost laughed him out of the restaurant. “You are far from destitute, what with your BMW and your vacation home.”

A look flared in Mason’s eyes. Something she’d never quite seen in him before. “All you have to do is go to the reunion with me. That will calm my mother down. Dad’s so close to dying, he could go at any minute. You don’t want him dying thinking we’re splitting up, do you?”

“We have split up!” Kenzie flinched when her voice echoed around the room. She hadn’t meant to yell it so loudly.

Mason’s eyes turned dark. “We are still married. And you would cost me a million dollars because you’re too prideful to come to my reunion?”

Camden slid his arm around her protectively. “That’s enough. She doesn’t want to go with you. If you don’t leave willingly, I’ll call security.”

Mason flushed and narrowed his eyes at Camden. “Let Kenzie talk for herself.” He turned back to her. “A thousand dollars. That’s what I’ll pay you to come with me. Then you can leave and I promise I won’t bother you again.”

She picked up her drink, the cold glass giving her relief from the heat enveloping her. She took a long drink before setting it back down. “I’ll think about it.”

“What?” both Camden and Mason said at the same time, only Camden looked shocked, and Mason was smiling.

“I’ll think about it, but only if you leave here and let me enjoy my sister’s wedding.”

Camden frowned as if he didn’t approve. Mason, on the other hand, looked like he was five and had been given his favorite candy bar. “You won’t regret it,” he said.

“I haven’t decided anything, but if you mess up my sister’s wedding, I’ll say no so fast your head will spin.”

Mason held up his hands in a surrender position. “I promise. I’ll be invisible.”

She pointed at him. “You’re leaving.”

“If I leave, how will you tell me your final decision? Why don’t I stay, but I’ll keep away from you and your family? Cross my heart, I’ll stay hidden until Sunday night, when everything is done, and we can meet somewhere to talk about your decision.”

Kenzie was hoping if she dangled the carrot in front of him, he’d do what she wanted. But she supposed he was offering her enough. “Okay.”

He grinned. “Thank you. You won’t regret this.” He slid out of the booth. “I’ll disappear now.”

“Perfect,” she said.

As soon as Mason was gone, the waitress came back. “Have you decided?”

Kenzie picked up her menu, now starved. She pointed to the first photo that looked good. It was a shrimp and rice dish. “I’ll have this.”

Camden nodded. “That looks good. I’ll have that as well.”

The waitress took the menus and left. Camden turned to her. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“No, but it got him out of here, didn’t it?” She gave him a sly grin.

“Yes, but you have to deal with him again on Sunday.”

“At least then the wedding will be done, and I won’t have my mother threatening bodily harm if I ruin my sister’s wedding.” Bodily harm was probably the least her mother would do. She held back visions of her mother casting curses on her or tossing her out of the family for good. Well, that last one wouldn’t be so bad.

“You have a point,” Camden said. “What are you going to say to him when he comes back?”

“Go jump out a window?” She laughed at Camden’s face. “Okay, maybe that’s too on the nose.”

“And maybe too risky. Did you see how mad he got when you kept refusing him? I’m a bit worried for you.”

“Mason’s harmless.” At least she thought he was. In reality, she didn’t know him very well. They had a whirlwind romance, and he convinced her to marry him quickly. They had only dated for three weeks. Mason had a way of persuading her to go against her better judgement.

Or maybe she was stupid, and he saw that in her from a mile away.

Camden put his hand on her knee. “I’d feel better if you let me be there when you tell him.”

“That’s fine.” Probably for the best. Camden looked like a bodybuilder compared to Mason. That might come in handy.