Chapter 20

Ava

My eyes were shut tightly, and my mouth curved up into a smile, feeling the warmth of the blankets around me. I hadn’t slept that well in my entire life. Then it hit me, the smell of Mason’s cologne wafting into my nose. I clenched the blankets and sat up in a panic, looking around the room and remembering I was nowhere close to being in my own house. I was alone in the bed, and I heard Mason out in the apartment doing something. Holy shit. I had slept with Mason York…again. I couldn’t believe what I had done. My spite for him had been so strong. How could I have let myself do something like that? I had told myself over and over again that sleeping with Mason was not something to even consider, and I had stayed strong and true to that up until the night before. He had seduced me with spaghetti and promises of taking down his father, which may not have sounded romantic, but it had been more than seductive to me. I shook my head, thinking about how it had all happened.

I had gotten out of study group, gone home, and agreed to see Mason, which was probably my first mistake. Then we ate, reminisced, and then everything got fuzzy. A cloud of lust had taken me over. I hadn’t even had a single thing to drink that night, just water and Diet Coke. I could see it if I had lost control because I was drunk, but I didn’t even have that excuse to give myself. I had simply slept with my ex. The ex I had vowed to take down when I got out of college. The ex who was a complete and total playboy and probably had dozens of women in his bed before me. I groaned and rubbed my face hard, trying to get myself straight. Talking about old times had made me feel so close to him. I had actually seen glimpses of the man he used to be, and I’d fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. Maybe I was memory drunk, disoriented by the feelings I used to have for him. The way he’d used to make me feel so special, so loved, had confused me to the point where I’d had sex with the man. I was weak, and I was disappointed in myself for doing something so stupid.

I pulled myself from the bed and hurried into the bathroom, covering my naked body with a sheet. I looked in the mirror at my wild sex hair and groaned, putting my head in my hands. I found a brush in a drawer and pulled it through my tangles until my hair looked somewhat manageable. I washed my face, trying to calm myself down, but I was beside myself due to what I had done. How did I manage to get myself into the stupidest situations? I was quiet, motivated, and stayed to myself, but still, I always ended up in weird situations, just like Blair had said. Regret seeped through every pore of my body.

I turned and opened the door, freezing as I saw Mason making the bed. He turned around and smiled at me, but I couldn’t wipe the shocked look off my face. He chuckled and sat down, tilting his head at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh,” I said with an awkward laugh. “I, uh—it’s just that I’m naked, you and I did it, and we probably shouldn’t have.”

“Take a deep breath before you pass out,” he said, smiling. “It’s okay. We still care about each other, and that’s allowed.”

“No,” I said, pointing my finger at him and walking forward. “No, it’s not. It’s not allowed.”

“Why don’t you take a deep breath and get dressed? We can have some breakfast,” he said.

“Breakfast?” I looked over at the clock. “Oh, holy shit! Breakfast! I’m so late.”

“You’re late for breakfast?” he asked, watching me run around and grab my clothes.

“God, yes,” I groaned. “It’s my parents’ anniversary today. I promised to meet them for breakfast to celebrate. Oh god, I’m such a bad daughter.”

“Hey.” He stood up and grabbed me by the arms. “Calm down.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips against me hard, and I froze for a moment before leaning into it. I whimpered, electricity shooting through my entire body. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t help but melt under his touch. There was just something about how it felt when we were close, like we were made for each other. It was exciting and confusing all at the same time. I had no control over myself when he touched me. The magnetic pull between us was something I had only experienced once before, and it had been with him when we were teenagers. He made me feel like I was eighteen all over again, and I couldn’t even try to lie about it. It felt really, really good. With him, it was like being home and young again with no cares in the world.

He pulled away, and I stood there for a moment, my eyes still closed. He chuckled, pulling me back to reality. I just stared at him, still not believing I was there with him. I nodded my head and turned, grabbing my purse and stumbling slowly in a daze toward the front door. I didn’t say a word, just looked back him in shock and stumbled out the door and into the elevator. When the doors closed, I leaned my head back the wall and let out a deep sigh, my heart doing flips in my chest. I was completely out of it the entire elevator ride but quickly woke when the doors slid open and I realized I was in a York Hotel.

I rushed out the door and into the parking garage, dropping my keys three times. I pulled out my phone and groaned, realizing it was dead. I jumped in my car and headed over to the restaurant, my tires squealing as I pulled in and parked. I sat for a second to calm myself and get my thoughts collected and then walked slowly toward the door. When I got inside, my parents waved at me, and I sighed, smiling and running over to them.

“God, guys, I am so sorry,” I said. “Happy anniversary. I am a terrible daughter.”

“No.” My mom laughed. “We were just worried something had happened, or we said the wrong time. We tried to call, but we got your voice mail.”

“Yeah. I overslept, and I didn’t plug in my phone,” I said, sitting down. “I woke up in a panic and came over as fast as I could.”

“That studying must really be wearing you out,” my dad said. “You need to take some time to relax.”

“Yeah.” I laughed nervously. “I do need to find time to do that. I just have to be ready and prepared for anything on those finals.”

“Well, we’re happy you could make it this morning,” Mom said. “We figured all that happened was oversleeping, so we pushed our reservation back forty-five minutes and waited for you. They said we had to get a table before the afternoon rush started to get here, so we went ahead and took a table. We’ve only been sitting here fifteen minutes, so you’re fine. We ordered some mimosas and the breakfast platter we all like so much.”

“That’s great,” I said, smiling.

“And I got those apple danishes you like so much,” my dad said.

“Thank you, Daddy.” I sighed. “Really, I’m so sorry. Of all the days for me to be late, I picked your anniversary.”

“It’s okay.” Mom laughed. “So, tell us about work, school, your life. We haven’t seen you since you gave us that check.”

“Things have been crazy busy,” I said. “School is always busy, especially since it’s freshman debate week and the upperclassmen have to sit in as the audience.”

“That sounds like fun,” my father said. “Debate was my favorite class in high school.”

“And I’m sure you were good at it,” my mother said.

“I got an A,” he said, winking at her.

My parents had the kind of relationship I hoped I would have with someone one day. They were always there for each other, always supportive and caring. I thought about Mason and how sweet he had been to me the night before, and I wondered if he could be the man I would find that happiness with. I pushed the thought from my mind, remembering that in order for us to even nod at each in public, we had to take care of the entire family feud situation. Until then, neither of our families would understand us being together or sleeping together, which was all it was at this point. Still, part of me hoped he was the man who would make the other half of me. I had been motivated to become a lawyer for so long that I had completely forgotten there was a future outside taking down the York family and others like them. There was still an opportunity for me to have a happy ending.

“What did you do last night?” my mom asked happily.

“Last night?” I said, swallowing hard. “I, uh, went home from my study group and just kind of chilled until I fell asleep. I passed out on my couch, which was why I didn’t plug in my phone and my alarm didn’t go off.”

“Well, you look well rested.” My father smiled, sipping his coffee. “That’s all that matters.”

The rest of breakfast went well, with my father talking about the promotion coming up and my mom telling me all about her project at church. They seemed calm and collected, and I could tell the money I had given them had gotten things back on track for them. At the same time, though, I couldn’t help feeling slightly awkward since I was sitting there in the same clothes I was wearing before, the light scent of Mason’s cologne still lingering on my skin. Luckily, I had fixed my makeup in the car before coming in, so I didn’t completely look like the epitome of the walk of shame. My parents had no idea where I had been the night before.

It had been such an amazing experience, and even while I was sitting there across the table from my mother and father, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and that made me feel guilty. I felt like I was betraying my father and all the hard work he’d put into Spencer Hotels. I felt like I was consorting with the enemy, even though he had vowed to make this up to me and my family. A week ago, I wouldn’t have believed him. I maybe even would have thought it was his way of trying to cover it up. But after spending the night with him, reminiscing about old times, and making love like we did, I believed it when he said he wasn’t going to let his father get away with what he did.

I knew it was going to be hard on him to go up against his own family, but he wouldn’t be able to go on if he didn’t make things right. On top of that, he and I would never have the chance to be friends again if he didn’t do something with the information he’d found. At this point, all I could do was trust in my judgment and hope and pray that I was right.