“Then, we got married and they were officially your parents.”
She nodded, smiling. “One of the many, many perks of being married to you. Sorry I came with so much crappy baggage.”
Mason rolled his eyes. “You gave me a perfect little human, I think I can overlook a few dismal relatives.”
She let out a loud guffaw and they both covered her mouth as Mason shushed her. “Sorry!” she whispered and snickered. “But it was a lot more than a few. They’re all dismal, except for Sky.”
“Nana wasn’t that bad.”
“No, she was actually pretty great, for a mean old gal.”Sarina was quiet for a moment, then frowned. “You still haven’t told me what she said and I can see it’s eating you alive.”
“It isn’t eating me alive.” Another lie. “But it wouldn’t make me feel better or help you, if I told you. I don’t know if it would actually help anyone or if it would just cause a lot of unnecessary pain.”
“Ew.” Sarina’s face scrunched. “Why would Nana tell you something like that? Why not just let it die with her, if it was that bad?”
Mason’s cheeks puffed out and he made an exploding sound as he considered. “Accountability?” he guessed. “It isn’t my secret to tell or any of my business, honestly, but maybe Nana wanted someone else to know so the matter didn’t die with her.”
That seemed most likely, the more Mason pondered Nana’s motives. She had to know she was placing a terrible burden on Mason, but Nana couldn’t die knowing her nemesis would get away with something that scandalous. He had no plans to ever confront anyone over it and for once, Mason had a secret he didn’t want to share with Sarina.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know and the fewer people who do, the better,” Mason said emphatically.
“Alright. I trust you,” Sarina decided, ending the matter. “But if it ever gets to the point that youneedto tell me or talk about it, I’ll be okay. I promise.” She blew him a kiss, then flopped onto her back and closed her eyes. “I love you, Mase.”
“Love you too, Sina.”
Mason rolled over onto his other side, facing the window. He might fall asleep faster if he could pretend he was alone. With all that had happened and Adele’s latest stunt, it had been easy to “forget” Nana’s revelations, but their last conversation haunted him when he was alone and it was quiet. Hisconscience was clear, for the most part. Especially compared to the rest of the Suttons.
It was just the withholding part that didn’t sit well with Mason. He had never kept anythingfrom Sarina before and Mason was afraid of hurting the only other Sutton he cared about, if the rest of the family’s terrible secrets came out.
Sometimes, the truth was just the truth and didn’t help anyone or make anything better. And sometimes, the truth made things a whole lot worse. In this particular case, Mason couldn’t see any way that it would help, only that it had to come out eventually.
I’m not the one who has to decide that, am I? Maybe I’m supposed to just watch from the sidelines and hang onto this in case something else happens and to make sure everyone plays fair.
That didn’t sound too far-fetched and actually made Mason feel better about being the bearer of something that ugly. Feeling somewhat relieved, he cleared away as many of his doubts and concerns as he could and focused on the fact that Sky wasthere,right nowand sleeping in Mason’s bed.
I hope he doesn’t wear pajamas…
Chapter Ten
Grindr was down!
It wasn’t actually down for maintenance and the app hadn’t disappeared, but it might as well have. Roseview was a dick desert and Sky’s life was in serious danger.
That might be a bit of an exaggeration as well but for Sky, sex was the ultimate therapy when his nervous system was pushed into “flight” mode and he was too anxious and stressed to focus. Five AM was a wild time to cast a line on a hookup app but you could catch plenty of fish in the city at any hour. Someone was always around and looking for a nibble.
No one else in Roseview was brave enough to wade into Grindr because you would definitely be recognized and if you were caught by the wrong person, the news would spread around town with the urgency of an Amber alert. Resigned to a slow, dry death in the desert, Sky snuck out of the house the following morning for a long run on the beach, determined to stay away until his sister had left for work.
He stopped by Miller’s Coffee Shop for a plain, toasted bagel and a vanilla latte and met an eager young barista whoraved about his first book and an interview he had recently given. It took Sky way too long to realize she was flirting and he almost dropped his cup when he noticed she’d written her phone number on it.
“You’renewnew, aren’t you?” Sky said.
Her nose wrinkled charmingly. “I’ve been here for about eighteen months. Why?”
Sky looked around and cleared his throat. “I’m the black sheep of…Roseview. And I’m gay. This is very flattering, though. Thank you.” He ducked his head apologetically before he fled.
There was a new bookstore a few doors down so Sky lingered there with his coffee before jogging back to Mason and Sarina’s. He let himself in the front door and paused when he heard the sound of a nature documentary playing in the living room. Sky peeked around the wall and mouthed a silent swear when he spotted Mason and Sam on the sectional.
Sam was sprawled on Mason’s chest and both were out cold. The little boy’s hand rested against Mason’s cheek. A smile curved Mason’s lips as he slept, drawing Sky closer. Mason had never been more handsome and Sky was struck by howcontenthe looked. It was obvious that Mason wasonlylying about his sexuality from all that Sky had observed.