Undeniably Married (Boston’s Irresistible Billionaires Book 4)
Undeniably Married: Chapter 33

“You know we’re going to throw you a baby shower, right?” Katy tells me as she checks her blood sugar and then doses up her insulin pen.

“Stella kind of hinted at something,” I admit. “I’m not really a baby shower girl.”

Keegan shoots me a side-eye before returning to the menu. “It’s more for us than for you. We need an excuse to eat tiny sandwiches and cake and drink alcohol you can’t and purchase all the adorable baby things.”

“It could be a Jack and Jill one if you want Mason there,” Wren offers.

“No!” the rest of the women all shout at once. “Not a chance in hell. Do you remember Katy’s?” Kenna questions with horror etched on her face.

Wren grimaces. “Oh. Right. Yeah, no forget that.”

“What happened at Katy’s?” I ask. I was invited, but I was in New York and didn’t come home for it. I also haven’t heard anything about it.

“It’s been Fight Clubbed,” Katy tells me. “We don’t talk about it. But let’s just say there was an incident with a squirrel, fire, and Owen’s pool.”

I hold up my hand. “Stop there. I don’t want to know more. Women only. Still, do you have any clue how big that’ll be?” I throw back at her. “Like, I don’t even have female friends, but with our family alone, it’s well over a hundred women.”

Keegan shrugs. “Grandma will do it at the compound. In fact, between Grandma, Stella, and your mom, you won’t have a choice.”

Shockingly, my grandmother has taken very well to the fact that the baby isn’t my current husband’s. After she and my dad got over the shock from hearing it how they did, both were very excited. I thought for sure that would tip her over the edge after all of this, but the woman didn’t even bat an eye. She simply hugged me and gushed over having yet another great-grandchild.

My family is awesome. Overbearing. Always there. But awesome.

“Fine. I won’t fight it.”

I lean back in my chair and pick up the menu I’ve neglected to peruse. Everything looks incredible, and with how hungry I am—you’d think it has been days since I’ve eaten when it’s only been a few hours—I wonder if it would be off-putting to get a few things. I can always bring home leftovers and eat them for breakfast.

“I’m totally getting the chicken gyro and the falafel with hummus thing. Both sound so good.” My stomach growls as if to high-five me for that pick. I set my menu down and gaze about the restaurant. We’ve never eaten here, but Tinsley and Stone swear by this place, and it’s just across the park from my apartment.

The door flies open, and Estlin, who is holding Rory’s hand, rushes in. “I’m so sorry we’re late,” Estlin exclaims, slightly out of breath. “Owen got called into the hospital. There’s some kind of big thing going on.” She bobs her head down in Rory’s direction. “I hope it’s okay.”

“Okay?” Katy questions playfully, turning fully in her seat to face them. “It’s the best. I didn’t know I was going to get to see my favorite mermaid. I would have brought Willow for you.” Katy opens her arms, and Rory goes racing right into them. Katy is Rory’s godmother, just like Owen is Willow’s godfather.

“I wonder if Stone will get called in too if there’s a big thing.” Stone also works at Boston Children’s Hospital. “He and I are supposed to watch the game together tonight.”

“Oh,” Estlin says, taking a seat beside me. “I don’t know.” She leans into me and whispers. “Owen said it was pretty bad. Some kind of school bus accident.”

“On a Sunday?” I question.

She shrugs with a grimace. “That’s all I know, and I didn’t want to know more. I just hope everyone is okay.”

I nod. “Same. How awful.”

Rory comes bounding over to me. “Can I feel your baby?” she asks with a hopeful expression on her sweet face.

“Of course. But you won’t be able to feel it move yet. It’s still too early for that.” I sit back, take her little hand, and place it over my growing bump.

“Daddy said you and Uncle Mason are going to have a baby like Katy and Bennett do, and after it’s born, I can play with it like how I play with baby Willow.”

I smile and kiss her cheek. “Definitely. You’ll be her big cousin.”

Rory jumps and squeals in delight.

My phone vibrates on the table beside me, and I pick it up, hoping it’s Mason but not expecting it to be. We’ve played phone tag all day, but I know he’s likely getting ready for the game that starts in a little more than an hour. Instead, it’s Stone.

Stone: Got called into the ER, but it shouldn’t be too long. It seems precautionary that they pulled us all in. I’ll keep you updated, but start without me and I’ll join in progress if I need to.

Me: Sounds good. Hope it is just precautionary.

We order our dinner, and the discussion turns to the upcoming holidays as Rory explains to us that she’s going to be a unicorn princess for Halloween, which we all agree is a perfect choice.

“Mason plays on Thanksgiving this year in Dallas, and I was thinking I’d take that time and go see Serena and maybe hop over to London to see my brothers. It might be my last chance to travel like that before I get too pregnant.”

Keegan perks up at that. “For real? Would you want company?”

My brows pinch. “You want to come to Paris and London over Thanksgiving to see my siblings?”

“I wouldn’t mind a little time in Europe this fall.”

I squint at her. Keegan is blushing and trying to hide it in her wineglass. Keegan doesn’t blush. “What’s up? What am I missing?”

Kenna snickers. “Loomis Powell is going to be in England for the next few months. His mom broke her hip or something, so he’s there taking care of her.”

My head tilts, and the V between my brows deepens. “Loomis Powell? The actor? As in Tinsley’s BFF? Isn’t she in London filming with him now?”

“One and the same,” Wren jumps in. “Keegan has a thing for him.”

“I do not!” Keegan exclaims, throwing a piece of pita at her. “We’re just friends.”

“Ha!” Kenna explodes with laughter. “Dude, who are you talking to you right now? If by friends you mean fu—” She cuts herself off when Estlin throws her a sharp glare and swings her wide, intent eyes in Rory’s direction. “Um. Right. Well, you know what kind of friends you are. You may not be together, but you’re not just friends.”

“Nothing has happened,” Keegan grumbles under her breath.

Everyone pauses. Well, everyone except for me and Estlin, since I think we’re a bit out of the loop on this one.

“Liar.”

Keegan shakes her head. “No. Nothing has happened. You assumed something did,” she emphasizes, pointing at Kenna, Katy, and Wren. “But nothing did. I went out to LA for that conference, and we legit just hung out. We’re friends. That’s it. Boring. Plain. Friends.”

“Oh.” Kenna sags. “Bummer. When you told us there were no details to tell, we thought you were being evasive.”

“Nope.” Keegan pops the P sound.

“And you want to come to Europe with me to see him?” I question, not trying to sound harsh, but I can’t help but be a bit incredulous of that.

Keegan shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s dumb or weird, right?” She scrunches her nose. “Chasing a hot fling that isn’t hot or even a fling.”

“Hey, I ran away to Vegas with my friend and talked him into marrying me and now he’s going to raise my child with me. I think dumb and weird don’t apply when it comes to these things.”

“Maybe not. Now we just have to figure out a way to get Wren and Jack together,” Keegan quips, and Wren pretends to throw up.

“No thanks and not ever,” she replies adamantly. “I’d rather set my hair on fire. He’s the absolute worst on every level. Sorry, Estlin. I realize he’s your brother, but I don’t know how you tolerate him.”

“He’s different with me.” She raises a shoulder as she takes a sip of her wine and bounces her eyebrows suggestively at Wren as her voice turns taunting. “I believe I would have said the same thing to you once about Owen.”

Wren scoffs. “Different. So different.”

Inwardly I smirk but hold it in. Wren started last week in the ER, and Jack has been texting to complain about her nonstop. I need to take another shift down there just so I can watch the fireworks.

“Are you ever going to tell us why the two of you hate each other?” Katy questions.

“He’s an arrogant butt face and always has been.”

Katy snorts. “Oh, well, that explains it then.”

Wren holds up her hand. “Trust me. It does. We’re just… oil and water. We don’t mix.”

She leaves it there, and since our food is delivered, we drop the conversation in favor of eating. Afterward, I accept a ride home from Katy since it’s dark and I’d rather not walk through the park alone.

“Have a good night,” she calls to me with a wave as I open the door to step out. “We’ll be watching Mason at home and cheering him on.”

I give her a wave and head into the building, already tired. That’s been the main thing this first trimester—other than my hormones—is the fatigue I’ve been experiencing. So far, at the beginning of my second trimester, that hasn’t waned. I lean against the elevator and yawn my way up. I hope I can stay up for the entire game, but it likely won’t end until almost midnight.

Stepping off the elevator, I come to an abrupt halt as I find myself blinking several times to make sure I’m seeing exactly what I’m seeing.

“How did you get up here?” I ask, my lips automatically pulling down into a frown.

Eloise pushes away from the wall she is leaning against. She offers me a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “The doorman let me up. He wouldn’t allow me in your apartment, but I told him I was your friend and showed him pictures of us to prove it. I explained how I wanted to surprise you.”

And surprise me she did.

“Friend?” I scoff. “What do you want? Why are you here after all this time? Honestly, knowing you as I thought I did, I would have sworn you’d have come at me sooner. Then again, clearly, I didn’t know you that well at all.”

“I was hoping you’d join your fake husband in New York, but no such luck for me,” she says, plowing past my comments and refusing to answer me. Part of me wondered if we’d have this moment eventually. I certainly wasn’t going to seek it out.

“It’s not fake,” I tell her plainly. “What Mason and I have… it’s the real deal.”

“So you say and perhaps think. Maybe yes. Maybe no.” She starts to crumple, her blonde hair all over the place, and she hastily shoves it back. “I miss you, Sorel. I’ve missed you so much,” she cries, growing emotional. “You were my best friend.”

“And then I learned you were screwing my fiancé!” I yell at her. “You weren’t my best friend since friends don’t do that to each other. Did you honestly expect I’d never find out? Did you think you could just continue to fuck him and all would be fine?”

She straightens her spine, but tears start to fall. Another step toward me and she catches sight of her reflection in the hall mirror, and annoyance flashes across her face. She wipes furiously at her cheeks and turns back to me.

“You’re so self-righteous,” she seethes. “You always have been. You threw me away without a second thought. I was such a good friend to you. You never saw it because you didn’t let me explain. You just cut me off and cut me out. Just like that.” She snaps her fingers. “As if I never meant anything to you at all.”

I fold my arms, unimpressed, and lean my hip against the console table. “By all means, explain.” I pan a hand toward her and refold it against my chest. “But there is nothing you can say that will change my mind about our friendship.”

She takes a settling breath. “I started sleeping with Brody long before you ever met him. A week before you did, I had decided to leave James for him. I was in love with Brody. I always was. I thought maybe if I wasn’t attached to James anymore, my fling with Brody could finally turn into something real. Then he met you.”

I shake my head and take a step back, shifting my weight as I think through what she’s saying, though none of this makes sense. “You introduced me to him. Why do that if you loved him?”

“I was there with James, and it was his idea. When Brody saw you, he was all for it. What was I supposed to say?”

My hands fly out to my sides in frustration. “You never told me. You never said a word.”

Her eyes glisten, and she grows equally aggravated. “What was I going to say? I was with another man, and you and Brody had hearts in your eyes from the moment you met. He didn’t want me. Not like that.”

“I still would have stepped back,” I exalt. “Jesus, Eloise. I would have picked you over him, but not only did you not give me the chance, you picked him over me.”

She stares down at the floor, and I do the same, my hands going to my hips.

I bluster out a breath, floored by this. There was nothing in her texts to indicate she loved him. Only that she loved fucking him. Still, she’s an adult. She should have come to me and said something or made better choices. I don’t know. I feel for her that she loved him, but that doesn’t excuse what she did to me.

“That’s the thing,” I continue softly, lifting my chin and staring down at the top of her head. “I would have chosen you, and you never chose me. So that’s it. That’s all there is to it. You’re both single now, so have at it with him. I don’t care, and I don’t want to ever see you again. Honestly, I don’t know why you bothered to come here or what you were expecting from me.”

I go to move past her, but she slides in front of me to stop me, and there’s a shift in her eyes. A hardening. A vitriol. A spitefulness I didn’t see before as it was covered by her tearful, but Daddy, I love him bullshit.

“I was hoping you’d hear my side and understand. I was hoping you’d be my friend again.”

“No such luck.”

She smirks, and it makes my skin prickle with awareness. “That’s a real shame, Sorel. I was hopeful this would come to a better outcome for us.”

I narrow my gaze. “How do you mean?”

“He told me you’re pregnant with his baby.”

Ah. Now it’s coming together, and it makes my heart pick up its pace. I don’t trust Eloise, and I don’t quite know what she’s up to. But she didn’t get what she wanted, and I can tell she’s got another card up her sleeve. One I won’t like.

“Yes,” I admit warily, reflexively pulling my purse over my stomach to protect it from her.

“He also told me Mason was staying with you. I have to admit, that’s a shock. I thought for sure it was all a lie.” She flips back some of her long blonde hair from her face and glares at me. “Then again, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Every fucking man who meets you falls for you. They see you as quirky, innocent, and sweet when you’re actually frigid, callous, and unforgiving. You just proved that to me once again.”

A nervous lump forms in my throat, and right now I want to get inside and lock the door. I don’t like being out here with her. Especially when I don’t know what she’s up to. Other than she’s not done with me yet.

“Eloise, get to the point of why you’re here and go.”

“Sure. I can do that for an old friend.” She pulls out her phone. “I wasn’t going to do this. You brought this on yourself. Remember that. You ruined my life, and I was still willing to give you a second chance.”

“For real?” Sarcasm drips from my tongue even as my heart rate is going haywire. “How did I ruin your life?”

“Not only did you humiliate me publicly and then cast me aside like yesterday’s trash, you took James and Brody from me as well. You made me look like the villain when I was only in love. You’re not even heartsick over him. You moved on that night and didn’t give two shits about me. Now you’re pregnant with Brody’s baby when it should be me who is. You have no idea how much that hurt me, Sorel.” Her eyes brighten in triumph as she pulls something up on her phone. “Now I just wanted to return the favor.”

Some sound comes from the speaker on her phone, though the screen is black. It’s music. Jane’s Addiction, but there’s something behind it. Something that sounds like water. A shower running maybe? And… grunting. Groaning. Someone saying “fuck,” in a low growl, and I know that voice. Those sound.

That’s Mason. That’s Mason having an orgasm.

After the audio cuts off, she swipes through a series of pictures and shows them to me one by one. His clothes on a rumpled hotel bed beside hers. A selfie of her only wearing his shirt, his hotel room behind her, reflected in the mirror she used for the picture. The last one is Mason coming out of the shower wrapped in only a towel, his head cast down and his focus trained on his phone.

“It’s funny,” she muses softly, though there isn’t any humor in her voice or expression. “He didn’t know who I was. Hell, he didn’t even ask my name. He must have women up to his hotel room all the time for a quick fuck considering how fast he let me in. So you see, Sorel, sex can sometimes just be sex. Even when you’re in love with someone else.”

With that, she brushes past me and presses the button for the elevator. I’m too stunned to move. Too stunned to say anything. I’m trapped on repeat. Locked in a vicious loop of his moaning and groaning to my playlist. Her in his hotel room. The way the bed looked. Her only wearing his clothes. Him only wearing a towel.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she taunts as the elevator doors open. She pulls something from her purse and tosses it at me. It hits my side and falls to the floor. “I thought you might want this back.”

It’s his shirt. The shirt she’s wearing in the picture.

She steps on, and the second the elevator doors close behind her, I fall apart right here in the hallway. My chest cracks open wide, and now I’m bleeding out everywhere.

No. No!

Scalding hot tears burn my cheeks, and I collapse against the wall and sink into a crouch. My hands cover my face, and I sob uncontrollably into them. Mason wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t cheat on me.

Pain as I’ve never experienced rips through me. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I’m consumed. Broken. Betrayed. But it’s so much worse than before. So much harder to bear.

For a few minutes, all I can do is cry as wrenching sadness and grief eviscerate me. I trusted him. I opened myself up. I let him in. I gave him everything that I am.

But no matter how hard I cry and how sick and angry and betrayed I feel, I keep coming back to one thing. Mason wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t cheat. I wasn’t shocked when I found out about Brody with Eloise. I was hurt and embarrassed and felt stupid and used. But I never had a he wouldn’t do this moment because it didn’t seem beyond his character to.

But Mason? It doesn’t fit. It just doesn’t.

Slowly, I stand and pick up his shirt from the ground. The soft fabric rolls through my fingers, and I can’t bear to smell it because it’ll smell like her. I know it will. She was in his hotel room. Then again, she was up here waiting for me, so clearly, she has some manipulation skills.

I lean against the wall and force myself to think this through rationally. I was on the phone with Mason as he walked into the hotel after his walk-through. We stayed on the phone as he went up to his room, and he told me he was going to shower. I teased him about it. I told him to think of me while he was in there.

I stare down at the Rebels red in my hand and close my eyes as those pictures flash to the forefront of my brain along with the video she made me listen to.

I go through them one by one. The bed. The clothes. Her selfie… wait! Her hair wasn’t wet, and there was no one else behind her in that picture. He could have been beside her, but Mason is especially cautious about phones and cameras. He never would have let her take those pictures. Not knowingly.

And in the audio, it was only him moaning and groaning. No one else. No female accompaniment, and you’d think if she was fucking him to break us apart, she would have intentionally been loud so I could hear her.

The elevator dings, startling me, and when the doors open, I tense in anticipation of Eloise returning to stick it to me some more, but instead Stone walks out, casually glancing at his phone.

He halts when he spots me, surprised to find me out here and then concerned when he notes my face. “What happened?” He rushes over to me and takes my arm. “Is it the baby? Are you okay?”

“Mason wouldn’t cheat,” I utter, and he rears back, not having expected me to say that. I meet his eyes. “Tell me Mason wouldn’t cheat.”

“No,” he promises adamantly. “He wouldn’t. Not ever.”

I swallow as more tears fall, and my forehead meets his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me and holds me for a moment. Stone is his best friend, but he’s also my cousin. His assertion that Mason wouldn’t cheat solidifies my own.

“Sorel, what happened?” he presses.

“Eloise was just here. She showed me an audio clip of Mason moaning and groaning in the shower and then pictures of her in his hotel room only wearing his shirt.” I hold up the shirt I plan to burn later. “This shirt. And then a picture of Mason coming out of the shower only wearing a towel.”

Stone drags my face up as if he’s checking me to make sure I just said what I said. His lashes flutter in bewilderment for a beat before his expression grows hard. “Eloise had that on her phone, and she was just here?” he checks, his voice razor-sharp.

I nod slowly, not understanding his sudden shift.

“Fuck,” he hisses and calls someone on his phone as he walks me to his place instead of mine. He unlocks the door just as whomever he calls answers. “Yeah, Van, Eloise was just here, and she has pictures and audio on her phone that need to be wiped ASAP, dude.”

“Van?” I question. “As in Vander?”

Stone throws me a quick look, but he doesn’t answer. Why is he calling Vander and asking him to wipe stuff on Eloise’s phone? Then it hits me. Mason had mentioned that he was having a professional keep an eye on Brody’s stuff, but he never said who.

“I don’t know.” He speaks into the phone. “I have no further details, but I’m guessing from last night.” He checks with me, and I nod. “Wait. What?!”

Stone listens and then hisses out a curse before he runs over to the TV and turns it on to Sunday Night Football.

“Fuck,” is all he says, and when I see the TV, I scream in horror. Fuck is right.