“I don’t know a thing about rugby, dear. I’m not even sure if I know where New Zealand is.”
Sky ended the call shortly after that. He didn’t see any value in exposing Rob to more of his mother. “Sorry. I’d like to say we caught her at a bad time but she’s always like that.”
“I…” Rob shook his head, his eyes glazed and distant. “I don’t know what to say. That was… Your mother is…Wow.”
There wasn’t much else to say and that had put an end to any discussion about meeting Sky’s family in the future. Rob insisted that he hadn’t been offended and that he was still wild about Sky. The problem was, Sky wasn’t wild about Rob. He was great and didn’t mind that Sky’s mother was a venomous bitch, but Rob wasn’tthe one.
Despite months of perfectly pleasant dates and scorching hot sex, Skyhad screamed Mason’s name. He had woken up in Rob’s arms dozens of times. They had spent hours cuddling and making out on their sofas. But that hadn’t been enough to erase Mason from Sky’s psyche. No matter how much Sky wanted to feel something real for Rob, it just wasn’t happening.
Despite it all, Sky still burned for Mason.
Damn it.
Resigned and deeply disappointed, Sky rolled towards Rob. There was no point in wasting Rob’s time if Sky was stuck and cursed.
“We can’t do this anymore. It’s not fair to you.”
“Why? Is it because of this Mason? I get it, and I know it takes time to move on after something serious,” Rob insisted but Sky shook his head.
“I don’t know if there will ever be an ‘after,’ and that’s the problem. Mason is my brother-in-law, and my sister knows all about us. But she doesn’t care because she’s sleeping with Bill Walston’s wife.”
“Well.” Rob didn’t blink for several moments. “I’ll miss you. Good luck with all of that.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Two months later…
Roseview’s newest resident was already on the mayor’s shit list before he had even arrived. While it might not be fair to hold a grudge against a newborn, a cataclysmic chain of events was set in motion when Daphne Lawson’s water broke on Adele’s birthday. Sarina had taken the day off and had planned to have dinner with her mother, but had to cancel, and rush to the clinic to help with the delivery.
For some ridiculous reason, Mason had offered to cover for Sarina and stop by Adele’s with flowers and a gift. He had stupidly believed that Adele would be in a better mood and behave since it was her birthday and Sam would be there. She was always civil when her grandson was around and seemed almost appreciative when Mason brought Sam to see her.
Secretly, Mason liked seeing the effect Sam had on Adele. Her smiles and laughter were almost genuine and normal and she was surprisingly gentle. She could even be slightly affectionate with him at times. He was hoping forthatAdele when he and Sam stopped by the town's larger grocery store.
They picked out a bouquet of flowers then headed to the greeting cards. Mason waved at an older couple as he came around the end of the aisle, but stopped when he spotted Sky in front of the cards. He was sharply dressed in a lightweight gray sweater and wide leg black trousers, a tattooed hand and black fingernails dancing over the selection of birthday cards for mothers.
“Sky?” Mason let go of Sam’s hand as Sky turned, grimacing awkwardly. “Look! It’s your Uncle Sky!” Mason said as he pointed and Sam let out a gleeful yell as he ran.
“Uncle Sky!”
“Hey, Sammy!” Sky lowered and gathered Sam in his arms. “You’ve gotten so big!” He pretended to strain as he lifted Sam onto his hip and hugged him. “I’ve missed you, buddy.”
“We didn’t know you were in town,” Mason said as he joined them, receiving a guilty shrug from Sky.
“I didn’t want anyone to make a fuss. Nadine’s the only one who knew. She picked me up at the station and we stopped here on the way home so I could get a few things for Mom. Nadine’s around here somewhere. Probably by the deli.” He was blushing as he set Sam down. “I just wanted to sneak in for the night. I’m leaving in the morning.”
“You weren’t going to tell me,” Mason realized and caught Sam before he could bolt. “Stay where I can see you. Don’t leave the aisle.” He let him go, watching until Sam stopped in front of the kids’ birthday cards. “Is everything okay?” he asked quietly.
Sky nodded. “Sure. Everything’s fine. It’s Mom’s birthday, so I thought I’d surprise her.”
“That’s nice. Adele will be happy…ish?” Mason guessed, making them both laugh. “These are for her. We’re getting a card and dropping them off on the way to my parents’. Sam’s sleeping over.” He held up the flowers and looked around before stepping closer. “You should have told us you were coming. Sina would be crushed if she knew you were here and she didn’t get to see you.”
“I know.” Sky nodded as he went back to shopping for a card. “It isn’t fair to her or Sam but I can’t handle being around you yet. It still messes with my head too much.Wemess with my head and it’s…” he gestured at his chest, rolling his hand aggressively. “I’m a writer but I can’t put it into words, the fizzy, itchy swirling inside of me. I can’t explain this scary, happy, angry mess in here and that fucks with my head too!” he explained in a hiss, glancing past Mason and waving at Sam.
“I understand and I’m sorry,” Mason said and took a step back. He didn’t blame Sky and wanted what was best for him. It still hurt like hell, knowing that he wasn’t going to tell Mason he was in Roseview. “I heard that you were seeing a rugby player. I think it’s great and I hope—” He stopped when Sky shook his head.
“That ended a few months ago.”
“That’s too bad. I’m sorry about that too.”
