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Mason smiled hopefully. At least he had the sense to look less certain.

“You should go,” Alyssa said, snapping out of whatever concentration mode she’d been in. “I need to confer with Mrs. Bennet about our findings anyhow.” She gave me a meaningful nod.

Right, we had an emergency to deal with, and as far as I knew, telling even Mason was off limits.I pressed my eyes closed and counted to ten. I needed to make a decision. I could bite his head off, or I could go have lunch with a sexy guy and turn the tables a little by seeing if I could get something out of him that I needed.

“Okay,” I agreed, tightening my ponytail.

* * *

Beside the fountain, in almost the exact spot we met, lay a picture-perfect spread complete on a red and white checkered blanket, with a wicker basket, two square black plates with chopsticks set carefully across the top, cloth napkins, and crystal glasses. In the center sat piles of spicy tuna rolls, California rolls, ginger, and wasabi. In addition to the sushi platter, there was a kettle of soy sauce, a pitcher of water, and what looked to be a bottle of champagne chilling in a silver bucket.

“Poseidon was kind enough to keep an eye on it for me.” Mason swept a hand out toward the blanket in an invitation.

Unable to stomach any of the flirtatious comebacks that flashed through my mind, I reached for the truth. “I am hungry.” I sat, tucking my legs to the side, and reached for a tuna roll.

The food was as good as at the banquet the night before, and I closed my eyes as I lost myself in Nirvana. This was the way I liked my fish, in my stomach. Mason’s salty beach scent permeated my little slice of heaven, and when I blinked, his face came into focus, inches away. My body betrayed me as my stomach tightened in anticipation of something more. I remembered his hands on my breasts, and an electric thrill traveled down between my legs. I was trapped in his spell.

“The way you are enjoying the sushi is making me wish I were a tuna,” he said in that low, throaty voice that brought more electric shocks to all the right places. He picked up another piece of one of the rolls and watched my mouth as he fed it to me. The feel of his fingers as they lightly brushed my lips sent an explosion of yearning through my body down to every extremity. I couldn’t help but moan with the ecstasy of the moment.

I chewed while he scooted closer. “You know, I really wish you’d stayed last night. I can’t blame you for leaving though. Believe me, I never meant to leave you alone and unprotected against my evil sister or the queen B.”

“Oh, I believe it,” I said, the spell broken by the reminder of last night.

“The thing is, we were in the middle of something when Super Nanny interrupted.”

“You mean Candice?” I asked, trying my best to distract him, because if he got any closer, the kiss would be unavoidable. And if I let that happen, I didn’t know if I’d be strong enough to control myself.

He frowned. “Yes. She keeps an eye on our behavior, Nicole and I. We have to keep up appearances after all. But let’s not talk about that right now.” He leaned in.

“I can’t do this,” I said, standing so abruptly, I nearly stumbled and fell over. “Nicole told me everything. I know that whatever this is, isn’t real. It’s just part of your insane bet, so you can drop the act and use someone else instead. I have enough problems.” I spun on my heels and started to storm away, but with his damned long legs he caught up in seconds.

“Whoa! Sam, you have to listen to me. I told you what Nicole was like. She cares about Mom’s approval. I don’t. I never have.”

I choked back the tears, determined not to cry and angered that I was so close. “Is that why you were flirting with Tasha last night, and who knows who else? Because last I checked even Nicole couldn’t force you to come on to people.”

Hurt passed over his face, and he slumped slightly, still hanging on to my arm. “I was being friendly. I wasn’t coming on to her or anyone else. I’m not interested in them. I’m interested in you, Sam.”

My nails dug wedges into my palms. It was getting harder and harder to hold it back. But if I could manage not to break down when Mom told us of her diagnosis, I could handle this. I shook my head back and forth, trying to force away the feelings and clear my head. “I saw your face, Mason. That wasn’t a ‘nice to meet you’ look.”

He let go. “You’re right.”

Oh God.He wasn’t supposed to admit it. I turned away, facing the spa, which made me shudder.

He took my silence as a prompt and continued. “Candice threatened me. She didn’t want me to start something public with you. It looks bad. It doesn’t help me like Nicole made you think. She wants the girls to think they have a chance with me. So she told me if I didn’t start flirting with some other girls she’d—” His voice cut off.

Gathering myself together, I turned to face him. “She’d what?” I asked.

He grimaced. “She’d ruin your reputation and force us apart.”

Silence settled over us. That was not what I’d been expecting. And it was wrong on so many levels I didn’t know where to begin. My vision blurred with anger, but I laughed. “I don’t have a reputation to ruin. I’m not some debutant. I’m an engineer.”

He reached for me, and I pulled away.

“Sam, please. You have to believe me.”

“I do, Mason, which is really, really sad. But as sorry as I am for you, I don’t want to get dragged into the middle of your insane family’s game.”

He drew in a deep breath and nodded, dropping his hand. “I don’t blame you.”