“I said I married your sister on Saturday.”
“Oh my god,” Lena muttered.
“Not helping, Cole,” Rachel pointed out as she faced her seething brother.
If she had been worried at all about her dealing with Mason’s wrath over the matrimony, she needn’t have bothered. All of his annoyance and anger was solely focused on Cole.
“Mase, come on, calm down,” Rachel tried to reason with him.
“I will calm down when you tell me that what he just said is bullshit.”
Um, not going to happen. What he said is all true.
“If you just listen, may—”
“Maybe, what?” Mason finally demanded, turning to pin her with a look full of anger, confusion, and something much worse—disappointment. “Maybe you’ll finally tell me why you’ve been acting so distant lately? Or why you have decided to stop talking to everyone? Or maybe you will explain to me how you ended up married to a guy you don’t even know!”
Rachel took a deep breath and balled her fists at her sides. She tried to remind herself that this was Mason, her brother. He was the one person in the world who loved her unconditionally. Well, he used to be the only one.
As she glanced across the car to where Cole was standing next to a shocked face Lena, Rachel felt herself calm. Cole was looking at her with such certainty. He believed in her and trusted her to do the right thing here.
Looking back at Mason, Rachel squared her shoulders. She was never one to back down from any argument, and so she simply replied, “I love him.”
“Excuse me? You just met him!” Mason exclaimed, pointing his finger at her.
Rachel reached out and gripped his finger. “And you haven’t even bothered to meet him!”
She watched as her brother’s blue eyes narrowed on her, and he dropped his hand.
“You never bothered to introduce us, Rachel. Or did you forget that?”
“Of course, I didn’t forget! I didn’t bother introducing you because the one night he turned up at the restaurant, you acted like an idiot. And you’re doing the same right now.”
“I’m acting like an idiot? Oh, that’s rich. I don’t know what you expect from me,” Mason told her through clenched teeth.
“I expect you to quit acting like an ass, and instead, be the supportive brother I know and love.”
Mason shook his head and pushed his hands into his jeans pockets. “Yeah? Well, when the sister I know and love shows up, maybe she’ll be able to find him.”
Rachel felt her heart physically ache as Mason turned on his heel and marched to the back door of Exquisite where he wrenched open the door and stormed inside. When it slammed shut behind him, she turned to face Cole and Lena, who were both staring at her silently. Lena’s expression was contemplative, and Cole’s—damn him—was proud.
With a quick nod and a fake smile, Rachel announced, “Well, that went well.”
Cole watched Lena as she moved around the car to where Rachel was standing. The two women whispered back and forth before they both turned to face him. Knowing he was the topic of conversation, he raised his left hand and gave a quick wave.
Well, that little reveal to Mason had not gone well, not that Cole had expected it to. The man had taken the pissed-off brother act to brand new heights. Mason was raging mad.
The cool air started to bite, and as Cole made his way toward the women, he heard Lena assuring Rachel.
“He’ll come around. He’s been so worried about you lately. And this? Well, this is a bit of a shock.”
When Cole stopped at the end of the car, Rachel looked to him and gave a small smile.
“Want to head inside?” he asked as Lena also turned to face him.
He waited for accusations of coercion, but instead, he got a huge grin.
“Come on, it’s time to meet the rest of the family, brother,” Lena announced.
Rachel let out a small laugh as she moved toward him. She slid her hands inside his jacket and around his waist, laying her cheek on his chest. “You ready?” she whispered, looking up at him from beneath dark lashes.
Cole removed his hands from his pockets and smoothed them over her hair. “As ever. You?”
“No.” She chuckled nervously.
Leaning down, he kissed her on the forehead.
Glancing up, he noticed Lena was watching them closely. Her eyes softened, and she mouthed, Thank you.
That’s an odd thing to say, Cole thought.
As Lena turned and made her way to the back door, he pulled away from Rachel and took her hand in his.
“Come on, let’s do this.”
Well, this is awkward, was all Rachel could think as she sat beside Cole at their family table in the dining room of Exquisite.
Mason was seated at the head of the table where he always sat, and Lena was off to his left. Beside her were two empty chairs—one for Shelly and one for Josh—who, of course, hadn’t arrived yet because they were running late. Great, just when I’d kill for some of Shelly’s over-the-top attitude, she’s nowhere in sight. And that left the seats to Mason’s right where she was sitting with Cole.
Mason still hadn’t said a word to her. Instead, he was staring…no, glaring at Cole.
“So, Cole, what do you do?” Lena finally asked, attempting to break the arctic ice surrounding the table.
“He’s a lawyer,” Mason answered before Cole had the opportunity to open his mouth.
Rachel tensed, knowing how much it annoyed Cole to be interrupted or cut off in a conversation, but instead of saying anything, Cole took the much higher road than her pouting brother.
“Yes, Mason’s correct, I’m a lawyer. In fact, I’m the lawyer for Joshua’s company.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Lena gave a forced laugh. “I knew that.”
“No problem. I don’t mind you asking or getting to know me,” he pointed out, turning shrewd eyes on Mason.
The man has a death wish. Of that, Rachel was certain.
“You know,” Mason replied in a frosty tone, “that’s the kind of thing a man does when he introduces himself to the family before he dates or marries a woman.”
“Mason,” Lena hissed.
She wasn’t even getting through to the imposter that had taken over Rachel’s usually levelheaded brother.
“Well, in my defense, the last time we met, you didn’t seem very open to getting to know me,” Cole said.
Rachel could feel her heart hammering inside her chest while her head was pounding with the headache she could feel coming on.
“That’s because Lena and Shelly told me that Rachel would never date a man like you—ever.”
“Mason!” Both Lena and Rachel shouted as they glared at the man who was usually so loving, usually so open.
Rachel wanted to hit something—Mason, in particular—as she shot a death stare in his direction.
What a complete disaster.
Thinking she would have some major explaining to do, Rachel turned to see Cole was looking at her with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. She liked to imagine that the amusement was for her and the annoyance for her brother.
Under the table, she felt a hand move to her thigh where Cole squeezed gently before he looked past her to Mason.
“Good thing I don’t ever take no for an answer then, isn’t it? And while your point is valid, technically, we didn’t even finish our first date.” Cole paused and looked back at Rachel with a smirk injected with a healthy dose of irritation.