We watched the first dance, the toast, and Pick and Marin cut the cake. They had to be the happiest bride and groom I had ever seen. I excused myself to go to the ladies room to touch up the makeup Lulu had applied. There was no way I was still as put together as when I walked down the aisle. We had taken close to a hundred pictures and the corners of my mouth hurt from the permanent smile I had formed today.
As I walked out of the women’s lounge, I was looking down at my shoes and I almost bumped into Renee.
“Eden, why, sugar, I haven’t seen you in forever.” Renee wrapped me in what I could only describe as a Texas-sized bear hug. Her perfume was almost as powerful.
“How have you been?” I stepped back to talk to her for a minute. I felt bad I hadn’t been to the shop more to see her.
“Oh, busy busy. Things at the store are slowing down, but I’m gearing up for the holiday season in another month.”
That’s right. Thanksgiving was only a month away, and then Christmas. I had to come up with a holiday arrangement quicker than I realized. Grey and I hadn’t made a single plan on where to cut the turkey or share gifts under the tree.
“How’s your sister?”
“She’s good, hon. Thanks for asking.” Renee whispered in my ear, “Is Pops’s other son here tonight? I heard he was.”
I nodded. “Yes. Marin’s parents invited him.” I couldn’t imagine what Renee’s interest in Mason could be.
“I need to speak with him.” Her voice was still hushed.
“Ok. Do you need me to point him out to you?”
“Yes, there are so many people here, it’s hard to even find your neighbor.” She wasn’t kidding. The country club was packed. On top of that, the men weren’t wearing their regular jeans and T-shirt ensembles. It was funny to see Mac and everyone else in a suit.
“All right, let’s see where he is.” We peeked around the corner and scanned the room for Taylor or Mason. She was easier to spot in a pink dress. His dark suit blended in with the other men’s suits.
I saw him near the bar ordering more drinks. “There he is.” I pointed.
“Handsome devil, isn’t it?”
“You don’t even know, Renee.” I smiled. Her eyes were zeroed in on Mason.
“I’m going to go have a little chat. I’ll catch up with you later.” She patted me on the back and marched toward Mason like she had found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and didn’t want anyone to beat her to it.
I don’t consider myself nosey. Usually, I take the information I get and sometimes don’t even want that. However, the exchange with Renee piqued my interest worse than any curious cat. I stuffed my lip gloss in my clutch, and made my way to one of the tables near the bar. I could use a refill on my champagne anyway.
I leaned against the high top table and pretended to check the messages on my phone. I couldn’t care less if I had an unanswered email, but I needed a lame cover for my eavesdropping. I parked myself there while Renee pulled Mason to the side of the bar.
From what I could hear, she was delivering news Mason wasn’t prepared for. I had already missed the introductions.
“I know you don’t know me well, honey—you’ve never met me—but I knew your father and I loved that man. Everyone on this island loved that man.”
Mason huffed. He wasn’t interested in her praise of his dad.
“So, you’ve got to put an end to this demolition business. He would be furious if he knew you were going after Grey the way you are. It’s shameful. Just isn’t right what you’re doing to such a good man. It’s not his fault he didn’t know about you.”
Mason lips pursed together. “Ma’am, I know you mean well, but you don’t know what’s going on. You don’t know me, and you certainly don’t know anything about my relationship with my father.” He tried to skirt around her, but Renee held her ground.
“You’re not listening to me. I did know him. I knew him very well in fact. We were friends for years, both having businesses on the island together, living here, raising families here.” She sighed. “And he told me about you.”
“What? You knew about me?” Mason’s voice softened, and I strained to hear his words.
“Honey, your father wanted to bring you and your mother to the island. He was trying to figure out a way to make it work with Grey and the business. Your mother didn’t want to move, and I think they weren’t able to get past that. Sounded like they drifted apart and so many years passed and then she died. But he was still determined to get you here even though by then you were an adult. It was really his dream. He told me so many times how proud he was of you. How he was going to make things right.”