Fallen Crest Home (Fallen Crest High #6)

“Hey.” Mason was coming. Two steps and he’d clear the last SUV that blocked his view of Analise.

I waved him back, hurrying my pace. “I’m coming.”

“What’s wrong?”

Of course he’d know. I only shook my head, though. “Just thinking. I’m fine now.” I moved past him and took his hand, pulling him behind me. “Let’s go home.”





Two weeks went by.

No drama.

No fights.

No nothing.

It was an eerie calm, and it wasn’t that nothing at all happened, just no bad stuff. There were parties. Heather and Channing came over, and we hung out at Manny’s. There’d been no more sightings of Caldron, so Mason and Adam went back to working at the country club. The hotel was nearing its opening, and they’d been doing more and more events for it—radio interviews, newspaper interviews, ads, even a couple videos for Facebook. And somehow, during those three weeks, I got roped into helping with a bridal shower for Becky.

Heather brought in a package of silk flowers and dumped them on Malinda’s table. “What are we doing here? We’re not bridal shower friends. We’re Vegas and bachelorette party friends.”

Cass came over and picked up some of the flowers. “You’re supporting friends, and Sam promised to support Becky.”

Heather glared at her. “I hate you.”

Cass narrowed her eyes.

“Go away,” Heather added.

I smothered a laugh.

“You’re still just as hateful as you were in high school.” Cass sniffed.

“Like you would know,” Heather countered. “You went to the rich, preppy school.”

I was content to let this go on as long as necessary. Mark’s girlfriend was a longtime enemy of mine. We’d come to a strained truce because of Becky, but nothing had been spoken between us. I was waiting for her attack. It’d come. It always did.

I had a lot of fires in my life. They were all simmering and contained, but at any moment, there could be an explosion.

Malinda came to watch the exchange from the kitchen, and my excitement died a slow death inside of me. I had to stop Heather from completely annihilating Cass, though it would’ve been so much fun to watch.

Clearing my throat, I grabbed a pile of papers that still needed to be folded and sat down. “I’m seconding Heather’s request. Go away, Cass. We’re busy folding these little suckers. We don’t need you to boss us around.”

Heather sat beside me, taking half the pile. “Yeah. Get stomping…” She waited until Cass had left with a huff before adding under her breath, “you prissy bitch.”

I had to stifle another laugh. Today was not the day.

She looked at the paper as she started to fold and paused. “Wait. The Love Game?” She read one of the questions. “Who said I love you first?” She looked to me. “Are you serious? This is the type of game people play at bridal showers?”

I shrugged, starting on my pile. The questions were on the front of the page and the answers were on the back. No one was supposed to look, but Malinda had them printed this way on purpose. Everyone was going to cheat, but Becky would feel like everyone actually knew her that well.

“From what I Googled, this is common stuff,” I told her.

She snorted, starting on her pile. “Too bad it’s not Logan’s bridal shower. This game would have questions like Who offered to do anal first?”

We looked at each other and said at the same time, “Logan.”

I laughed. “That’s a no-brainer.”

Heather sighed. “I’m going to die of boredom at this thing. What did you blackmail me with to make me do this?”

I thought about it. “I threatened to tell Logan that Channing wants to marry you.”

“Oh yeah.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to think about what he’d say if he knew that. He’d be on my ass all day long.”

“If he didn’t have Taylor, he’d be begging to be your maid of honor.”

Heather barked out a laugh. “He would. He’d be stabbing you in the back, trying to get that position from you.”

“He could have it. I hate weddings.”

I cringed, realizing what I’d just said. The words slipped out before I knew I was even going to say them.

Heather paused mid-fold. “Are you serious?”

I looked around, making sure no one else had heard my flub. Then I shrugged, leaning forward. “Maybe.”

“This is the wrong summer for you to be saying that. You know that, right?”

I nodded. “I’m not proclaiming it or anything.”

“Becky got engaged. Channing’s been bringing it up more and more with me, and your mom is actually getting married very soon.”

“I’m aware. It’s all around me.”

She lowered her voice. “Has Mason mentioned the M-word to you?”

I shook my head, feeling some relief. “No. I think it’s just overkill. That’s all.”

“Bullshit.” Heather continued to watch me steadily. She wasn’t giving me any room to breathe. “The whole wedding thing is usually contagious for girls. If you’re around it, you suddenly want to do it, too.” She studied me. “You look ready to bolt just having this conversation. You really hate weddings, or you hate your own wedding?”

I hated this conversation. “I’m not engaged, so this is a conversation I don’t need to bother with.”

“But he will ask you.”

My heart jumped to my throat. “You know something I should know?”

She shook her head. “No, but it’s Mason. He loves you—like, really loves you. He’s going to want a ring on your finger.”

I knew that, but the thought of marriage sent ice through my veins.

“I’ll deal with it,” I told her.

The look in her eye said bullshit.

“It’s not a big deal.”

She snorted. Again. “You need to talk to Mason about that. For real, Sam. It’s a big deal. It’s on the same level as when a partner doesn’t want to have kids and the other does. It’s a deal breaker.”

She wasn’t helping. I felt a headache forming. “I know. I’ll talk to him.”

“Promise?”

I nodded.

“No, you have to say the word. I know you, and you’ll try to get out of it somehow. Promise me, Sam.”

I didn’t understand the problem. Mason never brought up marriage or weddings. We hadn’t talked about it, and he came from the same background as me. He’d understand. Right? But I remembered the fear I felt when I first realized how much I didn’t want marriage.

I didn’t want to promise, but Heather was waiting, watching me like a hawk. “I’ll talk to him,” I heard myself say.

She let out a sigh of relief. “Good.” She squeezed my hand. “It’ll be fine. I know it. That guy worships the ground you walk on. There’s nothing he wouldn’t deal with for you.”