but we didn’t really have strings on each other. There was nothing to stop him from seeing other women. This was too embarrassing. Mason came through the doorway and grabbed my arm leading me back to the house.
He must have seen the uncomfortable expression on my face and realized what I was thinking. “Molly, this is my ex-wife, Jaimee,” he said.
“Oh,” I said regarding Jaimee with new interest. Oops, Mason’s worlds had just collided. Mason might have wanted to take baby steps to let me in his life, but it looked like he’d just taken a giant step whether he wanted to or not.
“Come in, sunshine,” Mason said to me again. I thought Jaimee’s eyes would fall out of their sockets.
“Sunshine?” she said, stifling a laugh.
“Didn’t you say you had to go?” Mason said to her, but she shook her head.
Mason ushered me in and I could feel Jaimee’s eyes on me as we all walked back to the den. Since Mason had kept his family, which included Jaimee, separate from his social life, this was probably the first time she’d seen any woman in his life. We were both measuring ourselves against each other and I was pretty sure I came up short.
In the few minutes I’d seen her, I had already gotten a feeling about who she was. She reminded me of an older version of the women I’d met when I’d helped out at my sons’ elementary school. They were married to doctors and lawyers, all drove similar cars, had some shade of blond hair, manicured nails and houses that were far neater than mine. Jaimee was dressed in the high-end jeans of the moment with heels—a look I would never understand. She wore a white tee shirt with some kind of gauzy overshirt on top of it. It seemed a little much considering the heat, but her look was less about comfort and more about style. I suspected the purpose of the overshirt was to flow over any little lumps and bumps.
I could just imagine what she was thinking about me. I had changed when I got home and left behind my usual work clothes of khaki pants and a white shirt. No double layers for me. I had put on cargo-style capri pants with just a tee shirt, lumps and bumps be darned.
Jaimee was still holding the pink gift bag and said it was something I’d made for their daughter’s wedding. She tried to give it back to me, but Mason asked to see it. “This is awkward,” Jaimee said to me as she handed it over to him. “It really doesn’t go with Thursday’s dress. Why don’t you keep it for somebody else.”
Mason took the hankie from her and laid it on the coffee table. “Doesn’t go with Thursday’s dress? They’re both white.” He turned to me. “It’s beautiful, sunshine. I’m sure Thursday will treasure it.”
To put it mildly there was an awkward silence. Mason tried to break it by telling Jaimee about the Tarzana Hookers. She didn’t seem interested and began talking to Mason about the wedding present they needed to buy for Thursday.
“There’s a wonderful design studio in Santa Barbara where all the celebrities go,” she said. “They have all these fantastic pieces—the kinds of things that will make her living room look legendary.” When Mason seemed unmoved, she said something about taking care of it herself.
“You might want to look at Luxe,” I said, referring to the lifestyle store near the bookstore. “They have a lot of one-of-a-kind items.”
Jaimee glared at me as if I’d just suggested she go look in the broom closet.
We had reached another awkward moment. Mason looked at his watch. “I didn’t realize how late it was,” Mason said to his ex. She glanced from him to me and back to him before checking her watch.
“Mark worries about me if I’m out too late,” she said, explaining to me that he was her boyfriend. Mason just shook his head and rolled his eyes. Even so, she seemed reluctant to leave. Maybe she didn’t want Mason anymore, but she didn’t really want someone else to have him, either. Finally she made a move toward the door and Mason walked her out. I noticed she had knocked the shopping bag with the hankie onto the floor.
Mason returned a few moments later and when he saw I was still standing, he urged me to sit. I realized for the first time that Spike wasn’t around and asked Mason where he