Page 104 of Off Plan

“Yes. And then you will mock me relentlessly until the end of time. No. Nope. Suffice it to say, I hate Tobias and we are no longer friends. Therefore, it’s as though that text was never sent.”

“Hmm. Don’t think it works that way. Weren’t you the one who told me—”

I broke off as an Instagram notification appeared on his screen.

“Who told you what?” Mason demanded. He moved into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. “No doubt, whatever I said was absolutely accurate as it applied toyoubut should never be applied to me. Fenn? What’s up? Did Toby write more?”

“Huh?” I glanced up. “Oh, no. You, um. You got an Instagram notification. You received a direct message from Victorious626.”

Mason’s head went back an inch, and his forehead creased. “Really? What’s Victoria want?”

“I can’t read it. You have to unlock your phone.”

“Huh.” He shut the water off and strode toward me, all lean and firm and mouthwatering, grabbed the phone from my hand and unlocked it. “Vic wants totalk.” He rolled his eyes and handed the phone back to me. “I’ll get right on that.”

I looked down at the screen as he walked away.

Victorious626: Hey, Mase! Really excited to see you posting so much. Um, this is so awks but could we talk at some point? You probs already know I’m back in the States for now, so just call whenever, k? Love you!

Love you.I sucked in a breath. That was… totally normal. They’d dated for a long time, so of course she loved him. Or thought she did.

Bitch.

“Why does she think youprobs already knowshe’s back in the States?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual.

“Oh, she probably posted about it and thought I’d seen it,” Mason said dismissively. He opened a bottle on the vanity and began to massage some goop into his face. “I haven’t been on much recently, and I haven’t done anything but post. It’s kinda freeing, not seeing anyone else’s pics or even reading the comments on mine.”

“Yeah? You don’t mind if I look, do you?”

Mason shot me a questioning look. “At the comments? What for?”

“No, I mean… last week you mentioned you’d posted pictures of us. I was… curious.” I shrugged.

“Ohhh! Yeah. Of course you can! Have at it. Mi Instagram es su Instagram.”

I gave him a half-smile and backed up a couple of paces so I was sitting on Mason’s side of the bed—which was to say, the side of the bed Mason usually lay on, not that we had official sides of the bed, because that would imply…Whatever.

“So, um. Taffy was talking about the Labor Day Extravaganza earlier,” Mason said.

“Yeah?”

“She said they might want me to judge a talent contest? Which would be… fun? I think? If I’m still here then, obviously. But by then, I’d be past my probationary period, so I’d be agreeing to stay here for three years. So, what do you think?”

“Uh-huh,” I said, distracted by the pretty pictures. “Sounds fun.”

Mason snorted. “I see now how social media destroys relationships.”

I glanced up. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said dismissively, a smile playing on his lips as he focused on his reflection. “Not a conversation for now, anyway.”

I frowned down at the phone in my hands.

The most recent picture on his feed was one of us from this past weekend at the Barrel Brewhouse, my buddy Luke’s place over on the mainland. We were sitting in the lobby in front of the plate-glass window at the front of the restaurant, waiting for my cousin to show up, and Mason had wanted to take a selfie, so I’d rolled my eyes, pretending to be annoyed, and leaned in. Mason looked gorgeous in the picture, all artfully tousled hair, crisply collared shirt, and bright eyes. I sported two days’ worth of beard growth and hair that curled around my ears because it should’ve been trimmed months ago. But I could still remember how he’d smelled when his temple was resting against mine.Hashtag-Barrel-Brewhouse. Hashtag date.

I ran a hand over my jaw.

Next back was a picture from the week before that, when I’d taken him out for his private boat tour. Once again, Mason was tidy perfection—happy, positive—and I looked vaguely menacing and rumpled and totally besotted.Hashtag-My-Captain.