Mason assumed that Brianna Pembrooke would be like all the other gorgeous popular girls he went to school with—the girls who knew how attractive they were and used it to get whatever they wanted. So he fully expected to get a little smile from Brianna when Cora brought her over and then some half-baked excuse as to why she would have to walk away nearly immediately.
But instead, she gave a relieved sigh when Nathan offered her a sip of his soda.
“I haven’t been able to eat all night,” Brianna said with a groan, raising one foot out of her high heel to rub it. “My dad has been dragging me around to say hi to everyone this whole time, and all I’ve been thinking about is how much I want something smothered in cheese.”
Mason raised his eyebrows at that. “If, uh, you find anything, you should let me know.”
Brianna looked over, staring at him for a second before bursting into laughter. “Where did you guys find him?” she asked.
“He’s Louisa Valmont’s son,” Nathan explained.
Understanding dawned on Brianna’s face and she looked him up and down. “The infamous American son. We’d heard you were coming into town.”
Mason felt himself flush a bit under her gaze. “Uh, yeah. Well, here I am.”
And just like that, Brianna and Cora turned their attention from Mason to start their own conversation. For a moment, he couldn’t help but stare at Brianna. He barely knew her, but already there was something about her. Something he’d never noticed in another girl before . . .
He cut off that train of thought and glanced at Nathan. “So, what else do you guys do around here besides have fancy parties and talk about scandalous American children?”
Nathan laughed. “Well, I have two more years of school. And other than my band, I usually spend most of my time volunteering in one of our forest preserves.”
“Really?” Mason asked. “Is that, like, something your school makes you do?”
“Not exactly. I want to become a vet and work for our national wildlife program,” Nathan explained. “So I’m trying to get some more experience before I apply to universities.”
Mason took a long drink from his root beer. “Oh, right. So that’s big around here too, huh.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Having some kind of ‘master plan’ for your life.”
Nathan frowned. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“I’m just saying, you have your whole life ahead of you. Why do you have to map it all out now? You still have time.”
“Maybe,” Nathan said. He gestured toward the girls. “But Cora will take over her family title someday. She’s basically had to prepare for that her entire life. And Brianna wants to start a foundation like Louisa’s. She’ll need to get a lot of experience first.”
The girls smiled as they listened to Nathan list off their plans, as if they were genuinely excited about their futures. Mason blinked at them. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Cora nodded. “I want to work around the country to get to know it better—maybe learn about our government a little more. Right now I have a part-time job working at city hall.”
“And I’ll probably study business and get several years of work experience before I even consider getting my own foundation off the ground,” Brianna added. “But for now I’ve been doing some volunteering, and I’ll probably do a few internships while I’m in school.”
“Don’t you do something besides go to school?” Nathan asked Mason.
“I, uh . . . my friends and I hang out at our skate park most of the time,” Mason said. The others just looked at him. He coughed. “And, um, sometimes I help my dad around the house. It can be a lot of work. I have to, like, mow the lawn. Take out the garbage.”
Nathan, Cora, and Brianna just gave him polite smiles.
“Sure, it’s important to help your family and take care of your home,” Nathan said.
Mason tried not to cringe in embarrassment. He reminded himself that people who planned out their whole lives in advance didn’t have much fun. They were the followers, while he was the one who would have freedom for the rest of his life. They’re just blind to the system that’s keeping them trapped in predictable lives, he reassured himself. I should feel sorry for them.
“Whatever,” Mason said then. “I’m not gonna let myself get tricked into doing something I don’t want to do just because I think I’m supposed to do it. I’d rather live my life one day at a time.”
The others looked stunned at this. They stared at him for a moment as if barely able to process what he’d said. Then they each gave him empty smiles.
“Well, good for you, Mason,” Brianna said lightly. “At least you’re happy with your decision. That’s all that matters.”
Nathan and Cora nodded quickly—too quickly. They changed the subject to something else, but Mason kept quiet for a bit. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt off. He was used to people judging him for not wanting to do anything after high school, but, for the first time, Mason couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually making the right choice for himself.
***
It wasn’t until nearly midnight that the party began to slow down. Mason couldn’t believe how late these nobles liked to party. Cora and Brianna had taken off their heels at some point during the night, and now they attempted to stuff their feet back into the shoes before their parents noticed they’d been barefoot in front of half the Evonian nobility.
Brianna nearly tumbled over when one of her feet missed her shoe, and she burst into laughter as she suddenly grabbed Mason’s shoulder for support. His stomach jumped but he tried to hold still as she leaned on him. She had a nice laugh—carefree. It was the kind of laugh that came right from her belly, like she didn’t care about trying to hold it in for appearances.
After she stepped away, Mason cleared his throat. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he attempted a casual glance toward Nathan. “So, ah,” he started, “about Brianna . . .”
Nathan laughed, seeing right through him. “Sorry, mate, but I wouldn’t bother—Brianna doesn’t exactly go for guys like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing—just, she usually goes for guys with some . . . ambition.”
Mason grumbled to himself, but then he realized Nathan probably had a point. Brianna had been friendly to him all night—she laughed at his jokes and genuinely listened to him when he spoke—but she hadn’t shown actual interest in him. Not like that.
He sighed and decided to leave it alone for now. Louisa found him near the front door, looking exhausted. Mason said goodbye to his new friends, who all made him swear that he would keep in touch while he was still in town, before heading out to the car.
On the ride home, Mason told Louisa about meeting Nathan, Cora, and Brianna. It was surprising—Mason had thought he’d get at least some obvious stares or maybe even the cold shoulder from people at this party. But, so far, everyone had been rather relaxed about it. Maybe his backstory didn’t seem as scandalous to Evonian high society now that it was old news.
“I’m so glad you had a good time,” Louisa breathed, leaning back in her seat. She stretched her legs in front of her and pulled the earrings out of her ears. “To be honest, I actually don’t think these things are half as fun as I made them out to be. But it’s expected that I go, and I didn’t want to scare you away before you even got there.”
Mason laughed at that. He liked this relaxed side of Louisa. It was as if he was finally getting to see the real her. “I’m kinda surprised I had fun too. I’m glad I went.”