Regina snuck a quick glance at him. It was hard to see much in the dark, but she could tell he was frowning. "Is Mason another old boyfriend? Before Carl?""No. Mason was... a client.""You dated a client?""No! I would never... He was only twenty. He was one of my first clients. I was so sure... I saw so much potential for him. Meredith warned me to go slow, but I promised..." Her voice hitched, a little sob escaping the way it often did when she thought about Mason. "I promised him big things. He was helping his dad take care of their hardware store, see. It was just the two of them, and his dad had heart problems, and they were in financial trouble. Mason was going to use his signing bonus to fend off the creditors and get his dad to a specialist. Only... the deal fell through."She didn't dare look at him now. She hadn't told this story to anyone—anyone except Meredith, who'd stayed up all night with her after it happened, telling her that things would be all right, that life would go on.
