“You’ll be fine. She loves you. You love her.” Mason patted him on the shoulder, but he was looking at me. “Check the ego, be vulnerable, and anything’s possible.”
Warmth spread inside of me. I knew he was talking about us—about my fear of marriage and his need to protect me without me even knowing. He was right, though. Everything would be fine. I believed that.
“Thanks.” Logan glanced back at me. “Don’t know what’s going on with you two, but take it easy on him. Whatever it is, Mase is trying. He’s a lot less bossy than normal.”
Mason laughed. “Okay. Leave now. Go fix your own relationship.”
Logan nodded and was out the door in the next instant. Nate and Matteo declared that they didn’t have girlfriends, and that was reason enough to go drinking, so the two took off. Since Matteo and Mason had practice the next day, I was surprised they weren’t back when we went to bed around eleven that night. They’d left in one vehicle.
“Nah. Matteo will take a cab home if he’s had too much,” Mason said when I shared my concern. He’d been changing in the walk-in closet and came back out in lounge pants. They were deliciously low on his hips, showing off all those lovely stomach muscles and the V that cut down into his pants. I pulled the covers back as my mouth began watering.
Four years and I still had this reaction to him. I felt the flutters in my stomach, and as I climbed onto the bed, I hugged my knees to my chest and hoped this feeling would never leave me.
“What?” He noticed my reaction.
I just grinned at him. “I am completely head over heels for you. That’s all.”
A soft grin lingered on his face, then slid away as his eyes sharpened. “Are you worried about this Faith girl?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I hugged my knees tighter to me. “We’ve dealt with worse. I don’t know why Faith Shaw would top that list. I think we’ll be fine.”
“Then why aren’t you looking at me?”
The lump I’d felt when Logan and Nate were fighting came back. “It’s nothing.” I didn’t know why I couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Sam.”
The bed dipped under his weight as he sat next to me, resting a hand on my knee. “What’s going on?”
I shook my head. I felt so stupid. It was the night I’d left the house all over again. “Really, Mason.” My voice grew hoarse. The lump pressed on the bottom of my throat. “I’m fine.”
“Hey.”
That word was so soft, so tender. It was my undoing, and I felt the tears start. Making a frustrated sound, I used my palms to clear my face. “This is so annoying.”
He leaned closer, and his hand replaced both of mine. He began wiping the tears away. “Do you know why you’re crying?”
“No!” I cried, looking at him through a haze of tears. I pointed at them. “I hate this. I have no idea what’s going on with me. Taylor says I’m going through something, but this is what crazy girls do. They cry at the drop of a hat. I don’t do that. I have issues, and sometimes they come up and make me cry, but I don’t even feel sad. I’m just crying, and I have no fucking idea why.”
He laughed softly, sitting closer on the bed. Tugging on my arm, he pulled me over to sit on his lap. His arms came around me, like they always did, and I curled into him.
I sighed.
This feeling, being like this with him as he sheltered me was one of the most wonderful things about Mason Kade. No other girl could understand this feeling, no matter how many wished they could. It was me, all me. I tipped my head back, my eyes closed as his hand brushed down my hair and back.
“You really are wonderful,” I murmured, feeling my tears start to subside.
“Hey.” He tapped gently under my eye. “Can you look at me?”
I did. The tears were there, but I could see him.
He looked down at me, so adoringly. “I don’t care what’s going on with you. Whether you think it’s ridiculous or not, I’ll always want to know. It’ll always matter to me. You’ll always matter to me.”
I cupped the side of his face. “Why did you choose to love me? Because I was there? I was the girl who moved into your house? That could’ve been anyone.”
The corner of his lip tugged up. “Are you serious?
I nodded.
I hadn’t been wracked with doubt, but as I asked now, I realized it’d always been with me. It had been in the back of my mind.
“I was a nobody.”
He started to protest, but I kept going, shaking my head.
“No. I know you’re going to say I wasn’t, but I was. I wasn’t even popular at my own school. I had two best friends, a boyfriend, a mom, and a dad. That’s it. Then I lost everyone in the same week. You and Logan didn’t have to do anything for me. You didn’t even need to be nice to me, but you were. You were kind and supportive, and you guys made me one of yours.”
“We weren’t that nice. You’re giving us more credit than we deserve. I stayed back from a party so I could grill you about you and your mom. That wasn’t me being nice. That was me being an asshole.”
“That was you looking out for yourself and your brother. My mom and I invaded your house. I expected you to hate me in the beginning.” But I’d never felt that from them. Never hate. “Why didn’t you hate me?”
“Why would I?” He leaned back, resting on his hands.
I was still curled up on his lap, but I sat further upright to hold myself steady.
He shrugged. “I hated my dad. I didn’t particularly like your mom, but I never hated you. You didn’t do anything. You were just collateral damage like Logan and me. Now, if you had started to do things, then maybe I might’ve started to dislike you.” He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, and his hand lingered on my cheek. “I don’t even hate your mom. After all the shit she did to you, I seriously dislike her, but I don’t hate her. I can’t. She brought me you, and a part of me is thankful to her for that.”
I pressed a fist to his chest, just holding it there. “Any other guy, and that would sound like the cheesiest line ever. But you.” I gently tapped him with that fist. “You, and I’m almost swooning.”
“Yeah?” His grin deepened, his eyes warm and loving. They darkened into something more, and he sat back up. His arms came to circle me, but he kept them loose. His thumb rubbed back and forth on my thigh. “Look.” He sounded so serious. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but as long as you’re not going to leave me, I’m not too worried about it. I think Taylor was right. I just think you’re processing something, and you’ll come out the other end better. Stronger. And things are kinda weird right now, since we’re engaged, but kinda not engaged at the same time. Almost everything’s come full circle, you know? You got both your dads. You got Malinda as a mom. Heather is a good best friend—and that’s saying a lot from me—and Taylor seems cool. Plus, Logan’s finally your official stepbrother now. And you got Mark. You got everything you lost, and then some. You and me, I figure we’re the icing on the cake.” His eyes sparkled. “Right?”
“When you put it like that . . .” I teased. The lump was dissipating. “I think you’re right. Everything will be fine.”
He nodded. “Damn straight, Strattan.”
“Strattan?” I arched my eyebrows. “We’ve moved to last names now?”
“Fuck yeah.” His hands tightened, and he pulled me closer. He leaned toward me, and I knew those lips were going to rest on mine in seconds.
“When I’m deep inside you tonight, I want to hear you scream my name,” he murmured, his breath caressing me. “We’re that kind of last names to each other.”
I laughed because that didn’t make sense, but I don’t think he cared. I didn’t either, and then his lips were on mine and the laughter turned into a moan.
So many sensations flooded me, and soon he was inside of me, and I was screaming his name. I hoped this, like everything else, would never ever go away.