by Linda Kage
He gently squeezed my fingers in return. "I want to do that," he assured me, his voice low and filled with sincerity. "I do. I just want to show her how much I love her and bring a smile to her face, but I . . . " He shook his head helplessly. "Right now, I can't even imagine what I could do to accomplish that."
My lips spread wide as an idea hit me. "I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to dig out that engagement ring you have hiding in the bottom of your shirt drawer, and you're going to propose to her. Tonight."
"Wha . . . " Mouth falling open, Mason sputtered a couple seconds before he scowled at me. Stepping closer, he sent a quick glance toward the opening of the kitchen before he whirled back and quietly hissed, "How the hell do you know what's in my shirt drawer?"
I snorted and waved an unconcerned hand. "Oh, please. If you want to hide something from your girlfriend, next time put it in a better place than you did. Reese loves wearing your shirts when you're not here. She found the ring months ago."
"She . . . " He shook his head, denying it, and then tried to speak, but nothing intelligible came out.
"You should've heard her," I went on. "I'd just fallen asleep when this scream ripped through the entire apartment. I thought someone was killing her. By the time I scrambled into her room, she was dancing around and trying to put it on, but her fingers were shaking so badly she kept missing. She was so happy she was crying. I don't know if I've ever seen her that ecstatic before in my life."
Mason caught his breath. His eyes filled with wonder. "She liked it?" He sounded so hopeful and yet uncertain, so I punched him in the arm.
"Liked it? Hell, no, she didn't like it. She freaking loved it. And FYI, Lowe, you have immaculate taste in jewelry. I mean, holy God, who knew you'd pick out such a beautiful ring? I'm seriously impressed."
He grinned so hard his entire face lit up. "Really?"
"Yes. So dig that bad boy out and make it official already, will you? That, I know for certain, will make my Ree Ree happy."
Mason nodded. "Okay." He started to turn away as if to follow my instructions that very moment, but then he paused. "Wait. I can't. I still haven't planned the perfect proposal. I keep thinking I need to take her to a fancy restaurant and somehow have the waiter bring it out with her food, or—"
"Don't you dare be so cliché. This is Reese we're talking about. She'd prefer something simple, yet private, just between the two you. Maybe a picnic—oh, hey. She loves that park across the street as much as I do. There's this big-ass tree by the lake. You could spread a blanket out under it, feed a couple of the ducks, eat a romantic little snack, and then, you know . . . do your thing."
Biting his lip, he seemed to consider my suggestion. "I don't know how to ask, though."
"Oh, whatever." I shoved his arm right where I'd just punched it. "Every time I've ever heard you tell her you loved her, you've always spit out some big, flowery speech that would put a romance novel hero to shame. Just start talking, and the words will come. I promise you."
"But I want it to be perfect."
I sighed. "Reese doesn't want perfect. The poor, confused girl wants you. So . . . give her you."
He mentally debated a moment longer. The guy looked positively thrilled by the idea, yet utterly frightened by it. It made my own stomach flutter with anticipation. I was about to shove him again and demand, "Just do it already," when he nodded.
"Okay. I'm going to do it."
I almost peed I was so excited. But the anxiety in his gray eyes made me wary. "Tonight," I ordered.
"Yeah," he said. "Tonight."
I about hugged him, but that would've been way awkward because the last time I'd tried to touch him, I'd reached for his junk to show Reese he was a cheating bastard just like every other dick out there. But he hadn't been a cheating bastard; he'd knocked my hand away, and Reese had turned on me as if I was the backstabbing whore of the century. Not wanting to relive any of those memories, I cleared my throat and ran my fingers through my hair, glad when Reese entered the kitchen.
"So what're we doing for supper?" she asked, completely clueless as to what Mason and I had just discussed.
Mason jumped because his back was to the doorway and he hadn't seen her enter. When he whirled toward her looking as guilty as spit, I snorted. Time for me to set the wheels in motion before he blew it.
"You two are driving me crazy," I said, taking control. "Both of you have been moping around the house all week, and it's enough already. I'm officially kicking you out for the evening. I'd leave myself, but . . . I hate walking too far in this condition, ergo, you guys have to go. I'll pack you a picnic supper, but you better not come back until you're both freaking approachable again. Got it?"
Reese lifted her eyebrows and sent me a withering stare. "Wow. I'm so sorry our drama is messing with your life, E. Let me just get right on—"
"Sweet Pea." Mason stepped toward her and swept an arm around her waist, making her look up at him in surprise.
As her startled blue eyes grew wider, he forced a tense smile. "Let's just . . . let's listen to her and go out for a couple hours, anyway. Just the two of us."
She started nodding immediately, but it took her a few seconds for her to say, "O . . . Okay. Yeah, that sounds good."
"Great." His smile was slow and devastating enough to make Reese visibly melt. I swear the girl almost let out a dreamy smile.
Then he kissed her forehead and released her. "I'm going to grab my . . . my hat from the bedroom. Be right back."
As soon as he was gone, a grinning Reese whirled to me. "Did you just see that?" she demanded and began bouncing on her toes. "He touched me. Ohmigod, Eva. I think he's starting to come around again."
I had to turn away before I spilled the entire surprise, but I was so happy for my best friend. I couldn't wait to see her face when she and Mason returned from their picnic. "So, what kind of food do you want?" I asked, already opening the refrigerator and yanking out deli meat. Sandwiches sounded like a nice light meal for the simple kind of proposal Reese would prefer.
She tried to assist me in packing the supper, but she was so eager to get going and too busy jabbering about what might've cheered Mason up that she mostly just followed me around as I bagged up some fruit and veggies along with some of her favorite chocolate chip cookies.
When Mason returned to the kitchen, he slid a hand into his pocket and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. I noticed he'd totally forgotten to put on a hat as he said he was going to do, but Reese didn't. She just smiled adoringly.
A knowing grin lit his face as he studied the brilliant sheen on hers. "About ready?"
"Yep," I answered for her, waving a mini bottle of wine behind Reese's back so Mason could see the last thing I shoved into the hulking lunch bag before I zipped it closed. "I think you guys are good to go. Have fun. Don't come back until it's late, and feed the ducks for me while you're there."
Slinging the strap of the bag over my shoulder, I put my hand at the base of Reese's back and propelled her toward Mason. He straightened up in time to catch her around the waist and pull her close. Then he grinned at me and took the lunch bag. "Thanks, E."
Reese suddenly sent a suspicious look between the both of us. I swallowed, hoping she hadn't caught on to what was happening. But then she whirled to me. "You're really eager to get rid of us. Are you planning to throw some wild party while we're gone?"
I snorted. "Yeah, I'm having my secret boyfriend come visit and we're going to practice for baby number two." But as soon as I said that, an image of Mason's co-worker, Pick, popped in my head. But I smacked him right back out and rolled my eyes at my cousin as I patted my belly. "Wow, why are you so paranoid?"
"Yeah, Reese." Mason slid his hand down her arm and laced his fingers with hers. "Who cares why she wants us gone? Let's just go have fun."
She turned to him, and I could tell she'd already forgotten who I was. "Okay," she said. "I guess I'm ready."
I'm glad she was already w
earing a cute outfit. She never would've forgiven me if I'd let her leave the house for her proposal wearing something sloppy and old. But even her hair looked adorable in a perky ponytail.
I followed them to the opening of the kitchen as they crossed the living room hand in hand. Neither of them glanced back as they left. But strangely, instead of feeling left out, I felt full and content. Huh. I guess that article I'd read knew what it'd been talking about. Make someone else happy and the feeling came back to you tenfold. What a wonderful discovery.
Still wishing I had a crystal ball so I could eavesdrop on their picnic and watch the big proposal, I settled on the couch with my healthy snack and pulled Reese's computer onto my lap so I could look up more baby sites.
I'd stumbled across this do-it-yourself-mommy website I was absolutely in love with. Since I was finally learning I couldn't go out and buy whatever my spoiled heart desired, I had started making all kinds of neat things to get my baby what she needed in an affordable way.
Reese let me have one of her old knock-off Dolce and Gabbana bags to transform into a diaper bag. It was black, gold, and leopard print, but I was thinking it needed a splash of pink along with a couple more pouches for all the necessities I was going to need to carry around for my baby girl.
As I stitched, my mind wandered back to Mason's coworker. It still bothered me that he'd guessed my past somehow. Like a constant itch under my skin, I hated knowing what he knew about me. And I wasn't so sure I liked the way he affected my hormones either. I'd just been getting used to the fact that I never had to use a guy again to go to my numb place. I wanted to wipe sex from my life completely. So why was I wondering what Pick looked like shirtless, or just how many tattoos and piercings he had under the rest of his clothes?
I wished there was a way to wipe my feelings and his knowledge about me completely from existence. Brooding, I kept sewing and thinking, and coming up with no good plan. Not that it mattered what I did about Pick Ryan. I doubted I'd ever even see him again. Who cared what he knew about me?
Unless he told Mason.
Oh, shit. He could not tell Mason. Mason would tell Reese. And if Reese knew—
I had to convince him he'd assumed the wrong thing, that what he thought wasn't true at all. Yeah. Next time I saw him—and I would find a way to see him again—that's exactly what I'd do.
When the front door of the apartment opened, I jumped, surprised to realize how much time had passed. Reese and Mason blew into the living room, full of smiles and laughter.
I had quite the mountain of material, scissors, a needle and thread piled up around me on the couch. I was so engrossed in sewing an R—the last and final letter—into the side of the bag that I screamed and stabbed my finger when the door burst open.
"EVA! Ohmigod, ohmigod. Look! Look!" Reese hurled herself at me, hand spread and waving as the diamond glittered from her second finger. "Can you believe it? Can you just believe it? We're getting married!"
I made a spectacle of studying the ring we'd both already oohed and awed over months ago. Then I looked up and dryly reported, "I'm . . . shocked."
Reese yanked her hand free and frowned at me. "Oh. You're no fun. This is happy news. Amazing news."
Grinning, I rolled my eyes. "And I'm happy for you. Honestly. Congratulations."
As Mason shut the door to the apartment and leaned against it to watch us on the couch, I glanced up at him and arched an eyebrow. "Well done, Mr. Lowe."
"Mr. Lowe," Reese sighed the name as she slid her hand from mine and launched herself off the couch toward him. "And I'm going to be Mrs. Lowe. Mrs. Reese Lowe. Teresa Alison Lowe. Ohmigod, I love it!"
She hugged him and began to kiss him all over his face. He laughed and caught her head in his hands so he could hold her still long enough to press a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. "What? Did you actually doubt this was going to happen?"
"No." Sighing, she melted against him and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "Not really. But I still can't believe it's here. It's happening now, and it's finally real."
"Of course it's real. I love you, Reese." He closed his eyes and pressed his mouth to her temple. "I'd do anything to show you that."
A big wad of jealousy caught in my throat. The only way I was able to swallow it down was from thinking about how fulfilled I was after playing cupid for them. Doing good deeds really was an amazing sensation. And I was even more satisfied because it was Reese I'd helped make happy. But why couldn't I be happy like that, too?
Because I didn't deserve it, I reminded myself.
"Give me two minutes," Reese told Mason as she pulled away from him, the look in her eyes making it obvious what she had planned.
His gaze heated and he held her fingers for as long as he could before she stepped back out of his reach. "Yes, ma'am," he murmured before grinning like a guy about to get laid.
When Reese giggled, I snorted. I think they'd both forgotten I existed. As Reese turned away, bounding from the living room, Mason sighed in contentment and met my gaze. Seeing me tempered his mood instantly. He cleared his throat and tried to blink the desire from his expression, but didn't quite succeed.
"So," he said, nudging his toe at a scrap of fabric that had fallen to the floor. "Thanks."
Shrugging as if my intervention had been no big deal, I went back to sewing my R into place. "It's the least I could do."
"Yeah, but . . . you freaking saved us. Reese and I were drowning until—"
"Oh, don't be so dramatic." I couldn't let him get all mushy because then I'd get all emotional and have to blame a whole new batch of tears of my poor, innocent pregnancy hormones. "You guys love each other. Nothing was going to change that. I just knocked a little clarity into your head."
"Well, it's the knock I needed, and I'll be forever grateful." He stepped closer and tipped his head to the side to see what I was sewing. "Is that the baby's name?"
I gasped and covered the word with my hand, even though he'd already read it . . . and knew. "Don't you dare tell anyone," I warned him. "Especially Reese. She's been having fun trying to guess."
His gray eyes glittered silver as he grinned at me. "My lips are sealed. But only because I owe you one." Then he glanced toward the doorway leading into the hall, which led to his and Reese's bedroom. "You think it's been two minutes yet?"
"I think it's only been thirty seconds, you big horn ball."
Scowling, he shoved his hands into his pockets and grumbled around a moment before muttering, "Well, I can't wait anymore." Then he was off, hurrying down the hall in pursuit of his fiancée.
I smiled and shook my head. I liked their kind of love. I enjoyed watching them make it past this obstacle, and I liked knowing they were going to live happily ever after. But it also depressed me.
I knew I had my baby girl. Once she was born, I'd probably be too busy raising her to want what Reese had with Mason, but a part of me still ached, a part of me wanted to be loved like that, too.
Chapter 7
PICK
Exactly two weeks had passed since I'd gotten married and discovered Tinker Bell's real name, and it felt as if my entire universe had flipped on its axis.
Not much changed at home aside from the fact that Mrs. Rojas, mother of four and our neighbor to the left, agreed to watch Julian three days out of the week. With a little more 'freedom' as Tristy called it, her moods brightened considerably. It put a bigger strain on my budget, but to live with a happier, drug-free Tris, it was worth it.
Nothing changed at my jobs either. Cars still came in needing repairs at the garage, and customers still came in looking for drinks at the club.
It was me who suffered.
Internally, I went haywire. I felt restless with all this energy to burn but nothing to exhaust it on. I couldn't stop thinking about Tink. I knew it was stupid. The real Tinker Bell—Eva Mercer—wasn't the kind of person I thought she was. We would never click, probably wouldn't be able to carry on a single conversation together if we ever ev
en saw each other again. She no doubt stepped right over lowlifes like me and kept on walking without even realizing she'd crushed them below her name-brand heels. I should've completely forgotten about her.
Except I couldn't help myself. Every time I worked with Mason, I had a mental battle with myself over whether or not to pump him for information. Where did she live, how in love was she with that fucking prick boyfriend of hers, what were her biggest hopes and dreams and fears in life? I wanted to know everything. But no matter how many times I talked to Lowe, I stopped myself from finagling my way into asking about his girlfriend's pregnant cousin.
She hadn't even told me when her baby was due. I wondered how close she was now, or if she'd already given birth. Was it a girl or a boy? Damn, there was so much I didn't know. And worst of all, it was Thursday. I knew I was going to be working with Mason again, the one guy who held so many of the answers I sought.
He was behind the bar when I strolled into work. I was actually early because I was hoping to get some chatty time in with him. There had to be some inconspicuous way to get him to mention her without revealing how desperate I was to know everything.
I fully expected Noel to begin shouting something about the apocalypse coming because, for once in my life, I wasn't late. But no one said anything, and there was nothing to do but wait for my shift to start. I realized I'd even beat the football star to work. But Ten was setting up tables, and if he was here, then Noel should be too because he always caught a ride with his roommate.
"Where's Gamble?" I asked.
"Heartbroken." Ten moodily shoved a table into a better position on the floor so we waiters could move around easier between them later on in the night.
Aw, hell. This was the third night this week Gamble hadn't come in. "He and Professor Girlfriend didn't make it, huh?"
"He's a complete mess," Hamilton said with a sad shake of his head. "I've never seen anyone so upset after losing a girl before. He really loves her."
"Damn." I shook my head.
What a shame. I'd been jealous of Gamble and his woman two weeks ago when she'd come into the bar to see him. They'd had this intense connection between them. It was upsetting to know the bond they'd shared hadn't kept them together. And it gave me no hope whatsoever for my own situation. But it didn't keep me from my plan either. Mission Extract-Info-From-Lowe was definitely a go.
