“The only thing I can do is go slow and let her set the pace, right? If I push too much, she’ll bail and then where will that leave me?”
“Whipped, for starters,” Sam murmured.
“Hey!”
“Well, what do you expect me to say? You’re letting her call all the shots no matter how bad it makes you feel. How is that fair?”
“Yeah, well…this is all new to me so…”
“Look, I get it, Mason. I know this has to be hard for you, but the sooner she sees the real you and how your family isn’t calling the shots or how the money they have has nothing to do with you as a person, the better off the two of you will be.”
“I don’t know. My mother made a couple of snide comments on Friday night when we all went out for Parker’s birthday.”
“And you’re surprised, why?”
“I guess I’m not, but the last thing I want is for her to do or say something to Scarlett like that. I don’t know what I’d do.”
Sam looked like he was about to say something but his mouth opened and then quickly closed. After a moment of awkward silence, he asked, “So what are you going to do? Just keep having these dirty weekends?”
It took all Mason had not to go over the desk and punch his cousin for making what he and Scarlett had sound so crude. “It’s not like that,” he said, teeth clenched.
“When are you seeing her again?”
“Tonight. And in case you haven’t checked your calendar, it’s Monday.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it,” Sam said, coming to his feet. “Look, whatever it is you’re doing, I’m happy for you. It seems like you’re into this girl and that’s great. Don’t let your family screw this up for you. Stand your ground and stand up for your girl.”
He stood and shook Sam’s hand. “Thanks.”
“And don’t be such a stranger. I miss hanging out with you, but now I know why.”
Another yawn was out before he could stop it. “Yeah, sorry about that. I promise to give you a call later on this week.”
“Maybe the four of us can go out sometime,” Sam suggested. “You know, let her see how your whole family isn’t crazy.”
“You’re crazy on a level all your own, Sam,” he teased.
“And proud of it.” With a wave, he walked out and Mason took a minute to stand there and think about everything they’d just talked about. Picking his phone up off the desk, he saw it was only four o’clock. Scarlett was working from home today and didn’t have any plans to go to Happy Tails so maybe she’d be home…
Before he could second guess himself, he grabbed his keys and decided he deserved to cut out a bit early today. He’d make up the time later in the week. With a bit of renewed energy, he left the building and was in his car and making his way toward the edge of town where Scarlett lived. He wasn’t thrilled with her living in such an isolated spot, but he wasn’t going to say anything. She seemed to like it and the last thing he wanted to do was try to change her. She was perfect the way she was.
When he parked his car in front of her little bungalow, he knew he’d made the right choice. Before he was out of the car, Scarlett was opening the front door and looking out at him curiously.
Then her smile turned a little devilish and he knew they were on the same page. He wanted her. He couldn’t wait any longer to see her. And by the look on her face, she was just as happy to see him.
Breathless, sweaty, and completely sated, Scarlett rested her head on Mason’s chest.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what brought this on?”
He wrapped an arm around her and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. “I was thinking about you and couldn’t wait to see you,” he responded quietly. His hand skimmed up and down her back and she had to admit, this all felt good.
Better than good.
She felt a sense of contentment she had never felt before and was honestly a little scared to examine too closely. Right now they were in this honeymoon phase where everything was good and fun and–judging by this surprise visit–pleasurable. But if there was one thing she knew about herself, it was that she was a realist. Things like this weren’t the norm and they certainly didn’t last. So she’d take it for what it was for right now and enjoy it.
“I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I?” he asked after a long moment.
“Nope. I ran some errands earlier and then did some work online for a couple of my accounts and was just contemplating what I wanted for dinner.”
“And did you come to any conclusions?”
“Food,” she said and laughed. “That’s about all I managed.”
They were quiet again for several minutes but Scarlett didn’t mind. The rhythm of his hand was soothing and almost enough to make her fall asleep.
“How about we go out to eat,” he suggested, and she felt herself go completely still.
“Like…out? To a restaurant?”
“Well…yeah,” he said with a small laugh. “That’s where they have the food.”
Shifting until there was a little space between them, she willed away a panic attack. It was one thing to be involved with Mason here in her house or in his, but it was quite another for them to go out in public.
Wait…wasn’t it?
He sat up and looked at her. “Are you afraid to be seen with me or something? Because I can tell you’re having some sort of internal dialogue that I can practically hear. What’s going on?”
Ugh…how to explain it?
Sitting up, she figured the truth was best. “Mason, for the sake of argument, can we just agree we’re from two very different worlds?”
“No, absolutely not,” he said adamantly. “I’m not looking at us like that and I don’t think you should either.”
With a snort, she climbed from the bed and walked over to her closet and grabbed a robe–slipping it on before she spoke again. “How could I not?”
He stood and slid his pants back on. “Because I think you’re making more of it than it needs to be. My family isn’t the Rockefellers and I think if you took the time to get to know them–and to really know me–you’d see that!”
“You grew up in a family that never struggled, Mason! I grew up in a family where we were on public assistance and I sometimes wore my hand-me-downs from my brothers!”
“Scarlett…”
“Did you ever have to go without a meal because there was no food in the house? Have you ever come home and found out the power was shut off because the bill wasn’t paid? Or slept under four blankets because there wasn’t heat? Because I have!” she cried. “And I may not know your family well, but I can guarantee none of those things happened to you!”
His expression turned sad and she cursed herself for taking things out on him that weren’t his fault. She shouldn’t hold it against him because he grew up in better circumstances than she did.
“Can I ask you something?”
She nodded.
“What’s your relationship like with your father?” he asked, his voice low and solemn.
“It’s good,” she replied honestly. “He did the best he could after my mom died and even though he didn’t really know what to do with a daughter, I always knew he loved me.”
“Did he say those words to you?”
She nodded again. “Every day.”
“Mine didn’t,” he stated, his gaze steady on hers. “Every day I was told what was expected of me–how I was to behave, how I should speak, who I should be friends with, what kind of grades I needed to have. Every day it was an endless chore to be the son of Georgia and Beau Bishop.”
Shame washed over her, but before she could speak, he continued.
“I ran for student council and played sports because of how it would look on a transcript, not because I wanted to. Every decision I made was based on those expectations and I have to tell you, it was exhausting. I was groomed to follow in my father’s footsteps and up until high school graduation, I went along with it.” He paused. “Unti
l I didn’t.”
“What did you do?” she asked cautiously, taking a small step toward him.
“I told them I wasn’t going to be a lawyer and I wanted to go into engineering. You would have thought I was telling them I wanted to be a serial killer the way my mother carried on,” he said with a mirthless laugh. “They argued how they were paying for my education and needed to go where they wanted me to go and I said if that was the case, I wouldn’t go to school at all.”
“No!”
He nodded. “That lasted for all of three days before everyone calmed down.”
“Would you have really followed through with it? Giving up college?”
“I had a plan to go to the community college and pay for it myself, but it never came to that.”
“We could’ve been classmates if you did,” she teased softly, moving closer to him.
When she was right in front of him, Mason wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “Here’s the thing, Scarlett, a better life is all relative. You have no idea how many times I wished my parents would just be proud of me for me rather than giving me some messed up list of criteria I had to meet to earn their love. If you ask me, you’re the one who’s richer.”
Tears stung her eyes because she realized just how much she had misjudged him. Hugging him close, she rested her cheek against his chest. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “All this time…”
“Shh…it’s okay,” he said just as softly. “I didn’t tell you this to make you cry or to make you feel sorry for me. I wanted you to see that things aren’t always what they seem. And I know it’s a total cliché, but the grass isn’t always greener.”
Pulling back, she looked up at him. “What about your sisters?”
“What about them?”
“Were your parents hard on them too?”
He shrugged. “Not nearly as much, but they certainly weren’t laid back with them either.”
Because she didn’t know what else to do, she hugged him. Hard. “I don’t even know what to say. I made a snap judgement based on what I saw and…”
He silenced her with a finger over her lips. “It was a perfectly logical conclusion to come to, Scarlett. I’m not saying you were wrong. If our roles were reversed, I would have thought the same. You have nothing to apologize for.”
They stayed close like that in companionable silence for a few minutes before Mason reminded her about his suggestion they go out for dinner.
“It would probably be very closed-minded of me to say no and suggest we order Chinese takeout, right?” she said, only partially kidding.
With a soft laugh, he kissed her cheek and stepped away to sit on the edge of the bed. “Yes, it would and you don’t want people thinking you’re a snob, do you?”
And yeah, she knew he was teasing, but there was a certain amount of truth there.
Sighing dramatically, she said, “Fine. We’ll go to dinner. But can it be burgers at the pub? I’m in the mood for that more than anything.”
By the smile on his face, she knew she’d said the right thing and when he stood and took her by the hand and led her to the bathroom so they could shower together, Scarlett also knew dinner was going to be a little on the late side.
“So there I was in the middle of this massive truck engine, my brother Dean holding me by my ankles, my other brother Kyle under the truck with a flashlight, when my father comes in and all but roars at us! Kyle panics and slides out from underneath, Dean drops my legs and the hood comes down on me!” Scarlett said, laughing at the memory.
“What did you do?”
“I cursed up a blue streak and when I turned to try to move, I finally felt the damn laser pointer Dean had dropped in the first place!”
Laughing, Mason shook his head. “And how old were you?”
“Ten. I didn’t know a whole lot about engines at the time, but the way Dean was instructing me made me curious.”
“I can’t believe he didn’t try to find the damn thing himself.”
Taking a sip of her sweet tea first, she said, “His arm was too big. I was pretty scrawny and I was able to fish around in places he couldn’t.”
“Still…”
“My dad was so pissed! He yelled at all three of us but I started asking all kinds of questions about engines and cars and distracted him.” She winked. “And once he brought in the first motorcycle to be repaired, I was hooked. He said he would gladly let me work on bikes because I wouldn’t be falling into engines or having hoods fall on me anymore.”
“He sounds awesome, Scarlett.”
She smiled with such pleasure that Mason could almost feel the affection she felt for her father.
And it made him a little envious.
It wasn’t like he hated his parents. He just wasn’t overly fond of them either.
“My dad is…well…he’s the greatest. But don’t get me wrong, I have my issues with him, too. There were a lot of years when I resented how I ended up being a bit of a tomboy because he had no idea what to do with a daughter. Now, the older I get, I realized he did the best he could and I turned out okay.”
Reaching across the table, Mason took one of her hands in his and squeezed. “You’re more than okay, Scarlett. You’re an incredible woman and you should be proud of that. Own it.”
She blushed and it was completely adorable on her–especially because it was so out of character for her. Most of the time she came off like nothing bothered her and he knew she could be bristly and a little rough around the edges, but when this side of her came out, she was positively captivating.
After a minute, they went back to eating and Scarlett shared several more stories about life working in a garage with her dad and brothers. They were always entertaining and he couldn’t help but wonder what they were going to think of him. No doubt they were going to have similar thoughts about him like Scarlett had and he feared he was going to be met with even more resistance, mainly because she was the only girl in a male-dominated household.
But he was up for the challenge.
By the time they were done eating, they agreed to skip dessert and head to his place for the night. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Scarlett’s home. If anything, it felt more like a home than his place. But she had mentioned how clear the night sky was and how she would love to sit out and listen to the waves for a while.
Now, as they lay together on one of his loungers on his back deck, he felt completely content.
“This was a good night,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
“So far,” he murmured, kissing her neck.
Humming with approval, Scarlett rested her head back to give him better access. After a few minutes she softly asked, “What are you doing this weekend?”
His mind instantly went to them spending it in bed as they had the previous two and he had to push that aside.
At least for now.
“Nothing planned yet,” he murmured against her skin, unwilling to stop tasting her for long.
She squirmed against him but didn’t stop him. “I was thinking you might want to go for a ride up the coast with me. On my bike.”
Okay, that stopped him.
A quiet laugh was her initial response. “I can feel you tensing up behind me. It’s okay if you don’t want to do it. I just thought I’d throw it out there.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to do it…”
Now she did move–twisting around to face him. “It’s okay. Really. It’s not for everyone.”
And for some reason he took that a little too personally. “Look, I can’t say it’s not for me because I’ve never done it. Hell, it’s never even been something I thought about doing. Am I intimidated? Hell yeah! And do I want to look like some kind of pussy riding on the back of my girlfriend’s bike? No!”
Rolling her eyes, Scarlett leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “For starters, that is not what you’d look like.”
“Says you.” And yeah, now he was pouting and und
oubtedly looking like the very thing he was trying to avoid.
“I can take you out on a short ride so you can get the feel of just being a passenger and then we’ll see about loaning you one so you can check it out for yourself. Would that make you feel better? We’ll even do the short ride somewhere out of town so no one you know will see you if it’s that big of a deal for you.”
“Now you’re making me feel stupid,” he muttered, frowning at her.
The smirk on her face certainly wasn’t helping either. “Mason, I’m just trying to find a happy medium here. It’s something I’d really like to do with you but I want you to enjoy it too. If you’re going to fight me on it, then we just won’t do it.” She shrugged. “It’s really not a big deal.” Kissing him again, she turned around and resumed her earlier position.
They were quiet for a long time and Mason’s mind raced through all of it. This was something that was part of who Scarlett was and if he wanted to get to know her better, it meant doing the things she enjoyed doing, right? Logically, he knew that, but the illogical part of him was annoyed with himself because there wasn’t anything about his life he could counter with. He lived a fairly boring life. A safe life. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized how much he wasn’t living.
And that depressed the hell out of him.
Before he realized it, Scarlett was standing up and stretching. She moved over to stand against the railing and smiled up at the stars. “I would never get tired of this view,” she said quietly. “Living in such a wooded area, I don’t get to see the sky quite like this.” Glancing over her shoulder at him, she went on. “And the weird thing is that I never gave it much thought until a few weeks ago.”
Standing, he moved in close behind her and pushed all the negative thoughts from just moments ago aside. “You’re welcome to come and enjoy this view any time you want.”
“Mmm…” She leaned against him as his arms wrapped around her waist. “You may regret saying that.”
Unable to help himself, he smiled. “I doubt it.”
“You say that now. But wait until you want to get rid of me…”
In Case You Didn’t Know Page 9
