by Ella Frank
“Well, whatever you did, it’s working.” Wendy pulled her into the hall and pushed her down to the office where she and Mason had had their first date. “You go on in and I’ll send him back in around ten minutes?”
Nodding, Lena smiled tentatively, starting to feel nervous. “Yeah, that should be good.”
Stepping inside and closing the door behind her, she looked around the small office. Not much had changed; the desk and chair were still the same and there was still paperwork everywhere. She moved around to the chair behind the desk and cleared off the surface. Taking a deep breath, she started pulling things one by one out of the bag she had brought with her to set up.
Mason felt good. It was the first night he’d come back and worked the restaurant as he used to. He’d arrived at six thirty p.m. and everyone had been shocked when he walked in dressed for work in the charcoal slacks and black button-up shirt with the Exquisite logo. For the last two hours or so, he’d been at the pass verifying and looking over the orders. He felt like he’d come home. Rachel had hugged him when he’d come in and she cried a little when he apologized to her, then she’d nodded and told him to get to work. So that’s what he’d been doing. He was about to check over the last order to be sent out for the night when Wendy came up beside him.
“Hey, Mase?”
Turning, he looked at her and winced a little. “Hey, Wendy.” He paused and shrugged. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a shit.”
Smiling at him, she nodded. “Apology accepted. You really have been a shit, but I guess that’s what family does right? We forgive one another?”
He reached out and hugged her. “Yep, we do.” Nodding and hugging him back, she smiled at him as he asked, “What’s up?”
“I left some paperwork down in your office in a manila folder. Could you go and grab it for me?”
He stepped back and went to turn, then stopped himself and said softly, “I’m expecting Lena tonight. Can you grab me when she gets here?”
Wendy smiled and nodded. He walked away, hoping Lena was going to show and suddenly worried for a moment that she wouldn’t. Moving down the hall, he made the turn to the left and stopped at his door, unlocking it. Then he pushed it open and walked through. Turning, he flicked on the light. What he saw as he turned to face his desk made his heart kick up and beat so fast he thought it would pump right out of his chest. Lena had come after all.
Chapter Thirty
Lena watched as Mason’s eyes tried to take in the entire scene. She’d removed everything from his work desk and placed an old picnic blanket over it. On one corner of the desk was a red rose and on the opposite corner lay a sunflower and she was she was sitting right in the center of them with her legs hanging over the edge clutching some tulips. She was dressed in the same pants she had worn on their first date. They were black with pinstripes and on top, she wore a cream blouse that buttoned up to just under her neck and tucked into her pants. Purposely, she had pulled all her hair back and tied it into a prim bun at the nape of her neck. Beside her sat a small picnic basket. Her eyes were glued to him as he looked over everything while the rest of his body remained perfectly still. Finally, he faced her and their eyes locked.
“Lena. I thought we’d be meeting out in the dining room.” He paused. “How’d you get back here?”
Mustering up all of her courage, knowing this was probably one of the most important moments of her life, she tipped her chin up and answered, “Wendy let me in. I wanted to talk to you.” She stopped and licked her lips. “I hope you don’t mind.”
He shook his head. She noticed he was about to move so she held a hand up and said softly, “Please stay where you are. I need to tell you some things and I don’t think I can do it if you come any closer.”
He swallowed and then nodded silently, keeping his eyes on her. Then he asked, “What is all of this?”
Smiling slowly at him, she jumped off the table and placed the tulips where she’d been sitting. She could feel his eyes on her as she turned and reached for the red rose. Taking hold of it, she brought it to her nose and took a deep breath, inhaling the beautiful scent. Then she walked over, stopping a few inches from him, and as she looked up into his eyes, she felt her heart ache with how much she loved him. It was time to set her heart free, to lay all her cards on the table and let him do what he will with them. He’d either pick them up and hold them close or he’d throw them away. She was hoping he’d hold her close.
“Our lives have been filled with flowers, you and me, from the very beginning. A little less than a year or so ago I met a man.” She watched as he started to say something but she held the rose up, placed the petals against his mouth, and watched as they lay against his lips. “Shh. Let me get this out, or I never will.”
He nodded, letting her know he was ready for her to go on. Pulling the flower back, she lifted her eyes to his again and continued.
“He was sent over to deliver me some roses.” She grinned at him and held the rose between them, swinging it backward and forward. “He was the most irritating man I’d ever met and he drove me crazy that day.”
He blinked at her but remained silent, as she’d asked.
“I remember thinking about him after he left and how gorgeous his blue eyes were, even when he was annoying the hell out of me.”
She dropped the rose down by her side and tilted her head.
“Then I ran into him by accident in this restaurant. It just so happened he owned it and he smiled at me and pulled out those dimples and blackmailed me into a date.”
His mouth opened and he said softly, “It wasn’t blackmail.”
Lena felt a grin tug at her mouth. “Yes, it was. You told me you wouldn’t spit in my food if I went on a date with you. Such a romantic, Langley.”
“Me? You Googled me,” he defended with the start of a smirk.
Shrugging, Lena turned and walked back to the table where she placed the rose down. Reaching out, she opened the picnic basket and pulled out a bottle of wine. Looking over her shoulder, she was surprised to notice Mason had stayed by the door. The only difference now was that he was leaning against it and his ankles were crossed. Pouring some of the liquid into a paper cup, she moved back to him, letting her eyes take him in. When she stopped just a little out of reach, he arched a brow and she held out the cup.
“Our first date was a disaster. I was wearing this,” she said, motioning to her clothes. “What was I thinking? Then you kicked me out. The second date though. Hmm,” she hummed, closing her eyes, thinking about sticky kisses. Then she opened them and focused on his mouth. When her eyes rose to meet his, she was happy to see his lids had lowered just a little.
“What about the second date?” he asked with that deep voice that seemed to stroke over her skin.
Grinning at him, she replied, “The second date was juicy.”
He nodded slowly, liking that answer, and she noticed a twinkle start in those blue eyes. Looking down at the cup in his hand, he asked, “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
Lifting a shoulder, she shrugged and asked, “Would it work?”
“Judging by my behavior lately, probably. However, my choice of drink is usually scotch, not wine these days.”
“Hmm,” she said, nodding. “Well, I think maybe you should try that one. It’s good, I’m told.”
Bringing the cup up to his mouth, he took a sip and she watched his face morph into the expression of someone who had just sucked a lemon. She gave him props for not spitting it out but then she started to laugh.
“Just reminding you of how you wooed me on our picnic.”
“Augh!” he said, as he looked at her with a look of absolute disgust. “That wine is disgusting.”
She laughed as she turned and walked back to the table. Looking over her shoulder, she said softly, “Well, you picked it.”
“Geez, seriously, that is horrible. I can’t believe you remembered it.”
Reaching up, she tugged the elastic from her hair and let
the waves tumble down her back. Shaking it out, she looked at him once more and replied with a wink, “Well it does leave a lasting impression.”
His eyes travelled over her and she wasn’t sure what he was referring to when he murmured, “That it does.”
Mason’s brain was trying really hard to stay focused. When he’d stepped into his office, the scene in front of him had blown him away. There sitting on his desk was the Lena he’d first met. The woman who had crawled under his skin and somehow burrowed deep into his heart.
Her hair was perfectly severe, and her clothes were so proper and so incredibly buttoned-up. He was going crazy thinking about her in the miniskirt from the other night and comparing the two. Somewhere along the way during their relationship, Lena had relaxed. She’d come undone. However, as she stood in front of him reminding him of all the things that had brought them together, as she shook that long beautiful hair out and down her back, his mind was blank.
He dropped the now-empty paper cup on the floor, and watched her reach out and pick up the sunflower. He saw that her green eyes were wide and serious as she turned and moved toward him. He straightened up against the door and spread his legs apart slightly. Other than that, he stayed still and waited since it seemed to be working for them. When she got to him, she reached out and held out the sunflower. He gently reached forward, taking it from her as she smiled at him, and he felt his walls crashing down. Her eyes showed him how much she trusted him and the words that came out of her mouth confirmed it.
“You gave me my sister back.” She shook her head, letting the hair fall back over her shoulders. Then her eyes met his again. “For so long I denied myself any kind of contact or emotion when it came to Carly. No one could get through to me.” She paused and blinked at him. He could see tears forming in her eyes and she let them fall as she went on.
“Not my mother or father. Not the psychiatrist they sent me to and not even your mother.” She pulled in a deep sob as though her heart was hurting and Mason felt his ache as well. “But you, you got inside and gave her back to me. For that alone I have to fight for you.”
He moved a little but she shook her head, took a couple of steps back, and held a hand up. “No, please let me finish.”
Lena blinked wet eyes at him and he nodded at her, becoming frustrated at not being able to talk, but not really knowing what he would say anyway. He watched as though he were seeing it in slow motion as she reached up and unbuttoned the top three buttons of her shirt. Reaching behind her to the desk, she clutched the small bouquet of tulips and stepped towards him again.
He knew what those represented and knew where she was going. What he didn’t know was if he was ready to hear it, but he knew as he stood there he had to let her say it if they were ever going to move forward. Holding the bunch of colorful stems to him, he shook his head once, no. She kept her hand extended and raised her eyes to his.
“A very amazing woman came into my life when I was just beginning college.”
Swallowing and licking her lips, she blinked at Mason and he could see her eyes shimmering with the pain of her emotions but he could also see pleasure in her memories. He gripped the sunflower between his hands and held onto it for dear life. She still held the flowers to him but he couldn’t bring himself to take them.
“She took me into her shop and sat me down. She gave me a cup of hot chocolate and told me that she had a family of her own.” Pausing, Lena finally pulled the tulips into her chest, keeping her eyes on his, which were also now filled with tears. “A daughter and a son. Two children whom she loved very much.”
She blinked and closed her eyes for a moment, swallowing a deep breath. Regaining what little composure she had, her eyes found his again and she whispered, “Some of her last words to me, Mason, were ‘I believe in fate and I believe you were supposed to walk into my life, so Mason could walk into yours.’ I know she can’t be wrong.”
Stepping in close enough that his pants rubbed against hers, he watched as she reached out and took one of his hands. He let go of the sunflower and allowed her to bring his palm up to her chest where her shirt was unbuttoned. She looked at him with eyes full of tears, and Mason saw his hand tremble through his own blurry vision. When she had his hand over her heart, she moved even closer so she was between his legs. He was holding a sunflower, and she held a bunch of tulips. Her face turned up to his and hers was streaked with tears when she whispered, “I love you, Mason.”
He sucked in a deep breath and tried to pull his hand back, but hers was right there pressing his close against her chest. Looking down where it was pressed over her heart, he could feel it racing beneath his palm.
“Look at me?” she whispered. He dragged his eyes up to focus on hers and he could feel a tear escape and slide down the side of his own face. He clenched his jaw and waited, stubbornly silent, trying to keep a cap on his emotions.
“I love you. I’ve loved you since before all of this turned bad.”
He watched her swallow and then she continued. “I wanted to tell you the night we were supposed to meet. “
If it were humanly possible, he was sure he would’ve felt his heart finally break in two. Knowing everything that he’d been going to say that night and now hearing she had been feeling it too, his emotions took over and he felt like he was dying on the inside for everything they’d lost. His hands started to shake and he swallowed again, trying to hold it together.
“I never wanted to hurt you. I wanted to tell you about your mother so many times. I begged her to let me.”
Blinking at him, she stepped back and let his hand go. He felt it drop down to his side and he felt as though a hole was starting to gape open in his chest as she moved away from him.
“These flowers—” she held them up. “They’re your mother.” She turned and moved back, placing them on the desk and walking back over where Mason was slumped against the door. She waited silently, patiently for him to move. He pushed off the door and stepped aside. She reached out and took hold of the doorknob, unlatching it. She twisted it and opened it a crack, then stopped to look at him standing frozen, clutching her sunny yellow flower, and whispered, “Thank you for sharing her with me. I loved her, too.” And with that, she walked out the door.
Three days later, Lena still hadn’t heard from him. She’d run over everything she’d said in her mind hundreds of times. There was nothing she’d change and there was nothing she had left out. She’d told him everything, opened herself up, and placed her heart in his hands. Now she just had to be patient. She had just finished showering and had climbed into bed when her phone buzzed. Picking it up, she felt a grin creep onto her face and her heart start to beat faster.
Langley: You still awake Doctor?
Yes. Why? Do you need medical attention?
Langley: Not sure about medical attention but I’d like your attention.
Scooting down in her bed, she texted back, Well you have it. What’s going on Langley?
Langley: I have a problem.
Grinning to herself, she wrote back, Don’t worry it happens to all men.
Not a minute later, the phone vibrated.
Langley: Trust me THAT is not a problem.
So defensive :P.
Lena giggled and waited eagerly for his response.
Langley: Watch where you stick that tongue Dr. O’Donnell.
:P.
Lena knew she was being immature but at this point, she couldn’t help it. He was flirting with her. He hadn’t initiated any kind of romantic behavior with her for so long that it was a seductive feeling. She knew she’d been the one pushing the last few times they’d been around one another so when he wrote—
Langley: My problem is I can’t stop thinking about you.
—Lena felt completely justified in sighing like a schoolgirl. Good thoughts?
She stared at her phone, almost willing it to produce the answer she wanted.
Langley: Not all of them.
Frowning, she let out
a disappointed breath. Oh.
Quickly, it beeped.
Langley: Some are very VERY bad.
Feeling her tummy clench and her thighs tighten, she wrote back as calmly as she could. Oh yeah? Like what?
Reaching over, she turned her bedside light off, imagining him in his big bed facing the wide window with the city lights illuminating the room.
Langley: You, fuck me boots, and a smile.
Breathing deeply she wrote back. Excuse me they’re called thigh high boots.
Her phone beeped.
Langley: They’re called wrap your legs around my waist and fuck me HARD boots.
Grinning, she wrote back. Langley!
Then she jumped as the phone started to ring loudly in her hand. Looking down at it as though it was on fire, she let it ring once, twice and then a third time. Finally answering it, she pulled it to her ear and said softly, “Hello.”
“The next time I see you I want you to wear those boots.”
She shivered at his deep voice drifting through the phone.
“I don’t know, Mason. I told you my terms the last time we were in the same bedroom.”
She heard some rustling and knew he was in bed. Closing her eyes, she waited, listening to his breathing.
“Well, things have changed since then.”
“Have they?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes, Lena. Everything’s changed.” He paused and then asked softly, “Did you mean everything you said to me the other night?”
Swallowing deeply, she nodded, and then realizing he couldn’t see, she answered, “Yes. Every word.”
He took a deep breath and she heard him sigh and say softly, “Then everything has changed.”
There was a long, tense silence and then she said softly, “I’m supposed to go by Precious Petals tomorrow to get some paperwork from Rachel. Will you be there?”
“No. I have to go by the restaurant, but I’ll give Rachel my spare key. Just take it and let yourself in. I should be there at around six p.m.”
