Sophie had always adored the place because of its homey, nostalgic feel and simple food that could be eaten with your fingers. Something their mother had never allowed her and her siblings to do while growing up on the Robinson estate.
“Where would you like to sit? The counter or a table?” Mason asked as they entered the eating establishment.
Sophie glanced from the Formica and chrome tables to the long wooden counter with red stools.
“Hmm. Let’s sit at the counter. I’m still a kid at heart. I like to swivel around. Don’t you?”
“Merry-go-rounds make me nauseous and bar stools make me even more drunk,” he joked.
She laughed. “I think that’s a result of the drink sitting in front of you rather than the swiveling bar stool.”
He grinned. “You might be right.”
He reached for her hand and as he led her around a group of tables to reach the counter, Sophie couldn’t help thinking how nice his hand felt against hers and how completely natural it was to be in his company. With Mason she didn’t have to worry about how she looked or the things she said. She didn’t have to work at impressing him. He liked her as she was and that was the reason she’d been so happy to see him a few minutes ago in the corridor outside her office. Talking with Mason always made her feel better.
After taking seats at one end of the counter, they removed their coats and draped them across their laps. Then a barrel-chested man wearing a white apron came over to take their orders.
“Good evening, Miss Sophie,” he greeted her with a toothy grin. “How are you tonight?”
“I’m fine, Leo. Thank you for asking. And you?”
“I’m cold,” he complained as he rubbed a hand over his bald head. “I want the sun to come out. The birds to sing. The bluebonnets to bloom.”
“From your lips to God’s ears, Leo,” she said. “I’m cold, too. So give me a cup of the strongest, hottest coffee you have. And do you have something good for dessert this evening?”
“Bread pudding with raisins and rum sauce.”
“I’ll take a dish.” She looked over at Mason to see he was arching a brow at her. “What? Is something wrong?”
“I didn’t know women ate rich desserts. I mean, women that look like you.”
Leo chortled and Sophie found herself blushing. She’d not ever thought about Mason looking at her figure in any form or fashion. But she needed to remember he was a man and a very nice looking one to boot. Something she’d not really noticed until recently.
“Well, I make sure I work off the calories. Every little bite of something sweet is worth the pain to me.”
Clearing his throat, he looked at Leo. “Give me what she’s getting.”
Leo glanced curiously from Mason to Sophie before he ambled off. “Coming right up.”
Sophie cleared her throat. “I suppose you want to hear about my date with Thom.”
Behind the bar, a small radio was tuned to a blues station, while above their heads a flat screen TV was silently broadcasting an NBA game. Mason appeared to have his attention focused on the basketball game, but Sophie got the feeling that he was waiting intently for her to continue.
“That’s right,” he said offhandedly, “you and Thom did have a date last night. I’d almost forgotten.”
Had he really forgotten or was he just teasing, Sophie wondered. With Mason it was hard to tell. Frankly, Sophie was relieved he wasn’t making a big issue of asking her about the date. Not after the way it had bombed so miserably.
“Well, you do have more to think about than me,” she said, while wishing Leo would hurry up with their order. She needed to do something with her hands. For some strange reason she kept wanting to reach over and rest one on Mason’s arm or knee. What was the matter with her anyway? It wasn’t like her to touch any man. Even Thom. A point that had been all too evident last night.
He turned his head and Sophie found herself looking into his brown eyes. They were very dark with a few lighter flecks radiating out from the pupils and at the moment they appeared to be zeroing in on her lips. Which gave her the ridiculous urge to flick her tongue out and lick away the tingling sensation.
“So how was your date? Have a good time?” he asked.
The need to clear her throat hit her once again, but Sophie resisted. Not for anything did she want Mason to think she was hemming and hawing about her date with Thom. Especially one that she’d announced to him with such fanfare.
“It was nice,” she said simply.
“Nice? I figured you were going to tell me it was spectacular, stupendous, and a bunch of other S words.”
How about silly or slow, Sophie thought, then quickly scolded herself for such negative notions. Maybe her date hadn’t been half of what she’d wanted or expected from Thom. That didn’t mean he was wrong for her. She truly believed he was her Mr. Right. After they spent more time together, she was certain their relationship would start to gel perfectly.
The bright smile she forced on her lips was hardly genuine, but she couldn’t let Mason guess that her date with Thom had been about as exciting as watching an inchworm cross a sidewalk.
“It was a start,” she said. “By the time Valentine’s Day rolls around, I’m sure things will be getting—uh, heated.”
A wan smile slanted his lips before he turned his attention back to the game. Sophie was glad she could use the diversion to change the subject completely.
“Are you a big sports fan?”
“I’m not a fanatic by any means. But I enjoy basketball and baseball.” He inclined his head toward the small screen. “The San Antonio Spurs are playing at home tonight and I’m wondering if either of my brothers are at the game. Both of them have season tickets. Sometimes I drive down and go with them.”
She looked at him with interest. “Oh. You have brothers?”
He nodded. “They both live in San Antonio. One is a lieutenant on the city police force. The other is an assistant district attorney for Bexar County.”
“Mmm. That’s impressive. You must be very proud of them.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. They’re both a bit older than me. So I’ve pretty much spent my whole life trying to be as successful as they are. But I doubt I’ll ever make it.”
Leo arrived then with their coffee and dessert. As she stirred half and half into her cup, she studied his strong profile.
“Now why would you say something like that about yourself?” she asked him. “Don’t you consider working for Robinson Tech as being successful?”
“Since I’m working for your father, I plead the fifth,” he said, his voice full of wry humor.
“No. Seriously, Mason. You’re a brain. Everyone says so. And the new sports app you’ve created has great potential. Otherwise, Dad would never be investing money in a media blitz.”
He sampled the pudding before he replied, “Yes, I can create things to use on our computers and smartphones. But that isn’t like my brother Shawn facing bullets on the streets. Or Doug arguing in court to make sure a dangerous criminal is put behind bars. They both work to make our lives safer. What I do is—well, it’s for entertainment. What my brothers do is meaningful.”
Strange how very much she could relate to this man. For as long as she could remember, she’d always considered herself the inferior one of the family. The youngest sibling that didn’t quite stack up to the others. It was an awful feeling and she hated to think that Mason ever suffered in such a way.
“So what? Everyone needs a little entertainment and fun in our lives,” she told him. “If we were all rocket scientists or doctors it would be a pretty boring world, wouldn’t it?”
“You don’t have to placate me, Sophie. I can live with my lot in life.”
She laughed softly as she dug into the bowl of bread pudding. “Coming from you, that’s ridiculous. Now, me, I have a reason to feel lacking. All of my siblings are attractive and highly successful. Take Wes, for instance. He’s the vice president of research and developm
ent. He’s a creative whiz and now has a beautiful wife who adores him. I’m in human resources because I’m good at resolving arguments. And my love life is—well, not exactly there yet.”
“Wes and Vivian seem like the perfect match. Just like the app they promoted during Valentine’s Day last year. My Perfect Match is still making the company tons of money.” His cup paused halfway to his lips as he glanced at her thoughtfully. “What do you think about that concept of dating, anyway? That a couple should get together because their views and likes are the same?”
“I’m not sure I believe in it. I mean, where’s the passion? Take you, for instance. How you kiss would be a heck of a lot more important to me than how you vote at the ballot box.”
He sputtered, then coughed. “I’m afraid I’m not that experienced in either of those departments. I—well, I do both things. I’m just not sure if I’m doing them right.”
“Oh, Mason. You’re so—”
“I know,” he interrupted, “I’m so funny.”
This time she couldn’t stop the urge to reach over and give his knee a gentle squeeze. “I mean that in the nicest possible way, Mason.”
He smiled at her and for a split second, Sophie thought she spotted a warm gleam in his eyes. But just as quickly she dismissed the idea. Mason wouldn’t be thinking of her in that way. They were friends. Nothing more.
“Yes, I know you do.”
She pulled her hand away from his knee and gave herself a mental shake. “So tell me what you think about My Perfect Match. You have to agree it brought my brother and Vivian together.”
He chuckled. “It brought them together in a roundabout way. Not because the computer matched them up. As for me, I believe a person needs to let nature take its course. My dad says it was love at first sight for him when he first saw Mom. That was at a junior high prom. He asked her to dance, even though he didn’t know how. Fortunately she overlooked that minor problem and they’ve been together ever since.”
“Since junior high? What about the love at first sight—is it still going?”
“Strong as ever,” he answered. “Which only proves that opposites do attract. Mom likes pop music and Dad prefers country. Mom loves Italian food, while Dad wants meat and potatoes. They both agree to go to the coast to relax, which means Mom wants to lie on the beach, while Dad fishes. But they complement each other in lots of ways and respect each other’s opinion. Something that has kept them in love all these years.”
Sophie couldn’t imagine how it would be to have parents that were actually in love and wanted to spend time together. “I guess it must be obvious to you and your brothers that your parents love each other,” she said, unaware of the wistful note in her voice.
“If you’re asking whether we ever catch them kissing in the kitchen, then yes. That happens quite often. Why? Doesn’t that ever happen in your house?”
The only time Sophie saw her mother in the kitchen was to give the cook instructions. As for her father, he never entered that part of the house and usually took his meals in his bedroom or study with a stack of work at his elbow. As for kissing his wife, she couldn’t remember ever seeing it happen. Which made Sophie wonder how the two of them ever got close enough to create eight children. There must have been a spark at some point, she reasoned. But somewhere along the way, the sparks had been doused with ice.
She said, “Not exactly. My parents have been married for thirty-six years. A record these days, I suppose. But they mostly go their separate ways. And follow different interests.”
“Hmm. Well, I’m sure your father is a very busy man,” he replied tactfully.
Busy could hardly describe her father’s life. He was always on the go, jetting around the world for one reason or another. Whenever he was home, he usually had a phone to his ear or was dashing off to a meeting or work.
Sophie couldn’t count the times she’d wished she’d been born into a regular family. With a father who held a common job and considered time spent with his children far more important than earning money. And more importantly, a father who would never dream of cheating on the wife he loved.
But she couldn’t express any of this to Mason. It would reflect badly to start pouring out her family problems to a Robinson Tech employee. Besides that, it would be downright embarrassing. Mason was a nice guy from a loving, close-knit family. He wouldn’t understand what it was like to have a father who’d faked his own death and kept a woman in every port.
Sipping her coffee, she tried to push away the sadness that had suddenly crept over her. “Do your parents still work or are they retired?”
He chuckled. “Retired? They’re both in their late fifties, but I doubt either of them will ever retire unless health issues force them to. Dad is a pipeline technician for a gas and oil company based in San Antonio and Mom is a high school English teacher. And before you ask, yes, she still corrects our grammar.”
Sophie laughed softly. “I’m sure she never had to correct you.”
He chuckled. “Oh, no. I ain’t never used bad grammar.”
She dipped into the pudding and realized with a start that she was very near the bottom of the bowl. She’d been so engrossed in Mason’s conversation she hadn’t even noticed.
“Are your brothers married?”
“No. Doug came close once, but things didn’t pan out for him.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Both my brothers are too busy playing the field to settle down. But I expect they will someday.”
And what about you, Mason? Are you longing to find someone to love as much as I am?
Strange that those questions would be going through her mind, Sophie thought. And stranger still that she was thinking what a great husband Mason would make for some lucky woman. He was a good-looking guy with a manner that was a nice mixture of gentle and strong. He was a hard worker, polite and trustworthy.
He just wasn’t Thom.
*
Okay. Nice. A start. As Mason and Sophie walked back to the parking garage of Robinson Tech, he happily repeated Sophie’s lukewarm date description to himself. All day he’d been expecting to hear Sophie gush about her date with Thom. He’d been dreading seeing the dreamy look in her eye and knowing that Thom had put it there. Instead, she’d barely mentioned the date and the look in her eyes had been cold sober instead of a lovey-dovey haze. Which could only mean that Sophie’s evening with Thom had been lackluster.
Maybe Mason had a chance with Sophie after all.
The celebration going on in his mind must have caused him to miss her next words, because suddenly he became aware of her calling his name.
“Mason? Hello? Have you gone into a trance?”
Giving himself a hard, mental shake, he looked at her. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I was thinking about—uh—work. Were you saying something?”
Laughing lightly, she looped her arm through his and the affectionate gesture made Mason want to forget that they were walking down a city sidewalk. At the moment, the street was mostly quiet, the concrete walkway covered with shadows. He could pull her into his arms and kiss her soundly on the lips before anyone noticed. Except her. And for all he knew, she might just slap his face.
She said, “I was asking if you had anything special planned for Valentine’s Day. I’ll bet you have some lovely woman hidden somewhere that none of us knows about.”
The woman was hidden, all right, Mason thought drolly. She was so hidden he couldn’t find her. Unless he looked at the one who was momentarily hanging on to his arm. But she had her heart set on another man.
He called himself ten kinds of fool for wanting this woman. She was so out of his league they might as well be living on separate ends of the galaxy. And yet he couldn’t stop this yearning inside him.
“Uh—no. No special plans. I’m not sure the woman I have in mind would agree to go out with me anyway.”
“Oh, Mason, I can’t believe that. I’ll bet she’s just dying for you to ask her out. Why don’t you try it? No one should spend Valentine�
��s Day alone.”
He choked, then sputtered as he attempted to clear his throat. “It would certainly surprise her.”
As Dexter had predicted, the temperature was growing much colder and a fine mist of ice particles was beginning to gather on his jacket. That must be the reason Sophie had hugged herself closer to his side, he decided. She was cold.
“Then I say go for it. That’s what I plan to do with Thom. Just give it my best shot and pray that all turns out like it should.” She glanced thoughtfully over at him. “If I remember right, I used to see you with a cute blond. I think she worked in marketing.”
Yeah, all the promiscuous people work in the marketing department, he wanted to tell her. Instead he said, “Yes. That was Christa Dobbins. She’s gone now. She left Robinson Tech and moved in with a high roller.”
“A gambler?” Sophie asked incredulously.
“No. I meant high roller as in money. The man is some sort of hot shot real estate agent.”
“Oh, so she got dollar signs in her eyes. I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you.”
At the time, Mason had been sorry, too. He’d believed Christa was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But now in hindsight, he was relieved he’d not gone so far as to give her an engagement ring. Given Christa’s roaming eye, she would’ve made a horrible wife.
“No need to be sorry. We weren’t that serious.” At least, Christa hadn’t been, Mason thought dourly. As for him, he’d been a sap for a while, but hopefully he’d learned from the broken heart.
By now they had reached the parking garage and as they stepped inside, Sophie pointed to the elevator. “I’m parked on the second floor. What about you?”
“Second floor, too.”
“Great,” she said, still clinging to his arm. “You can walk with me the rest of the way. I hate being here alone at night.”
Her Sweetest Fortune Page 5
