by Molloy, Ruby
He turns to face me. Knees bent, his shoulder dips towards my stomach and he hoists me from the floor and carries me out of the kitchen and into his bedroom.
“Mason!”
“Hush now,” he says, lowering my back to the bed.
He has the navy box in his hand and he places it on my stomach as he straddles my hips. “Open it,” he says.
“Uh, it is open.” I wave the box in front of his face and he snatches it free of my hand. Throwing the box to the floor, he swings the key in front of my face, pulling it out of reach when I try to swipe it from his hand.
“You got me a key? On a chain.” My lips curl scornfully. “What, you think I’m going to lose the other one?”
“Look again,” he says, lowering both chain and key into my palm. He waits expectantly as I pick up the chain, holding it high so the key hovers before my eyes. Okay, so it’s not the same as the key that sits on my keyring. This one is smaller and the company logo is not the same.
“Okay, not your door key. What is it then?”
Mason swings his legs off the bed and pulls me to my feet, tugging me towards the corner where the ugly chest resides. “Open it,” he instructs.
Kneeling, I do as he says. The trunk is full to the brim, filled with various sized boxes, each wrapped in a different paper, each with a different coloured bow. I count six in total, and they all have one thing in common; they’re all wrapped badly, the corners thick and bulky as if he’s used a roll of tape to seal each present. I smile shyly. The paper is pastel and most definitely intended for a female recipient, but I don’t want to presume.
“You going to stare at them all day or are you going to open them?”
“They’re for me?”
“No, they’re for my invisible friend over there. Course they’re for you!”
“I don’t know what to say ...”
“You don’t need to say anything, just open them.”
When I hesitate, he reaches in and picks out one of the largest presents. “Here, open this one first.”
“You know what this is?”
“I should fucking hope so, seeing as I bought it.”
I find a gap between the layers of tape and tear the paper apart. Inside there are two shoe boxes and inside those are two pairs of quality, double tongue Converses, one pair white, the other black. They’re my style and size and they’re beautiful. “I don’t know what to say.”
“How about thank you?”
I blush. “Thank you,” I say, glancing inside the chest at the remaining nine boxes. “I don’t understand. Why so many presents?”
“I was kind of saving them.”
“For Christmas or something?” I ask, confused.
He laughs and shakes his head, handing me another present, this one light and flimsy, though not small. Inside are six sets of briefs, each pair luxurious and trimmed with lace. “You never wanted me to give you gifts. I bought them anyway, but then I stashed them in the trunk. I thought maybe, one day, you wouldn’t mind me giving them to you.” He nods at the lingerie in my hands. “That’s kind of a boomerang present.”
“You don’t say?” His eyes heat when I hold them against my hips. I delve inside the chest and pick out the smallest present, but he takes it from me and places it back in the trunk. “Open that one last.”
I raise my eyebrows, curious now. It’s a small cube and I tell myself not to be stupid ... he wouldn’t.
With all my presents open, bar the small cube, I gaze down at where they’re spread out before me. Aside, from the briefs and the Converses, I have the latest iPhone and bottle of perfume that smells beautiful. There’s also a Tiffany bracelet that scares the crap out of me because it’s shinier and paler than silver and I think it might be platinum. “Mason, this is too much.”
“Last one,” he says, dropping the cube into my hand.
It takes a while to find an opening, but eventually the wrap comes away in my hand. The box is navy, the moniker Tiffany again. I open it to reveal a set of earrings that are way too beautiful and way too expensive for someone like me. “Babe, these are way too expensive.”
“The shit you’ve had going on in your life, you deserve good things. I know you don’t want gifts, but that’s not me, Frankie. I want you to have nice things. I want to see you wear jewellery I bought for you. Is that so wrong?”
“No, it’s not wrong.” My hands rise to rest on his shoulders and I graze my lips across his throat, knowing he likes it when his breath hitches and his mouth seeks mine. Drawing back I say, “You know I love you, right?”
His mouth curls into a grin and he dips back down. “You better,” he says.
*****
I don’t want to wake up. It’s Saturday and Mason is asleep behind me, his hand warm against my hip. My alarm says it’s seven o’clock, which means he’s probably been asleep for minutes rather than hours. I snuggle back against him, my hand resting over his.
Maybe I’ll give Kayla a call; see if she wants to go shopping. It’s my turn to buy Mason a gift. I lie in for a little longer, my legs restless against the sheets, tuned to early rises and swims before work.
Rising slowly, careful not to disturb Mason, I shower and dress, still half asleep. It’s not until I’m in the kitchen, pouring muesli into one of the heavy bowls, that I see it and only then because light refracts off its surface. I scream, jump up and down, and yell for Mason. He’s already there, lounging against the door frame, his hair mussed, wearing a pair of grey boxers and a barely concealed smile. I throw myself at him, raining kisses over his face, mouth and beard―anywhere I can reach.
He drops to his knees, clasping my left hand, the one with the huge solitaire diamond ring, and says, “Frankie Amelia Finnegan, will you marry me?”
I’m crying and laughing and thinking that even with all the horrible things that have happened, this year is the best year of my life. “Yes, Mason Zannuto! Yes, I will!”
AFTERWORD
I can’t thank you enough for reading Loving Mason.
Please, if you enjoyed this novel, write a review on Amazon and spread the word among your friends.
Jack and Kayla’s story will be coming soon …
Love Ruby x
IMPERFECT LOVE SERIES
UNDERSTANDING NORA
LOVING MASON
