Page 79 of Mr. Almost

“Bye,” we say in unison.

Side by side, we watch as they load up and drive away.

“Holy shit.”

I look over and see Mason rubbing his chest. “What’s wrong?”

“Is it normal that my chest aches over the fact she’s about to go experience something for the first time without me?”

I laugh lightly. “No, it’s normal. It’s a little bittersweet, right?”

“Damn…I just feel like I missed so much already,” he sighs, shaking his head.

“It’s not too late. We can go with them,” I tell him.

He shakes his head. “I have to get used to it at some point. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, are you sure I look okay?” I ask as I run my hands over the skirt of my dress.

Mason’s eyes soften. “You look great. Besides, I have something casual planned for us.”

I nod even though I think that Mason’s definition of casual and mine are different.

Mason wouldn’t lead me astray, though.

“Come on, let’s head inside,” he says as he unlocks the door.

Mason picked Ari, Chloe, and me up at our place, and when we pulled into his driveway, the guys were already waiting for us. We didn’t even make it inside before she was in her uncles’ arms, ready to leave us.

He smiles as he opens the door for me, gesturing for me to go inside first.

As soon as we step inside, I smell something delicious. “Is someone here?”

“No, but my chef made us dinner before he took off.” Mason shakes his head as he leads us further into his place.

“You have a chef?” I ask in disbelief.

I can’t imagine having so much money where you can spend it on having someone do something you are more than capable of doing yourself.

As we round the corner, I gasp.

Hundreds, and I mean hundreds, of candles cover the room, giving it a warm glow, and the fireplace is going. Someone even laid out a ton of blankets and pillows in front of the fireplace, making it look like a comfy place to lounge.

I turn toward him. “Mason, what is this?”

He stuffs his hands into his pockets and shrugs, looking slightly uncomfortable. “This is our date.”

“Our date?” I ask, completely overwhelmed.

When he asked me out, I thought we would go to dinner or a movie, but in true Mason fashion, he went over the top.

“This is…”

He cringes. “Too much?”

“Perfect. A lot? Yes, but this is amazing.”

Mason’s shoulders relax, and he smiles as he takes my hand. “Come on.”

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