Page 116 of I Heart Mason Cartwright
Willow
One day I’m me,taking life day by day, working on my house, playing with my dog, trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. The next I’m head over heels for a guy that I never expected to be in my life, finishing the house, and happier than anyone has a right to be. I’m so freaking happy, I’m giddy. And giggly. All the time. If I wasn’t such a lover of happily ever after I would be disgusted by myself.
Zach keeps me grounded. Or tries to. But I’m pretty far gone over Mason. And the sex. Ohmigod, the sex. Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about how great sex can be? I thought the guys I’d been with before were the norm. And maybe they are, and Mason is an anomaly. That said, I want the anomaly every day.
That’s not how anomalies work.
I roll my eyes at my own thoughts and turn my attention back to Zach, who is here today to help me with the plans for the housewarming party. Mason took P-Tink with him to the hardware store to pick up a few extra shelves and some organizers for the kitchen cabinets.
Mason has helped every day with finishing the kitchen. Painting walls, hanging cupboards, centering the island, helping the counter guys with marble placement, cutting the tile and laying the backsplash, installing appliances. Well, I helped with the backsplash. I already knew about laying tile, so I had fun doing that with him. But I was more than happy to turn over the task of cutting the tile to him. Something about water with a saw has never sat well with me. I don’t care if it is called awet saw.
And now it’s nearly finished. Most of my kitchen items are unpacked, which is why Mason decided more shelves and organizers were needed. I just need to decide on a bit of decor. Since it was the last item in my house to re-do, my house is nearly finished as well. And I’m no closer to figuring my life out than I was before. Except for the part with Mason in it.
He stayed with me that first night and has pretty much never left. Which I am more than okay with. He kept paying for his hotel and going back and forth for clothes for another two weeks before we just decided he should stay. Move his things in, give up the hotel, and call it home.
It’s been three months of pure bliss. I’ve met a few of his friends and hit it off with their significant others, which has been a new experience for me. Not ever having had a lot of girlfriends in my life. The great thing is they accept Zach as one of the girls too. So, I miss out on nothing when I spend time with either, a seamless transition. And Mason’s friends are helpful. Like, really helpful. We had a big painting party when I decided to change the color of the living room walls. And another when we refinished and stained the deck.
Mason has taken me by each of his investment properties and introduced me to the tenants, and admitted that he owns the building his mom’s bookstore is in. Looking at him, I never would have known he was so successful or worth so much money. In a way, I’m glad I didn’t know that going in. I wouldn’t have wanted anything to influence my opinion of him. I’m not sure it would have, since in that regard I’m nothing like my family, but I’m glad I didn’t find out until after we were together.
We had a small potluck last week to see how the space worked with people and it was awesome. Better than I’d ever thought it could be. Which is where the idea of the housewarming came from. Which is what Zach and I are planning now. So far, we have a guest list. Which, according to Zach is the most important thing anyway.
“You know who’s not on this list?” Zach asks.
“Who?”
“Your father and Cassandra.”
“They wouldn’t come anyway,” I say.
“Well then, what’s the harm in inviting them?”
“I don’t know. I feel like what they did, the last time they were here, really drew a line between us. And I’m not sure I care to cross it.”
“You mean when they made Mason pay them a bunch of money for a wedding that never should have been planned?”
“That’s part of it, yes.”
Talking about AshLynn and Mason doesn’t bother me any longer.
Much.
I still feel twinges of jealousy and insecurity, but I think that has more to do with me than with that situation. Plus, Mason leaves no doubt how important I am to him. Every day he finds some new little way to show me. Granted, he told me he loved me for the first time in the afterglow of a marathon sex session. But then he said it again later when we were clothed. So, I did too.
And it felt like I was just stating the obvious, I didn’t feel nervous about saying it, or worried how he might react. He said it. I said it. My feelings intensified. Everything is good in my world.
My phone buzzes with a text. I look down, it’s from Mason. A picture of P-Tink sitting in the hardware store with a barbecue brush in her mouth. I laugh and text him back anLOL, then show Zach. Princess Tinkerbell has been obsessed with the idea of barbecue since Mason brought home a smoker. He smoked some chicken, we gave her a bit of the skin mixed in with her kibble, and she was in love. She sticks by his side a lot anyway, but especially when she sees him get the barbecue tools out of the pantry.
MASON: I just don’t know if it’s a hint or a command.
ME: Command. Definitely.
MASON: Ha! For sure. Love you. Home soon.
ME: Love you!
“What’s with the big shit-eating grin?” Zach asks.
I show him the text exchange.
