Page 23 of Grateful for You
There was a lot of truth in Jackson’s concerns. Truth that I’d been feeling deep in my gut when I first started developing feelings for Mason. I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders back before pulling the door open and stepping outside. Jackson went rigid, while Mason’s mouth flicked into a smile as he pulled me into his side, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“I just wanted to say goodbye, Jackson. And it was really nice to meet you.” I smiled as genuinely as I could manage and held out a hand to him.
He took it, and as he shook my hand, gloved palm resting in gloved palm, I added, “And I’m not looking to be rescued. As I said to John… I’m stronger than that. I can be my own hero.”
His smile faltered. “Piper, what I said wasn’t about you. You’re lovely.”
I held up my hand, stopping him. I liked Jackson. I wanted him to like me in return. “I’m not trying to start a fight, but if there’s one thing I learned with John, it’s that not speaking up for myself is a slippery slope. So just know… I love your brother. I’m not using him for anything. Except maybe his heart.”
“I hope that’s true.” Jackson smiled and, with a quick wave, turned and got into Carey’s back seat.
Mason turned me in his arms to face him, a silly grin spreading along his face. “You love me?”
“I do.”
“I love you, too, Piper.” He curved his hands around my waist and kissed me. I closed my eyes, sinking into that kiss, opening for him, deepening it with a moan. But when I pulled back, I wasn’t able to hide the concern on my face… and it showed by how quickly Mason’s smile faltered.
“I love you,” I said. “And that’s why I have to leave.”
15
Mason
“I’m sorry… I must have heard you wrong. You love me, so you have toleave?”
She turned, going back inside, but holding onto my hand to tug me along behind her. “That’s right.”
I was too stunned to even register that the front door was still open, blowing snow into the foyer. Piper rushed to close the door behind us and locked it.
“In some ways, your brother was right. I don’t want to be like your ex-girlfriends. I don’t want to live here rent free as an easy way to get by. I need to prove I can be on my own. That I can stand on my own two feet first. I can’t be a good partner to you if I’m barely good to myself. I can’t love you properly if I don’t fully love myself. And I don’t yet….” Her voice cracked, and that small tremble sent a fissure cracking down to my belly. She inhaled a sharp, staggered breath and I watched, tears forming in my eyes, as she worked so hard to maintain her composure. “But I will. And as soon as I’m there, you will be the first person I find.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, emotion punching through my chest. Namely because of the truth in everything she said. And it was so damn mature and wise of her… it gave me hope. And it proved I was right… Piper was different. “Okay,” I said, barely recognizing the rasp of my voice.
She blinked, a tear dropping so fast, it didn’t even hit her cheek. It fell right to the edge of her boot, blending in with the melted drops of snow. “Okay?”
I cupped her jaw, breathing deeply through the twist of pain wringing in my gut. “I understand. And I’ll wait for you.”
She sobbed as I tugged her mouth to mine, kissing her ferociously.
She pulled back, and I swiped at her wet cheeks with my thumbs. “Athena and I will be back, though.”
“You damn well better be.”
16
Mason
One month Later…
Or rather, Christmas morning.
Bing Crosby crooned over my Spotify, and I smiled as I tossed the chopped apples into the bowl of sugar, just as Piper had taught me.
Grinning, I grabbed my phone and texted her a photo. We hadn’t seen each other since Thanksgiving, but a couple of weeks ago, she texted me, wanting to keep in touch while she found herself and worked on her own independence.
Fine by me. I’d take as much of Piper as I could get. And I’d wait as long as it takes to get her back.
Within seconds of sending the picture, my phone buzzed with a response. An emoji of a drooling face. I laughed out loud and sighed, wishing she hadn’t gone to Vermont for Christmas. Then again, to be fair, I had no idea where she’d been for the last month at all, outside of those visits to her family. She could’ve been living in Florida for all I knew. Piper had been keeping quiet about where her apartment was and what she was doing with her time.
