Page 41 of Take Me
Iwaskidding.Really.
It’s not like I’m standing here picturing Mason under the spray of the shower, his water-splashed pecs rounded and chiseled.And I’m definitely not imagining that dark slash of hair trailing over his abs and down to his?—
“You belong with meeeeeeeeee…”
I stop laying out my clothes and laugh the instant I place the song.Taylor Swift, which is soooo Mason.He surprised Harper on her twelfth birthday with tickets to see the goddess herself in concert.For months, Mason practiced belting out Tay-Tay’s hits so he could sing with his niece at the show.
Hearing him now makes something inside me give a warm, tender tug.The lyrics spin the story of a girl harboring a secret crush on a friend, and I order myself not to think about that.It’s just a stupid song.
“All yours,” Mason says ten minutes later as he steps from the bathroom with a towel around his waist.
“Uh, thanks.”I gather my things and don’t meet his gaze as I slip past him through the steam.I lock the door tightly behind me, which feels silly and necessary all at once.
By the time we’re both ready, we’ve still got thirty minutes to kill until the shuttle starts running to the wedding venue.Mason pries open the mini fridge.“There’s a chilled bottle of estate Pinot Gris in here for forty bucks.Want a glass?”
“Sure.”I hold out my flute and he fills me up to the brim.I let my eyes travel the length of his body, from his crisp blue button-down to gray slacks that hug his ass more than normal.I’m used to just seeing him in jeans.“You look nice.”
“So do you.”His eyes brush my collarbones, and he shakes his head slowly.“Decided to skip the yarn thing with the buckle, huh?”
I look down at my dress and tug at the tie on the front.“It’s an Alice and Olivia Minka Maxi Dress in serenade dark cherry with a keyhole cutout and adjustable tassel straps.”I pivot to show him the back, and I catch his pained look when I turn back around.“Is it the smocked back or the keyhole thingy that’s causing you to make that face?”
“What face?”
“Like I’m not dressed right for this wedding.”I pull on the boots Hazel loaned me, then take a big swig of wine.“Don’t worry.Most of the top half gets covered by the denim jacket.”
“I wasn’t worried.”He knocks back half his wine.“Is the keyhole cutout that thing in front where you’re uh—” He gestures to my chest, then reddens and turns away.
“Where I’m busting out the underboob?”I tug it down a little, hoping it’s not too risqué.“Yep.Hazel says it’s trendy.”
“Hazel would know.”He’s still not meeting my eyes.“What the hell is a smocked back?”
“Beats me.Hazel kept repeating it when I told her which outfit I’d picked.Maybe it’s the stuff that makes it stretchy so it comes off easier?”
“Mmph,” Mason says, and drinks more wine.
By the time we make it to the venue, we’re a little tipsy.Somebody greets us—Sam’s bridesmaid, I think—with two fresh glasses of bubbly.“Drink up,” she urges, pointing us toward a small barn to the side.“Sam and Max ordered tons of this stuff.Guests are gathering in there for pre-funk snacks before the ceremony.I highly recommend the shrimp.”
“Thanks,” Mason says, leading the way to the side of the room where his siblings stand huddled together.
They look up as we near them, and their sudden hush says they were talking about us.“Hey, Mason.”Kaleb holds up a hand to high-five his brother as I shift to greet his fiancée.
“Brooke, you look gorgeous.”I give her a hug before greeting the others.Jake looks itchy wearing a starched shirt instead of fishing bibs or flannel.Zoe’s husband, Cal, still looks like a man who can’t believe he got lucky enough to persuade the sassy little librarian to marry him.
“Cheers,” Lucy says, clinking her glass to her twin’s.“To love in all its forms.”She glances at me as she says it, and I feel an odd sense of relief that she knows we’re just playing at dating.
But not everyone does.“I’m so happy for you guys,” Zoe gushes.“You make the cutest couple.”
Jake grunts in apparent agreement.“Never liked that guy you dated before.”
“Oh.”I’m not sure what to say to that.“I forgot Neil was closer to your grade.”
“He was kind of an ass.”Cal’s younger than us, but he nods like he shares Jake’s opinion.“Saw him stuck in the mud by Puffin Point the other night and didn’t stop to pull him out.”
“True story.”Zoe laughs and links her arm through her husband’s.“We were running late for dinner, but we did call the cops’ non-emergency number in case he was really in trouble.”
Cal shrugs like he would have preferred to leave Neil stuck there.“That new winch you installed works great, by the way,” he tells me.“Had to help some tourists who got caught on the beach at low tide the other day.”
“Glad it worked for you.”I talked him into the upgrade, so I’m happy he’s getting good use from the system.
