Page 90 of Take Me
God, she’s so kind.Misguided, but kind.“Do I look like a romance novel heroine to you?”I stop her before she can answer.“And Mason’s no hero—well, notmyhero.”Tears clog my throat as the bell rings again.“Please,” I whisper.“If I talk to him, I’ll cry, and the very worst thing in the world would be pity right now.I can handle being ditched for the girl he’s meant to be with, but if I have to face him and see sympathy in his eyes?—”
“Fine.Go hide.”Hazel tips her chin toward the kitchen.“But I still want to be on the record as saying you should talk to the man.”
“I will, I promise.”Eventually.“I just need a few days for things not to feel so raw.”
“All right.”
“Thanks, Haze.You’re a good friend.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but she goes to the door anyway.I duck into the kitchen, straining to hear from my hiding spot.I catch the creak of the door and the muffled sound of Mason pleading his case.
“I saw her truck in the driveway, so I know she’s here.”He sounds so desperate I almost cave.“I just want to talk to her for a few minutes.That’s all.”
“She’s indisposed at the moment,” Hazel says primly, holding her ground.
“Does that mean she’s pooping?Because that doesn’t take very long.We’ve shared a bathroom for a few weeks now, so?—”
“Mason, go home.”She’s friendly, but firm.“When a woman needs space, your best bet is to give it to her.”
“Okay, yeah, you’re right.Totally get it.”Then he starts shouting.“Erika Gentry, I’m not interested in Annabelle!Please come talk to me about?—”
“Good night, Mason.”The door clicks shut, and Hazel’s footsteps follow her into the kitchen.
She finds me crumpled on her floor, crying into my empty wineglass.She sits down beside me on the cold tile—designer trousers and all—and starts petting my hair.“You’re sure you don’t want to hear him out?”
Sniffling, I wipe my nose on a sleeve.“It was just a few weeks ago he was convinced Annabelle was the love of his life.He used to lie on my couch moaning about how much he loved her and wanted to be exclusive.He talked about proposing, for God’s sake.Weeks ago, Hazel.”
“I hear you, I get it.”She circles her palm on my back.“He’s not allowed to change his mind?”
“What seems more likely to you?That Mason spent twenty-six years never once seeing me as anything other than a platonic friend, and suddenly, in a matter of weeks, he’s head over heels in love with me?”I crack up, since the whole idea is laughable.I’m crying, too, so there’s more snot involved.“Or is it more likely he got caught up in all that great sex we’ve been having?That he just got confused once we crossed that line, but the lust will wear off and he’ll go back to being in love with Annabelle?”
Hazel stops rubbing my back.“Didyourfeelings change?”
“Sure, but that’s different.”Because here’s the big secret I’ve never told anyone.“Look, I have to admit something.”
“Okay.”She sounds guarded, unsure, and I think about how many secrets her own father kept from her.
I speed up my confession so her wheels don’t start spinning.“Deep, deep, deep down inside—we’re talking really deep.”
“Okay.”
“Someplace deeper than that, there’s a teeny, tiny, minuscule part of me that always loved Mason like that.”Oh my God, I just said it.“But he always loved girly girls.Sure, they did cool stuff like leading the debate team in high school or doctoring injured animals.He always had great taste.Hell,I’ddate those women if I swung that way.”
“All right.”She’s perfectly composed, not laughing at me even a little.
“But all of those women,” I continue.“Every single one of them knew how to dress for a wedding.They knew what to do with an eyeliner pencil, or how to toss their hair just right so the sunlight hits it.Me, I know how to make fart noises with a fist in my armpit.And I can change a CV joint faster than most men can take a piss.I know who I am, and I know who I’m not, and I like myself a lot—I really do.”At least I’ve got that at the end of the day.“But I’m not the kind of girl who winds up with Mason Spencer-King.That’s not how this romance novel goes.”
“You really believe that?”
“I do.With my whole heart, I do.”
For the first time all night, Hazel says nothing.She just rubs my back, sitting with me on her cold kitchen floor.
It’s the moment I know I’ve made the right choice.That I’m doing what’s best for Mason and me.
I just wish it didn’t hurt so much.
I spenda few days licking my wounds at Hazel’s house.I still go to work, grateful I don’t have to see Kaleb.He’s taking time off to spend it with family who arrived for the weddings.I’m braced for Mason to show up at the garage, insisting we talk things through.
