Page 40 of Savoring Addison

“I’ve thought about it a lot. I even ordered a DNA kit once, but I couldn’t make myself mail it back in.”

Regret filled every facet of her voice. It made him desperate to do anything to help her. “Why not?” he asked gently. “It doesn’t sound like you simply changed your mind.”

“I don’t know.” One shoulder lifted in a halfhearted shrug. “While Granny was still alive, I thought it would be like a slap in the face to her, you know? That she took me in, raised me, gave me literally everything, but I still wanted to go off and find some mythical parent figure I never even knew.”

That made a lot of sense. He imagined how an adoptive parent might feel to find out the child they loved and raised all their lives started searching for their bio parents. It had to hurt like hell, even if most parents probably wouldn’t admit it. “What about after she passed?”

“I don’t know,” she said again. “I took the test. I got the package ready to send in. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d do when I got my results.”

Mason frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s not like I could tell anyone. There wasn’t a single person in my life who knew I had no idea who my dad was.” Her soft groan made it clear how much this still frustrated her. “I’d have to keep it a secret from everyone I knew. I wouldn’t have anyone to help me reach out or go with me to meet him. And I knew for damn sure I wouldn’t be able to do it all by myself. So what was the point?”

“Am I the only one you told about this?” he couldn’t help asking, some of his surprise making its way into his voice despite his best efforts. Obviously, she listened to her grandmother’s advice to make friends in middle school, but it never occurred to him she still followed it to this day.

She tilted her head just enough to meet his gaze. “Is that bad?”

“Not at all,” he assured her. “I just...I’m honored you trust me enough to tell me.”

A blush colored her cheeks, and she dipped her chin, hiding her eyes once more. “You’re the first person to ask more than once.”

How many times could she break his heart in one day? “Well,” Mason said, making up his mind in an instant. “Now you have me.”

She went still as a statue carved into marble. Several seconds passed before she whispered, “I do?”

“I’m sure it won’t be the same as having Kate or your grandmother help you,” he said hesitantly, not sure how to gauge her reaction. “But if you want my help, you have it.”

Addison stayed frozen for a few more agonizing seconds. Then she twisted around in his lap, throwing her arms around his neck and covering his face in rapid kisses.

At first, Mason had absolutely zero idea what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before—not even close. As she continued planting gleeful kisses all over his face, he realized there was only one thing he could possibly do.

He laughed.

Addison jerked back, planting her hands on his shoulders and locking her elbows.

“What?” he asked, his brows drawing together.

“I’ve just never heard you laugh before.” The shock morphed into a teasing smile. “Not like that. I didn’t even know you knew how.”

He pursed his lips, trying to hide a half-smile. “I only pull it out for special occasions.”

“Well, I’m glad I made the cut.” She smirked at him. “Don’t worry. I won’t let it go to my head, Master.”

CHAPTER 13

Addison

Four weeks and three days. That’s how much time had passed since they mailed in her DNA test.

Well, since Mason mailed in her test. Once again, she managed to prepare the saliva sample and box it up on her own. When the time came to add it to the outgoing mail tray on the reception desk, she chickened out. For three days, the sample sat in her room, until Mason came to fetch her on Saturday morning. Seeing it sitting on top of her dresser, he grabbed it without a word, and dropped it in the tray as they passed through the lobby.

That kindness was why she found herself in the kitchen right now. It was that in-between time, after Kendra and Luca left for the day, but before Gabriel, Sienna, and Eric arrived for the dinner shift. In other words, the perfect time to bake Mason a batch of alfajores—delectable dulce de leche cookies that would get him in the right mood for his trip to South America next week.

God, she hoped her results would be in before he left. Since she’d never have the guts to look at the results herself, they’d created a new email address just for this, using it to register her ancestry account. Mason promised to go through the results and deliver the news, good or bad, as soon as the notification arrived.

The website said she’d have her results in three to four weeks. Which meant she’d been freaking the fuck out for almost a week and a half at this point.

Well. Not the whole week and a half. The weekend she just spent at Mason’s didn’t leave much room in her brain for worry.

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