Page 51 of Every Breath

“Of course, I will. My son is always asking about you. He thinks you’re pretty. You might even be the object of his first crush.”

“You’re making that up!”

“I swear. He asked me just last week what I thought about Miss Brandi.”

She pursed her lips. “Now I know you’re making that up.”

Mason dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He speed dialed a number and put the phone against his ear.

“Who are you calling?”

Mason didn’t answer; he seemed to be waiting for someone to answer the call.

“Karen, this is Mason. Can I speak to Ben, please? Thanks.”

Brandi’s eyes widened. “Mason, no!”

He ignored her. “Hi, Ben. How’s it going, champ?” Mason smiled at whatever the boy said.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” she hissed at him, but he held his hand up.

“Ben, I have a friend with me who wants to say hello.”

“No,” Brandi backed away from him when he held the phone in front of her.

“Take it,” Mason urged.

She shook her head. Mason gave her a knowing smile, then put the phone back to his ear.

“Well, it seems that my friend is shy all of a sudden. Maybe another time.” He winked at her. “Yes, I’ll make it to your soccer game. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He laughed at something else Ben said. Mason chatted for a few more minutes before ending the call. “Okay, kiddo, see you then. Love you.” He replaced the phone in his pocket.

“That was a dirty trick.”

“You are the one who accused me of lying. I was only trying to prove my innocence.”

“Mason, you’re not making this easy for me,” she groaned.

He lifted her chin so their eyes met. “It’s not my intention to make this hard on you, but my feelings for you are very real, Brandi. I love you.” Mason let out a deep breath. “There, I said it. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to tell you.”

Her eyes filled with tears. The tender look in his eyes told her that he meant it. Her heart began to race because she knew then that she loved him, too. It wasn’t the grateful-friendship type of love she once felt for Rodney; this was real and much more intense. It was also the kind of love she had felt with Damon, and it scared the hell out of her.

“Mason. I…I love you, too.”

His eyes lit up and he took her into his arms. She melted against him and opened her mouth to the welcome invasion of his tongue. She didn’t know if she would ever get tired of his kisses. Mason could make her come with just the flick of his tongue.

Mason lifted his head. “Those words are music to my ears.”

“But we still need time.”

“Time for what? We love each other. What do we have to wait for?’

“I…I just want to run things by my kids first and get their take on things. I mean, I love you, but they are my priority.”

Mason looked like he wanted to argue with her but thought better of it.

“Just give me enough time to get them used to the idea of you and me.”

“Okay. For you, I would wait an eternity.”

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