Page 41 of Between the Paragraphs

“A week is way too long. Never have I resented work before, but this week has been torture,” I admit.

“I know what you mean,” he says. “But we’re together now and I’m not letting you go until Monday morning.” I hope he means this because I don’t want him to let me go.

“I have zero problem with that,” I tell him. I’m okay with him not letting me go for much longer than that. My heart’s pounding and my skin’s flushed. This isn’t how I want to look when I meet his mother. It doesn’t matter though, as I can’t stop my reactions when it comes to him. Hopefully everyone will think my flushed skin has to do with the heat and not my desire.

“As much as I want to sneak out of here right now to be alone with you, my mother will hunt me down.” He chuckles as he takes my hand then leads me into the crowd. I look around for familiar faces and see Miles who smiles at me.

His arm is around a beautiful woman who’s animatedly talking to someone. My eyebrows raise as I realize this is Emily. She looked different at the engagement party, but I suppose most people look different when they’re dressed to impress. I also see Kevin, Tom, and Nathan amongst the people. I don’t know them well, but at least they’re familiar faces.

A few of the other people look familiar, but no names are coming to mind. The atmosphere’s relaxed, but also clearly filled with camaraderie and good-natured ribbing. I wouldn’t expect anything less when Mason’s team members are here.

The next hour is a slew of introductions while Mason takes me around to people, his hand never leaving mine. My stomach’s in knots as I haven’t met his mother yet. At this point I’d rather get that part over with. Apparently, she’s in the kitchen cooking which Mason tells me she loves. I’m more relaxed the longer we’re here as everyone is very welcoming.

“Ah, there’s Mom,” Mason finally says, and I look up to see a petite woman moving down the deck stairs heading right for us. I must clutch Mason’s hand tightly because he chuckles. “You’ll love her. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he assures me.

That’s easy for him to say. She moves up to us. “You must be Maria,” she says with a friendly smile.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Bennett,” I tell her.

She shakes her head. “We aren’t that formal here. Please call me Patty.”

“Of course,” I say. “I love your place. It’s very beautiful, and the food and drinks are delicious. This is also quite the gathering. You have a great group of friends and family.”

“My children love to have crowds. I think it’s because their egos are so big they need lots of people fawning all over them.” This makes me laugh.

“I might have to agree with you on that,” I tell her. “Since one’s an athlete, and the other is a world-famous author, they’re far too used to people fawning over them. It might stroke their egos a bit too much.” She laughs and the corners of her eyes crinkle in amusement. Within seconds of speaking to her I relax. Mason’s right, his mother’s wonderful and so easy to speak to.

We chat a few more minutes before she’s pulled away, and then we’re off to visit with more of the guests. There are so many people it’s like being at a conference, and even with my good recollection of names I won’t remember even half of the people here. I love all of the people and how welcoming they are, but it’s way too many names to retain them all, and the faces and names start to blur together.

We all snack before the official dinner’s brought out which isn’t good as there are enough appetizers to be the main meal on their own. From the smells coming off of the barbecues I certainly want to leave room, though. It’s a casual buffet style with enough food to feed several entire football teams. There’s no way we can get through even a quarter of it. There’s no formal table, so we all move around, sitting in groups before grazing some more. The laughter and visiting continue as we eat, making me feel like I’m a part of the family.

While we eat and chat, people move around playing different games. There are nerf guns which the football players have far too much fun with shooting everyone, making an all-out battle occur at one point. I’m lucky enough to team up with Mason who can’t seem to be beat. Then again, this is his home, and he knows all of the good places to hide while he pings people left and right.

Some people want nothing to do with the nerf war, and instead, team up to play ladder ball, horseshoes, corn hole, and even badminton. I’m pretty good at badminton and take out the other team with Mason at my side. This is the most fun I’ve had at a backyard BBQ before. As much as I want to be alone with Mason, I also don’t want to leave.

While some people continue playing games, a large fire is lit in a huge pit, and several of us gather around, enjoying the heat as the evening air cools, making me want to wrap up in a blanket while snuggled against Mason’s warm chest. Sticks are pulled out and the most epic S’mores bar I’ve ever seen before is set up. I’m already stuffed, but I still make room for a gooey marshmallow treat.

As I sit back eating, Mason appears at my side again. He leans close. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he tells me.

“I’m glad I’ve come. This is wonderful. You have an incredible family and the best friends anyone could ever hope for.”

“Everyone loves you,” he says. This makes my heart skip a beat. I want to ask if he’s one of the people who love me. This is such an unexpected thought I don’t know what to think about it. Terrified comes to mind. It’s way too soon to be thinking of that word.

I’m not going anywhere though. All I want to do right now is see where this thing between us is heading. It’s more than I could’ve ever imagined. How strange to think we only met about a month ago. I can’t imagine my life without him in it now. I might not know what the future’s going to bring us, but knowing we’re together and happy is enough for now.

As the evening begins winding down Mason excuses himself to get some coffee. Miles sits down next to me. I give him a warm smile. It’s funny to me now that I was irritated about being assigned to bring him into my publishing house. Now that I know him, I’m thrilled about it because I truly like the man as a person and as an author. He’s so talented and such a good person to boot.

“We’ve both been so busy since the conference we haven’t had a chance to talk in depth about our deal,” he tells me. “I hate bringing work up at such a fun event, but in our world work is never far from the surface. I’m a regular workaholic; most of my storytelling comes from my everyday activities.”

“I know what you mean. At least in my experience, authors who are truly happy in their personal lives write with so much detail and love. Those who are unhappy make some great thrillers.” This makes both of us laugh.

“I know some thriller writers who are very happy. They just have some twisted imaginations. I’d love to live in their dreams for a night or two.”

I nod in agreement. “I have to admit I have some strange dreams myself. I’m a very happy person, but maybe that’s because my dreams are so twisted that all of that energy gets out of me in my sleep,” I tell him.

“That’s a perfect way to look at it,” he agrees.

“I spoke to Ruth a few days ago and was going to message you and see if we can meet up this week. I think the two of you will vibe well together.”

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