Page 73 of Toy

My ears pricked up at the sound of a key turning in the door. With a grin, I dashed over and flung it open. “How did it go with the doctor?”

Mason returned my grin and wrapped me in his arms. “Well, I have some scars on top of scars now, but who cares? I’m alive, you’re alive… everything’s good.”

I took in a deep, satisfied breath as I let him squeeze me. I was so proud of him. He used to be filled with rage and insecurity about all his scars, but now he genuinely didn’t give a crap. He knew I loved looking at him and found him to be the sexiest man on the planet, and that was all that mattered to him these days. If a rude teenager ever looked at him sideways in the street and called out any insults, he just breezed right past the little brat. Barely even noticed.

“I’m glad it’s all okay,” I said. “Hey, by the way, Martha and Travis are in town. They want to have dinner tonight.”

He lifted a brow. “Oh, really? I didn’t know. I’m sure we can make tonight work, though.”

“Great. Also, I was thinking we could invite Mr. Bennett over for lunch on Saturday. He came by earlier to visit Buddy. I think he really misses him.”

“Sure, we can have him over.” Mason slapped me on the ass, making me giggle. “But for now, I need you to put your shoes on. I’m taking you for a ride.”

My eyes widened. “Where?”

“It’s a surprise.” He winked and loosened his tie.

I put my sneakers on and grabbed my purse. Mason led me down to his car and then wrapped his tie around my head, fastening it directly across my eyes.

“Do I really have to be blindfolded?” I asked with a wide smile, heart racing with anticipation.

“Yup. Sorry. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

I tried to figure out where he was taking me by noting the different turns he made from St. Andrew Street, but I lost track right away. Around half an hour later, the car finally pulled to a stop.

“No peeking just yet,” Mason said, tightening the blindfold.

I pouted. “This is so mean. You’ve kept me in suspense forever.”

He chuckled. “It should be worth it.”

He helped me out of the car and took my hand so he could lead me somewhere. All around us, I could hear bird calls and the chatter of various insects.

“Are we in some sort of wetlands?” I asked.

Mason put one hand over my mouth. “Shh. You’ll see in a minute.”

He led me farther down a winding path—I assumed we were on one, though I didn’t really have any way of knowing for sure—and after ten minutes or so, he finally told me to stop. When he yanked the tie off my face, I spotted a dark body of water with an oily rainbow-patterned film on the surface. It was surrounded by moss-draped cypress and tupelo trees.

My eyes widened. “We’re at Maurepas?”

Mason nodded. “You used to hike out here to watch the sunrise. I know how much you loved doing that.”

A faint smile curved up my lips as I gazed out at the water. “I did. But last time I was out here, you pushed my car into the water and shoved me in your trunk.”

Mason’s brows knitted, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. “I know,” he said. “That’s why I brought you here today. I’ve done a lot of fucked up shit to you, and I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I don’t want you to lose one of your favorite places to shitty memories. I want to make new memories instead. Better ones.”

My smile grew wider. “That’s sweet.” I got up on my tiptoes and planted a brief kiss on his warm lips. When I pulled away, my gaze drifted over to a large fallen log. “Hmm… let me guess. You want to bend me over that log and fuck my brains out.”

Mason chuckled. “That sounds like it might make a good memory, but it’s not exactly what I had in mind.”

I put a hand on my hip and arched a brow. “So what did you have in mind, then?”

He sank down to one knee and pulled out a white gold ring with the biggest damn bezel-set diamond I’d ever seen. “Marry me,” he said.

My hand flew to my mouth. I stared in shock for a moment, unable to form a coherent response.

“Dammit, Jolie, I’m not asking you,” Mason growled, rising to his full height again. “I’m telling you. Marry me.”

---