Page 101 of Please Hate Me

But I didn’t respond.

“Lucian.” She was louder this time.

“I’m ignoring you,” I grumbled.

“It’s important.”

I opened my eyes just to roll them, letting out an exasperated sigh as I turned to face her.

“What?”

“Do you want a kiss?”

My heart skipped. Was she serious?

“No. I want you to go to sleep.” I rolled back over and threw the blanket over my head. Hopefully, she wouldn’t bug me again; if she did, my answer would probably change.

But this time, finally, she stopped talking, which was honestly kind of a bummer.

Despite everything she told me in the kitchen, I wasn’t mad at Mason. She left to keep me safe... from herself? It made absolutely no sense, but it was kind of heartwarming in a weird, fucked-up way. Hell, at least it wasn’t something I’d done wrong.

After ten minutes of dead silence, I rolled back over. This time, Mason was completely still. Her eyes were closed, her breathing steady. Still, I didn’t trust this bitch—she’d fallen asleep too easily. Quietly, I reached over to stroke her hair. She didn’t stir, even as I raked my fingers through the silky strands.

I inched close enough to smell her shampoo. She smelled the same as I remembered, like fruit and honey. Against my better judgment, I pressed my lips to her forehead. When I pulled away, my hands were shaking, and she was smiling. I thought for sure she’d look up at me again, but she stretched and yawned before changing positions. After a moment, I lifted her arm and watched it fall limp to the mattress. She wasout.

Which meant I’d have to tell her what my sister said… but I never said she had to beawakewhen I did it.

“Mason.” I kept my tone hushed. Once it was clear that the sound of my voice wouldn’t wake her up, I continued:

“Leona told me I better marry you this time.”

I looked Mason over as I spoke; she was lying on her back, which wasn’t awesome for the baby, but I didn’t want to wake her up. Even if she couldn’t answer, I had to get a question off my chest:

“If things go well… would youwantto get married?”

Sophia and Cameron were both actively against marriage, but I had always wanted to be married by twenty-three. Sure, I wasthree years past that expiration date, but it was still on the table. Before Mason left, I’d been planning on proposing; what was so wrong with picking back up where we left off?

I took a deep breath—I waswayoverthinking this. Now that I’d said my piece, I forced Mason to roll on her side. But the second I disturbed her, she wrapped both of her arms around one of mine.

A barely audible phrase escaped her as she nuzzled her face into my hand:

“I love you, Luci.”

My heart stopped, and I had to clear my throat before I could breathe again. I knew she was just talking in her sleep. There was nothing more to it than that. But no amount of rationalizing could save me from being completely and utterly caught in Mason’s gravitational pull. Even if I’d never admit it, I loved revolving around her.

I couldn’t wait for her to meet the kids tomorrow.

Chapter 28

Sebastian

Morning came with a rush of noise from the lower half of the home. It was a mix of running, squealing, and just general chaos. Without opening my eyes, I knew the children had returned. A groggy groan rumbled through my chest. I loved my niece and nephew, but kids were annoying, loud, and messy.

Thank God I was going to be a dad and not a mom.

Dads were expected to provide for the family, play with the kids, and go to soccer games. Moms had the unfortunate honor of doing the rest. Of course, I’d never leave Mason to fend for herself if she was struggling. If she needed help after our daughter was here, I’d hire a nanny. One thing was for sure, though: I’dneverbe caught changing a diaper.

My back cracked as I stretched and opened my eyes, only to be greeted by a world of blur. Without my glasses, I was useless. I had once considered Lasik to fix my fatal flaw, but my eyesight was too poor. Even worse, astigmatism left me unable to wear contacts. Until recently, my spectacles had never bothered me, but they made it impossible to go down on Mason whilemaintaining eye contact, and that was myfavoriteway to wake her up.

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