Page 16 of My Secret Santa Mason

Cami’s caption was all about community, Christmas cheer, and how Silver Ridge was the perfect holiday getaway.

“Why the hell would she do that?” I asked, horrified. My mind raced. Broadcasting your life, your location, everything—it was like hanging a target on your back. I didn’t get it. Didn’t get why anyone would want that kind of attention. “Doesn’t she know that’s a bad idea?”

Rae laughed but there was a hint of exasperation in her eyes. “Mason, not everyone lives in a bunker, okay? It’s good for business. She’s helping put Silver Ridge on the map, and we can really use that kind of attention.”

She flipped to another photo—a selfie Cami had taken in front of Millie’s Diner, the neon sign wrapped in twinkling lights.

I scowled, uneasy. This wasn’t just about tourists. It was about safety, about knowing who was in your town and why.

Cami’s online presence was drawing people in, but not all of them looked like they were here for a Christmas vacation. The wrong crowd could march up right alongside the right crowd and no one would be the wiser. I didn’t trust it, and that Cami was at the center of it all made my gut twist.

I glanced at the picture again, and all I could see was Cami’s smile, bright and inviting. She was trouble, all right—danger wrapped in a pretty package with a bow on top.

If I thought she was dangerous at first, well, she just kicked herself into a whole new league, and whatever she was doing was bringing trouble to town.

7

CAMI

Ipushed the door of my cottage open, the warmth enveloping me like a cozy hug as I stepped inside. The soft glow of the lamp on the end table bathed the living room in a golden light, casting shadows on the walls that danced with every flicker of the fireplace. I had spent weeks making this place my own—vintage finds, cozy throws, and little knick-knacks that made it feel like home. My cottage was my sanctuary, a quiet corner of Silver Ridge where I could forget about everything else and just breathe.

That feeling of safety vanished when I spotted a dark shadow looming. My heart stopped and my breath caught in my throat before I recognized the face.

Mason was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his hulking frame nearly swallowing the room. He was all rough edges and brooding intensity, his eyes dark and unreadable.

“What the hell, Mason?” I blurted, my hand flying to my chest as if I could calm the frantic beat of my heart. My fingers trembled and I had to take a second to compose myself. “You scared the crap out of me! What are you doing in my house?”

He didn’t move, didn’t blink. He just stood there, taking up too much space, too much air, as if he belonged here. “Waiting for you.”

I dropped my bag on the floor, trying to keep my composure. My fear turned into anger as I redirected my adrenaline rush. He had no business being here, but the sight of him in my space—looking every bit the rugged, intimidating man he was—sent a shiver down my spine. “You can’t just break into someone’s house and wait for them like some kind of psycho. What’s your problem?” I balled my fists. My anger was laced with a hint of fear. He was one of Rae’s friends, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be scary as hell.

“My problem,” he said, his voice low and gravelly, “is that I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here. In Silver Ridge. With all this… this shit you’ve been posting online.” He gestured vaguely, like the whole world was somehow wrapped up in his disdain. “What’s your angle?”

I crossed my arms, not backing down, and glared at him. If he thought he could just waltz in here and start demanding answers, he had another thing coming. “Myangle? What are you talking about?”

“All this Christmas bullshit and online posts—what are you playing at?”

I narrowed my eyes. “It’s called making a living. I know you’re not one for people, but it happens to be my job to be around them and make them happy, and I happen to be good at it.”

Mason glared at me, and when the silence stretched too thin between us, I kept talking. “I’m not sure what you think I’m doing, but I’m living my life, Mason. I’m trying to build something new here, and last I checked, that wasn’t a crime.”

He pushed off the wall, taking a slow, deliberate step toward me. His presence was suffocating, but I couldn’t look away.There was a fire in his eyes, a challenge that made my blood pulse faster.

“I don’t buy it,” he growled. “You show up out of nowhere, start posting pictures, drawing people in—people who don’t belong here. You’re drawing attention we don’t need.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Who doesn’t need attention to build a better life when it comes down to business? Being a loner has gone to your head. You might be losing it.”

That might not have been the right thing to say. His nostrils flared and rage filled his eyes for a second.

“You’re screwing with a system that doesn’t need it. You’re in a place where you don’t belong.” Despite the fire in his eyes, his words were cold, and the accusations stung.

“So what? I’m not allowed to have a life. To share things that make me happy. God, Mason, who died and made you King of Silver Ridge? You don’t call the shots. Everyone else is happy with what I do. You’re the only one bitter about the good stuff. Maybe you need to see someone about whatever’s eating at you to make you this miserable.”

He was close now, too close, and I could feel the heat radiating off his body, see the tension coiled in every muscle. “You don’t know a damn thing about me,” he growled, and there was something dangerous in his voice, something that sent a thrill of fear and excitement straight through me.

I tilted my chin up, refusing to let him intimidate me. “You’re right. I don’t know anything about you, and you don’t know anything about me. But that doesn’t give you the right to show up here and interrogate me like I’m some kind of criminal.”

He stared at me, and for a second, I thought he was going to lash out, but instead, he stood there, staring at me as if I were a riddle he couldn’t quite solve. His jaw clenched, his gaze locked on mine, and the silence between us was electric. The longer it stretched, the hotter it became.

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