Page 22 of My Secret Santa Mason

“Back in Denver, I had this life… or at least, I thought I did. I had a fiancé, a best friend, a business I loved. And then, one day, I found out they were sleeping together.”

Rae gasped, but she kept quiet.

“It was bad enough knowing that my best friend and my fiancé were together. What was worse was when I went to my parents to tell them the wedding was off, when I cried on my cousin’s shoulder, when I talked to my other bridesmaids… it turned out everyone knew except me.”

“Oh, Cami…” Rae said softly. “That’s…”

“Bullshit,” I said nonchalantly. “They should have told me, but they didn’t think I could handle it.”

“So, they were just going to let you go through with it and not tell you?” Rae asked, looking as confused as I’d been at the time.

“I don’t know. Every time I’d asked them what the alternative would have been, what would have happened if Ihadn’tfound out, no one could give me an answer. No one could tell me theywould have let me live in a relationship that was built on lies; no one could tell me they wouldn’t have let me know that my best friend was also the one to stab me in the back.”

Rae shook her head, at a loss for words.

“It was humiliating. They weren’t even trying to hide it toward the end. It had been going on for months, and I had no idea. It made me feel like such an idiot—like I wasn’t paying attention to the people closest to me. I should have known. I should have seen signs or something…”

Rae put her hand on my arm. “Don’t you dare take the blame for that. That’s on them, not on you. It’s not your job to look for a reason to trust someone.”

“I know.” But it was much easier said than done. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty, and looking back, therehadbeen signs. I’d just been too in love to see them. Or too stubborn. Or toosomething.

Whatever it was, it had come out eventually.

“It made me realize how much I had relied on them,” I said as we walked on. “I thought they were my world, and when they betrayed me, I didn’t know who to trust anymore. That’s why coming here… building a new life in Silver Ridge has been so important to me. I’m starting to find real friendships. Real connections.”

Rae smiled. “This town is good for that. I felt the same when I first arrived. I was sure I would just pass through, but then the town and the people drew me in and before I knew it, I had afamily.We’re small, but we take care of our own and you can always trust the people here.”

“Like Mason?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She chuckled, nodding. “Mason might not admit it, but yeah. He cares and he’s trustworthy. And I know you’re scared—trust me, I get it. I was terrified when I fell for Tanner. After what I’dbeen through, the idea of opening up to someone again… it was hard. But sometimes, the risk is worth it.”

I swallowed, my throat tightening. The idea of letting myself care about Mason—of letting him in—was terrifying. I didn’t even know if it was anything more than physical attraction. But something about him drew me, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about him.

All. The. Damn. Time.

He was so different from anyone I’d ever known. Somehow, despite only talking twice and having that moment where we didn’ttalkat all… how could something like that feel as real as it did?

You’re losing your mind, I told myself.It’s just lust, and you’re looking for love after being scorned.Maybe I just needed to get it out of my system, to let him fuck me and be done with it.

Because that was what I wanted. Not a sweet, gentle lovemaking. I wanted him hard and fast.

“All I know,” Rae said out of the blue, “is that you won’t know what the future holds until you try.” If only she knew that I’d been thinking about hot wild sex with him while she was referring to love. “Just don’t shut that door before you’ve given it a chance. You might be surprised.”

I nodded, tugging on the ear of a stuffed bunny. Rae was right. I had found something in Silver Ridge—something real, something worth fighting for. A life that felt worth it when I’d thought I would never have something like this again.

But the idea of opening myself up again, of trusting someone with my heart, still terrified me. And Mason… well, Mason was a whole different kind of risk.

“So, do you think we should get that scarf?” Rae asked, changing the topic back to the reason we came.

“Yeah, do you think she’ll like it?”

“She’ll love it,” Rae said with a smile, and I nodded.

We walked to get the scarf, and I paid for it, focusing on the little things.

That was much safer than the other things I was thinking about.

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