Page 22 of Sensual Nights

She sent back a laughing face emoji. He finished his coffee, took his cup to the kitchen, and washed it. Putting it in the cupboard where Carley had placed it.

He turned to see the stack of empty boxes in his living room and opened the drawers in the kitchen to see where Carley had put the junk drawer. He had a box cutter in there somewhere. Locating it in the third drawer he opened, he set about cutting up the boxes and made a neat stack of cardboard on the floor. On his way out, he'd dump the stack into the recycle bin.

His phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket without looking at it and grinned.

"Good morning, sexy."

A male voice responded. "Okay, good morning. It's Jace."

He could feel his ears burn.

"Sorry, Jace. I thought you were someone else."

"Clearly. I've been called sexy by my wife but never by one of my employees, so I'm not sure how to take that."

Mason nervously laughed. "Sorry, I really did think you were someone else. I should have looked at my phone before I answered."

"Okay, well anyway, Kaysen can't make it in today, and we have a big truck delivery. I'm not going to be able to relieve you for lunch since I'll be in the storeroom. I just want to give you a heads-up. Might be a busy day today since we're running short-staffed."

Mason nodded. "It's okay, I can even come in early if you need me. I'm just kind of rattling around here anyway. I'm just cutting up boxes. I can come in and unload the truck and maybe leave a bit early tonight."

"That sounds great. I didn't want to ask, but I sure appreciate it. Thanks, Mason."

"You're welcome, Jace. I'll see you in a little bit." He hung up the phone, shook his head, and laughed at himself. He made plans for tonight and that was a first in such a long, long time. It actually felt good to be able to laugh at himself. He hopped in the shower and got ready for work.

15

Carley grinned at her phone and her texts from Mason. Then she tapped her sister's picture and put the call on speaker. The phone rang twice before Margo answered, "Morning, what's going on with you today?"

"I'm wondering if you have some time to talk with me this morning. It's nothing important or urgent. I mean, it's important to me, not urgent. Does that make sense?"

Margo chuckled. "Sure. Do you want me to come over by you or do you want to come over here to the Governor's Mansion? Jace had to go to work early today."

Carley laughed. "I still can't believe you live in the Governor's Mansion. That is so ridiculous."

Margo laughed. "I know. I can't believe it either. I'm still a little pissed that Jace bought it without hiring a real estate agent and that I missed out on the sale. But I love living here, so I'll forgive him."

Carley laughed. "Well, you just remember if you two ever sell it, I'm the realtor that you call. I get the sale."

"You got it, sis. Why don't you come on over? How long before you can be here?"

"I was just about ready to go to the office now, so how about if I pop over in about 15 minutes?"

"Sounds great. I'll have coffee here for you."

"Thanks. See you in a bit."

Carley hung up the phone, grabbed her purse and laptop, then headed out to her car. That's when she remembered Jace wanted the note and the medallion. She ran back inside to get them. She'd left them on the counter in a bowl.

She grabbed the note and the medallion and ran back out to her car, laying them on the seat. She spotted Hanna's delivery van headed toward the bakery as she neared town and thought cinnamon rolls would go perfectly with her conversation this morning. She followed the van to Hanna's bakery. She hadn't seen Hanna in a while, and she was feeling great this morning. It was a perfect day to reconnect. As she stepped through the door, she received a big smile from Hanna.

"Good mornin! How are you today?" Hanna greeted her.

"I'm great. How are you?"

"We're good. Really good." Hanna smiled and her face lit right up. It was nice to see her friends happy. She wanted that. Happiness…it seemed to evade her in her life, but she was feeling hopeful now.

"That's wonderful. We haven't caught up in a while."

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