Page 30 of Please Save Me

Mason and Lucian were getting married. Well, not yet. He still had to ask, but I didn’t think she’d say no. I’d heard the two talking, and Mason wanted to be married likeyesterdayif possible. And Lucian, he was just head-over-heels in love with Mason.

That should have made me happy. I loved both of ’em, and they were good together. In the three years I had known Lucian, he’d never smiled like he does around Mason. Plus, if they just headed to the courthouse and got married before Rosie was here like Mason wanted to do, my daughter would legally be Lucian’s. Rosie would have nothing tying her to me, and that was another layer of security.

But when Soph told me about Lucian’s plans, that fact didn’t make me happy. Actually, it caused a weird pang of jealousy to course through my veins. I tried to work through the feeling quietly. But, the second Mason and Lucian came down to join us, I had to excuse myself to my room.

The worst part was the fact that I wasn’t even surewhyI was jealous. I had decided years ago that marriage would never be for me. Dale had made me the type of person no one should be tied to—plus, it wasn’t like Mason and Lucianwould be monogamous after they got married. I’d still get to love both of them and enjoy how it felt to revel in their happiness.

To top it all off, I was too damn old to feel like this.

That’s why I turned off my lights and buried myself in my covers. Hopefully, it was just my lack of sleep getting to me. But when I closed my eyes, sleep didn’t come. Instead, I just lay in darkness, listening to the movie play from down the hall. Just as I was about to get up and rejoin them, the movie stopped.

I heard a quiet conversation between Lucian and Sophia, but it was impossible to tell what they were actually saying. A few moments later, I was greeted by a buzz on my pillow. My phone’s screen felt brighter than the sun as it cast a white glow on my ceiling. I squinted as I grabbed the device. On my lock screen, I had a text from Lucian.

Mason fell asleep during the movie. I’m afraid I’ll fucking drop her. If you’re still up, bring her to bed.

I’d never been one to compare myself to others. But, for the first time, I felt a little angry at Lucian. He wanted to marry Mason, but he wasn’t even enough of a man to carry her to bed? Her pregnancy was making her miserable, and while Lucian was eager to call himself a dad of three, he wasn’twillingto do the heavy lifting.

I took a deep breath to clear my frustration. It wasn’t healthy to let a feeling like that fester. Plus, I was worried about her rolling over and falling off the couch. She’d had enough emergency room visits for the week. I unraveled myself from my quilt cocoon before planting my feet on the wooden floor. The old boards cried under my weight as if begging me to just stay in bed.

Once I was standing, I interlocked my fingers above my head and stretched, my palms pressed against the ceiling. I let out a chest-clearing yawn before starting forward. In my less-than-alert state, I forgot to duck as I left the room, leaving me to smack my head on the frame.

I rubbed the goose egg on my forehead and cursed under my breath. The pain jolted me fully awake, and with a grunt, I dipped out of my room and trudged down the hallway. The light from the TV flickered against the walls, revealingan almost empty living room. I figured that Lucian and Sophia would have gone up to bed, but I didn’t expect to see someone with Mason.

Sebastian’s lean figure cast a shadow on the wall as he bent down to pick Mason up. Unfortunately for him, that was too close for my comfort.

“You get on up to bed. I got Mason.” My voice stayed low despite how much I wanted to scream at Seb to go away.

He shot up as if my sudden appearance startled him, but after a beat of weariness, his normal cockiness returned.

“I’m sure you do.” He smirked.

Still, he didn’t listen. Sebastian knelt in front of Mason like he was trying to figure out the best way to pick her up. My anger got the best of me as I stormed forward and yanked him back by the shoulder.

Sebastian stumbled back onto his ass before looking at me. His eyes were wide with surprise for just a moment before narrowing in annoyance.

“What the fuck is your problem?” He hissed, rubbing the red spot my grip had left on his shoulder.

“You’re my problem.” I grumbled. “I told you I had her.”

Sebastian bristled, his jaw tightening as he sized me up. “And I toldyoushe was already taken care of.”

My nails dug into my palms as I fought to keep my temper in check. Usually, this wasn’t a problem for me. But, normally, I didn’t deal with creepy detectives touching the mother of my child.

“I know all about how you lied to Mason at the hospital.” I managed through gritted teeth. “You ain’t getting alone time with her, not until you know how to act right.”

He scoffed as he rubbed the square of his jaw. “Someone’s not secure in their relationship, are they?”

I bit my lip as I weighed the pros and cons of slamming my fist into Sebastian’s pretty face. He was just one of those people whoneededto be hit.

“Let me ask you something.” Sebastian’s tone was light, but his smile was wicked. “Do you really think she’ll love you when she realizes who you are,Calvin?”

Sebastian saying my name hit like a punch to the gut, leaving me winded and unsure of what to do next.

“Don’t call me that around her,” I warned with a whisper.

As much as I wanted to be honest with Mason, I didn’t want her to know who I was, not yet. Seb said she needed to avoid stress, and finding out your partner wasn’t who they said they were wasn’t an easy pill to swallow.

“Oh, so I can’t use your name, but you can tell her you’re from Kingsbury? She’s not stupid.” He laughed. “Do you know how hard it was to cover your ass earlier?”

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