Page 53 of Please Save Me

I reached out and swept Mason’s hair behind her ear, which caused her nose to wrinkle. She swatted me away before grabbing onto my hand. My heart nearly exploded when she mumbled a barely coherentI love you.

I’d heard that phrase hundreds of times from Luce, Soph, and the kids but never from someone who knewme.

I’d downed an entire handle of whisky on an empty stomach last night. That meant I spent hours so drunk that black spots threatened to claimmy vision. Somehow, I remembered everything. Maybe it was because I was determined not to forget a minute of it, or perhaps it was because I stayed up waiting for my sober mind to replace my drunken one.

I just knew I didn’t want to forget a minute of Mason. Somehow, without her even using words, she made me feel safe. I didn’t tell her everything, just that I loved her, and I never meant to drag her into this mess. All she did was smile, and myGod,that smile. It was bright and sweet, and it told me more than she ever could.

Against all odds, she trusted me. She saw me. She wanted me forme. For the first time in over twenty years, someone knew who I was, and they weren’t scared. She didn’t push me away. Instead, she opened her arms to me.

My eyes started to burn, so I covered my face and let out a chest-clearing breath. I needed to get up lest I risk waking up the angel sleeping beside me. The bed squeaked as I stood, and Mason shifted closer to the devil she loved for some fucking reason.

He’d willingly told me everything Dale said yesterday. Unfortunately, it was nothing new. All he’d been told was that I was fat, stupid, past my prime, and being replaced. Even though it was nothing new, I took a little comfort in the fact that he’d been told the same thing. It helped make Dale’s claim of replacing me more valid.

But the fact that he was telling Sebastian, that didn’t sit right with me.

I bent down and pressed a kiss to Mason’s cheek before getting closer to Sebastian’s ear. Even in his sleep, he reeked of over-expensive, citrusy cologne. Who the fuck did he have to impress?

With my lips pressed to the side of his head, I whispered, “If you hurt her, I won’thesitateto kill you.”

And that was a promise. I wasn’t a violent man, but if anyone dared to touch a hair on Mason’s head, I wouldn’t hesitate to protect what wasmine.

Sebastian stirred but didn’t wake. Maybe that was for the best. I straightened my shoulders before heading into the hall. I remembered to duck under the door frame instead of smacking my head on it, which meant today was off to a good start.

When I rounded the corner, I was a little shocked to see Sophia awake and making coffee. Normally, she got me up to do that.

“G’mornin’,” I called.

Her sapphire gaze slowly shifted around the open space of our home. Normally, she greeted me with a smile and a kiss, but not today. Instead, she held eye contact with me for a beat before turning back to the coffee pot.

I stepped a little closer. Maybe she just didn’t hear me.

“Good morning, Sophia.” I kept my tone light despite the slight chill running down my spine.

She didn’t bother to look back at me. “Why didn’t you tell me you got fired?”

Her question stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Beg your pardon?” I hid my nerves under a laugh.

Sophia angrily slammed the top of the coffee pot and started the machine before whipping around to stare at me. She folded her arms under her breasts as she shot me a look that meant I was in trouble.

“Cameron Cole, you heard me.” She cocked her hip. “First your dad whom you have no contact with shows up, then Lucian has to be the one to tell me that your dad not only fired you but ridiculed you in front of the church.”

Suddenly I felt very hot around the collar despite lacking a shirt.

“We tell each othereverything.” She sounded exasperated as she stomped toward me. “Even the really gross stuff! Like when—”

I held a hand up to stop her. I loved that my relationship with Sophia was comfortable enough for her to share everything. Still, sometimes, everything was a little too much to listen to, especially when it wasn’t even seven a.m.

“But you get the point!” she continued. “You’remyperson, like Mason’s Lucian’s person. We are one hundred percentnosecrets ever.”

Her eyes bore into mine with the intensity of those annoying LED headlights, causing me to look away. It was one thing to tell Mason. Somehow, she pretty much figured it out on her own. Sophia, though… not only was she prone to overreacting, but I’d been lying to her for years.

“I get it, and I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

“Sorry for what? Use your words,” she challenged.

“For not tellin’ you…. I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

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