Page 17 of Raised On It

“Hmm. You are, are you?”

“Damn straight. I’m as faithful as they come. I may be loud, and like my dog, I may be a bit of an attention whore. I will never deny that I’m a flirt, but I have never cheated on anyone.”

“From what I hear, you’ve broken many hearts.”

“I can’t help it if women have more feelings for me than I havefor them, but it doesn’t mean I have ever promised more than I was willing to give.”

“And why is it you aren’t willing to give them more? Do you come from divorced parents, or was your heart broken when you were younger?”

Well, looky there. She’s trying to figure me out.

She is sure going to be disappointed.

“Nope, my parents have been married for thirty-eight years. They are the happiest, most in love couple I have ever seen. Don’t even get me started on my grandparents. It’s because of the four of them that I never promise more than I can give.”

The little crease between her eyebrows is a clear indication that she's trying to read into my answer. Dissecting me inside that pretty little head of hers.

“Mason, I know what it looks like to be with the one you were meant to be with. My parents are the perfect example of what we should all strive for in a relationship. I haven’t met my person yet. Have never been lucky enough to fall in love. I’m a patient man, but I can’t wait for her to finally show up.”

The sun shining through the window highlights the rosy glow spreading across her cheeks. Her mouth hangs open for a beat before she catches herself and closes it.

Clearly, she wasn’t expecting my answer.

“You’ve never been in love?”

“I can’t say that I have.”

But I have a feeling my luck may be changing.

“So that girl I saw all over you the other night knows you aren’t gonna put a ring on it?”

“Scheana was actually using me to get her ex’s attention.”

“I’m sorry. What?” She chokes on her Cherry Coke.

“Yep, she loves Adam in a big way, and he loves her right back. In fact, when I came back to the bar to talk to you, he stopped me at the door ready to fight for her. I made sure to let him knowwhat she was up to, and if he was smart, he’d go get his girl. They were back together by morning.”

“Wait, did you say you came back to the bar to talk to me?”

There’s no stopping the smug smile forming on my face because in my book, I just won this round. All that talk of true love between Scheana and Adam and all she heard was the part about me coming back to the bar to talk to her.

“You heard me right. I dropped Scheana off at home and was so desperate to get back to the bar before you left that I even agreed to be her date to a wedding in a few weeks, and I don’t take dates to weddings.”

“Gotta leave your options open?”

“Listen, you never know when a bridesmaid is gonna drink too much champagne and need a ride home. I’m a damn Boy Scout, I tell ya. Wait until you meet the girls in The Crew. They’ll set you straight.”

“The Crew?”

“That’s what my closest group of friends and I named ourselves back in middle school. There are seven of us, eight if you count Parker’s wife, Audrey, and we’re like a little family. If you want to know anything about me, the good, the bad, or the ugly, just talk to The Crew, and they’ll fill you in. We may not all live in Eastlyn anymore, but we’re still just as close.”

“That’s really cool.”

“It is. I’m a pretty lucky guy. So what’s your story?”

“I don’t really have one.”

“Sure, you do. You said you’ve known plenty of men like me, so there has to be a story there. Oh, and you’re wrong about that, by the way. You’ve never met anyone like me.”