Page 39 of Forever Your Touch

“Do all guys think alike?”

He winked. “I’m not giving away secrets. I’ll get thrown out of the club.”

“What club?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Such a dork.”

He gasped and put his hand over his heart. “Why, Josephine. I’m hurt. I’m a charmer, not a dork.”

“You keep telling yourself that.” Had no one ever called him on his bullshit before? He was funny, but at the same time, he had a huge ego.

He picked up his soda and took a long drink, eyeballing her. “Continue your story while I nurse my hurt feelings.”

Jo rolled her eyes. He was such a cute egomaniac. It was hard to ever get mad at him, let alonestaymad at him. She truly did feel sorry for the girls who fell for him.

“He introduced himself, and he asked me what game I was playing, and we got to talking from there. We almost missed the first bell warning us lunch was over. He met me at my locker at the end of the day and asked if I wanted to go out Saturday night. He knew I had a game on Friday.”

“He knew your schedule, which means he did his research. Another good move on his part.” Mason nodded and tipped his cup to the empty seat as if Ray were sitting there.

“We went out. Just a movie and a quick bite to eat at Logan’s Steakhouse.”

“Did he make you pay half on that first date?”

“No, it wasn’t until we’d been going out for a while thatwedecided to split the bill. It wasn’t fair that Ray had to pay for everything. He worked part time at a grocery store. He wasn’t made of money, Mason.”

He grunted but didn’t say anything. She suspected he disagreed strongly.

“Ray was sweet, and he made me laugh. I fell hard for him.”

“Why does your family have issues with him?”

This was where she became cautious. She didn’t want Mason to dislike him any more than he already did, and if she were completely open about her family’s feelings, he might end up on their side of the situation.

“I think it’s more that no one is good enough for their little girl.”

“Bullshit.” He set his cup down and leaned forward. “It’s more than that, or Keith wouldn’t have called me in the middle of the night to beg me to be your FIBB.”

“I don’t want their feelings to taint yours toward him, Mason. I want us all to be friends.”

“I make my own judgements based on my experiences with people. I don’t fall in line with the crowd. Keith’ll tell you that.”

God, she hoped that was true. She couldn’t stand fighting about Ray with even one more person, especially Mason. He was fast becoming her best friend.

“They didn’t like him from day one. Dad said he was too smoozy. Mom got a ‘vibe’ off him she didn’t like. My sister Claire, the only one home at that point, told me he was cute enough, but she didn’t trust him. When I asked her why, she couldn’t explain it. It was just a feeling. And Keith? He hated him from day one. Said he didn’t treat me right.”

“Why would he say that?” Mason fiddled with the lid of the pizza box and sat back. Jo could only guess what was going through his head. And none of it good.

“He didn’t think Ray put me first. He especially got irritated whenever Ray would come over and then rush us out. He wasn’t one to stay for family dinners and things. Keith said it was disrespectful to leave when all they were trying to do was get to know him. I can understand that, I guess, but that doesn’t qualify as him not treating me right. More him not respecting my family…”

Mason quirked a brow when she said that, and she slammed her mouth shut. Well, hell. No wonder her family didn’t like him. Why should they bother if he didn’t even put in an effort with them?

She’d never thought of it like that before. Not until the words tumbled out had she even realized they were true. It was a little disheartening.

“Okay, he was shitty to them. I get it.” Jo shook her head. How had she not seen this before?Because you had no one to compare him to, her inner voice whispered.

“Ray the first guy you ever loved?” Mason’s voice was quiet, but not judgmental. She appreciated that more than she’d ever be able to tell him.

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