Page 65 of Forever Your Touch

“Here.”

Before he could say anything else, the parade of his family started. He was grateful. If she’d kept pushing, he might have blurted out the whole truth despite his resolve not to.

He planned on showing her how he felt before he confessed how much he loved her.

If this had a shot, Josephine needed to understand her own self-worth. She’d begun her journey today by deciding to leave Ray, but Mason wasn’t stupid enough to think that was all it was going to take. He planned on teaching her the value ofher.

And then he’d claim her.

Chapter Sixteen

September came and went. They were now nearing Halloween. It was only a few days away. As Jo suspected, the fight to stay in New York was a knock-down, drag-out one with her parents. Since she broke up with Ray, they saw no reason for her to remain here. To them, he was the only obstacle.

But that wasn’t quite true.

She actually loved New York. Yes, parts of it were dirty and smelly, but what big city wasn’t? It wasn’t only the city either. Mason and his family seemed to have taken her in as one of their own. She didn’t feel lonely anymore.

Leaving Ray had taken every ounce of strength she had, but Sara’s words made sense to her in a way her family’s never had. Sara had no ulterior motive, whereas her family had. It made her sit down and think about her life with Ray and how he treated her. It made her realize she deserved more than what he gave her, despite her having lost their child. She deserved as much as she gave to him.

She missed him. She’d been with Ray for years, and she missed his laugh, his smile. She even missed his bad habit of leaving his dirty underwear on the bathroom floor. He called every single day. Sometimes multiple times a day. She listened to the voicemails he left, heard the pain in his voice when he told her how sorry he was, how things would change if she just came home.

They were starting to worry her, though. His messages were taking on an almost desperate tone. She’d been debating calling him because she was concerned about him. His tone reminded her of those first few weeks after she’d lost the baby. She’d gone down a rabbit hole so deep, it had taken her the better part of a year to climb back out. He’d been there for her, so shouldn’t she at least return a phone call?

But then she remembered her promise to herself. She was going to put herself first for once. Ray was going to have to learn to deal with everything he had caused without her help.

Jo wanted to believe he was sorry and had changed, but actions spoke louder than words. He’d proven how important she was when she’d literally almost cut her leg off with the lawnmower. She wasn’t going to put herself back in a situation like that again. She deserved better than that.

Mason turned out to be the one constant in her life. He came by the sorority every morning to bring her coffee. Well, his morning, at least. Sometimes that was noon, sometimes it was nine-ish, depending on his class schedule. He was not a morning person. He’d bring her lunch and dinner every day. He got her through the worst of those first two weeks without Ray.

Keith stuck around for a few days after their parents left as well. Surprisingly, Keith had been her biggest advocate for staying in New York. He’d gone to bat for her and pissed her dad off royally. But between the two of them, they’d won the argument, reminding her why she loved her big brother.

He’d helped Mason pack her stuff at Ray’s. They never said anything about what they did when it came to Ray, but she suspected he hadn’t walked away from them without some bruises.

“Wake up, sleepy-head.” Mason bustled into her room. “Today is the day. You ready?”

Her leg had healed faster than expected, and her physical therapist said she’d be able to walk without a cane as long as she didn’t overdo it. She’d done it in the PT office, but today she was going to try to do it by herself. Mason told her last night he had a surprise planned, and she’d be running before the end of the day.

It made her curious about what he was up to.

“How cold is it outside?” Being from California, all this cold weather was new to her. She’d grown up about forty-five minutes outside L.A. Earthquakes she could handle, but the cold? Brrr…

“It’s good. Low fifties.”

“So, double shirts and a coat.”

He snickered until he realized she was serious. “It’s not that cold, Josephine.”

“Says the boy who grew up in Russia. You’re all about the cold. Me, not so much.”

“You’re in four seasons country now. You’ll either get used to it or freeze. I’ll take you shopping tomorrow, and you can get some warmer things. Gloves and some boots, specifically.”

She might have a pair or two of gloves boxed up in her storage unit. She was definitely going to have to check. “How’s Ava today?”

His face lit up like Christmas. “She’s getting stronger and stronger. Up to about four and a half pounds now. They say once she gets to be five pounds and her sleep apnea clears up, we can take her home. She smiled at me this morning while I read her daily story to her.”

That baby had fought hard. She’d survived several major surgeries to correct all the problems she’d had at birth. It was a miracle she was still with them.

“That’s awesome, Mason. And Sasha?”

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