Page 43 of I Heart Mason Cartwright
Willow
Zachand I arrive at the club for brunch a few minutes early. I’m surprised to see Mason is already there.
“Where’s AshLynn?” I ask. Before I do something stupid like tell him he’s beautiful. Or that he smells so good I want to bathe in his scent.
“She decided to ride with your parents,” Mason says.
Zach elbows me, none too gently.
“Do I sense trouble in paradise?” Zach asks.
“They’re fighting,” I whisper-yell.
“How would you know?” Zach asks.
“He had to sleep in a chair,” I say.
“Oh, that’s not good,” Zach says.
“I’m right here,” Mason says, then offers Zach his hand. “Mason Cartwright.”
“Yes, you are,” Zach says looking him up and down. Then shakes his hand. “Zachary Thornton, bestie with testies, queen extraordinaire.”
Mason chuckles. “What’s a bestie with testies?”
“You know, testies,” Zach says. “Testicles. Because we are men.” Zach lowers his voice on the last word and does a modified shoulder check on Mason.
I smile at Mason and touch his arm to get his attention. “Zach is my best friend. We used to have a third best friend, Marlie, but she died our senior year of high school. Brain aneurysm. One minute she was there, and . . . well, I miss her every day.”
Zach elbows me in the middle. “We,” he says.
I look at him, then realize what I said. “Sorry,wemiss her every day.”
“Thank you.” Zach nods for me to continue.
“Anyway, we were all best friends from grade school. Zach wanted his own special title. He’s such a queen. So, he became the bestie with testies for both of us. And, with Marlie gone, just for me. I don’t know what I’d do without him to be honest.”
Zach turns to me. “If we’re being honest, we both know it wouldn’t be pretty.” He turns to Mason. “She’s a wreck without me.” The he turns back to me. “He’s yummy.”
“Stop, you’ll make him uncomfortable,” I say, slapping him lightly on the arm.
Zach turns back to Mason. “When you’re ready for the meat instead of the muff, you let me know.” He winks, then turns to offer me his arm. “Shall we go inside?”
“We shall.”
The hostess seats us at a table large enough for ten people instead of just six. It will make my father and Cassandra happy. Bigger is always better.
Zach orders a round of mimosas. “Because we are celebrating,” he says without acknowledging what the occasion is.
My family arrives a short time later, unfortunatelybeforethe mimosas arrive. They take their time getting situated at the table.
My dad clears his throat to get our attention. “First of all, good morning. Zachary, I wasn’t expecting you, but it’s nice to see you.”
“And you, Mister Brooks. You look very well this morning.” Zach tries to hold my dad’s gaze, but Dad looks away. Zach turns to Cassandra. “Missus Brooks, may I say that both you and AshLynn look especially lovely today.”
Cassandra bats her eyelashes and AshLynn nods. Neither say anything in return nor thank him for the compliment.
“Well,” my dad begins, always one to wait until all eyes are on him to say anything. “I wasn’t sure it was going to happen so easily but, Mason, I have a job lined up for you in my firm. As a VP in the marketing department. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a few VPs, you wouldn’t be the only one. But it shouldn’t be too hard. Great pay, full benefits, hefty retirement, and lots of vacation time.”
