Page 16 of I Need You Tonight
Cindy laughed as I turned to find Heidi staring at Mason as if she was either going to faint or start screaming like a fangirl.
“Yes, he’s Mason Dell,” Cindy said.
“Mason,” I said, “this is Heidi.”
The tattooed rocker held his hand out to her. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Heidi replied, shaking his hand. She threw me a questioning look.
“He’s Zack’s friend,” I said in an attempt to explain everything. “As you know, my phone died when I accidentally dropped it, and because I was so busy, it took several days before I could take it in to be fixed. Zack freaked out and figured something bad had happened to me. And the next thing I know, Mason was at my front door, making sure I was still alive.”
Heidi rolled her eyes. “When will your brother realize you’re a big girl?”
I snorted. “Never.”
“That sounds about right.”
“I think it’s great that he’s so protective,” Mason said. The slightly defensive edge to his tone made me wonder if I was missing something.
“I dropped by to pick up some paperwork I need to finish before Monday,” I told Heidi, ignoring Mason’s comment.
“It’s the weekend, Nicole. Do you even know what that means?”
“Sure. It’s the two days between Friday and Monday.”
“God, what am I going to do with you?”
“Says the woman who just came into the store today.”
“Because I have a big order for tomorrow and I need to get started on it.”
“You know I can help, right?”
The answering smirk said it all. Then she changed the subject. “So what happened with your big date last night?”
“Let’s just say there won’t be any more with him.”
“Why not?” She briefly glanced at Mason, as if he had crashed the date and caused Carl the accountant to run for the hills.
“We had nothing in common.”
“You knew this from one date?”
“And there was no chemistry between us,” I added. “Let’s just face it. You’re dating the only guy in Desert Springs who’s worth dating.”
She flashed me the same dreamy look she always wore when it came to her boyfriend, which I took to mean she agreed with me. “So what are you gonna do?”
“Become some crazy cat lady.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Can I become a crazy cat lady?” I asked Mason. Before he had a chance to respond, I said to Heidi, “See? He agrees. Crazy cat lady it is.”
Mason chuckled. Heidi didn’t.
“Is that why you two kissed?” Cindy asked from the counter. I hadn’t realized she was listening to our conversation.
“It was a joke,” I explained.
