Page 66 of Mason Wilder
“I love you, too, babe.” He caught sight of the elegant table, set with expensive crystal and gold-rimmed china. She’d gone to so much trouble to make him a nice dinner and he wasn’t going to let her efforts go to waste. He wasn’t going to let Kendall ruin the beautiful meal Tessa had planned. “The table looks beautiful. Let’s just sit down and eat and forget about this mess.”
She smiled up at him with a watery gaze. “You’re thinking about dinner after everything that just happened?”
“I’m hungry.” He gave her his best smile, hoping to reassure her that he wasn’t upset and bring happiness back into her face.
A laugh bubbled from her lips and she hugged him again.
“We’re gonna go, Mase,” Angel said. “Call us if you need anything.”
Tessa wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry, Papi.”
“Sorry? For what, princess?”
“I thought that you and . . . never mind. I just am.”
“We’re all sorry, sweetheart.” Angel held Tessa with one arm and reached out and squeezed Mason’s shoulder with his other hand.
They all hugged him, one at a time, remorse heavy around them. Then Tessa’s parents left him and Tessa to deal with the aftermath.
While Tessa placed the steaks in the oven and finished up in the kitchen, Mason sat at the table. Their usual banter was missing, and it was quiet. “You sure you don’t need any help?” he asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“No. Just a few more minutes.”
Tessa made an extraordinary dinner, which she presented without the usual fanfare and rundown of special ingredients that always made them more delicious. He was trying to move past the situation with Kendall, but it was obvious that neither one of them could stop thinking about it. He couldn’t enjoy the perfectly seared steak, so tender it practically melted in his mouth, because his stomach was a ball of tight knots. Tessa’s bubbly personality and non-stop talking were obliterated by the horrendous scene that took place in the apartment. A somber aura covered her face, and she barely said anything. He made an effort to engage in conversation and lifted his eyes from his plate. “This filet mignon is delicious. You always cook it perfectly.”
She forced a smile, but it didn’t reach her cheeks. “Thank you.”
He kept replaying the scene with Kendall in his head. Each time remembering little details, like the way she kept smoothing her hair back when it was perfectly in place.
“Do you want some wine?”
“Huh?”
“Wine. I picked up a bottle earlier but forgot to put it on the table.”
“I’m fine with iced tea.” He couldn’t stop thinking about the horrific things Kendall had done to Tessa’s parents, specifically Jessi. Tessa tried to warn him, and he hadn’t believed her. This sweetheart sitting across from him was filled with nothing but kindness, intuition, and generosity, and he had thought she was blowing things out of proportion. Reading into things that weren’t there. How could he have doubted her? He’d never make that mistake again.
He rubbed his forehead, tired of reliving the drama that happened since Kendall had arrived. He sighed and resigned to leave everything in the past. He vowed never to think ofKendall again. He was moving forward with his life.
He ate the last bacon wrapped plantain and smiled at the girl he loved. She had been part of his world since the day she was born, and he didn’t know what the hell he’d do without her. Taking her hand, he gazed at her with all the love in his heart. “Marry me. You’re the most special person I’ve ever known. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you.”
The small smile she wore fell off her face in an instant, and she stared at him with wide eyes. “What did you just say?”
Before he had a chance to answer, she pulled her hand away, jumped up from her chair and into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sniffled in his ear. He didn’t know what to make of her reaction, so he waited. When she pulled back to look at him, tears streamed down her cheeks and her mouth bowed downward.
His heart sank to the floor. “What’s wrong?”
She covered her face with her hands as soft sobs shook her shoulders.
He pulled her hands away, revealing her tear-stained face and pained expression. He expected a wide smile and for her to roll with laughter and jump up and down, not the torment that masked her face. His heart broke as he watched her stare at him and cry. “Does that mean your answer is no?”
She covered her mouth and shook her head, while her watery eyes stared at him.
“Does that mean, no, that’s not your answer, or no, you won’t marry me?”
Her lower lip trembled, and she swallowed a big gulp of air before she could speak. “I thought you were going to break up with me. I thought you blamed me and my family for everything that happened with Kendall. I thought you didn’t love me anymore.”
Relieved, a smile spread across his cheeks and his rapid heartbeat began to settle. “Are you crazy? I don’t blame you for any of it. I love you more than ever. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you.”
