Page 57 of Mase
Hundreds of pink and blue rose petals cover the white marble stairs, and my heart flutters.
My eyes follow the path and come to a standstill when I see Mase waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs with a look of pure admiration on his face. Slowly, he trails his gaze up from the ballerina pumps I’m wearing, to my face, and his assessment of me sends a flurry of excitement rushing through my veins. He smirks as if knowing, and I roll my eyes and move down the stairs.
When I reach the bottom step, he holds out his hand, and I blink away the tears threatening to spill.
“This is beautiful.” I lift up on my tiptoes and press my lips against his.
“It’s our baby shower.” He grins proudly.
I pull back to stare into his eyes. Our baby shower? Can he be any more perfect?
“Come on, I have some more friends I want you to meet.” He tilts his head toward the garden, and I follow his line of sight and gasp at the unisex balloon arch that leads into the kitchen.
“You like, huh?”
“I love.” I smile back at him, and something flashes in his eyes, something that tells me he likes the sound of that. Though I don’t think he’s quite ready to hear it properly.
He guides me through the kitchen to outside, and the moment we step out, an array of congratulations are shouted from each and every direction.
Music begins to play, streamers and bubbles float through the air, and the small gathering of friends erupts into cheers of joy.
“Oh, wow. This is incredible.” I blink back the wetness pooling in my eyes, and Mase drops a kiss on top of my head and pulls me against his firm chest.
I laugh with glee as Eleanor rushes toward me with a half-eaten cupcake in her little hand to show me what she’s holding.
“I had to give her one. She wouldn’t shut the fuck up about the damn cake,” Reed grumbles, and points in the direction of a cake.
Butterflies flutter in my stomach at the sight of it. “It’s beautiful.” Even I hear the emotion in my voice. A white cake with a long, thick pink sash iced down one side trimmed in what appear to be diamanté, then the exact same is on the other side, only in blue to show the possibility of either sex. “Mase?” I turn to face him, and he beams down at me. A tear slips down my face.
“You like it, right?” He swipes the tear from my cheek, then cups my face in his hands. “I made sure it was dark chocolate.”
Those butterflies take flight at his words. He remembered I like dark chocolate.
Reed breaks the moment between us when he marches past us to grab champagne from the table set up on the patio. He tips the drink back, emptying the glass, then reaches for another.Oh, dear.
Gia strides toward him and taps his arm. “No, you don’t, fuckwit. You’re on child duty tonight.”
His mouth drops open. “I can’t drink?”
“Nope.”
“But you’re breastfeeding. It’s not like you can drink.” He gestures toward the kids now running wild, chasing after the bubbles and balloons.
Gia crosses her arms over her chest. “Welcome to my world. Unless you want to say bye-bye to my breast milk, you need to entertain the kids so I can have a night off.”
He leans closer to her, but we can still hear. “Gia, I don’t think you realize how much Eleanor makes me need the alcohol.” There’s an edge to his tone that tells me he’s unraveling.
He really is as antisocial as Mase explained.
She snorts. “Don’t blame an innocent little girl for your lack of control, Reed, and if you make that little girl cry again, you’re sleeping in the spare room.”
He rears back as if she hit him, then slaps his chest.
“I’ll be watching, and let’s not forget how much you enjoy these.” She glances down at her heavy chest, then sashays away from him toward the women.
My eyes widen, and Mase shifts from foot to foot.
“I guess he likes his milk, huh?” I smile.
