Page 44 of The Young & the Sinner

“Oh, you mean that unbelievably sexy man out there?” Sandy asked. Joe frowned at her, and she blushed a little. “Sorry. It’s just, I saw him out there asking for you, and I almost fainted when he looked at me.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. Mason was that and so much more. “Yeah.”

“Lucky, lucky girl. Obviously, incredible good looks run in that family. I have never met two brothers that beautiful.”

“Hey, let’s not talk about Olivia and hot men,” Joe said, his frown intensifying.

I almost choked on my own spit when I heard the words “hot men” coming out of Joe’s mouth. Thankfully, I controlled myself. Sandy wasn’t so lucky. I walked out the door with her laughter and Joe’s admonishment behind me.

I was still grinning when I met Mason at the front of the small store. “All good?” he asked, his hand splayed at the small of my back. I nearly hyperventilated from such an innocent touch.

“Y-yeah. All good.”

Outside, Chicago’s summer let itself be known with the high, humid temperature clinging to us like a second skin, despite it being close to ten o’clock at night. Mason stopped me from going any further when he turned to me. “Give me your phone, Livie.”

I handed it to him without question. “Why do you need it?”

“I’m going to put my phone number in it. Any time Max can’t pick you up from work, you call me, okay? I don’t like the idea of you taking the bus at this time of night.”

I rolled my eyes, though my heart was beating frantically in my chest at the prospect of having Mason’s number saved in my phone. “You sound just like Max.”

“Yeah, well, we’re both trying to look out for you.” He handed me back my phone, and I fought against the compulsion to hug it to my chest. “Come on. Let’s get you home. I know you’re tired from a long day at work.”

Just as we turned the corner of the parking lot to Mason’s car, I caught sight of a silver Mazda lurking nearby. Lorenzo.

He was here. What was he doing here, in the parking lot, not coming into the store to see me? Should I wave him over? But that would mean Mason had come all the way over here to pick me up for nothing. Because if I acknowledge Lorenzo, then he would likely be the one to drive me home. That was how it should be. But I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity of having Mason all to myself for the next twenty minutes.

I knew nothing could come of this, yet I wanted to spend time with him more than I did Lorenzo. And not for the first time, I wondered what the hell I was doing with Lorenzo in the first place, and if I was on my way to being just like my mom.

I pretended to not see the Mazda.

I was a terrible, terrible girlfriend.

* * *

We stoppedfor ice cream on the way and ate slowly in the parking lot of the Dairy Queen.

I was glad Mason agreed to my suggestion for a late-night dessert run, because I didn’t want our time to end so quickly, but I also didn’t want to seem so overly eager to hang out with him.

I ate my brownie and ice cream, savoring the taste and pretending that I wasn’t distracted as hell by the way Mason was eating his. Who knew watching someone eat something as simple as ice cream could be so… hot?

I squirmed in my seat as a foreign feeling in the depth of my belly took hold.

“How are you feeling?” Mason asked, turning to me. The streetlamp provided just enough light for me to make out his face, his white teeth gleaming in the darkness.

Mason had nice teeth. And he just asked me a question. How long as it been since he asked it? Crap.

I cleared my throat. “I’m doing good.”

“Do you still have any late-night visits?” And I knew he was asking if I still go to Max’s room at night.

I looked down at the ice cream bowl on my lap, feeling ashamed. I wished I could tell him that after my talk with him, I no longer felt the urge to check and make sure Max was still at home, but that wasn’t the case. But it wasn’t every night, so that was an improvement.

When I took too long to answer, Mason placed his nearly empty bowl on the dashboard before reaching for me. I held my breath, thinking he wanted to hug me, but all he did was tuck my hair behind my ear so that he could see my face. “Hey, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Look at me, Livie.”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes. Mason cupped my jaw and gently tilted my head up until I met his eyes. I didn’t realize I was crying until he frowned and wiped away the tears with his thumb. God, this was so embarrassing.

“We all have our own little ways to cope. Who am I to tell you what you’re doing is wrong?”

---