Page 87 of The Young & the Sinner

Olivia

After dinner,I watched Max watch Lizzie as she made her way to the front door to go home.

I don’t think he was aware of what he was doing, and I didn’t know what that look on his face meant, only that I had never seen him look at her like that.

When she closed the door softly behind her, I quickly moved away. I didn’t want Max to see me. I didn’t think he would want me to intrude on his moment, so I walked back to the kitchen, where Mason was cleaning up.

“Can I help?” I asked, standing next to him by the sink. I could see our reflection in the garden window just in front of us.

He handed me a soapy sponge. “How about you sponge the plate while I rinse?”

I nodded. I wet a plate in the water-filled sink, sponged it with soap and handed it to Mason, while he rinsed it off. We didn’t say anything while we did the dishes, but I did catch Mason’s eyes on me in the window’s reflection several times.

When I handed him the last of the plates, our fingers touched, and I swore I felt a zing of electricity all the way to my heart.

I sucked in a sharp breath and Mason avoided my gaze. I knew I wasn’t the only who felt it. Mason was attracted to me.

When our eyes met in the reflection once more, I was smiling. He quickly looked away, shut off the water and took three steps back.

“You should get ready for bed, Livie. You have school tomorrow, don’t you?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have a bedtime, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

His lips twitched. “I was sure Max told me you went to bed every night at ten. Isn’t that a bedtime?”

I looked away, my cheeks burning a little. Yes, I did go to bed at ten every night, but that wasn’t an “official” bedtime. I just liked my sleep. I looked at the clock on the microwave. It was only eight.

“It’s still early.” I didn’t want to leave Mason just yet. I wanted to be here with him for as long as possible. But I forgot we weren’t in this house alone, and Max walked in moments later with some documents in his hands.

“Hey, do you have a second? I want to get your opinion on something, legally speaking.”

Max looked expectantly at Mason, and I almost deflated on spot. So much for wanting Mason to myself tonight. When neither of us answered, Max frowned. “Oh, am I interrupting something?”

The question was innocent enough, but I didn’t know if Max thought something was going on between Mason and me.

Mason, for his part, didn’t even look bothered by the question. He shook his head and smiled. “No, we were just talking about bedtimes.”

I sent him a glare and he smiled at me, and yes, I could feel my anger dissipating. It was hard to be mad at Mason when he smiled like that.

Max grinned. “Oh, didn’t I tell you Olivia likes to go to bed early? She’s such an early riser.”

“I guess I’ll go get ready for bed. Night, Mason.”

“Goodnight, Livie.”

I walked over to Max and he place a chaste kiss on my forehead. “Night, Max.”

“Night, kiddo.” And I walked upstairs without another word. Disappointed didn’t even begin to cover how I felt.

* * *

A week passed,and we had gotten into a routine. In the morning, I would go to school and Mason and Max would leave for work. I was usually the first one home on the days I didn’t have work, and then Max would be home, and even more surprising, Mason would come home soon after that. I had dinner with all both of them for almost the entire week.

By Sunday, I could almost stop my heart from beating so erratically from the sight of Mason. Then he would do something like walk in a room with one of those fitted shirts of his, and all the self-control I had would evaporate within seconds.

Max, I hoped, was still oblivious to how I reacted every time Mason was near, and I could almost pretend things were going fine and I wasn’t dying to touch Mason.

I didn’t know how impatient I was until I was forced to not act on my desires where Mason was concerned. It was only a matter of time before I exploded.

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