Page 71 of Xactly What She Needs

Gah, why does he have to say stuff like that?

He has literally been my crush longer than I will ever admit. Him and Rocco were in the same class, though they weren’t friends until they became adults. He was the older boy that I thought was the cutest guy in the whole world. And he turned into the man that I drool over and deep down inside I secretly hate every woman who has ever gotten his attention.

I know that I’m pretty, but Mason is still so far out of my league that he’s in the majors while I’m in double A. Add in the fact that I now have a kid and stretch marks that cocoa butter did not help and well...he might as well be in outer space.

His looks aren’t classically handsome. He’s more rough around the edges with sharp angles and a nose that has been broken more times than he can probably even remember. But darn if that rugged, sun kissed face doesn’t star in my dreams. Add in scruff that he keeps short, dirty, dirty blonde hair that lightens only a little in the summer and blueish/green piercing eyes...and yeah...he does it for me...BIG time.

I mentally shake myself. Calm down hormones. He isn’t for us. A single guy who’s in his prime doesn’t want a single mother who owns her own business and has no time.

I nod my head at him. “Yeah, you did. You always manage to do that.” I say to him with a small smile.

I look down at my khaki booties and twirl my foot around, suddenly shy.

“Did you walk over here from your shop?’ He questions.

My shop is actually my hair salon “Cut It Out”that I opened up four years ago. Besides Ella, owning my own salon is my biggest accomplishment.

I look up at the sound of his voice. “Yeah,” I sigh. “I got off the phone with Scott and well, sort of spaced out in a rage. Luckily, I had already closed for the day.”

“Where’s Ella?” He asks while flipping his gray Carhartt hat around on his head. I’m not surprised by his question he seems to care more about my daughter than the schmuck.

“She’s with my parents,” I answer.

I glance over my shoulder at my shop. The sign could use a little updating and the building, a fresh paint of coat, none of the less I’m proud of it. Turning back to Mason, I catch him staring at me. Clearing my throat to cover the heat I feel rising inside of me I continue, “I’m actually trying to figure out how to break it to her, yet again, that her father won’t be coming to pick her up for his weekend.”

Even though I try hard to keep the anger out of my voice, I can't.

I pull at the ends of my long black hair that I’ve recently added caramel highlights to as I pace the small space in front of him. “Ugh! It just pisses me off so much, ya know?” I look over at Mason who’s now staring at me with an indescribable look on his face. He nods before shoving his hands in the front of his jeans pulling my attention to the front of them. “I just don’t get how Scott doesn’t care about Ella at all. I’ve seen Marc and JJ take to their wives kids like they were their own. And Scott couldn’t care less about him own flesh and blood.”

I glance up hoping he didn’t catch me checking him out. The words resonate through me. I’ve asked myself a similar question more times than I could count.

Mason walks over to a large pile of wood and takes a seat. “Some guys are just selfish assholes, plain and simple.” He shrugs his massive shoulders. It’s a testament to how angry that I am, that I barely drool over that move.

Halting my steps, I look at him. Unconsciously my hand goes to my cocked hip. “Would you ever just ignore your own child and choose not to take them?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, I love being an uncle to those horrible little hellions, so I’m pretty sure that I’d be all over being a dad. But that’s just me. Kayla says that since I’m mentally a kid most days, that’s why I love being near them so much.”

I snort and end up in a full belly laugh when I think about how much of a big kid and bad influence he really is. My minds goes back to that one carnival incident and where he fed Kayla’s kids a bunch of junk. Actually, what really stands out, is the stories that I’ve heard about how they threw up all over Kayla’s house and how it smelled like puke for months.

He gives me a wary look. “You’re thinking about the puking incident...aren’t you?” He mutters petulantly.

I swipe at my eyes, barely able to get myself together. I can feel my mood from earlier begin to lighten. “I just don’t know what the heck you were thinking Mase. Even you can’t be that bad.”

“It wasn’t just me! Noah and Ben weren’t exactly innocent parties, but do they get in trouble? Nope, just me.” He grumbles likes a child.

He snaps his fingers and gets a wicked gleam in his eyes that signals that he probably just came up with another bad idea. “I’ve got an idea!”

I tilt my head. “Didn’t we just establish that you don’t come up with good ones?”

He rolls his eyes while standing up. “We’re fine. There’s no kids around.”

I take a look around and realize that we’re the only two people here. “Where is everyone else?”

The parking lot that is normally packed with Ford F150 trucks is empty except of Masons truck.

“I stayed late to finish up some work. Everyone else left about two hours ago.” He walks over to some weird looking gun thing. He waves a hand at me. “Come here Kel.”

“Why?” I narrow my eyes but still do as I’m told. I have a feeling that there isn’t much that I wouldn’t do if Mason were to ask me.

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