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“Let’s not get tangled up in details,” I interrupted him once again. Apparently, I’d lost all my manners for conversation, but I was eager to get back to the topic at hand, not rehash the past. “What does that project have to do with the promotion?”

Mason laughed. “Well, the success of that project was a big factor in me getting the promotion.”

“No shit?” I couldn’t help but laugh. Who would’ve ever thought the series of events that seemed so awful the night they happened would play out into something good?

“No shit,” Mason echoed.

“So, what does this promotion mean?” I asked.

“Well…” Mason paused, which only increased my curiosity. “It comes with a new job title and a pay increase…but also with another benefit that means more to me than either of those.”

“You realize you’re absolutely killing me with all the suspense, don’t you?”

Mason laughed. “Should I tell you now or save it as a surprise for when I fly in to see you this weekend?”

“Seriously?” I flopped back down on my pillows and let out a loud sigh, which only made Mason laugh even more.

“Fine…the new position has a really flexible work schedule.” I could hear the excitement in Mason’s voice. “Which means it’ll be much easier for me to come see you during the school year, and when you visit me during the summer, I can work my schedule to give us more time together.”

“Are you serious?” My mouth was hanging open in disbelief. After our initial in-person meeting, we’d planned for Mason to fly out for a visit before things got crazy for me with the end of the semester and finals. After finals and the end of the school year, I was going to fly to the West Coast to spend a big part of my summer with him. We’d figured while he was working, I could explore the city and surrounding area to get a jump start on my Senior Photography Project and maybe even get an early start on the portfolio I would submit for the following year’s Spring Art Show. The craziness of my first Spring Art Show hadn’t dissuaded me from applying for the following year.

We’d also decided that before the end of the summer, and when I had my class schedule for the following semester, we’d figure out the next stages of our visitation plan. We agreed it helped tremendously to have actual dates on the calendar to see each other again. We still, of course, kept up our usual texting and phone calls but we’d also added in some FaceTime, which—well, who knew that could be so incredibly hot?

“I’m totally serious.” Mason brought me back into the conversation. “Everything’s coming together for us to make it work.”

“Mason, I love you,” I blurted out.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt my body tense up and freeze. Those were big words and I hadn’t meant to just throw them out there like that. Although they were true, and the feeling was definitely there, I’d wanted to save them for the perfect moment, which was not over the phone while I was in my pajamas and Mason was at work.

The silence on the other end of the phone was almost too much to bear. I started to panic. I shouldn’t have said it. It was way too soon. Maybe he didn’t feel the same? Shit. Why did I do that? I took a deep breath. “Mason,” I started.

“Anna, I love you too,” he said in the sweetest voice.

“You do?” I was blown away by the sound of those words coming from his mouth. They sounded incredible.

Mason chuckled. “Anna, I’m pretty sure I was in love with you before I even met you in person. I just keep falling deeper and deeper.”

The smile on my face was bigger than any smile I’d ever worn before. “So it was the text messages that really did it for you, huh?” I teased.

“The messages, combined with the kitty and puppy memes. Once you find a girl that can do both, you’d better lock her down,” Mason joked back.

When our laughter finally died down, I let out a happy, contented sigh. “I really do love you, Mason, and I can’t wait to see you in”—I pulled my phone away from my ear to look at the time—“thirty-one hours and forty-seven minutes.”

“I love you too, Anna, and I can’t wait to be holding you in my arms in thirty-one hours and forty-eight minutes.”

I laughed again. “It’s only going to take you one minute to get off the plane after it lands?”

“Nothing’s going to stop me from spending every second I can with you, Anna,” Mason said with so much conviction in his voice, I had no doubt it was true.

Chapter 26

One Year Later

THE HEELS OF MY boots clacked on the worn linoleum floor as I paced back and forth. I glanced at the time on my phone as I chewed on my nonexistent thumbnail. I was a giant ball of excitement and nerves…excited to see him but nervous about what was happening later that day. We’d been making plans for the evening ever since I’d found out I’d been accepted, and it seemed crazy it had finally arrived. It was even crazier to think we’d been together as a couple for the past year—of course that was a good kind of crazy.

I checked the incoming flight board again and saw his flight was still on time and scheduled to land any minute. I couldn’t help the slow smile that crept over my face. It would only be a few minutes longer until I could feel his strong arms wrapped around me. Damn, I’d missed him. It’d only been a few weeks since we were last together, but when we were apart, time always felt ten times longer than it actually was.

Over the past year, Mason and I had become experts at making a long-distance relationship work. The flexibility in his work schedule that came with his promotion had helped tremendously for planning visits. After a few months in the new position, Mason found he could also sometimes telecommute depending on which project he was working on. When telecommuting was possible, he would come stay with me on the East Coast and work from my apartment while I was in class and studying.

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