Rafe puffed out his chest. “You couldn’t miss my point any harder if you tried. And I haveneverbeen worse off than you, Fenn. Because I never believed for a second that what I had was all I deserved.”
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I know what I want, and I believe I can get it if I work hard enough. If Ifighthard enough. I know you boys think I’m a selfish asshole. Not without reason,” Rafe admitted. “And I know Whispering Key thinks I’m twelve donuts shy of a dozen. That doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Because I can see the future I’m dreaming of, Fenn. A future for everyone I love, so close I can taste it. And I’m not gonna let anything hold me back from getting it for them, even if it means I need to pull a few strings and bruise a few egos to get it.”
I set my teeth. “You don’t care if you have tomanipulatepeople, the way you manipulated Mason—”
Rafe snorted. “Mason’s gotten over it well enough and enjoyed his time here. A month from now, when he’s working at his next big job, he’ll look back on us fondly.”
“Please. He’s not—” I scowled. “What do you mean, a month from now?”
“I mean, when he finally accepts one of the job offers he’s gotten and leaves!” Rafe searched my face for something, then said sadly, “Oh, I see. You didn’t know. Well! Mason must’ve been offered half a dozen jobs by now. Minnesota, North Carolina, Arizona… He’s turned down a bunch already, probably for the wrong reasons. Not sure which one he’s gonna pick, but it’s only a matter of time, really. I’m sure he’ll do well wherever he ends up.” He sighed. “I’d love for him to stay, but it’s not fair to tie him someplace unless we can give him what he wants. What hedeserves.”He turned his shrewd gaze in my direction. “Can you give him what he deserves, Fenn?”
I breathed through my nose, nostrils flaring, while the bottom fell out of my stomach and my thoughts tangled together like fishing line.
You think you know what he deserves?
You think you know how I feel about him?
And winding through it all with a sound like the clanging of a cell door…a month from now.
“I need some air,” I said, pushing up from the chair and striding through the door. “I’m suddenly feeling seasick.”
* * *
When Rafe dockedtheMary Anna, I didn’t stick around to help him clean up. I blew off Beale and our plans to go shopping, too. Instead, I jumped in the Charger and headed directly to the motel, consumed by the need to see Masonimmediately.Honestly, it was a little pathetic, but there wasn’t a specific thought in my head beyond that.
I needed Mason Bloom. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
I ran up the concrete steps on the outside of the building two at a time. There’d been painters there that afternoon, freshening up the stucco and tidying the trim, and I could smell chlorine in the air from the pool and hot tub Rafe had paid to have fixed. I’d been trying to coax Mason into skinny-dipping in that hot tub, and now… I couldn’t find it in me to give a shit.
I strode down the balcony and banged his door with the side of my fist. “Mase?”
Nothing.
I banged louder. “Mason!”
Fuck.
He wasalwayshome by five.Always.
I ran a hand through my hair, too frantic to think straight. I pulled up on the knob and popped the door open with my hip…
It was a weird sort of déjà vu, stepping into Mason’s room and hearing the shower running, just like the first day we’d met. Except this time, instead of screaming, Mason was singing some song I’d never heard of. And instead of me trying real hardnotto picture Mason naked in the shower, now I knew exactly what he looked like, a sight that would be seared in my memory banks until I died.
I slipped off my sandals, taking a second to put them in their spot, and locked the door behind me. The sun still shone brightly outside, but when I closed the curtains, the room was shadowy and cool. I threw my wallet and keys on the little table by the window, then draped my shirt and shorts on top of them. When I was down to only my boxers, I turned toward the bathroom door…
And that was when I noticed the world’s tiniest bottle of lube and at least fourpackagesof condoms sitting on the nightstand.
Fuck.
I closed my eyes while I exhaled a shaky breath. In my haste, I’d forgotten the supplies, but Mason hadn’t. There were definite upsides to dating a planner.
The shower turned off while I was still standing there, and the next thing I knew, Mason was walking out with a towel around his waist.
“Holy…Fenn!” He clasped a hand to his naked chest, but the sides of his mouth turned up in a smile and he sounded more excited than outraged. “What are you—?”
I crossed the distance between us in two long strides. One more step had him back against the bathroom doorjamb with my chest pressed against his. His hands settled on my back above the line of my underwear.
