I poke my tongue out and turn toward Mason. Rather than driving by, he pulls over behind us and lowers his bag to the ground, slowly dismounting off the bike. Even in his ridiculously corny Santa jacket, I’m still goddamn taken by him. Especially when he disarms me with that genuine smile of his.
Not that he realizes its power. He’d use it more often if he did.
“Jenna. Kai.” Mason nods as he lifts himself into the truck bed, his smile softening when he sees all the toys. “Jesus. This is more than last year.”
“Is it?”
“It is. I wonder if it’s because of the stunning beauty manning the truck.”
“Thank you, Mase.” Kai pops his head between us. “That’s nice of you to say.”
Mason rolls his eyes, but they remain firmly locked on mine. “Are you having fun?”
“I am. Thank you for letting me come today.” A jolt of warmth runs through me as my chest expands. I don’t think I realized how much it meant to me until this very moment, staring into Mason’s crystal-blue eyes.
Of course, he waves me off. “My pleasure. It was nothing.”
“It was something to me,” I admit, ignoring the tightness in my chest. “I’d lost sight of what Christmas was truly about. And you knew that, didn’t you?”
He shrugs, once again playing it down. “I had an idea. I’m here if you want to talk about it. I mean, I’m sure you’ve already shared it with Jack, but—”
“You’re an idiot, you know that?”
“The fuck?”
“You don’t have to make everything about him. Not everything is.”
An anguished expression flashes across his face, but he schools his features faster than I can question it. “You’re right. I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
“I don’t. Not really. However, since you went out of your way to cheer me up, I guess I can throw you a bone.”
“How very kind of you.” Mason chortles, suppressing a full laugh.
“Shut up.” I hide a smile behind my hand. “It’s not a funny story.” My eyes flash to Kai, but he’s on the phone, distracted. He moves toward the edge of the truck, taking a bag from a beautiful older lady, admiring her tattoos as he jumps down to the street.
“That was well timed.” Mason nods Kai’s way and I smile conspiratorially.
“You’d think he’d planned it. To give us some alone time.”
“Why would he do that?” Mason frowns and I can’t help but laugh.
“I don’t know. I’m not the one that got drunk and divulged all my secrets.”
“Motherfucker.” He cringes, his expression plagued with concern. “I was worried about that.”
“What do you think you said?”
“I have ideas.”
“Oh, yeah?” My eyes widen and I don’t bother hiding my intrigue.
“Uh-uh.” He bops my nose. “I believe we were talking about you.”
That’s right.Dammit. I blow out a breath, my nose scrunching. An outward representation of the knot forming in my stomach. “I don’t hate Christmas. As you somehow guessed, I used to love it. It’s just I haven’t exactly had a lot to celebrate lately. If I was home this year, I’d have my friends, but…ah…my mom’s an only child, and my grandparents passed away a few years back. My dad’s family…well, they disowned him when he married my mom. I could have reached out to them after he died, but I’m kind of pissed off on his behalf. What the hell does it matter who your kid marries? Isn’t it supposed to be about love?”
My voice rises and I pause, my eyes wide as I laugh softly. “Sorry about that. It’s just…” I trail off when what I really want to say is“you’re really easy to talk to.”It’s the way he looks at me, his soulful eyes boring into mine. The subtle nods in acknowledgment. The understanding. He listens with his entire body, and no one has ever done that for me besides Hayley and Blair.
“Anyway…” I lightly giggle, somewhat shyly when I amnota shy person. “My mom’s always been a little…preoccupied with her own life. Even when Dad was around, she was always in her head. Though, at least I had him back then. Now, it’s left to chance… Will she or won’t she be around this year?”
