Kameron’s frown deepened. Before she could respond, a burst of laughter came from the firefighters’ table. I turned to see Conner shoving Mason’s shoulder, saying something I couldn’t quite make out.
Then I caught a fragment. “—last meal before you’re stuck staring at our ugly faces for five days. Justtalkto her, man.”
My heart stuttered. Talk to who?
“Watch,” another guy said—Briggs, I think. “He’s gonna choke. Again.”
“Shut up,” Mason muttered, his voice low but not low enough. His ears had gone red.
Oh. Oh, they were teasing him about a woman. Some woman he couldn’t work up the nerve to talk to. That tracked. Big, brooding guys like Mason probably had women throwing themselves at them constantly. He could afford to be picky.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t even get him to look at me.
I watched Kameron zoom past me toward the table as I pushed down the stupid pang of disappointment. It wasn’t like I’d expected anything. Mason had been coming in here for days, and he’d barely said two words to me. If he was interested in someone, it clearly wasn’t the server who kept refilling his sweet tea.
“One of you boys has a truck, right?”
Kameron’s voice cut through my thoughts. I whipped my head around to find her standing at the edge of the firefighters’ booth, hands on her hips.
Oh no. No no no.
“My server needs a ride up the mountain,” Kameron continued, oblivious to my internal panic. “Her car’s not going to make it in this weather. Anyone got four-wheel drive?”
Silence fell over the table. Every single firefighter turned and looked at Mason.
Conner’s grin spread slow and wide. “Mason’s got a truck. Four-wheel drive, big tires. He’d behappyto help. Right, Mason?”
Someone must have kicked him under the table. I saw his whole body jerk. Meanwhile, his face had gone from pink to full-on red. He still wasn’t looking at me—was staring at his plate like he could will himself to disappear. But then he nodded, once, sharp.
“Yeah.” His voice came out rough. He cleared his throat. “I can—I’ll take you. If you want.”
If Iwant?
I opened my mouth to protest—to say I’d figure something out, that I didn’t need a pity ride from a man who couldn’t even meet my eyes—but Kameron was already nodding.
“Perfect. Gabby, grab your coat.”
I stood frozen for a second, acutely aware of the smirks being exchanged around the table. They knew something I didn’t. Or maybe they were just entertained by Mason’s obvious discomfort.
Either way, I didn’t have much choice. The snow was coming down in sheets now, and my bald tires weren’t going to magically grow tread.
“Fine,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “Let me grab my stuff.”
I didn’t look at Mason as I walked to the back to get my coat. But I felt his eyes on me the whole way.
That was new.
Mason’s truck was massive. Like, comically large. The kind of truck that made you wonder if the owner was compensating for something—except I’d seen Mason, and he didn’t seem like the type who needed to compensate for anything.
He opened the passenger door for me, which was unexpected. Even more unexpected was the way he hovered, like he wanted to help me up but wasn’t sure if that would be weird.
It would have been weird. But also kind of sweet.
I hauled myself into the cab, which took more effort than I wanted to admit, and settled into the leather seat. It was warm—he must have started the truck remotely while I was getting my coat. Thoughtful.
Mason climbed in on the driver’s side, and suddenly the massive cab felt a lot smaller. He wasbig. Big enough that his shoulder nearly brushed mine even with the center console between us.
He put the truck in gear without a word.
