She rolls her eyes before opening her mouth for me, and I groan at the sound of someone knocking on my door.
“Mason,” Coach’s voice rings through. “Are you still in your meeting? Any news on Jake?”
I press one last kiss to Violet’s lips, nipping hard on her bottom lip as a promise of what’s to come later, before opening my door and getting Coach up to speed.
thirty-four
. . .
Violet
“Okay, I think that’s everything.”I watch as Mason places my bags in the back of his car. Admittedly, I don’t need to bring two large duffle bags and a suitcase worth of clothing for a three-day trip home, but in my defense one of the bags was primarily filled with Christmas gifts. Mason shuts his trunk before walking over to the passenger seat and holding the door open for me.
“Was there enough room for your stuff?” I ask, sliding into the car.
“Yeah, I just strapped my bag to the roof.” He smiles before the closing my door, re-rounds the car, and hops in the driver seat.
“I like to think my tendency to overpack and overprepare are all partof my charm.”
“I’ve traveled with you before, so I knew what to expect.” He reaches over the console to rest his hand on my thigh.
“Fair enough.” I wait until we pull off on US-1 to address the elephant in the car. “So, how do you feel about seeing your dad tonight?”
His grip on my thigh tightens for a second, followed by his thumb drawing idle circles. “Honestly, I’m really nervous about it…I know how much our moms have put into making Christmas dinner perfect and I don’t want to ruin it by losing my cool.”
“You won’t ruin anything.” I place my hand over his, kissing the side of his arm. “Plus, I’ll be by your side the entire time, and I have no issues keeping him in line. Just like I do his son.”
That manages to bring a huge smile to his face. “Look who’s all tough now.”
“It’s the least I could do after all you did for me growing up.”
He shoots me a confused look before turning his attention back to the road.
“Oh c’mon. I think everyone we went to school with in Castle Harbor was convinced I had a secret Mason-Bat-Signal. You always managed to show up whenever someone was picking on me. Sometimes I was a little embarrassed thinking about how defenseless you thought I was.”
“Violet, let me make one thing clear. I have never once thought you were defenseless. I just liked defending you.” He brings my hand to his mouth and places a kiss on the back. “I probably did it an excessive amount back then because I didn’t know how else I could show you how much I loved you.”
“Oh.” I really had to find a better response every time Mason decided to drop a sweet and romantic confession out of nowhere. I knew he understood how difficult it was for me to talk about my feelings, even with those closest to me. He hadn’t pushed me to change that about myself since we’d gotten together, but that didn’t meanIdidn’t want to change that partof myself. No matter how hard it was. “Well, it really meant a lot to me. Still does.”
The rest of the drive is spent in comfortable silence, with the occasional sing-along to whatever Christmas song was playing on the radio. We’re lucky enough to avoid traffic and before I know it, I’m met with the familiar ‘Welcome to Castle Harbor, America’s First Seaport’ sign that stands next to a statue of a fisherman. This time of year, the fisherman is decked out in an array of Christmas lights.
“Glad to know some things never change.” Mason drives us down a series of winding roads toward the back shore, which gives a perfect view of the rocky coastline of our beaches. Even in the dead of winter nothing beats seeing the never-ending coastline and the array of rocks and hills that surrounded the harbor and overlooked the entirety of Cape Ann. The left of the road is lined with mansions so massive they are more like castles. Monroe and I pretended they were when we were kids.
“Did Monroe get in already?” I ask as Mason heads toward the street we both grew up on.
“Yeah, she took the train in last night and my mom picked her up from the stop. Have you told her about us yet?”
Shit. “It totally slipped my mind. How mad do you’ll think she’ll be?”
“About the fact that at minimum 90% percent of the town found out before she did? I’d say she’s gonna be pretty pissed.”
“Maybe she hasn’t even heard yet? You did say she just got in, right?”
“Monroe’s been in Castle Harbor for over twelve hours now. She probably knows more details about our relationship than we do. I bet Giana Silvera has already sent her a three-page report on how compatible our astrological signs are.”
“Oo I would like to get my hands on that report.”
Mason is parking in my mom’s driveway when the front door of the house flies open and Monroe comes rushing out.
