To lean on.To comfort her.To be there for her.Even though it felt really hard and scary to ask that.
“Of course, cupcake.”Sympathy filled his expression, but also pleasure that she’d asked him to be with her.As though he knew how difficult it had been for her to ask.
Giving everyone a wave and Ashley the middle finger, which made her cackle, Audrey headed to the back with Mason.Alexis was still back there, icing some cupcakes while sending nervous little glances at the two muscular men who were hanging back there with her.Aiden and Zeus had made themselves scarce after giving their statements to the police, both trying to avoid the camera phones that had been pointed in their direction.
“Everything good?”Aiden asked.
“As good as it can be,” Mason answered, his arm securely around Audrey’s shoulders.“You guys can go if you want.I’m going to stay here ‘til closing.”
Before she could protest, he was already steering her into the office and closing the door behind them.
“You don’t have to stay.I’ll be fine.”
“I know I don’t have to.”
He didn’t bother saying anything more, just went to one of the chairs, taking her with him, and pulling her onto his lap.Audrey pressed her lips together.She shouldn’t feel like smiling, considering the situation and what she was here to do, but Mason made her want to smile, anyway.
No, he didn’t have to be here, but he was.
And she was so grateful for it.
Leaning against him, she dialed her mother’s number.She felt like she should be bracing herself for the conversation, like she always did, but for some reason, the need wasn’t there.She felt too empty, too depleted, to care what her mother might say, what she might think.
Maybe tomorrow, or when she had more energy, she’d care more, but right now she felt nothing but relief at the idea of getting this over with.
“Hello, Audrey.To what do I owe the pleasure of you actually taking the time to call me?”
Audrey closed her eyes, her stomach doing a tiny flip.Maybe she wasn’t quite as disconnected as she’d thought, but at the same time, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been either.
“Mother.I’m calling to tell you that I know you hired a PI to harass me.I know you sent him to threaten me with a gun so Cash could save me.”Audrey kept going, her voice quiet but steady, as her mother tried to interrupt her.“I want you to know that I am not coming back to Philadelphia, I will not be taking your calls in the future, and I will contact you when I am ready to talk.”
“How dare you!”
“Goodbye, Mother.”
Before Audrey could hang up, she heard the click on the other side of the phone.Her mother had hung up first.
Shaking her head, Audrey let her own phone drop into her lap and leaned into Mason.She turned her head into his shoulder and let him hug her.The tears weren’t coming, but she knew she would probably cry about it again.Eventually.
Right now, she just focused on the comfort of his arms around her and the warmth of his body against hers.
It felt like home.
Mason
“I’m going to fucking kill them.”
“Get in line,” Mason advised David, though when it came down to it, David probably had the better claim.
Growling, David swung the axe he was holding, the wood splitting with a crack, pieces flying in two directions.They were in Brenda’s backyard, and after telling David and Brenda about everything that had gone down today, Mason had dragged David out back to cut firewood to help him vent some steam without putting that emotion on Audrey.She seemed pretty even-keeled at the moment, but he didn’t want her having to deal with calming her brother down, and David had been about to pop.Brenda, on the other hand, had gone straight into caretaking mode.
So, he let Brenda soothe Audrey, and he got to deal with David.
Mason put another piece of wood in front of his girlfriend’s brother.
“I can’t fucking believe them.”
Chop.Crack.
