He was building things up in his head; that was the problem.Talking to Asad had only helped so much, and now, he was putting all sorts of pressure on himself that didn’t need to be there.
As he approached, the door opened, and Brenda came out on the arm of Mick.Cassidy followed them with a vaguely disturbed expression.Spotting him immediately, Brenda’s face lit up.
“Mason!”She stepped forward, letting go of Mick to open her arms wide.“I’m sorry you and Yasmine didn’t work out.”
“Thanks, Brenda.”He bent down to hug her gently.“I’m fine, but I appreciate that.How is the grand opening going?”
“Fantastic.”Brenda beamed as she stepped back, her eyes brightly alight under the blue hat she was wearing over her white curls.“They’ve been busy all morning, and not just with the people who were here yesterday and came back.”
“Great.”He smiled at Mick and Cassidy.Unlike Brenda and Cassidy, who were both wearing warm coats and hats, Mick had on a t-shirt, no coat, and flip-flops.At least he was wearing pants and not shorts.Mick’s winter clothing choices always made Mason shudder, but somehow the guy never seemed to get too cold.“What are you up to now?”
“We’re going to see a movie,” Brenda said, beaming as she wrapped her hands around Mick’s arm again, leaning into him.“Ooh, just feel that muscle.”
“I’m going home, apparently,” Cassidy said, her voice oddly hollow.“I’ve been given the rest of the day off.”
“Yup.I’ll take care of Brenda, no worries,” Mick said, looking down at the much older woman on his arm and giving her a wink.“Reallygood care of her.”
Okay, well, Mason now understood the expression on Cassidy’s face.Did David know about this?
He was going to guess not.Mason could not imagine David reacting well to Mick escorting his grandmother around town.Especially with the way they were looking at each other.
The age gap wasn’t that much worse than Lincoln and Ashley’s, but Lincoln also wasn’t any of the team’s grandfather.And Ashley wasn’t any of the team’s sister.
He hoped Mick realized he was getting into.If that was indeed what he was getting into.They might just be messing with Cassidy and David.If anyone was going to assist Brenda in messing with her grandkids, Mick would be at the top of the list.
Fuck, he did not want to think about this.He just needed to get into the bakery, prove Asad wrong, and get out.
“Okay, well, have fun.”He gave them a little wave, shot Cassidy a sympathetic look, and shrugged when she glared at him and turned aside to let them pass.It wasn’t like he could tell Brenda that she couldn’t go see a movie with Mick any more than Cassidy could.
Brenda wasn’t going to listen to either of them.
That would definitely bear watching, although it was not on his priority list of concerns.Letting out a long breath of air, Mason walked into the bakery.It smelled amazing, just like the day before.There was a couple sitting at one of the tables in the corner, totally engaged in their own conversation.
A tall man with broad shoulders stood in front of the counter.Mason easily recognized Grant—who held David’s position on Harris’ team—from behind.He was tall and broad enough that he completely blocked the sight of Audrey until she moved to the side to get something out of the display case for him.
Mason had been expecting Ashley, not Audrey, and the sight of her hit him straight in the gut, practically knocking the wind from him.She was smiling broadly, her eyes lit up from within, her red ponytail bouncing as she moved.Today, she had a black-and-white striped bow scarf tied around her head like a headband, rather than around her ponytail, and secured with an off-center floppy bow.She had on a matching polka-dot dress, which she was wearing underneath the pink and cream store apron.
When had he ever thought of aprons as looking sexy before now?
Never.
The answer was never.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Obviously, his attraction hadn’t dimmed at all.
Maybe it was too soon?He and Yasmine had just called things off last night.
There was a part of him that wondered if Yasmine might change her mind.Maybe he was still clinging to hope that they would work things out, so his brain was still stuck on having cold feet.
He was tempted to turn around and run out back out the door, but just as he had the thought, Audrey’s gaze moved to meet his.Her eyes widened, then she smiled and waved.
Well, fuck.
He couldn’t run away like a coward now that he’d been seen.
“Hey, Mason, I have something for you.Let me just finish ringing Grant up.”The smile she gave him was sympathetic.
