“Mason?”
“No,” he said and left me sitting in the cab of his truck by myself. I realized that he really was angry with me, because he didn’t even open my car door. And he always opened my door for me, even when we were slinging insults at each other.
I pulled up my big girl panties—or in my case my sensible white cotton panties with purple hearts on them—and went inside. The office was quiet because it was the asscrack of dawn and nobody would be here for a few hours.
I used the time to catch up on what I’d missed. I had a bunch of messages and phone calls, but it didn’t look like anything major had happened while I wasn’t there. The evil part of me wished that they had really needed me, so Mason would see that I did contribute something useful to his business. The thought was petty, but I felt so worthless and rejected that I would take any form of recognition at this point.
It didn’t take me long to straighten out orders and catch up on emails and messages that the guys had left on my desk. I kept finding sticky notes whenever I moved something. Every note made me smile, since it was never just a simple message. The last one I found was “If you read this, we might not be alive anymore. Donut supplies are low.”
The excuse was good enough for me and I decided to go see Rayna. Decision made, I grabbed my purse and left the office. It was still thirty minutes until we opened, and I could get there and back in that time without a problem.
Rayna was as cheerful as ever, and she greeted me with outstretched arms and a wet kiss on my cheek. “There she is. I was just talking about you. How’s your arm?”
I scrunched up my face and glared at the arm in question. “It’s good. Hardly hurts anymore.”
She went back behind the counter, and I walked up to the display case to find out if she had anything new today.
“Who were you talking to?”
“Huh?” Rayna asked, already distracted with icing some red velvet cupcakes.
“You said you were just talking about me.”
“I was talking to Willa. She said that you were having problems. You should have told me. I’d be happy to help. I have a two-bedroom house.”
I never even thought to ask Rayna, but she was right. Her place would be a great idea. If only leaving Mason’s would make me feel better. But if I left now, right after what happened last night, it would feel like I was running away. Which of course I wasnot. Even if I wanted to.
“Thanks so much for the offer Rayna, but I’m okay at Mason’s for the moment.”
She studied me before nodding. “Okay, Estrella, but let me know if that ever changes.”
The offer was purely her, nice; she was willing to help at a moment’s notice. I always wondered why she wasn’t with anyone. I’d never seen or heard about her being with someone. She was like a big sister to Willa and always took care of everyone. She deserved to be happy.
“So what are you having today?” she asked, breaking me out of my head, where I was making plans to set her up.
“Can you make up a few bags? Just put anything you want in there, as long as you include donuts.”
Rayna was quick to select a few things, and I went back to Drake’s after promising her that I would call if I ever needed something.
I might have to take her up on her offer, after all.
When I got back all the guys were in the office. I opened the door and stepped inside. “Hey, what’s up?” I asked and every head turned my way.
“Are you okay?” Landon asked and hugged me. But instead of his usual crushing embrace, he lightly placed his arms around me and patted my back.
Next was Clay, then Darren, both equally as careful. “Let me know if you need anything,” Darren offered.
I put my hands up when Landon stepped forward for what looked like another hug. “I’m fine. Really.”
I was met with a roomful of skeptical eyes and wiggled the bags that I still had up in the air. “I got donuts.”
That was sure to get them off the topic. And what did you know, it worked as a perfect distraction. As soon as they spotted the logo, they started going through the bags.
“Why did you get so much?” Clay complained. “That means at least an extra hour at the gym today.”
I shook my head at them. At least now I knew how they stayed so fit despite their terrible eating habits. “You know you don’t have to eat them all now. I can put the leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow.”
Landon looked at me, horrified. “Hush, you sinner. That’s just blasphemous. This needs to be eaten while it’s fresh.”
