Xeni heard what Mason had said but she was distracted by the amazing aroma coming from the pasta he’d just set down in front of her. She leaned in close, inhaling the creamy, lemony scent of the Alfredo sauce.
“Mmm, I already know I’m gonna destroy this. It smells so good.”
“That would be quite the compliment.” He set down his own plate and a glass of white wine, then took a seat beside her at the island. Or tried to, anyway. His legs didn’t quite fit under the marble ledge.
“High enough, but not deep enough. Story of my life.”
Xeni laughed. “Come on. Let’s move to the table.”
They gathered up their meal and moved to the large dining table across the room. Xeni made herself comfortable as Mason took the seat beside her again. She looked around at the four other open chairs.
“You can sit across from me, you know. More elbow room.”
“Then I won’t be able to grope you under the table while you eat,” Mason replied, all casual like as he grabbed the pepper.
Xeni froze, her whole body lighting up like a matchstick. Her nipples tightened as if they were begging to be touched first. Somehow, though, she managed to play it cool. “If you could at least let me eat half before we move to the groping portion of the evening. I’m starving.”
Mason lifted his wine glass. “I’ll try my best. To us figuring out what the hell to do next.”
“Cheers to that.”
“Please enjoy.”
Xeni picked up her fork and piled it high with a healthy serving of pasta and a fat shrimp. Everything was perfectly cooked and the sauce melted on her tongue. “Oh my god,” she groaned. “So good.”
She glanced over at Mason as he took his own forkful. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, then Mason turned in his chair to face her.
“Back to the question I was going to ask you.”
Xeni nodded for him to go on. She was too busy stuffing her face to give a verbal response.
“You know my whole story, but how are you single?”
Xeni swallowed as she shook her head. “No, no, no. I know why you’re not with Duncan and I know why you’re not with Moira. But you said you’ve been here for seven years. That’s plenty of time to get over a broken heart, start over and fall in love with a sexy farm hand. Why are you single?”
“I asked you first.”
“That’s petty and immature, but fine. If you must know. I Practical Magic’d myself.”
“You what?”
“You ever seen Practical Magic?”
“Can’t say that I have?”
“Well, you done fucked up because I’m going to make you watch it. Anyway, I won’t spoil the plot for you, but one of the women does a spell, kind of outlining what she wants in the perfect man. She thinks it’ll stop her from falling in love, but of course she meets the perfect man. Except in my case it’s working too well.”
“So, you mean to tell me that you did a spell to stop yourself from falling in love.”
“Nooooot exactly.” Xeni didn’t know when, but somehow she’d turned herself into a cliche. She’d been so upset by the way things had ended with Patrick, that she’d allowed so many bad things to happen in their relationship. Yes, in retrospect, she knew it wasn’t her fault. Patrick was just a trash-ass human and it was better that they’d went their separate ways. That didn’t change the fact that it took her years to get back to herself and a few years more to realize she was worthy of what she needed. But Mason didn’t need to know all that.
“At the time, I was being thorough in what I wanted. I’d just gotten out of a bad relationship and I was very focused on avoiding some of the mistakes I made in my youth. I made a very specific list, communed with the ocean and lit a few candles. I wasn’t going to settle. I got so busy not settling that fifty years went by and here I am married to you.”
“Yeah, I don’t think your spell actually worked. I’m everything a woman could ever want.”
“I see myself ending up like half of my aunts, living in a big house alone with several birds I’ve taught to shit-talk the mailman. Once a week, a handyman named Daryl—Daryl’s a widower—comes over to blow my back out. We see each other at church or at the store and act friendly, but secretly we both know what’s really going on.”
“And when are you supposed to meet Daryl? Or is he someone you already know?” Mason asked.
