“Nice to meet you,” Mason said.
“Is Danny here?” Miller asked.
I shook my head and then pointed at the bottle. “Wine?”
“It was a gift from a client,” Miller said. “For working on a Sunday, as though I didn’t charge him every cent I could for it. I figured at least Avery and I will drink it if you guys won’t. It was sitting in my car in the full sun for a few hours, though. Does wine go bad?”
“It’s already bad,” I said.
Miller looked startled, probably more at the sound of a full sentence coming out of me than the joke, and then smiled and shook his head. “You have no taste, Cash. You think Lucky Charms are fine dining.”
I grinned and shrugged.
Dog whined because nobody was petting him, and Mason crouched down and stroked his ears, making nonsense words as Dog panted happily now that he was the center of attention again. The muscles of Mason’s back stretched and moved under the fabric of his T-shirt, and I stood there and took a moment to soak up the view. Chase had been right. Masonwashot.
“He’s cute,” Miller said to me, his voice low.
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “So is the dog.”
Miller let out a startled laugh, and my grin widened. Now that I was getting more practice with Mason, it was less scary talking to people. It felt like a lot of things were less scary when Mason was involved.
Miller picked up his briefcase and set it inside the house. He tucked the bottle of wine into the crook of his elbow. “I’m gonna head over there. You two coming?”
I took a deep breath. Some things were still terrifying, like bringing Mason to meet my family, and I wasn’t ready to let them loose on him without making sure they were going to behave.
“We’ll be there in a minute,” I said.
Miller walked over to Avery’s, and I pulled my phone out and opened the group chat while Mason watched curiously.
I’m bringing Mason over and you assholes had better be nice to him.
A row of dots popped up and a moment later a message from Danny appeared.
I can’t believe you’re dating the hot vet. I’m gonna ask him what his intentions are.
Like fuck he would.
DON’T BE WEIRD OKAY?
They’ll behave.
That was Chase, and my nerves settled as I pictured him glaring everyone else into submission. Chase could be an asshole, but he wasmyasshole, and he’d always have my back.
“Hey, if you’ve changed your mind and you don’t want me to come, just say so,” Mason said. He didn’t quite manage to hide the look of hurt that flashed across his face, though, like he really did think I didn’t want him to meet my brothers.
“No,” I said quickly. I let out a frustrated breath as I tried to find the words to explain, and Mason waited patiently. He never tried to rush me, and maybe that was why he was easier to talk to. In the end I held up my phone and said, “I was telling them to behave.”
“Oh!” Mason’s expression cleared. “I thought you’d decided I wasn’t good enough for them.” He laughed, but it was clear he was only half-joking.
I wanted to tell him that he was more than good enough, that he was the best thing that had happened to me in a long time, but my words failed me. So I untied Dog’s leash and handed it to him, gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile, and stuck out my hand.
He took it, and together we walked over to Avery’s.
CHAPTER 15
MASON
Cash had said spaghetti night would be loud, and it wasn’t a lie. With eight of us plus a child and a dog, the little dining room was pretty crammed, and noise bounced off the walls as conversations competed to be heard. I offered to put Dog outside, but Avery refused.
