Page 170 of Slapshot Bride

My attention is stolen when the back door suddenly opens.

It’s Mason, sleeves pushed up, keys still in his hand, coming across the patio, and the butterfly from earlier startles off the lavender and is gone.

“There she is,” he says, beaming.

I don’t wait. I run into his arms, and he wraps his arms around me, lifting me into the air. Giggles fly from my lips, and he laughs.

When he drops me, I don’t pull away. I rest my head on his chest, and his arms tighten around me for a minute longer before we eventually pull apart.

“Oh, forgive my manners…” I drop my camera on the nearest bench and grab Rachel’s arm. “Remember my friend, Rachel?”

“Of course, how could I forget Rachel?” Mason laughs.

They shake hands.

“It’s nice to see you again, Mase. Been a while.”

“Yeah… I guess you can say that.”

The click of my camera startles them, and their eyes find me.

“Perfect shot,” I grin.

Mason shakes his head, amused.

Rachel, on the other hand, goes to grab her purse. “Thank you for having me, Riley.”

She comes to me and kisses my cheek after a brief hug. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Go be with your brother,” she whispers in my ear.

She says her goodbyes to Mason and lets herself out through the side gate, and it’s just the two of us now.

Mason and I.

I don’t wait for him to say anything. I put the camera down on the bench again, and walk into him. I put my face on his chest, and his arms come around me in reflex.

“Hey. I’ve got you.”

A minute passes, and I don’t move.

“Ri, are you okay?”

That question breaks me.

I say it into his shoulder before I lose the nerve. “I love him, Mase.”

He goes still.

“Easton. I love him. I’ve been hiding it all along. Even before the restaurant. It’s why I brought him to see you.”

I pull back to look at him. “And I need to know that you’re okay with that. Understand that he won’t hurt me. I trust him.”

He watches me wordlessly, and I take that as an opportunity to tell him everything. From the moment I first got into his car at the red light.

That Easton is the opposite of Preston in every way that can be measured.

Preston turned my friends into problems until I had none, and Easton encouraged me to reach out to them again. It’s why I reconnected with Rachel. I tell him about the photography. The gig I got. The old camera he bought for me. The times he drove me out of the house just to find a perfect shooting spot.

“He isn’t the kind of man I need protection from. He’s the kind of man who’d protect me. Even if it meant putting himself on the line.”