Page 69 of Untroubled Heart

“Has something happened that you haven’t told me about?”

“Just having a moment of out-loud introspection. My brothers have inspired me.”

They’ve inspired me, too, and Beth has always been the one I was closest to.

“I gotta go.” I check my side mirrors and pull out of the parking spot, hooking around to go back to Callie’s house. “Are you good?”

“I’m good. Are you going to get the girl?” I can hear the smile she’s no doubt wearing.

“Yeah. I’m getting my girl.”

I won’t let my doubt smother my feelings any longer. They were awakened when I first laid eyes on her, flourished as I got to know her, but when we kissed, they were set free. Now they’re out there, unable to be contained. They’re unbound and untroubled. They’re unstoppable.

Chapter twenty-four

I shift down under the sheets, getting comfortable as I try to read more of my book—a dark romance I pinched off my brother’s shelves. I figured getting lost in a story would be a good way to distract my mind from thoughts of Mason.

After the girls came over last night, and texting with him, I started to feel better. Okay, he’s still my boss, but romance happens in the workplace all the time. And we didn’t just hook up like it was some sordid affair, even though it was probably the single hottest thing I’ve done in my entire life.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve gotten to really know each other. I think that’s why I wasn’t in my head as much as I expected to be, considering I hadn’t been with someone in a while.

Something about Mason feels so safe and secure. I trust him, and that in itself is terrifying.

Between my dad and my ex, this year has not given me reason to put my faith in men. But my mind refuses to put Mason in the same category as them. Actions and words are everything, and Mason doesn’t hesitate to show how he feels. He makes me feel brave enough to try and do the same. What we did wasn’t some impulsive act between two unthinking people… Okay, it was a little impulsive, but it was also inevitable.

I am little nervous about what things will be like when we’re back at the house on Monday. When I looked Mason up after my interview, there was plenty of evidence of him enjoying his bachelor lifestyle. A woman on his arm, a drink in his hand, and that signature smirk that hooks up on one side. The one that made his eyes crinkle with mischief. I’m fairly confident Mason is a guy with a sizable number of notches on his bedpost. And hey, we all have a past. I can’t help but wonder if he flirted with them the same way he did with me last night. Did he look at them the way he looked at me right before he kissed them? Did he beg for more? Make them feel like his touch was special to them, something only they would ever know?

I reread the last sentence of my book when the low rumble of a car pulls down the driveway, lights sweeping across my closed blinds.

The engine cuts out, followed by the closing of a door. I assume it’s a neighbour, but then I hear a light tapping against my front door.

I glance at the clock on my nightstand. It’s just after eleven p.m.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I throw the sheets back, quietly padding to the window. Pulling back the blinds, I see a sleek sports car sitting in my driveway. There’s only one person I know who could drive a car like that and be knocking on my door at this time of night.

I pull the front door open and Mason stands on the other side, his closed fist still hovering in the air, ready to knock again.

“What are you doing here?”

His chest rises and falls steadily as he stares at me, a soft smile pulling on one side, before he steps inside. His hands frame my jaw, and he breathes me in as he kisses me sweetly, savouring my mouth.

My eyes fall closed, melting into him, as my hands reach up and circle his wrists.

Mason drags himself away from my lips before leaning his forehead against mine.

“Just as I thought.” He smiles.

“What did you think?” I ask, trepidation rattling the words as I struggle to make sense of his sudden arrival.

“One time was never going to be enough. Not when the feel of you in my arms, the press of your lips,” he kisses me again, “the scent of your perfume, make all the doubt go away.”

Is he saying what I think he is? “You had doubts?”

“Not about wanting you.” He shakes his head firmly. “About not making you mine.”

A grin stretches across my face so wide, it pinches my cheeks. “Yours? How very forward of you, Mr Heart.” My smile falters. “What about work? We might be playing a dangerous game crossing that line—more than we already have.”