Chapter Fifteen
She had allowedherself to get swept away again.
“Wait. Stop. Stop,” Natalie said to Mason.
He paused, looking concerned. “Did I hurt you?”
She didn’t hear Mia anymore. Ross’s jewelry store butted beside Pony Expresso, and sound traveled easily through the shared wall. Natalie never paid attention to what was said on the other side, but she’d notice if Ross was on the phone, or if his small dog barked, or if Mia was visiting. Most of the time, there wasn’t anything interesting to hear, including anything that could be construed as clandestine activities. (Although, she did have her suspicions about Ross and Mia one time.) If they were over there with their own suspicions at this moment, they’d be one hundred percent right because neither she nor Mason were trying to be quiet. In fact, she may have moaned once or twice.
“Natalie?” Mason said. He brushed a hand across her cheek lightly.
She grabbed her T-shirt and roughly pulled it on. “I’m fine. I—We can’t do this here. My uncle stops by the shop all the time to check on things and he’s a really conservative guy. I’m trying to prove to him that I can be a business partner, and not just a manager.” She was rambling again, feeling flustered and wanting to get him out of her office as soon as possible. Mia could already be on her way over.
“Yeah. Okay. Sorry. I guess we did get a little carried away there,” he replied while buttoning his shirt, taking away the vision of his chest hair.
She tore her gaze away, running a hand across her hair before jumping from the desk. She placed a hand on a nearby cabinet for support, her legs a touch wobbly from being swept away. “It’s okay,” she said, unlocking the office door. “You better leave though.”
“Wait a minute.” Mason put a hand on the doorframe, giving him one last hold on her office. “You’re coming back to the farm this weekend, right?”
“I don’t know. I have to think about it.”
“I promise not to sneak into the coffee trailer while you’re working no matter how much I want to.”
“That’s good because that’ll probably be a good way to get yourself burned,” she said while pushing against his chest.
Before letting go of the door completely, he leaned close, pressing a kiss beneath her ear. “Come back,” he whispered.
“Stop driving to Tahoe for silly ornaments,” she replied, shutting the door on him. She leaned against it, pressing a hand to her mouth. She was in deep shit.
Natalie retrieved the paperwork that had scattered to the floor, setting it on the desk, and put the keyboard back in its normal position as if nothing had happened. Too bad she couldn’t say the same about her emotions. Putting her clothes and hair right wouldn’t change the fact she was still thinking about—
“Hi!” Mia said, eyes bright and glittering, standing in the doorway as soon as Natalie opened it.
She jumped. “What the hell, Mia?”
Her friend’s gaze swept the small office as though her detective eyes might spot something different. She suspected something. “I just finished a photography job at the quilt shop and was visiting Ross. I thought I’d pop over and say hello.”
Natalie crossed her arms because this had become a game of friendship chicken, to see who could pretend the longest that nothing weird was going on. “Oh, you thought you’d just pop over when you know I’m working?”
Mia didn’t appear the least bit flustered, as she calmly adjusted her glasses. “I might feel bad if I actually thought I was interrupting work…instead of a man visit.”
“God, Mia! I knew it! You and Ross were listening against the wall. You sickos.”
“Wait, what? What are you talking about?”
Natalie gave an exasperated huff then tried to recover. “Nothing. What areyoutalking about?”
She jerked a thumb toward the hallway. “I just saw Mason leaving the coffee shop. I thought maybe he came to see you.”
“He just brought another ornament for the tree, that’s all,” she replied, brushing a hair from her sleeve. If she told Mia some of the truth, maybe she’d be cool.
“So, you did see him?”
Shit.
“I was…guessing that’s what he was doing here.”
“Yeah, right. How would you know there was an ornament and—Why were you worried I heard something through the wall?” Mia gasped, before smacking Natalie on the arm. “I knew it!” She pushed her into the office, slamming the door.
