Chapter Twenty
Before settling intosleep, Natalie had set the alarm on her phone for 6AM. Mason’s internal clock woke him at 5:30 for some reason. Maybe he wanted a few quiet moments to appreciate her pressed against him, breathing deeply, her head resting on his chest. He resisted the urge to touch her too much, not wanting to wake her.
The time before Natalie had stepped into his life seemed like a decade ago. How he’d managed to get to this point, one where he’d won her over and was on the receiving end of her affection, didn’t quite seem real. It was like when he first discovered his love of bees. Once he got past the fear of being stung, Mason felt he could do almost anything. She made him want to do more.
Such as breakfast.
He could make her breakfast. He had never been much of a cook but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do something. Did he have anything in his fridge? He couldn’t make her waffles because he didn’t own a waffle iron, nor did he have any eggs, which he was pretty sure were an ingredient of waffles…and pancakes, and omelets—pretty much anything belonging in the breakfast category. What time did grocery stores open?
He was still debating this in his head when the alarm on her phone beeped from its spot on the nightstand. Mason reached over, shutting it off, hating that it meant she would be leaving his bed soon.
The morning was dark, but she stirred, groaning her annoyance.
He brushed her hair from her face and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Hey, gorgeous. It’s time to get up. You want me to make you something?” He’d get creative if necessary. Who said you couldn’t eat a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast?
She snuggled closer, her arms tightening around him. “That’s okay. I don’t wanna go to work. You’re so cozy and warm.”
He knew how Natalie felt because she was cozy and warm too. It was as if his heart had finally found its spot in the world, and all he wanted to do was sink right into her and make love to her the whole day.
“What?” she said, becoming more awake, tipping her head to him.
Mason may have said that last part out loud. Instead of repeating it, he said, “Can’t you call in sick or something?”
“I’m the opening manager. Who am I going to call in sick to? I absolutely have to go to work this morning.” Her voice was matter-of-fact and determined, much to his dismay, but then it switched to a lower tone. “But I also need you to sink right into me and make love to me, so you’d better make it fast.”
He certainly wasn’t about to argue and did just that.
*
Thankfully, it wasn’ttoo much later when he saw her again. That morning, he stopped by Placerville Hardware, the shop where he’d been finding most of his ornaments. Part real hardware store and part kitchen/gift shop, he was usually able to find what he needed, (unless he was looking for an ornament with an inner tube). Today, he put two new ornaments on her tree: a small battery-operated candle and a train engine.
“Being sneaky again?” she asked beside him, holding a drink for him to take.
“I never tried being sneaky. Do you see me wearing a disguise?” He took a sip from his cup. “Besides, if I wanted to win over my girlfriend, she better know it was me who was decorating her tree. I don’t want Alejandro getting the credit.”
“Hmm,” was all she said, but she didn’t resist him pulling her to his side as they studied the tree together.
“The tree is still looking fresh. Someone’s doing a good job watering it.”
“You do realize I have to store all these knickknacks after the tree comes down, right? They’re going to spend the majority of the year inside of a box, which is why this is a waste of money.” But she reached out to gently adjust the red train engine ornament, so it hung straighter on the branch.
She still didn’t get it, even after he’d whispered in her ear the night before. When it came to her, he didn’t consider anything to be a waste. “I don’t care. I want to fill your tree with hundreds of ornaments, until you’re not even sure there’s a tree under there anymore.”
“Hundreds? That’s going to take a long time.”
“Exactly.” Hopefully, it would take forever. “Can we talk about Sasquatch?”
A confused expression drifted across her face. “What? Why?”
“Because the hardware shop had a really cute Sasquatch ornament and I want to buy it for your tree, but I can’t start throwing random ones on there now.”
“Stop. There’s no way I’m going to encourage this, especially for a silly Sasquatch ornament. All right, you need to leave now. I have work to do.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow at the farm… Unless you need to see me sooner?”
She rolled her eyes. “I think I can survive one night. I’ll see you tomorrow and no Sasquatch ornaments. Stop trying to force something just because it’s cute.”
When he tipped his head to her, she kissed him goodbye, and he had never had a day start better.
