“Since before I knew what I wanted.”
Okay.
That surprised me.
He noticed.
“You expected some inspirational bullshit answer?”
“A little.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“You seem familiar with disappointment.”
The second it came out, I regretted it.
Not because it was mean.
Because it hit.
I saw it immediately in his face.
Tiny shift.
Tiny pause.
Then gone.
Mason stood.
“Well,” he said lightly, “this has been emotionally exhausting.”
Shit.
I leaned back in my chair. “You know you can answer honestly once in a while, right?”
“And ruin my mysterious reputation?”
“You don’t have a mysterious reputation.”
“What do I have?”
I looked him over slowly.
Too confident.
Too calm.
Too practiced.
“A very curated one.”
For the first time since meeting him, Mason didn’t have a comebackready.
Just looked at me.
Quiet.
