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“No, no, no.” I waved my hands in front of my chest. Embarrassment exploded in my gut. “It was just pretend. My friend settled for making me come over to say hi. So...hi.”
His gaze seemed to take in every inch of my face. I returned his stare with an uneasy smile. Dumping a bucket of ice water over my head would’ve been preferable to this awkward moment. Having Mrs. Drew give me an F on my latest painting in art class would’ve been better. Anything, rather than standing here and squirming under Mason’s heavy gaze.
“Why are you here?” he asked suddenly, lifting his chin. “You sick?”
I shook my head, glad to move on to a new topic that didn’t involve kissing a stranger. “No. Just volunteering. I do it during my free time.”
Amusement flashed in his dark eyes. Leaning toward me, he gave off a humorless chuckle. “What are you? Some kind of teenaged Mother Teresa?”
Blood pooled into my cheeks. Either Mason truly had a heart of steel or something about me bugged him. I couldn’t understand his reaction to me. Never in my life had someone been so rude for no reason. I pressed my chilled hand to my heated face and took a shallow breath.
“I’m just here to help make this hospital stay go as quick as it can for my friend, Charley.” I glanced over my shoulder at her. As I suspected, she was watching us over the top of her magazine. Her baseball cap couldn’t hide the interested gleam in her eyes. This was better than watching reality TV for her. I looked back at Mason and shrugged. “You’d understand it if you were sick. These people have been through the very worst in life. If I can make them smile, it’s all worth it. Every single second.”
His eyes glittered with dark emotion as he stared at me for another long moment. It was like having a nuclear warhead aimed at your forehead. I shuffled my feet and smiled at him, feeling a strange sense of warmth burst in my gut. And when I thought I could take it no more, he tore his gaze away and turned back to the nurses’ station.
“Well, I’m just here to meet my mom,” he grumbled. “She’s a nurse and her lunch break is coming up soon.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Apparently, Mason Finnick had a heart after all. And a mother that he took out for lunch on her breaks. He wasn’t just a robot.
“Okay, well, have fun,” I said, my feet itching to make a sudden retreat. Charley could stuff her silly games. This had been one of the two most awkward moments of my life. And both of them involved Mason Finnick. He was like a bad penny. “See you around school, then.”
“Tell your friend I hope she gets better soon,” he said in a low voice. Turning to look at me again, he grimaced and ran his hand through his hair in a sexy smooth move that I knew would have Charley swooning into her recliner. “And I’m glad she has someone around to help.”
A beaming smile made its way onto my face. Maybe Mason wasn’t so bad after all. All it took was a little chipping away of the wall from around his heart. And I’d done it, with just a few simple hellos. That’s all it took. Just someone who cared enough to say hi.
But all of that goodwill dissolved quickly as Mason made a face at me and rubbed his
chin. “Why are you smiling at me like that? Has anyone ever told you that you look a little crazy?”
Immediately, the grin melted from my face and my cheeks returned to feeling blazing hot. Squeezing my eyes shut, I turned on my heels and took a steadying breath. The best way out of this situation was just to walk away. But as I took my first step, I heard the unmistakable start of a deep chuckle behind me.
“See you later, Mother Teresa.”
I sighed and turned back to him. If he was going to make fun of me, he could at least use my real name. “It’s Trina.”
“All right, then.” I could’ve imagined it, but I thought I saw the left side of his mouth curl into the tiniest hint of a smile. “See you, Mother Trina.”
With a mumbled thanks, I nearly tripped over my own feet and then headed back toward the chair next to Charley. She pelted questions my way, but I kept my lips glued together until I was sufficiently hidden behind my sketch pad. And when I dared to look over the top of the pad once again, I watched a pretty woman with long dark hair and a kind smile walk toward Mason and pull him into a hug. She led him toward the exit, her arm still wrapped around his waist.
It wasn’t until they were nearly through the door did Mason look back at me, our gazes meeting. Blood rushed to the tips of my ears and I hurried to hide myself once again.
“Way to stay cool, Frye,” Charley said in a dry voice.
I shot her a look, feeling totally undone by the previous five minutes. “That’s the last time I play any kind of game with you. No more spin-the-bottle. No more truth or dare.”
“Whatever.” She leaned back in her seat, with a big smile on her face. “Totally worth it. At least you got to meet him.”
I laughed dryly. “I’m not sure it was worth it. I’ve never met someone so...”
“Hot? Charming? Electrifying?”
“Grumpy.”
It was her time to laugh. “Whatever you say. But you can’t argue with this: Mason Finnick is definitely kissable.”
I wasn’t going to argue with her. But one thing was for sure — it was going to take a lot more chipping away at that wall around Mason Finnick’s heart before he would let anyone in.
Chapter Two
