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“I think running away is an exaggeration.”
“As I said, I’m not nearly as entertaining if I stick to the cold, hard facts.”
“Oh.” I pressed my face into my hands and blew out a long breath. “What do you think I should do?”
“I think you should walk over, knock on his door, and say the first thing that comes into your head.”
“That sounds like a terrible idea.”
“I know. You’ll ask for a cup of sugar, knowing you. But whatever comes out will be the thing you really want to do. Stop fucking thinking everything into the ground, child, or you’ll kill yourself deciding what to do.”
“Okay. I need to shower to get this paint out. Then I’ll do something about it.”
“No. Go now or not at all.”
“Grandma—”
“Imogen!”
“Fine!” I got up and stormed to the front door. I yanked it open and slammed it behind me, then stomped my way over to Mason’s house.
I knocked my fist against the door, banging hard on it.
“Jennifer, if that’s you again, I swear—”
I grinned when he opened it and it was me. “Hi.”
His lips pulled to one side. “You still have paint in your hair.”
“I know.” I pushed my hair behind my ear. “Can you just… not talk for a minute?”
“You want me to stand here in silence for a minute?”
“Yeah.”
“Not the weirdest thing anyone’s ever asked of me.” He grinned and folded his arms over his chest, his blue eyes shining with amusement.
And I just looked at him.
From the top of his head where his thick, dark hair was swept to one side and messier than it was earlier, like he’d been running his hands through it for the last ten minutes.
His sharp, shapely jaw was dotted with a few days’ worth of stubble, and it only made his full, pink lips more appealing.
But it was his eyes. His gorgeous, enthralling blue eyes that held my gaze with an intensity only he had been ever to look at me with.
I didn’t say a word.
I took one step closer to him and rested my hands on his arms, making him drop them to the sides. I ran my fingers up over his strong chest and shoulders to his neck where I cupped the sides of his face.
Then I reached onto my tiptoes and kissed him.
And I felt how right it was in every single nerve ending that went bananas.
Bananas was the only word that worked. Crazy, insane, wild—none of them had quite the impact that bananas did.
Mason wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him. “Shall I take that to mean this conversation might go well?”
I laughed, pressing my face into his chest. His body shook with his own chuckles, and he cupped the back of my head, kissing the top of it.
“Come inside before your grandma throws a party,” he whispered, pulling me over the threshold.
I gladly went inside. I didn’t need to hear Grandma gloating that she was right.
She’d do that for the next ten years.
I closed the door behind us and followed him into the kitchen. I had no idea what to say now that I’d taken the chicken’s way out and kissed him, so I hovered by the island in the hopes that he would say something.
He didn’t.
We stood in silence, not really making eye contact with each other.
This was ridiculous.
“So,” we both said at the same time.
I met his eyes and burst into laughter, and he did the same. “Oh, my God,” I said. “This is so stupid.”
“I agree. But you came here to talk, so I’m waiting for you to start.”
I pursed my lips. “Fine.” I leaned against the island and ran my fingers along the edge of the countertop. “Before this goes any further, you should know that Grandma is fully in your corner.”
“I’d hope so.”
“I’m her granddaughter. She should be on my side.”
“We’ll come back to this later.”
“Fine. I was talking to her just now, and she might have made me realize a few things.”
“Like?”
“Like how I’m letting worry for Maya get in the way of admitting the truth about how I feel.”
Mason’s eyebrows shot up before they dropped again and drew together in a frown. “What do you mean, your worry for Maya?”
“You know. If we started a relationship and it went wrong, and—”
“Stop right there.” He walked over to me and rested his hands on my shoulders. “Maya is not your worry.”
“I know that—”
“I told you this yesterday, didn’t I? You don’t need to worry about her at all. Immy, if you want to see if we can go somewhere, just worry about how she fits into your life, not how you fit into hers.”
“But I have to fit into hers. You’re her dad.”
“And I’m still Mason.” His lips pulled to the side. “She’s not here right now, is she? You don’t have to worry about her right now. Even when she’s here this weekend, you don’t need to worry about her at all.”
