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Addie chewed on her lower lip before she said, “Harlee would kill me if she knew I said anything.”
“Tell us!” Sutton urged. “Hurry, before the clock strikes midnight!”
“It was one night. That’s all.”
I gasped at the same time Sutton did.
“Harlee and Brax were together? As in, together-together?” I asked.
Addie nodded. “Harlee’s had a huge crush on Brax for as long as I can remember. One night at a party, one thing led to another, and they slept together.”
I looked back at Brax, who was currently shooting daggers at Thomas while he whispered something into Harlee’s ear.
“Shut up,” I said softly.
Sutton slowly shook her head. “I never knew.”
“It didn’t end well. Apparently, Harlee was open about her feelings for Brax, and he told her he didn’t feel the same way. That it was just sex for him and nothing more. Her heart was broken. I was so angry with Brax at the time, but you can’t make someone want to be with someone else.”
“Why does that sound familiar?” Sutton mused. “Talk about me and Brady 2.0.”
We all nodded.
“Poor Harlee,” I mumbled, right before I saw Mason heading my way.
“It’s almost countdown time, ladies, ready to ring in this new year?” Mason asked as he walked up and smiled at me.
“Are Charlie and Reese ready with their sparkling water?”
Mason laughed. “They’re both currently passed out asleep on the sofa in the formal living room.” The rest of us were in the family room with the large TV on, watching the countdown in New York City.
“Come on!” Lynn stated. “It’s almost time.”
“That’s my cue!” Addie said as she made her way over to Gannon, with Sutton right next to her. I watched both of my sisters kiss their husbands and gaze up at them with so much love.
The countdown started, and I turned to face Mason with a grin. “I’ve been thinking about something the last hour. Will this be our first official kiss or our second one?”
“Third. I kissed you at your house on Christmas night.”
“Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen…”
I could feel my stomach twist into knots as my heart raced with the anticipation of kissing Mason again. “I think it should be our first official kiss,” I said, “but not our first kiss.”
His brows pulled down as he tried to work that out in his head. Then he laughed.
“Six, five…”
“First official kiss it is then.”
Placing his hands on the sides of my face, he leaned in and stopped right before he touched my lips with his. Everyone yelled out, “Happy New Year!” and Mason looked deeply into my eyes.
“Happy New Year, Palmer.”
Forcing my mouth to form words, I whispered, “Happy New Year, Mason.”
And then he kissed me.
It started off slow and tender, but quickly deepened. My goodness, what a kiss it was. My entire body felt like I was in a free fall, heading right into a beautiful abyss. Our other kisses weren’t anything compared to what I was experiencing now. It was a breathtakingly beautiful experience that I would remember for the rest of my life.
And that was when I knew—Mason Bryan had the power to destroy me, body and soul.
But I was going to take the leap.
When the kiss ended, Mason rested his forehead against mine, both of us breathing as if we’d run a marathon.
“I’m glad we made that our first official kiss,” he said softly as I held onto his arms to keep from dropping straight to the floor.
“Me too,” I replied, focusing on getting my breathing steady and even again. I drew my head back and looked up at him. With a nervous laugh, I said, “I think I need a drink!”
He winked. “I can help with that.”
Slipping my hand in his, he walked over to the makeshift bar, poured a glass of champagne, and handed it to me. I had to force myself not to down the whole thing in one gulp.
“Daddy?”
We both turned to see Charlie standing in the doorway. He yawned. “I’m ready to go to bed now. I don’t think I can wait for the ball to drop.”
I looked up at Mason and waited to see what he would say.
“Okay, buddy. Let’s say goodbye to Reese.”
“She’s still sleeping on the sofa. Can Ms. Palmer take me up to bed?”
My heart melted on the spot, and it only took me a second to reply. “Of course I can, as long as your dad doesn’t mind.”
Mason winked. “I don’t mind at all. Do you want me to come up and say good night in a bit?”
Charlie looked as if he was going to fall over right there. He shook his head, then grabbed my hand and we started toward the steps.
I looked back at Mason and mouthed sorry. He simply smiled.
After we made our way upstairs and I helped Charlie brush his teeth, we got settled in bed and I read him a story. I wasn’t two pages in before he was out like a light.
