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“Yes, I do,” I answer honestly. No hesitation.“Do you want to come?”
I watch as she battles the smile unfolding across her lips, all the way up to her ears. She shrugs ever so casually. “I wouldn’t mind. As I’ve said before—I’m curious to see who raised a barbarian like you.”
“I’m warning you. The Westbrooks are savages. All of them.” I give her an earnest look.
“Like I suspected,” Karli says with a chuckle, before the amusement slides off her face. She hesitates. “But will it be weird, you bringing some random girl to the big, family dinner?”
I tuck a lock of hair back from her face. “You’re not a random girl,” I tell her. But then I see the way she holds her breath as she waits for my next words.
Fuck—did I just open up my big mouth and freak her out?“You’re my friend,” I rush out.
“Right.”But from the way her brows twitch, I’m not sure that was the best thing to say, either.
Before I can overthink it, Karli plants a peck on my jaw. “I’d love to come with you.”
I don’t even try to hide my excitement. I pounce on top of her and kiss her silly, grinning the whole time.
Then I slap her hip. “Go pack a bag.”
She wiggles out from under me and rolls off the bed. “Fine.”
“Hop to it,” I call after her.
“You can’t rush perfection, Mason.” She sashays toward the door.
“Make it quick.” I toss a balled up pair of socks after her, hitting her in the ass.
She narrows her eyes at me, stubborn as she is. “Stop being a jackass. Or else I’m changing my mind.”
But the moment she steps out the door, her nonchalant vibe slips. She giddily rushes across the hallway to pack her own bag in her room.
As her door slams in my face, there’s this weird bubbly feeling in my chest. It feels a lot like excitement, too.
38
KARLI
We pile into Mason’s car, my heart tripping with excitement. Even though his home town isn’t that far away, it feels like a little road trip. So roadtrip snacks are a must. I put myself in charge of packing homemade granola bars, fruit bowls and to-go coffees in our thermal cups.
As Mason drives out of town, I tease him over his atrocious taste in music. Meanwhile he questions me about all the weird Starlight Falls street names.
We’re a few miles outside of town when he points out the front window. “Look!”
I crane my neck to get a view of what he’s trying to show me. “Oh my god. A double rainbow!”
Grinning, Mason pulls his car over to the shoulder and cuts the engine. He hands me his cellphone. “Want to take some pictures?”
I grin back. “Oh, yeah.”
We climb out, and I snap photo after photo. Still, I’m nowhere close to capturing the true beauty of the colors that arc across the sky.
Mason wraps an arm around me, bending down and pressing his lips to mine. I sink into his embrace, allowing the warmth of his big body to blanket me. He grabs the phone from me, angling it in front of us to snap a few selfies. His lips pressed to my temple. My hand cupping his cheek. Both of us staring googly-eyed at each other.
“Why are you ogling me like that? Sheesh! It’s like you’ve never seen a girl before.” I scrunch up my nose at him pretending to be annoyed.
“Never seen a girl as beautiful as you,” he tells me, brushing the tip of his nose against mine before leaning in to steal another kiss. One stolen kiss leads to another leads to another leads to another.
For a long moment, we stand there in the tall, overgrown grass on the side of the road, talking and kissing and watching the rainbow until it fades into the clouds.
