AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My heart starts to pound. Why is he so nervous? Why does he care if someone overhears our conversation?
"Nope, just you and me."
He takes a deep breath. "Do you have plans the first weekend of next month?"
I stand up and shake my head.
"No, do you need me to watch Duke while you guys go fishing?"
Mason’s mastiff and I are in love, and beside Jack I'm the only person Mason allows to watch him when he’s out of town.
"You know I’m always up for a date with my favorite man."
He chuckles and my heart drops down into my stomach. I'm not sure why he's being so secretive about asking me to watch the dog. That is, unless he is going on a date and doesn’t want anyone to know.
The bane of small towns is gossip and if they think that he is starting to date it will spread like wildfire.
"No, I don’t need you to watch Duke. But that reminds me, I need to make sure that Jack is available. I want to ask you to go to New York with me."
My heart starts to race and I feel like I'm in one of my books.
The handsome firefighter comes to ask the mousy bookstore owner for a date because he has secretly been in love with her all this time. He doesn’t want one of the beautiful models he had on his arm in New York, he wants the small town girl with the heart of gold.
I snap back to reality and shake my head to rid myself of those thoughts.
"New York?" I ask and he runs his hands down his face.
"This is dumb. It shouldn’t feel so weird to ask you this. I need to go to New York for the weekend for a few charity events and a gala. I need a date. I was wondering if you would come with me?"
I open my mouth and then close it again. Is he asking me out like on a real date?
"You're perfect because I don’t have to worry about there being anything romantic. I can show you the city, take you to the art museum and the library and then we can come back home and all will be well."
Tears want to flood my eyes but I hold them back. Of course he doesn't want me to go on a real date with him. He wants a safe and solid person that can string a sentence together and impress the boosters but not catch feelings for him.
Too late. That already happened a long time ago.
"Please, Emily. You would be doing me a huge favor. I know shopping sprees aren't your thing, but they have huge bookstores in New York where you can go wild."
I laugh and I know it sounds a little hollow so I smile to cover it up.
"Of course I’ll go and help you. Someone has to protect you from all those scary long-legged beauties."
"You have no idea how persistent they can be," he says and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
"Yes, it must be very hard to have every available woman throwing themselves at you."
"Em, are we okay? If you don't want to do this, it's okay. I’ll figure something else out."
I feel my face heat and take a deep breath.
It's not Mason's fault that I've been carrying a secret torch for him most of my life. He is a good friend, more like family, and he needs help. A free trip to New York and being able to see the sights is no small thing. Plus, I can spend alone time with Mason without it looking weird.
"No, it's fine, just had a long day. I would love to go with you."
He grins. "Thanks, and can we keep it under wraps for a bit? I don’t want the gossip to start that we are dating or something. I mean people would be crazy to think that right?"
I smile again. "Right, they would."
