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She pulled her leggings and yoga tunic on then checked her phone to see a message from her college roommate.
Are you coming home tonight?
No, I'm staying in town.
But my new step-cousin is here too.
What does that mean?
Ray's grandson.
You're babysitting?
No. (laughing emoji)
He's gotta be in his thirties.
Oh is he cute? Send pics.
Lucy gave a thumbs-up emoji and wanted to text Helen too but refused to intrude on her wedding night. She would just have to face Mason herself. Surely they could share the house for the night without incident.
She went through her memories to catalog what she knew of him. He was a Texas Ranger. Ray had two grandsons as his only family, and Mason was one of them.
She opened the door and ventured downstairs. He was leaning against the counter with a glass of water. His biceps bulged, pulling his dress shirt tight.
Blue eyes captured hers as he watched her come to a stop and sit at the kitchen table.
He cleared his throat. "Sorry about earlier. I thought you were an intruder. If I'd known you were staying here tonight—"
She waved a hand and tried to relax in the chair. "Don't worry about it. Neither of us knew, so there's no use crying over spilled milk."
"Or spilled bottle of aspirin." He smirked, and the tilt of his lips made her want to kiss him. She'd never had this sort of reaction to someone this soon before. Sure, she'd had crushes here and there over the years, but nothing this immediate or intense.
It made her stomach flip. She raised her phone and propped her elbows on the table, pretending to type. Then she took a picture and sent it to Taylor.
She smiled and tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear. "Right, so I need to be up early tomorrow for a yoga class in Denton. I'll see you at Christmas?"
She hopped up and avoided eye contact as she darted for the door.
"You never said what you wanted for Christmas," he said.
She put a hand on the door frame that separated the kitchen from the living room and stairs. His blue eyes swirled with emotions she couldn't read.
"We might be family, but there's no telling what Nana and Ray have planned for Christmas. And you yourself said you have to work. So don't worry about it. It was nice to finally meet you, Mason."
And with that, she darted up the stairs and shut the bedroom door behind her. It was going to take a long time to go to sleep tonight. He was going to be right across the hall.
Her phone buzzed.
(wide-eyed emoji)
Fuck, you need to go play the slots.
Because you hit the jackpot with him.
He pulled a gun on me, Tay.
Thought I was an intruder.
