Mom is back and Mason is pouring me a glass of wine.
“Coffee in a moment, Mrs. Brennan. Taking care of my girl first.”
“The way it should be,” Mom replies with a beaming smile. “Call me Kathleen, Mason. We’re not formal people.”
“Thanks, Kathleen. I’d normally serve guests first but in my limited experience I’m thinking she might be more agreeable after some of this.”
“You’re astute, for sure, Mason. And I’d say Mom is fine too, but my daughter isn’t quite there yet.”
“Quite,” I mumble. “And I’d be a guest, too, if I weren’t your captive.”
“I’ll get her there,” Mason vows.
“You will,” Mom agrees.
“Excuse me, you two... I happen to be standing right here.”
Mason touches his lips to the tip of my nose before handing me a glass of wine and moving past me toward his coffee maker.
“Well aware of that, baby,” he says with an eye sweep that not only feels like a physical touch, but that also makes my belly dip.
Mom presses her lips tight and then fans herself with one hand, looking directly at me while Mason’s back is turned. I scrunch my nose up in response.
“Your home is lovely, Mason. What do you do for a living?” Mom asks.
“Thank you, Kathleen. I built this place. And that’s my work,” he says while changing out the coffee filter.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I work in design and construction.”
“Like an architect?”
“Love drawing plans and building them out. Did up this place with my pack brothers, my business partners. We’re partners in a construction company, Savage Construction. This place was featured in a decorating magazine. Though probably don’t need to tell you myself since my own mother, when you meet her, will undoubtedly show you one of her two hundred copies.”
“Impressive. Did you say your pack brothers?” Mom asks. “How does a shifter pack work?”
“I’m the one that needs the powder room now,” I say, heading down the hall, thinking maybe that’s why this house felt so familiar. Rick’s mother is an interior decorator, and she has a coffee table filled with décor magazines at both her office and her home. I’ve sat leafing through those magazines in both on a number of occasions. That must be why this place felt familiar.
When I’m back, Mason and my mother are laughing like they’re up to something. The house is filled with the scent of the brewing coffee, and Mom’s wearing a beaming smile that creates a fluttery feeling in my stomach. She wants this for me.
“There are four big trash bags and about half a dozen boxes in my van,” Mom casually declares, “Maybe you could grab them if you don’t mind?”
Mason replies, “Absolutely.”
“What’s this?” I ask.
I should’ve known. Why didn’t I clue-in when I saw her stuffed van wide open? Those things aren’t for her new apartment in the nearest town at all, are they?
Mason squeezes my hand quick before he passes me on his way to the front door.
“Freeze, Doggo,” I order then turn to my mother. “You did not bring my clothes here instead of taking them to my storage locker, right, Mother?”
Mason doesn’t freeze. Mason just throws one of his signature smirks over his shoulder at me on his way to the door. I growl in frustration.
Mom tries to hold a straight face but she’s failing. “Didn’t I?”
“I thought that was stuff for your new place,” I say through gritted teeth.
“It is… or some of it at least,” she shrugs. “The few things of mine are on the second row. I told him just to bring everything in from the third row and the trunk. You’re staying here so you might as well have your things. We ran all the wedding stuff to the storage place. I figured you’d want your clothes and shoes, ‘n things. I just brought a couple bits and bobs for my apartment. I’ll bring more over throughout the weekend.”
I’m shaking my head with anger, nostrils flaring at my mother. “How’d you pull that off so fast? It’s only been a few hours.”
“We hurried.”
“Who’s we? You and Ivy?”
“Not Ivy. Sally and Caroline helped.” She shrugs. “We used Caroline’s SUV to get a lot of the stuff into the storage unit.”
Two of my bridesmaids.
“Ugh,” I groan, rubbing my temples. “You’re giving me a headache. You didn’t say anything to them about-" I look around.
She waves her hand. “Of course not. I won’t breathe a word of any of this to a soul. Are you kidding? As for Sal and Caroline, they didn’t hear from you so they showed up at my house looking for you, assuming you might be there when they didn’t get an answer at Ivy’s. I didn’t tell them much, only that you’d had a change of heart and were very upset and needed some time to process the breakup. I asked if they’d do me a solid and help me get your things out of there, so you’d have no reason to go back if you didn’t want to. They were all over that and took the opportunity to tell me what they really thought of him. In fact, Sally was on a tirade about him and in the middle of that…” Mom stops and looks at me.