by Megan Green
But that was before.
Now that I know what I’ve been missing, what real sex can be like, I can’t even imagine living without this again.
I close my eyes as I lay my head against Mason’s chest, listening as Hannah and Hope play in the distance, a sense of complete contentment settling over me.
In all the years I spent with Jesse, all the countless dates we went on, the functions we attended as a couple, the vacations we took together … never once can I remember feeling like this. There’s a peace I feel deep down in my soul, a serenity I didn’t know existed until now.
My thoughts drift back to the night I spent with Mason. Only this time, it’s not the sex I think of. It’s the hours we spent on his sofa, a tangled mess of limbs as I lay, sprawled across his chest, his fingers combing through my hair as we discussed the years we’d spent apart.
He told me about his wife, Stephanie. About how devastated he had been to wake in the middle of the night, only to find her gone. How it would’ve been so much easier to allow himself to sink into his depression, but it hadn’t been an option. He’d remained strong for his daughter, and he has been doing so each and every day since.
I marveled at how tough he was—is. Not many men could handle the burden of a newborn baby on their own. But Mason not only handled it; he excelled at it. Listening to him talk about his love for Hannah … well, there is nothing sexier in the entire world.
After, I told him more about Jesse. About how, now that I was out of it, I could see how toxic our relationship had really been. Jesse had preyed on my insecurities, using them to his benefit, gaslighting me into thinking I was crazy anytime I even mentioned the possibility that something might be wrong with our relationship. When I discovered his affair, he tried to make me believe it was my fault. It almost worked, too. If not for Dr. Bailey calling and offering to sell me his clinic, I have no doubt that I would’ve eventually found my way back to Jesse’s arms.
Because I had truly believed I hadn’t deserved anything better.
I’m still working through my insecurities—you can’t get rid of thirty years of low self-esteem and ridicule in only a few days—but even after the short amount of time I’ve spent with Mason, I know I’m headed in the right direction.
The sound of pounding footsteps breaks me from my thoughts, and my eyelids flutter open to find a panting Hannah standing before us.
“Daddy, I’m hungry,” she says between breaths.
At the mention of food, my stomach grumbles—apparently loud enough that both Mason and Hannah hear it, too. Hannah giggles as she grins at me, and I can see Mason’s smile out of the corner of my eyes.
“Well then, I guess I’d better feed my girls.”
My girls.
Just the sound of those two little words sends a swarm of butterflies flitting through my belly.
I told Mason I was fine with keeping our relationship from Hannah for the time being. I knew I had a lot of work to do to prove that he could trust me again. I’d walked out of his life once before, and with the way his wife had left … well, I understood how he might be hesitant to let things get too serious, too quickly.
He thought about my words for less than a minute before dismissing them. And when I started to protest, he pinned me with an amused look.
He said, “Hannah already thinks you hung the moon. You really think I’ll be able to keep this from her? You two have a relationship, so if anything were to happen, she’d be heartbroken either way. So, I’m going to take a blind leap of faith and hope that you won’t let me down. Won’t let her down.”
I have no intention of doing either. No intention of ever leaving Harts Creek again even if this thing with Mason doesn’t work out.
I assured him he had nothing to worry about, and he responded only with a wink and a smile.
Hannah didn’t seem the least bit dismayed when Mason told her that he and I were dating now. She blinked up at him, her brow furrowing briefly before her eyes shifted to me.
“Does this mean you’ll come for tea parties more?” she asked hopefully.
When I nodded my head, she threw her little arms up and cheered before dashing off to her room to play with her toys.
Kids are resilient, I tell ya. Nothing fazes them for long.
Back in the park, Mason pushes himself to his feet, dusting off the backside of his jeans before reaching down to offer me a hand. After he pulls me up, he tucks me into his side, his other hand closing around Hannah’s, and the three of us set off for the gate.
I could get used to this.
“What do you say we head into town for dinner? Maybe hit up Fields Diner?” Mason suggests as we stride across the field.
Hannah drops his hand and twirls, her arms in the air, Hope’s leash hooked on one hand. The dog spins with her, barking happily up at Hannah.
Hannah’s face falls. “Oh, but then Hope can’t come,” she says, her lower lip pouting out at the realization.
“Sorry, sweetie,” Mason says, reaching out to smooth his free hand over her hair. “But you know dogs—”
“Actually,” I interrupt, “they do have those tables set up outside now that it’s warming up. We could sit out there, and Hope would be allowed to join us.”
Hannah’s cheering starts up in earnest again, and she twirls away from us, telling Hope in a singsong voice that she gets to have dinner with us.
“You’re going to spoil her rotten, you know that, right?” Mason says, tipping his head so that his cheek presses against the top of my head.
I shrug against him. “I’d rather do that than get a rap as the evil stepmother.” I slap my hand over my mouth as soon as the words leave my lips, realizing entirely too late how that sounded. “Mason, I didn’t mean—”
He chuckles good-humoredly. “Relax, Mads. I know you weren’t proposing marriage. I get what you mean.”
I blow out a relieved breath. “I always have loved that about you. How you seem to know exactly what I mean to say, even when I can’t get the words out right.”
Mason hugs me tighter to his side. “You’ve always had the tendency to speak before you think. And that’s one of the things I’ve always loved about you. I never have to guess around you. You always give it to me straight.”
“Oh, I’ll give you something, all right,” I say, poking his ribs and suggestively waggling my eyebrows.
His head falls back on his shoulders as he belly laughs. “Looking forward to it.”
We climb into Mason’s car when we reach his townhouse, Mason buckling Hannah into her car seat while I secure Hope to her harness. The drive to the restaurant passes quickly, Hannah belting out the lyrics to the Frozen soundtrack—she really loves that movie—Hope barking along with her, howling when Hannah hits the high notes.
When we arrive at the diner, we get a table outside and place our order, and Hannah and I start on the maze on the back of her kids menu while we wait. We’ve found ourselves stuck in a corner and having to backtrack when a deep voice comes from behind us.
“Coop? Is that you?”
I lift my eyes from the menu, following Mason’s gaze to the man standing at the fence surrounding the courtyard. I don’t recognize him, but from the hard set of Mason’s jaw, I’m guessing he’s not a welcome sight.
The man doesn’t take Mason’s silence as a hint, however, placing a hand on the fence and jumping over it with a quick hop. He closes the distance between him and our table, a wide smile spreading across his face.
“It is you. How you been, man? What’s it been, ten years?” he asks in rapid-fire, holding a hand out for Mason to shake.
Now that the man is closer, there is something vaguely familiar about him. Something about that cocky smile and gruff voice that …
Oh my God.
My throat swells as my mouth runs dry, and I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe.
Joe Robbins.
I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him at first. Sure, he’s put on a few pounds
since senior year—ironic, considering all the shit he used to give me for being a little chubby. But that face is all Joe. The crooked nose, the scathing eyes, that ridiculous hair.
I look around the courtyard, trying to find somewhere to escape to before he recognizes me.
Joe’s hand is still hanging midair, waiting for Mason to take it. And as if realizing the asshole isn’t going to go away, Mason finally reaches over and gives it a brisk shake.
“Joe,” he says by way of response.
Apparently taking the acknowledgment of his presence as an invitation, Joe pulls out a chair and takes a seat. “So, how have you been, dude?” he repeats, his eyes quickly moving from Mason over to Hannah and me before returning. “You got a kid?”
Mason quirks an eyebrow at the stupidity of his question. “Yeah, Joe. I’ve got a kid.”
Joe nods. “Cool, cool. So, what else is new? I heard through the grapevine that your wife took off. But”—he cocks a head over toward me—“looks like you’ve moved on.”
Mason clenches his jaw more tightly. “This is my girlfriend, Maddy.”
I don’t even have time to swoon over his declaration of our relationship—girlfriend!—before Joe turns and extends a hand to me.
“Nice to meet you, Maddy.”
I take it, my own fingers tentative as they make contact with his. “Uh, you too,” I say quietly, hating how meek my voice sounds.
But the fact that he introduced himself to me causes some of the dread in my gut to lift.
He doesn’t know who I am.
I mean, it’s not all that surprising. Joe Robbins probably hasn’t thought about me for a second since I left school. Mason was my best friend, and even he didn’t recognize me at first glance.
Maybe this won’t be the disaster I anticipated after all.
“So, tell me all about you, man,” Joe says, reaching over and grabbing a breadstick from the basket in the center of the table. “It’s been forever.”
Mason’s nostrils flare as he watches Joe lift the bread to his mouth, his eyes rolling when the asshole bites off a chunk.
“Actually, Joe, we’re sort of in the middle of dinner here. Maybe we can catch up later,” he says tightly, his tone making it very clear that he has no intention of following up on that suggestion.
Joe takes another bite of his breadstick. “Don’t worry; I don’t mind. I haven’t eaten yet, so I’ll just join you.”
Joe lifts his hand to signal the waitress, and Mason decides he’s had enough.
“That wasn’t an invitation, Joe. Now, if you’d please leave, so we can finish our meal.”
Joe’s eyes dart to Mason, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Oh. I thought we could—”
“Well, now’s not a good time,” Mason clips out, his eyes shifting to me.
I see the apology in them without him even having to voice the words. He knows how uncomfortable Joe makes me.
Joe’s gaze follows Mason’s, landing on my face briefly before turning back to Mason. “Look, I’m sorry if I—” He stops, his jaw dropping as he turns his focus back to me. “Wait a minute,” he says, realization dawning in his eyes.
“Joe, please leave.” There’s no mistaking the edge in Mason’s tone now.
“Fatty Maddy? Is that you?”
I curl into myself in my chair, my eyes falling down to the table in front of me.
“Get out of he—” Mason starts, but Joe’s booming laughter interrupts him.
“Oh my God. It is you! Fatty Maddy, right here in the flesh. Though, I gotta say,” he says, leaning back to stare at my body, “you ain’t so—”
Mason’s up and around the table in a flash, yanking Joe out of his chair and shoving him into the table behind him with one swift movement.
Hannah, who’s been silently watching this whole exchange, cries out, “Daddy!”
Tears well up in her eyes, and I lean over, forgetting about my own troubles as I pull her against me. “Shh, it’s okay, sweetie. Your daddy is just talking to that man.”
Mason looks back over his shoulder at the two of us, Hope’s barks and the commotion from the clattering silverware causing the waitstaff to come rushing out.
“This man is not welcome at our table. Can you please see him out?” Mason says to two of the waiters, stepping back around our table and taking his seat.
Joe stands, straightening his shirt and shaking out his arms.
One of the waiters signals him. “Sir, if you’ll follow me.”
Joe shakes his head as he walks past our table. “All this for Fatty Maddy, man? I thought you had better taste.”
Mason stands, slugging Joe in the stomach as he passes, causing the man to double over in pain. Mason pushes him toward the waiters but not before leaning over and growling in his ear, “Call her that again, and you’re going to be crawling your ass out of here.”
The waiters grab Joe by the shoulders, leading him out of the courtyard and back through the restaurant.
Honestly, I’m a little surprised they’re not escorting Mason out right along with him.
Mason takes a seat, grabbing his napkin and shaking it out before laying it across his lap. “So, Hannah, finish that maze?”
15
Mason
“All right, Nana. That’s enough HedBanz for tonight. Time for bed.”
“But, Daddy,” Hannah whines, “can’t I stay up just a little longer? It’s not a school night.”
I pin her with a bemused look. “You know the rules, missy. Now, get your little tush off that chair and go change into your jammies.”
Hannah pulls the headband from her game off her head, tossing it onto the table before she turns and sulks away, dragging her feet across the kitchen tiles.
Maddy watches Hannah’s pitiful show before shooting me a sad look. I press a finger to my lips, cutting her off before she can even speak on Hannah’s behalf. If Hannah thinks she has somebody on her side, there’s no way in hell I’ll get her in bed anytime soon.
Maddy’s mouth falls open in mock indignation before her eyes crinkle with a smile, and she sticks her tongue out at me. “I don’t know how you resist that little face,” she says once Hannah is out of earshot. “I’d never be able to say no to her.”
“Trust me, it’s not always easy. And I probably cave more often than I should. Come summertime, she’ll be able to talk me into staying up later pretty much every night. But since school started, I’ve been a stickler about eight o’clock bedtime, even on weekends. If she gets off schedule for even one night, it messes up her entire sleep pattern for a week. It’s just easier this way.”
She nods in understanding. “There’s a whole lot more to this parenting thing than I thought.”
I laugh. “Tell me about it.”
Hannah comes racing back into the kitchen, her arm still halfway through her pajama top as she skids to a halt. She pulls her shirt down as she rights herself.
“Did you brush your teeth?” I ask.
Hannah’s head falls back on her shoulders. “Ugh,” she groans before spinning around and taking off down the hall.
“I’ll be in there in a minute,” I call after her.
“No!” she shouts back, stopping and sprinting back to the kitchen. “I want Dr. Maddy to put me to bed tonight.”
My mouth falls open in surprise before my eyes move to Maddy. Her expression mirrors my own almost exactly, and she looks to me for guidance.
“Are you sure, Nana?” I ask, turning my attention back to Hannah.
She nods proudly. “Yep. I want her to read me the new book she got me.”
When Maddy showed up for dinner a few hours earlier, she came bearing gifts. A bottle of wine for the two of us to enjoy after Hannah went to bed and a book. Hannah squealed when she took it from the store bag and saw Olaf and Sven smiling back at her from the cover.
Maddy must’ve read it to Hannah at least four times while I put the finishing touches on dinner, but apparently, that wasn’t enough for my litt
le girl.
Hannah pushes herself up onto her toes. “Will you read it to me, Dr. Maddy?”
Maddy gives Hannah a warm smile. “Of course, sweetie. But only if you promise to stop calling me Dr. Maddy. It’s just Maddy when we’re not at the clinic, okay?”
“Okay, Dr. Maddy,” Hannah says in response, and I bark out a laugh.
It’s been three weeks since the day I declared Maddy and myself an official couple that night at the restaurant. Three and a half weeks since our first date and the night we first made love. In that time, Maddy has tried no less than a dozen times to get my daughter to stop calling her Dr. Maddy. As you can see, it’s going swimmingly.
Maddy’s eyes shoot to me, her lips curling in a half-smile.
I cough to clear my throat. “Okay, Nana. Go finish getting ready for bed. Maddy will be in to read to you in a minute.”
“Yay!” Hannah cheers, drawing it out the entire way out of the kitchen and down the hall to her room.
I watch her as she goes with a smile on my face. Hannah has really thrived since Maddy has been around. She’s always been a happy little girl, but in the few short weeks Maddy has been a part of our lives, there hasn’t been a single meltdown, not a single tantrum when she hasn’t gotten her way. It’s as if Maddy has helped take my already-almost-perfect little girl and turned her into the angel I’ve always known she was.
When Maddy mentioned possibly keeping our relationship from Hannah for a while, I breathed a sigh of relief. She’d given voice to my own worries, and honestly, I hadn’t known how to broach the subject with her, and I hadn’t been sure how she’d react once I did. I hadn’t wanted to risk hurting her before things even really had a chance to get started. So, to hear her suggest it had momentarily eased some of my tension.
But almost as soon as that relief flooded through me, it was replaced with the overwhelming need to let her know that I trusted her completely. That I trusted her with Hannah.