by Loren Bailey
Mason shrugged. “What can I say? I’m passionate about ice cream.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Sure you are.”
They didn’t say anything to each other for a while as kids one after another came through the line for their ice cream toppings. Brianna chatted with the kids as they passed, making jokes and seeing how high she could hold the scooper while still getting the sprinkles into their bowls. Soon Mason found himself loosening up as well.
Slowly the line started to thin out. The last girl in line was the youngest he’d seen yet, her head barely poking above the table. She held her bowl above her head in tiny hands, refusing to let her parents help her. She politely asked for sprinkles and then mini marshmallows. Mason bent down and playfully analyzed her bowl as if he were making sure she had just the right amount of marshmallow coverage. “Okay, I think you’re good,” he said, and the girl giggled. When he looked up, Brianna was watching him and trying to hide a smile.
His stomach flipped, but he tried not to let himself overthink it. He smirked at her and she looked away. “Can I help you?” he said teasingly.
She blushed, keeping her gaze down and fiddling with her apron. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh, whatever you say, Bri.”
“It’s Brianna.” She tossed her rag at him and the grin on her face grew. Then she glanced around. There was no line for the ice cream now, and everyone seemed to be happily eating and mingling. “Looks like we’re not needed here anymore . . .”
She’s leaving? He was flooded with disappointment. Mason glanced around, scratching at the back of his head. “Yeah, guess so.”
Brianna nodded, taking off her apron and folding it up slowly. He watched as she held it in her hands for another moment before she finally set it on the table. “So, I guess I’ll see you later then.”
There was a very good chance she genuinely meant that. She may have just had fun goofing around with him for the last hour and wasn’t interested in anything more. But she seemed to linger now. Mason decided it was worth one more chance.
“Or,” he said, feeling a little shy this time, “we could keep hanging out. If you wanted. I mean, we’re kind of the only young people here who aren’t about to get our faces sticky with ice cream.”
Brianna laughed. “You say that now,” she said, “but volunteers get a free scoop . . .”
8
After they’d each gotten their ice cream—carefully analyzed by Mason to ensure their bowls also had a decent coverage of mini marshmallows—they took a seat on a bench away from the crowd. Brianna sighed contentedly as she lifted her spoon to her mouth.
“You really do like all this stuff, don’t you?” Mason asked her, gesturing around the park with his spoon.
“Like I said, I like helping people—and I’m not just saying that because it looks good on an application,” she said. “I always enjoyed going to events with my father when I was little, and then . . .” She lowered her bowl to rest on her legs, and Mason could tell the conversation was taking a turn.
“My little sister was diagnosed with cancer when she was a toddler.”
“Oh, wow, I’m sorry.”
“She’s been in remission for several years now.”
“That’s great,” Mason said.
“It’s amazing.” Brianna nodded. “I’ve been interested in children’s health research ever since. It’s so important.” She smiled shyly then and said, “I’ve really enjoyed watching Louisa and her work with the foundation. She’s so inspiring.”
Mason turned to her. “Have you told her that? I bet she’d let you work for her.”
“Oh, I don’t really know her, actually. We’ve been introduced but that’s it.”
“I can put in a good word for you if you want.”
Brianna blinked at him in surprise. “Really? You’d do that?”
“Sure.” He stood up. “Let’s go.”
“Right now?” she asked, trailing after him.
“Yeah, right now. C’mon—she’ll be happy to chat with you.”
As they headed toward Louisa, Mason tried not to smile at the way Brianna nervously combed her fingers through her hair and straightened out her shirt.
“Louisa,” he called, gesturing for her to join them. “You’ve met my friend, Brianna Pembrooke.”
“Brianna, thank you so much for helping out today.” Louisa grinned at her.
Brianna beamed. “It was a pleasure, Your Grace. I was just telling Mason that working at events like this is so much fun. And I really appreciate the work you do.” She continued on about the events she’s seen the foundation put on, and Louisa sent Mason a knowing look, clearly hiding her amused smile.
“You should consider applying for an internship with us when you’re ready,” Louisa said when Brianna was finished. “We’d be happy to have you.”
“Oh my gosh, thank you. I would love that.”
Louisa began to respond, but before Mason even knew what was happening he was opening his mouth and saying, “And in the meantime, we should organize an event for the foundation together before I leave.”
If he was being honest, he didn’t exactly mean it. But Brianna and Louisa both looked positively thrilled by this idea and immediately began to discuss plans. Mason couldn’t get another word in.
***
The next morning when he came downstairs for breakfast, Mason was surprised to hear a familiar voice in the study. He rounded the corner and found Louisa sitting with Brianna at a small table, each of them typing away at laptops. He’d never been more thankful that he didn’t wander around in his boxers in the morning.
“Bri? What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Mason,” she said cheerfully. “You’re late! We’ve been discussing our charity event for twenty minutes.”
Mason glanced at the half-empty cups of tea sitting on the table. “Late? It’s, like, nine o’clock . . .”
Louisa gestured for him to sit with them. “We’ve decided, since it was your idea, that you should be the one to choose what type of event we put on.”
“Oh, you guys don’t have to do that. I’m cool with doing whatever you want—”
“Come on, Mason,” Brianna said. “I’m sure you can think of something.”
Mason lowered himself into a chair, wishing he’d at least gotten in a cup of coffee before having to turn on his brain like this. They both stared at him expectantly, and it was clear that they were not going to let up on this. He scrambled to come up with an idea that might actually be interesting to him. “I guess . . . uh, what about something with music?”
“Music?” Louisa nodded, turning back to her laptop and already beginning to type rapidly. He had no idea what she possibly could have gotten off of just that, but apparently that was enough to get her off and running.
“What kind of music?” Brianna asked.
“Maybe a concert where the proceeds go to the foundation?” Then he sat up. “Yeah, a concert with local bands. Nathan plays in one—I bet he can tell us about some others too. They’ll be more likely to play at the last minute like this. And they’ll be cheap—they’ll probably play just for the exposure.”
“I love it,” Louisa said, grinning.
“So do I!” Brianna added.
Louisa continued typing. “I’m sure there are a few concert venues that would be available on short notice—especially for a good cause.”
Mason felt like he was watching a tennis match between Louisa and Brianna, who was now typing away at her laptop as well. He wondered if he was supposed to be typing something too. Then he came up with another idea. “We could invite kids with illnesses and their families. Maybe have a free section for them.”
Brianna paused at that, turning to him with a look in her eye he’d never seen before. Mason felt his cheeks heat up under the intensity of her stare, and he noticed Louisa smiling in amusement again, though she kept her gaze on her screen. He coughed. “I mean, if you wanna do
that.”
“Absolutely,” Brianna breathed.
Mason heard a throat clear behind him and turned to see his dad standing in the doorway with two mugs of coffee in his hands. “Already getting to work I see.”
“Mason had the greatest idea, Mr. Everett,” Brianna said. She began listing off potential concert locations to Louisa, who nodded along eagerly.
Mason’s dad handed him a mug of coffee and raised his own in salute. Mason raised his back before taking a sip. For the first time since he could remember, he was actually excited to be part of something.
9
Over the next three weeks, Mason, Brianna, and Louisa worked to organize their charity concert. They managed to find a small theater that could fit them in two nights before Mason and his dad were supposed to return home.
Louisa had her staff at the foundation helping as well, but she trusted Mason and Brianna to handle most of the preparations. Nathan and Cora were helping too. They’d each been drawn to different aspects of planning the event—Nathan recruited and coordinated the bands; Cora, who enjoyed writing, drafted and reviewed all written communication; and Brianna took a natural role at Louisa’s side as event organizer. Mason was even surprised at how much he’d enjoyed getting involved. He didn’t quite have one area where he preferred to work, but he found he actually liked being involved in a little bit of everything.
What he liked most of all, though, was that Brianna was coming around the house nearly every day at this point. Mason found himself excited to get out of bed in the morning.
“Just wait until you try these pastries,” she said to him eagerly one morning. They’d been trading off on providing breakfast for several days now. Brianna held up the box she’d brought. “They’re an Evonian specialty—no one else makes them.”
“I’m always down to try a new form of doughnut.” He followed her down the hall toward the garden, where they usually worked if the weather allowed.
“You’re so American,” she teased. “These are better than doughnuts.”
Mason grabbed her shoulders and pretended to give her a serious look. “Nothing is better than doughnuts.”
Brianna made a show of rolling her eyes, though he noticed her cheeks get a little pink. They stepped away from each other and continued outside.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mason spotted his dad and Louisa trying to hide their smiles. Neither of them had said anything to him about Brianna, although they certainly gave each other plenty of knowing looks. Mason pretended not to notice.
Nothing had happened between him and Brianna yet. But that was just fine with Mason. And besides, he had a plan.
***
After a long day of finalizing details, Cora, Nathan, and Brianna were heading out for the night. The concert was just three days away, and nearly everything was finished.
Mason walked them out the front door and paused in the front entryway, grabbing Brianna’s arm. “Hey, wait a second, Bri.”
She stopped, looking at him in surprise. Over her shoulder, he could see Nathan and Cora continuing down the drive, though they’d turned and were now giving him the thumbs up. Mason shook his head at them, trying to clear his focus.
“I, uh . . .” he glanced down at his feet hesitantly. He was more nervous than he thought he'd be. “Well, you know the concert is coming up soon, and I’ve had a lot of fun spending time with you planning it.”
She smiled, and his heart began to pound. “So have I.”
“And, I guess . . . I was just wondering if you’d want to go with me to the concert. Like, as my date.”
Her eyes lit up with excitement. “I would love to.”
Mason grinned. “Awesome.”
Then she kept looking up at him expectantly. He took a step closer, reaching for her hand and leaning toward her.
And then the front door opened behind them.
Mason and Brianna jumped away from each other as his dad stared at them from the doorway. “Oh. Hey. I was just coming to see where you went.”
“I was just saying goodbye to Brianna,” Mason said hastily, taking another step away from her.
He waved at her melodramatically. “So . . . goodbye.”
“Yes. Right. Good night, Mason. Good night, Mr. Everett.” Brianna looked mortified as she turned quickly and sped down the walkway to where Nathan and Cora were waiting.
They watched the car pull away, and Mason’s dad cleared his throat.
“Shut up,” Mason mumbled, brushing past his dad to get inside.
He could just hear the smile in his dad’s voice. “I wasn’t gonna say anything.”
10
Over the next couple days, Louisa and Mason’s dad seemed to share secret glances whenever Mason would come into the room. He had a feeling his dad told her about the doorway mishap.
But the night before the concert, Louisa made an announcement. “Your father and I have a surprise for you. We’ve arranged for your friends to fly in and come see the show tomorrow.”
At first, Mason didn’t know who she was talking about. He immediately thought of Cora, Nathan, and Brianna. Then he realized she’d actually meant Chase and Andre. “Wow, that’s—wow, Louisa. Thanks.”
Now his parents’ secretive looks made more sense. They’d been planning this together. At least it was a better surprise than the other secrets they’d kept from him over the years.
Chase and Andre arrived early in the afternoon the next day, so he had time to bring them to the house and show them around town before the concert. After introducing them to Louisa, Mason led them up to his bedroom.
“Dude, your room is awesome,” Andre said, plopping back on the bed.
“Do you get to keep all this stuff when you come home?” Chase asked. He was looking through the stacks of video games that Mason had forgotten about over the past few weeks. He’d been so busy with Louisa and his new friends that he didn’t spend much time in his room anymore.
“I guess so,” Mason said. “I haven’t really thought about it.”
Chase snorted. “Please. If I were you, I’d never leave this room.”
Mason shrugged. “Yeah, well, I’ve been really busy helping Louisa with this concert. And my friends here have been too. We don’t really spend much time in my room.”
“So, what is this concert thing?” Andre asked. “Like a battle of the bands?”
“Not really. Local bands are performing, but it’s for a charity event for Louisa’s foundation.”
His friends looked over at him doubtfully, and Mason didn’t like it. “What?”
“You? Charity work?” Chase teased. “Yeah, right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on, man,” Andre said. “You know you’re not exactly the ‘go-getter’ type.”
He didn’t know why he suddenly felt so defensive. “Yeah, well, it’s not that bad. I mostly hang out with my friends, Nathan and Cora. And Brianna.”
“Oh, there we go,” Andre said with a grin. “So there’s a girl.”
“It’s not like that,” Mason insisted. “I mean, it sort of was at first. But—it’s different. This is important to my mom too.”
“Yeah sure, bud,” Chase said. He turned to Andre. “No wonder he hasn’t messaged us all month—between this sweet setup and a hot Evonian girl, I wouldn’t ever want to leave either.”
His friends laughed, but Mason felt a churning in his stomach. He didn’t like the way they talked about Brianna, even though he used to talk like that about other girls back home. But he especially didn’t like the way they talked about him.
11
By the time they’d all gotten dressed for the concert that night, Mason was wishing his friends had never come to Evonia in the first place. They’d goofed around all evening—nothing different from the way they used to hang out—but Mason found himself not interested in their antics at the moment.
He was picking up Brianna at her place that night—Cora too, since Nathan was already at
the theater with his band to warm up. While offering to drive them had seemed like a good idea at the time, now Mason regretted it. His friends insisted on coming along to pick up the girls, and it was clear as soon as the car took off that the girls were not fans of Chase and Andre. They spent the entire car ride calling the girls “milady” and pretending to offer them champagne in horrible attempts at Evonian accents.
Mason rolled his eyes. The guys thought they were being hilarious, while Cora and Brianna clearly did not. He caught Brianna’s eye and tried to send her an apologetic look.
By the time they got to the theater, Mason was more than ready for the night to be over. Louisa introduced him to a few people, and every time he shook someone’s hand he could hear his friends snickering in the background. Normally her introductions didn’t bother him, but tonight Mason felt the back of his neck turn red each time.
Louisa was supposed to kick off the concert with a small welcome announcement. Their group had a row of seats in the balcony, and when she headed off to get onstage, Mason drifted over to his friends to bring them to their seats.
“Dude, you are such a puppet,” Andre teased when he reached them.
“What?”
“A puppet,” Chase said. “You’re here doing whatever these people tell you to do. It’s like we don’t even know you anymore.”
“That’s not true,” Mason insisted, although suddenly he found himself questioning it. He’d been enjoying himself these past few weeks here—hadn’t he?
“Look, I’m sure it’s weird with your mom,” added Chase. “But you don’t owe her anything, man.”
Mason struggled to think of a response. Suddenly it was hard to tell if he’d really been having fun here, or if he’d just been trying to convince himself that he’d forgiven Louisa and everything was fine.
The sound of laughter caught his attention, and he spotted Louisa down the hall chatting with Brianna. He couldn’t deny that he’d been doing a lot of this to get closer to Brianna, to impress her. Or at least, that’s how it had started.
“And that girl is hot,” said Andre. “But I don’t think she’s that into you. She seems more into your mom, actually.”