by Mia Madison
When I saw both Ava and Charlie mouthing ‘We love you, too’, I smiled.
It was a surreal blur as we waved goodbye to each other and I didn’t look away from the window until they were completely out of my field of vision. I took a moment to regain control of my emotions before finally looking to my left.
I didn’t have to say a word. Mason’s hand outstretched and I took it, thankful when he gave it a comforting squeeze. Driving away from my past was more difficult than I imagined, but looking at Mason was all the reminder I needed to remember that my future was bright.
As we drove out of the city limits, I smiled and squeezed his hand in return.
14
Since we had two drivers for both the truck and the car, we ended up making the drive from New York to Florida in almost one long stretch. We stopped less than two hours away from Miami to crash for the night before continuing down the next morning to the storage facility where I had rented two of their largest units.
Unloading the truck was depressing. Mainly because we had just put so much effort into getting the stuff in and I knew we’d have to go through the entire ordeal again after we found a place. But we made the decision together to do it this way for a good reason—so we’d know our stuff was safe and wouldn’t feel rushed to find a place.
I wanted the first house I bought to be perfect, even if that meant a longer search and more work when it came to packing. I reminded myself of that fact with each box I carried into the storage units.
Thankfully, having three buff men made unloading a hell of a lot easier than it had been when we did it ourselves. Especially the furniture.
Once the truck was empty and the paperwork wrapped up, the two men who had accompanied us wished us luck in finding a new place and drove off with the truck. We stood between the open doors of the units and peered inside.
“I’m glad you got two,” Mason said. “At least we were able to leave plenty of space to walk around if we need to find anything.”
“I figured it wouldn’t hurt. It’s not like we can’t afford it,” I replied with a shrug, watching in silence as he pulled down the doors and locked both units securely. “So what next?”
“Finding somewhere to crash sounds like a good step one. You got everything you need for a bit in the car, yeah?”
“Yep. I’m good for a few weeks. Any ideas on where to stay for the time being?”
Mason turned to me with a broad smile as he said, “I happen to know one place we’ll definitely be welcome.”
I followed the Jeep through back roads, praying that Mason knew where the hell he was going because I sure as shit didn’t. I had my cell phone ringer turned up to full blast just in case I fell behind, but Mason thankfully took it slow.
After twenty minutes or so of attempting to concentrate on the vehicle ahead of me and not indulge my curiosity by looking around, he turned on his signal light and pulled down a dirt road.
“Another cut-off road?” I muttered to myself with a wince. “I really hope it’s in better condition than the last.”
I turned out to be shocked by the good condition—especially when the dirt became covered with gravel a hundred feet or so away from the main road. Another quarter mile down and I was pulling onto a paved circle driveway, my eyebrows raising at the massive house that came into view.
“Okay. Definitely not a cut-off.”
Mason parked the Jeep near the front door of the house and hopped out, waiting for me to pull up behind him and do the same. I rushed out to meet him, leaving everything in the car except for my keys which I hastily shoved in my pocket. Just as I opened my mouth to ask whose house we were at, I was interrupted by the loud slam of the front door.
I cocked one eyebrow high in the air as an enormous man came jogging out of the house straight to us. It instantly became clear who the owner of the house was as the two men hugged, but I couldn’t lift my jaw off the floor. When they pulled away and turned to me, my gaze flicked between them multiple times.
“Someone needs to send your parents a fucking fruit basket. I mean damn.”
Mason rolled his eyes and his brother roared with laughter. After everything I heard about how broken Ethan had been after his divorce, I was pleased to see that he was in good spirits. At least for the moment.
“You must be Layla,” he said warmly, reaching out to offer me his hand. “Ethan.”
“No hug?” I joked as I took his hand and gave it an exaggerated shake. “Seems unfair.”
His blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “I don’t think my brother would appreciate it.”
Mason grumbled something in agreement before taking his rightful spot at my side and shooting his brother an unamused glare.
I patted him on the arm and smiled as I assured him, “You know you’re the only one for me, Mason. But seriously—is your whole family this attractive? Any other brothers I should know about? How old is your dad?”
Ethan laughed again while Mason shook his head, but I could see that he was actively fighting his own laughter. Just to make sure he knew I was joking, I stood up on my tip-toes and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek as I whispered, “I love you.”
A full-fledged smile pulled at his lips and he repeated the words loud enough for his brother to hear. My heart warmed when it became clear that he wasn’t the least bit ashamed of the depth of his feelings for me. I certainly wasn’t either, but I hadn’t wanted to embarrass him in front of brother.
“So... Mason tells me you two need a place to crash. You can stay here as long as you like,” Ethan said with a content smile, leaning over to gently nudge me with his elbow. “It’s the least I can do since I’m betting you’re the reason he finally came back for a visit.”
“Visit?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowing together. When it clicked, I turned to Mason. “You didn’t tell him?”
“Tell me what?”
Mason grinned, ignoring his brother. “I only called yesterday to ask if we could crash here for a few nights. That’s all I told him.”
“Tell me what?” Ethan repeated, looking between the two of us for an answer that Mason clearly wanted me to deliver.
“We’re not here for a visit,” I said slowly, watching with a small smile as realization began to dawn in Ethan’s eyes. “We’re moving here together. For good.”
Ethan’s eyebrows rose with disbelief and he turned to his brother for confirmation. Mason nodded and we watched as an ecstatic grin stretched across his lips. When he turned back to me, the gratitude in his eyes was nearly enough to make my breath catch. He must have really missed his brother.
“I suppose this is because of you, yeah?” I nodded and he took a step forward, visibly hesitating before he finally said, “Fuck it.”
I squeaked in surprise when he abruptly lifted me up for the hug I had joked about before. While the two of them did share a strong family resemblance—Ethan was at least half a foot taller than Mason and quite a bit bigger in build. If felt almost scary to be hanging mid-air in the arms of this beast of a man.
Granted, the casual business attire kind of kept him from seeming too scary. Kind of.
Not really.
“I think you’re scaring her, Ethan.”
“Hmm? Oh shit.” He let me down and gave me a sheepish smile as I stared up at him with wide eyes. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” I said as I smoothed down my rumpled clothes. “Just give a girl some warning next time, yeah? Hugging you requires some mental preparation. Got to work up to that shit.”
They both laughed while my unfortunate choice of words caused the stray thought of whether he was big everywhere to pop into my head uninvited. It took everything I had to hold back my wince.
Just the mere thought was painful.
Both Mason and Ethan were oblivious to my brief train of thought, thank God. Ethan wrapped an arm around Mason’s shoulders and roughly hauled him closer, grinning at me as he said, “This calls for a celebration. Who’s up for getting plastered?”
<
br /> “I am!” I exclaimed, chuckling when he stuck out his elbow for me. “Thank you. That’s much less intimidating than a hug.”
“Duly noted. Now come on in. I’ll show you around the house a little before we figure out where we’re going.”
Had I grown up anywhere else, I might have been in awe as we walked through Ethan’s house. But wealth was something I was already accustomed to so the tour wasn’t completely overwhelming. After Ethan showed us the guest room where we’d be staying, he offered us some privacy while he went to his office to call out of work for the next few days.
“We should probably carry in the bags now. If we end up drinking I’m definitely not going to want to do it later.”
“Hold up a second,” Mason said as he caught my wrist. He wore a deep frown as he asked, “You good?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I just want to make sure you’re comfortable staying here. He won’t be offended if we get a hotel room.”
“I’m great. You do know I was joking about the hug, right? And about everything else, for that matter.”
The easy-going smile I loved so much returned to his lips and the frown faded away. He nodded and stepped closer, his arm loosely wrapping around my waist.
“I know. But I’d be a shitty boyfriend if I didn’t double check to make sure you’re happy before making any decisions.”
“Point taken. And don’t worry—you are easily the best boyfriend ever.”
He leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “One day, I’d like to be the best husband ever. If you’ll have me.”
A rush of pure adrenaline shot through me and made my heart beat wildly in my chest. It was a struggle to ignore my giddiness and narrow my eyes at him.
“One day,” I said slowly, waiting for him to catch the hint.
“Yes. One day.”
“Not today.”
“Of course not.”
He was smiling like a mischievous child and it made my frown deepen. I shook my head as he started to laugh and I pointed a stern finger at him.
“Oh no. I mean it. I’m not getting engaged until we’ve been dating for a while.”
“Well, a while isn’t really a finite measurement of time. Would you mind being a little more specific?”
What a question. On one hand, I knew if I didn’t answer I’d probably end up having him ask me before I was ready. On the other hand, something inside me screamed that I was ready now—that I was certain he was the one—so why bother putting a time restriction on it?
I knew why. After my mother met my father—they got pregnant, engaged, and married all within the span of five months. Look how well that had turned out.
“Six months,” I said surely, nodding my head to myself. “And—hypothetically speaking—if you were to ask me in six months, I’d still want an engagement of at least another six months. So at least a year before marriage.”
A sad smile appeared on his face. “Your parents?”
“Yeah. It’s not you. I’m totally sure about you. But—”
“But you’d feel better not rushing into marriage before it feels like the right time. Don’t worry, beautiful. I’d wait forever for you.”
“Damn it, Mason,” I muttered as I covered my eyes with the heels of my hands. “Why do you always say the right thing and make me second-guess myself?”
“So now you want me to propose sooner?”
“Maybe?”
He paused, laughing a little as he said, “Well that’s too damn bad because it won’t be happening for at least six months.” I groaned and he added, “But that gives me extra time to find the perfect ring for you.”
“Oooh. You know, Owen let Charlie help pick hers. You could—”
“Nope. I’ll pick it out myself and you’ll have no idea when it’s coming.”
“Oh, please. You and I have some kind of weird mind-meld thing going on. I’ll know the moment you start considering it.”
“Bullshit. It’s going to be a complete surprise.”
“Care to bet on that?”
Mason raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by the proposition.
“What would be the stakes?”
“If I can predict that it’s coming—you have to agree to let me veto your ring choice if I really don’t like it and promise not to get bent out of shape about it.”
He didn’t look happy, but he was still too intrigued to decline.
“And if I manage to surprise you?”
There it was. Only a tiny part of me doubted that I’d be able to predict when he would propose, but that nagging little voice warned me to offer up something that I was willing to give regardless.
Then there was the daredevil side of me who refused to back down from a challenge and kind of wanted to lose just to see what he would come up with.
“I’ll do anything you want for an entire day.”
“Anything?”
“No limits. I’ll be your full-blown slave for twenty-four hours. Anything you want.”
His pupils instantly began to dilate and his nostrils flared. Before I could bring myself to regret it, he was sticking his hand out for me to shake on it.
“Deal.”
I shook his hand while I watched his eyes cloud with desire. The longer I held his gaze, the more certain I was that I made a bet that I was bound to lose. I made a mental note to mark our six-month anniversary in my calendar as soon as I got to my phone so I’d at least know when to start looking for clues.
I wasn’t throwing in the towel just yet. The fate of my ring depended on it.
15
Months later...
“Sometime before Christmas,” I muttered to the empty rubber belt as I watched it roll by. I had been standing at baggage return for at least half an hour before bags finally started sliding down the chute. “Thank fuck.”
The past week was exhausting in every sense of the word. It was hard to believe that only six days ago, I was curled up in Mason’s arms in our brand new bed, happily alternating between napping and slow sex on a lazy Sunday.
It was a few hours later when I got the call. Ava’s water broke two weeks early and I needed to get on a plane immediately.
Unfortunately, it left Mason with no time to find someone to cover for him at the physical therapy center he was working at. Which meant I boarded the plane alone, uncertain of how long I’d be gone.
It ended up taking two days before she finally gave birth to little Chloe Morgan. I texted the pictures of me holding the baby to Mason who called to congratulate Trent while an exhausted Ava fell into a drug-induced sleep.
The baby was healthy, but there was some concern about Ava herself that led to us all spending an extra few days in the hospital. I did everything I could to calm down a frantic Trent and Arthur—her father—while simultaneously trying to be there for Ava and baby Chloe.
It was a fucking job. I barely slept and even though I had Charlie with me to help ease the burden, it took a lot of energy just trying to console the men.
The doctors declared Ava out of the woods four days into her stay and we took both her and the baby home on day five. I thought that would be the end of the freaked-out phase of things.
It wasn’t.
Trent didn’t know whether to spend more time taking care of Ava or Chloe, but he became extremely territorial whenever anyone went near the baby. Arthur was territorial over his daughter—and that extended to his granddaughter—and it caused a hell of a lot of tension that came to a head the evening before I left.
I had ducked into Ava’s bedroom to hide from the commotion, surprised when I found her wide awake. She was holding Chloe, staring down at her daughter with a look in her eyes I’d never seen before. A look so maternal that it was obvious Ava was meant to be a mother—and I knew she’d be a damn good one.
She glanced up and waved me over, grinning when I said, “You know your father and your fiancé are about to come to blows out there, right?”
; “Yeah,” she said, almost happily. “It’s better when they tire themselves out on each other without the baby present. They’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine.”
I looked her up and down, spotting the resolve in her eyes long before she could voice the words she would undoubtedly say next.
“I’ll book a flight for tomorrow. If you need me to come back for any reason, just give me a call. Hell—even a text would do it.”
“Thank you. For everything.”
Twelve hours later, Charlie and Owen gave me a lift to the airport before going back to their home, leaving Ava and Trent to deal with her father and their daughter alone. We both did our parts and while I was more than happy to help, I was beyond relieved to finally be going home.
Seeing Trent be so protective of Ava and Chloe had made me miss Mason terribly. So after I finally grabbed my luggage and walked out of the terminal, I could feel happy tears welling in my eyes when I immediately spotted him in the crowd.
The wheels of my suitcase rattled loudly behind me as I picked up speed in my rush to get to him. Neither of us said a word when we first embraced, but I could feel in the way he held me that he missed me just as much.
“It’s funny,” I whispered against his neck. “I thought it would feel like going home when I got off the plane in New York.”
“It didn’t?”
I shook my head. “No. This feels like home.”
His arms tightened. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too. Take me home and I’ll show you how much.”
Mason chuckled lowly and pulled back just enough to press a long, slow kiss to my lips before breaking apart with a nod.
“Let’s go.”
It had taken four months for us to find a house I was happy with and another month to finalize the price and get the payment squared away, but we had done it.
It was unnecessarily big, right on the beach, and had the potential to become my total dream house with a few renovations.
Though Mason knew I wanted to do a few things to the house over time, we never really discussed what kind of renovations I wanted. It hadn’t seemed as important as actually getting moved in, so I kept my thoughts to myself for the most part.