Price of a Kiss (Forbidden Men 1)

Mason snorted; we both ignored him.

“And you should probably hate me for the way I came onto your boyfriend—even though I really did do that to show you he would be an unfaithful bastard. But you’re still the best friend I ever had.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you for being here for me. I love you.”

Wow, near-death experiences truly brought out the best in my cousin.

With that, I turned into watering pot number two. “I love you too, E. Always.” We hugged and bawled all over each other. Mason stepped out of the room, pretending to use the bathroom.

When he returned, Eva and I had settled some, but we still kept dabbing tissues at our moist eyes and then laughing at each other.

Mason and I stayed with her until Aunt Mads and Uncle Shaw arrived. When Eva gave me a look, letting me know she was going to drop the baby bomb on them and wanted to do it by herself, I took Mason’s arm and ushered him from the room.

As we walked out of the hospital, hand in hand, he was quiet. Contemplative. But seeing Eva and actually getting to talk to her gave me a certain relief, and I was ready to talk.

I bumped my shoulder into his. When he glanced over, I held up a hand in a universal what’s-the-deal signal.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, letting go of my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulder and pull me tight against him.

I set my fingers over his heart, already trying to soothe him. “About what?”

He glanced away. “I had no idea Dr. Masterson was the one taking care of Eva.”

“Mason,” I interrupted when he opened his mouth to say more. He looked so sick with regret that I leaned up and kissed his chin. “I need to confess something.”

He paused and crinkled his brow with a confused frown. “Okay.”

I pulled him to a bench by a small ornamental tree in front of the hospital and sat us both down. Taking each of his hands, I looked him in the eye. “When you tackled Jeremy today and that gun went off, my heart stopped. I swear, it literally stopped in my chest. I thought…I thought he’d shot you, and I was ready to die right along with you.”

Pausing to wipe at my dry face, I blew out a deep breath and shook my head. “Then it went off again, and I was certain you were dead.”

Mason didn’t say anything; he just tightened his grip on my hands.

I sent him a watery smile. “You cannot believe how relieved I was to see you roll off of him and take control of his weapon. I couldn’t believe you were actually alive, that I was so lucky. Even after I found out about Eva and I paced the halls of the hospital, wondering if she was going to make it or not, I still felt…lucky. I’m just so glad it wasn’t you.”

Eyes glistening with love, he breathed out a reassured sound and yanked me close for a hard embrace.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” I asked against his neck. “It doesn’t matter how many women paid you for sex. I won’t leave you because of them. I don’t think I could ever leave you for any reason.”

He kissed me, tasting of relief and devotion. His lips told me he didn’t think he could ever leave me either.

“But running into your old—and I mean, like, five years younger than God, old—clients is beginning to get annoying. We might have to move away from Waterford County, where no one knows how much you used to charge.”

Mason lifted his eyebrows at my suggestion. “Where exactly did you have in mind?”

“Well.” I bit my lip. “I’ve been missing Ellamore. A lot. They have a great medical program at their university, and I’m sure their engineering department rocks too. Besides, it didn’t matter how far away I ran; Jeremy still found me. So I’m done running. I want to go home.”

He winced. “But Illinois? What about Sarah and my mom?”

I only had to think about that for half a second. Snapping my fingers, I grinned. “I got it. We could bring them with us. My mom manages a hotel. She’s always looking for good, dependable employees. She could get Dawn a job no problem.”

Mason shook his head, his eyes sparkling with a reverent glint. “You have a solution for everything, don’t you?”

When it came to keeping us together, I would definitely find a solution. I fluttered my lashes at him. “So what do you say? If we can get your mom on board, do you want to look into enrolling at Ellamore in the spring?”

His mouth cut me off. “Yes.” His lips pressed against my neck next. “Yes. If it makes you happy and keeps us together, my answer will always be yes.”

EPILOGUE

Four Months Later