The Price of Mason (Forbidden Men 10)

“I think you’re pushing it, Randall.” God, I wanted to kiss her when she was happy and vivacious and acting like a total goofball.

Not Patricia, or Monica, or anyone from their class would be caught dead acting so ridiculous and silly just for the fun of it. And that right there was one of the biggest reasons why I couldn’t get enough of Reese.

She wasn’t them.

She was so not them, in fact, that I was beginning to fear I needed her in my life if I ever truly wanted to recover from them.

Completely oblivious to the terrifying revelation I was having, Reese rolled her eyes. “Whatever. This is still awesome. I can go get you book two right now, if you really want it.”

I blinked, confused. “You carry Harry Potter books around with you to college keggers?”

With a snicker, she held up the book I’d just handed her. “What? You do too.”

Okay, she got me there. I laughed. “Wow, you really are aiming to be the top recruiter of the year.”

“You know it.” With a quirky grin, she used the corner of the book she was holding and tapped my chin dimple with it. “But seriously, my apartment is right above the garage, which is, like, twenty feet away from that back door there, so I can get it for you in two minutes tops.”

Wait. What?

I glanced at the door as that little piece of information knocked me for a loop. It was one thing for her to associate with Eva Mercer, talk to her before classes, eat lunch with her, and attend one of her parties. But living above her garage…?

I’d been so sure she wasn’t like Eva at all but now I was thrown. How could they be this close and some of Mercer’s pretentious, egotistical personality not rub off onto Reese, even a little? My worry grew as I turned back to her. I’d really come to like Reese; there’d been moments when the emotion had even felt stronger than “like.” I didn’t want to learn she was different than the girl I’d eaten lunch with, that she might be a lot more like them than I had realized.

“You’re staying above the Mercers’ garage?” I asked slowly.

“Yep,” she answered cheerfully, only to pause and roll her eyes. “And I know what you’re thinking, but trust me, the place is super cool. It’s honestly like a mini apartment up there with a kitchenette, bedroom, bathroom, and living room. And the privacy is awesome. Eva is so jealous. She had no idea what kind of gem was on her property until I moved into it. I swear, she’d probably kick me out and move in herself if her closet wasn’t twice the size of my entire bedroom.”

“Hmm,” I said, not really listening to her rambling explanation. “Wow. I could tell you and Eva were close, but I had no idea her parents would let you move in.”

“Oh!” Her eyes flared with surprise before she grinned and nudged my arm. “I’m sorry, I guess you didn’t realize—Eva’s my cousin. Her mom, Aunt Mads, is my mom’s little sister.”

Oh.

Wow.

Well, hell. That changed everything, reassuring me about her personality again. Their blood ties, and not the fact that they actually liked each other because they were alike, could be the reason they hung out so much. She could still be just the way she’d come across to me this past week, after all.

But on that same note, their blood ties could make her more blindly loyal to Eva, and if not blindly loyal, maybe just reluctantly loyal.

At the end of the day, she would no doubt side with Mercer over me.

Not sure why she’d ever need to pick a side between us, but the mere idea concerned me.

“Yeah,” I drew out slowly, “I didn’t know that.”

“Okay, seriously,” she said, staring me straight in the eye. “Is there more to this thing between you and E than you two are letting on?”

“No.” I shook my head. “No, I just…no. Not at all. I was only worried the contention between her and me would bother you. I mean, you’re not going to stop talking to me now in loyalty to your cousin, are you?”

She arched a single eyebrow as if my concern was ridiculous. “If I haven’t stopped by now because of her, then I’m probably not going to stop later on either because of her.”

My shoulders relaxed. “Okay, good. It’s just… I know she doesn’t consider me to be from her class. It’d be a shame if you jumped over that cliff with her.”

Reese merely sighed as if tired of this line of conversation. “I may love my cousin to pieces and go all fashion crazy with her on occasion but trust me, I do know how to be my own person. If I ever become as condescending as Eva Mercer, please shoot me, okay?”

I wouldn’t shoot her; I’d probably just give up on life completely if she became like them. But I nodded. “Okay.”

She sent me an exaggerated goofy grin, probably to get me to smile, which worked. “Great. Now that we have that settled, wait right here. I’ll be back in a jiffy with your next book.”