Mason chuckled. “Don’t know. Don’t care. It’s my company. What are they going to do, fire me?”
“Thank you.” There was a pause. “Listen, Mr. McHenry…”
“Mason, please.”
“Sure. Mason, here’s the thing. Emily is an incredibly smart woman.”
“I know.” Did I hear a touch of pride in Mason’s dark voice?
Glancing over, I saw that Sandra was straining to hear every word as well.
“Her mother is a bit more, shall we say, fanciful,” my dad said slowly. “Prone to flighty whims and strange ideas. Her sister Betsy is even more loopy, with the constant traveling, crystals, psychic readings, astral projection, and who knows what else. But Emily doesn’t believe in that stuff.”
“You’re sure?”
“Well, I don’t think so. You’re going to have to ask her yourself.”
I couldn’t take the eavesdropping anymore, and stepped into the room.
“Here’s the thing, Mason,” I said softly, as his eyes snapped toward me. “I think of that psychic stuff like a movie review. It might be interesting, but I’m going to watch the movie myself and form my own opinions, not take someone else’s word for it. Do you know what I mean?”
Dad jumped up and shook Mason’s hand. “Take good care of my girl.” It was adorable to see my very medium-sized father giving Mason a stern glance.
“I will, sir,” Mason said.
Dad’s hand patted the back of my shoulder as he left quickly, closing the door behind him.
Mason rushed over to take my hands, sitting us close together on the couch. “Your father refused the promotion, but I’m sending your parents on a trip to England anyway,” he grinned.
“That’s wonderful, thank you. So, you forgive me for having that list?”
“I wish you told me about it at the beginning, so we could’ve had a good laugh and gone through it together. But I understand not wanting to sound a bit nutty.”
Mason’s fingers slipped between mine, as he stared into my eyes. “Emily, I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me, or intimidated by me. I know that I’m older, but I don’t want you to feel that you have to keep anything from me. I don’t want you to act differently because you think I expect it.”
Nodding, I leaned closer. “Thank you for understanding. But you didn’t really think I was getting close to you on behalf of my father, did you?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry to admit that the thought did cross my mind. I’ve been surrounded by opportunists for years. But I don’t think I really believed it for a second.”
Those incredible green and gold eyes met mine. “Emily, may I kiss you before I go crazy?”
“You’re already a bit crazy,” I whispered, tilting my mouth up to his.
The gentle, tentative caress of his lips on mine quickly became a raging fire of emotion. Falling against him, his hands ran up my back as he held me close. “I want all of you, angel,” he murmured. “The brilliant parts, the crazy parts, the soft, sweet little parts.”
His hand skimmed along my side to squeeze my hip. “Have you told your dad that you’re moving in with me as soon as you can?”
Sputtering a giggle, I placed my hand on his chest, pushing him away a few inches. “Isn’t that a bit fast?”
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“No.” I shook my head.
He smoothed my hair back behind my ear, his wide smile warming me straight through. “Me either. I could barely sleep at all. I’m never doing that again. We belong together. Meals, coffee, sleeping. Everything else.”
“Yes,” I nodded.
There was a tap at the door. “Come in, Tanya.”