Fall by Winter

It was possible I’d become his personal stalker, but in my defense, I’d been preparing the bagels. And having coffee while waiting for the bagels to come out of the oven. Now I was ready to go feed him and maybe save the day a bit. Because I always bought too much candy.

After wrapping two big ready-made bagels in individual paper sleeves, I grabbed one of the other five-pound bags of fun-size chocolates I’d bought and left the house.

The weatherman had warned about the risk of snow, and I believed him. It was freaking cold.

Some of my neighbors went all out for Halloween, their front yards littered with decorations. Others—me included—didn’t. My time had passed. Rather, I’d paid my dues when Brady and Aurora were younger. These days, I settled for a single pumpkin on the porch and a sign on the door.

It’d been half off at Target last year.

There was a handful of kids who’d just reached our street and would be at Mason’s house in a few minutes, so I jogged the last bit and knocked on his door.

“Trick or kiss!” I called.

Mason opened the door and gave me one of his charming grins. “What if I want both?”

I chuckled and walked past him—and several trash bags and a new stove. “As I was stalking you from my kitchen window earlier, I couldn’t help but notice you’d probably run out of candy.”

“Fuck, you’re a lifesaver, darlin’.” He was there to cup my cheeks and kiss me as soon as I turned around to face him. “Mmm. I missed you today.”

He gave me all the goose bumps in the world. “Me too,” I admitted, shivering.

He smiled into another kiss, a slow one where he teased the tip of his tongue around mine. It was my favorite kiss. I’d even told Sharon about it when we had lunch today. A kiss that wasn’t a whole kiss, a kiss where our lips just barely caressed each other, and yet the tongue-teasing and soft smiles were enough to wonder when we could get naked next time.

I’d never been kissed the way he kissed me.

“Let me get that from you.” He took the heavy bag of treats and placed it on the floor by the door. “Damn, you’re prepared.”

“I’m a mother who’s lived in Downtown for half her life,” I replied. “We get a lot of Halloween traffic.”

Aside from the marina and a small town center, Downtown was literally just one residential area after another. And almost only houses. As far as I knew, there were only a few apartment complexes in our district.

“I noticed.” He chuckled and widened his eyes slightly. “I didn’t get a fraction of this in Scottsdale.”

“But now you’re here.” I was doing it again. Unable to stop smiling. “I got you something else too. I figured you hadn’t eaten.” I extended the two wraps.

He quirked a brow, curious, and inspected the bagels, and I left him in the hallway to peer into the kitchen. The only place with proper lighting in the house. And it was a complete war zone, although he’d come far already. It explained why he looked all sexy and sweaty too. The kitchen had been stripped bare, leaving only a new fridge and freezer.

He’d polished the old wooden floor too.

“This is gonna look amazing when you’re done, Mason. I’m so glad you spared the floor.”

He groaned something unintelligibly in response, and when I spun around on him, he had sunk his teeth into a bagel. The one with goat cheese, prosciutto, marinated artichokes, and spinach.

I grinned and cupped my ear. “What was that?”

“I shaid—” He chewed and swallowed some of it. “Fucking marry me, woman. Jesus Christ, you made these yourself, didn’t you?”

I nodded and prayed the dimly lit hallway hid my blush.

I was saved by the bell a second later, and Mason opened the door to more kids in costumes.

“Trick or treat!” they cheered in unison.

“Treat—always treat. Don’t you look fantastic, all of you.” Mason fumbled a bit with one hand grasping at both bagels, while he tried to bend down and open the candy. “I think I need some help from my future wife.”

I gigglesnorted and hurried over to grab the bag. Then I smiled at the decked-out tricksters and made sure they all got candy. “Happy Halloween, sweethearts. You look amazing.”

“Thank you!” They flashed us some toothy grins before they left, their parents waiting out on the sidewalk.

Mason closed the door and took another bite of his bagel. “How long do you think we have until the next arrival?”

“A couple minutes?” I guessed. “I should probably refill my bowl at home. With Aurora in charge, the kids will make bank.”

He smirked around a mouthful of food. “You’re cute when you try to wave off my advances as jokes, but we’ll see who gets the last laugh.”