Fall by Winter

Mason exhaled a laugh and hugged me to him again.

“You’re gonna regret this soon,” I croaked. “I’m like this sometimes, y-you know. The night at the club, I was put together. Nice dress and all. And now…look at me.”

I was pretty sure I felt him grinning against my hair.

“Lis, when was the last time someone took care of you?”

“I…” Had no answer.

I sniffled and shrugged.

He carefully let me go and said he’d get me some tissues. Then he disappeared into my bathroom for a hot second before he was back.

“When was the last time someone put you first?” He sat down again and held up the Kleenex box.

“I can’t think straight right now.” I waved goodbye to the last shred of decency and grabbed a couple tissues to blow my nose. “For the record, William didn’t break my heart. He couldn’t break what he didn’t have. All he shattered was an illusion I’d clung to.”

“Good.” He rubbed my back soothingly. “It bothered me that he went behind your back, but I’m not a saint. I couldn’t resent him for letting you go.”

It was impossible for me to grasp. For as long as I could remember, I had been a secondary character in my own story. As a mother, as a wife, as a friend. The thought of Mason waiting for me, the thought of him acknowledging there could be something significant between us from an early start, made me feel ridiculously special. Especially since I’d seen the signs too. Well, sort of.

“I told Sharon you were like the sun,” I confessed. “Something nice to look at, but you don’t get too close. On some level, I knew you had the ability to burn me.”

He hummed and tightened his hold on me, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to see where this could go, then?” He cupped my cheek and made me look up at him. His gaze softened, and I was half surprised he didn’t run away screaming at the sight of my face. I had to look awful. “I’m not looking for any promises or guarantees, darlin’. But I came back to Camassia for three reasons, and you’re the biggest one.” Maybe he saw the shock flit past. “If I just wanted to be closer to my son, I could’ve joined him in Vancouver or stayed in Seattle. If I just wanted to reconnect with my brother, I could’ve asked him to visit more often or flown up more frequently myself.”

That made my eyes well up all over again.

Holy hell, it was overwhelming.

“One more thing,” he murmured, resting his forehead to mine. “I don’t think this exhaustion of yours is permanent.”

Oh boy. I closed my eyes and drew a ragged breath.

What if he was wrong?

“I think you’ve been hurt,” he told me quietly. “Life knocked you down, and you’re afraid to try again. I get it.”

He did, and he didn’t. He was partly right; I’d be a liar if I denied that. But… “It’s more than that.” I eased back a little and wiped my fingers under my eyes. “I’m not young anymore, and I see what it’s like out there. Everybody’s looking for perfection.”

“You’re wrong,” he replied. “Everybody’s looking for acceptance, and they try to find it by acting perfect.”

I inhaled shakily and glanced at him hesitantly. How did he do that? How could he pack so much truth into so few words and drive them straight into my chest?

“I’ll tell you a secret, though.” He bumped his forehead against mine gently. “I’m too fucking old to even pretend.”

I spluttered a small chuckle and shook my head.

“I’m serious.” He smiled. “I’ll be fifty in three years. Can you believe that?” Then he sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face, sobering. “I’m far from perfect. I have two ex-wives who say I’m impossible to communicate with. I can’t chase you down without straining something. I can quite happily go to bed at nine in the evening—preferably on the couch in front of the news. And I hurt my back last night when I repainted the kitchen.”

The damn butterflies were back.

I slipped my hand into his and threaded our fingers together.

“I think you’re pretty great at communicating.”

He squeezed my hand. “You’re easy to talk to.”

That was it. He’d ripped away the last of my defenses.

It was scary as hell to open up to the possibility of a new future, but…did I have a choice? Mason was irresistible. I’d never felt so incredibly drawn to another person’s heart before.

“This is what I want, Lis.” He held up our hands. “I want you to give us a chance. No pretending, no forced perfection that’ll fade within months. Just us.”

Just us.

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay. Just us. And…my legs aren’t always this silky smooth.”