Mr. Masters (Mr. 1)

“It’s okay, I’ll go and do something on my own. We can go next week.”

“So, Thomas, hey?” Emerson smiles. “He’s so funny. Honestly, I’m always laughing the whole time he’s around.”

“Yeah, he’s nice,” I agree.

"Well, at least he's a lot nicer than that foot wanking boss of yours." She tuts as she sits down beside me and begins to apply her mascara. "Please tell me that you're over this fascination with him?"

I watch her for a moment. I haven't told Em hardly anything that has happened between Julian and me. Why I'm not really sure.

“What don’t you like about him Em?” I ask. “You don’t even know him.”

She glances over at me. “You’re right, I don’t, but I know you.”

“And?” I frown.

“He said he wanted casual sex.”

I pick up my mascara. “So?”

“So, then he takes you to a dinner and totally ignores you for two hours.”

I look at my reflection in the mirror and press my lips together again.

“And then there’s all this sexual tension, and he tells you that his kids come first.”

“That’s an admirable quality in my books,” I reply, unimpressed.

“It is.” She stops what she’s doing and looks at me. “If they’re your kids.”

I watch her for a moment.

“I just know you, Brell. I know you won’t do casual because you’re not wired to be a casual kind of

girl. So why would you waste the next twelve months on a guy who doesn’t want commitment and who’ll probably be sleeping around while you are at home looking after his children? It’s not like you won’t run into him, you live with him. You care for his kids. Bottom line is, you’ll be loyal and he won’t.”

I exhale, pick up my blusher, and begin to brush my cheeks. “You never know what could happen.”

Emerson stops and shakes her head. “Brell, he is not the guy for you.”

I put my blusher down on the dressing table. “Why are you so sure?”

She thinks for a moment. "Okay, let's look at it like this: you could meet a twenty-five-year-old guy who is your soul mate. You fall in love and have wild fun, maybe date for a few years. You're a team. You decide together where your home will be and you save for one. You get married, have children, and be on equal grounds for the rest of your lives." My eyes fall to hers in the mirror and I watch her.

“Or… you could hook up with Mr. Masters, who has already fallen in love with his soul mate and lost her. He’s a widow and you will always come second to her no matter what. His house, his job, his children… and you’re left to fit in somewhere around them.”

I swallow the lump in my throat.

“Even if he did want a relationship—and he doesn’t—you will never come first to him, Brell. You will always be fourth or fifth down the line. He can’t move home to Australia. He can’t go out and be spontaneous. He can’t put you before his children. He can’t give you something that a younger man can.”

My face falls.

“I just want what’s best for you, Brell, and Mr. Masters is not it. He’s the complete opposite.” She puts her arm around me, and we stare at our reflection in the mirror. “You stayed with your last boyfriend for three years too long because you felt sorry for him, because you’re a good person and you wanted to fix him.”

“I know.” I sigh.

She bumps her shoulder with mine. “You can’t fix Julian, no matter what you do. You can’t turn back time for him. He’s already been there and done that with somebody else.”

I smile sadly.