How his smile seeped into my skin and warmed me from the inside out.

“And …?” Lisbeth prompts, pulling me out of my daydream.

“And Oliver looked awesome,” I say before filling my mouth with pasta.

“No one uses that word anymore, for starters. Secondly, I know you. I know your vocabulary. Dig deeper, Shayester. Describe him to me.”

I snort, wiping my mouth off with a napkin.

“I hope you didn’t do that,” she says, stifling a chuckle.

Quickly, I take a sip of water. “No. I didn’t make that ungodly sound at work today.”

“That’s good.”

I roll my eyes.

“You had a good day then?” she asks. “I’m being serious. It went well?”

I sit back in my chair and feel a semblance of peace drift through my body. Even with my ability to pick apart any given situation—even if it happened twenty years ago—and still find something to either be embarrassed about or worry over, I still feel good about today.

“Yeah,” I say, blowing out a breath. “It did. I was super nervous this morning, but once I got there, it felt … natural.”

My gaze drops to a stack of folders I brought home with me. The idea of sorting through them, getting them organized, making notes of all the things that need to be done—the things that should’ve been done and are overdue—fills me with excitement. I pondered that while I made dinner. I certainly never felt this way when working for Monroe Companies. Sure, my position there wasn’t that much different from what I’m doing now, and Mr. Monroe always treated me so respectfully, but I was never this motivated to do the work.

I get up from my seat. “It’s really weird. I walk in, and everyone is so nice to me. They all made me feel so welcome. Toni, the woman I interviewed with, had everything ready to go first thing this morning with a smile on her face. Kelly, she works on my floor, told me about her first day to help me relax. And every one of the Mason brothers were just …” My cheeks ache from grinning. “They’re so different, yet so much the same.”

“Ooh. Brothers? Tell me more.”

I laugh. “Holt is the co-CEO, along with Oliver. He seems like he keeps them all in line. And Boone is a riot. I like him already. Then there’s Wade. He seems annoyed with the rest of them. Think … stupidly hot, glasses-wearing architect.”

“I think—hook me up, please?”

I laugh again.

“I don’t want to go to this wedding, Shaye.” She groans at the new topic. “I’ve been trying to talk myself into packing or at least making a list of what I need to take, and I just can’t.”

“So don’t go. Your situation has changed since you RSVP’d. No one will be upset with you if you sit this one out.”

“Ha. Then you don’t know Lydia.”

“I know that if she’s your friend, she won’t want to torture you.”

“Let’s just say that there’s a reason you are my best friend and she is not. Besides, I already gave you all of my food,” she jokes.

I pace around my table, side-eyeing the stack of folders next to my carbonara. My fingers itch to dig through the reports and papers. To be useful. To be helpful.

To impress.

A burst of energy courses through me as I recall the look on the Mason faces earlier today when I rattled off all of their schedules. That felt great—like I was valuable. I haven’t felt that way in a long time.

“Want to come over and eat some of your food?” I ask her, trying to tease her into compliance. “I made carbonara. We can eat, and you can grill me about work, and I can tell you just how awesome you are and how every guy at that wedding will be trying to get your number. Oh! Come over, and we can plot out every outfit for the events at the stupid wedding. You’ll have everyone looking at Tommy with pity.”

She hums as though she’s considering it.

“Sounds like fun, right?” I take a bite of the pasta, slurping the end of the noodles up for effect. “This is delish, if I do say so myself.”

“I do love me some carbs …”

“I know.”

She sighs. “I want to come over, and I should, probably. But I know you have other things to do besides coddle me.”

“I coddle no one.”

“Sure.”

It’s my turn to sigh. “Just come over, Lis.”

“No. I won’t. You have an entire day of badassery you need to revel in. And I know you, and you’ll want to prep for tomorrow—”

“Not true,” I interject as my gaze lands on the files again.

“It is true. You can’t lie to me. I’m your best friend.”

I rest an elbow on the table and smile. “That you are.”

“And that’s why I’m going to keep my butt at home and wallow in self-pity. You deserve to bask in your greatness today. I couldn’t live with myself if I dimmed your sparkle.”

Tags: Adriana Locke Mason Family Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net