“Hey!” I shout from over his shoulder.
Mom laughs. “Call you later.”
Laughs?
“Mason!” I shout. “Put me down.”
“Later,” I hear a female voice, presumably Catrina Savage.
“I swear to God, if you don’t put me down right now, I will scream my fucking head off!”
“Wait until we get outside then. Your sister’s still sleeping.”
“Wait. Mom? Mom, stop him!”
“See you soon, honey. I’ll call you.”
“What?” I call out. I can’t believe she’s not doing something.
He’s climbing down the stairs with me, and I feel myself go a little woozy, so I squeal in fear and hang on tight to his shirt, squeezing my eyes shut tight.
The next thing I know, I’m being put into Mason’s truck, my bag and shoes being chucked into the back seat.
“You know… I’m getting just a little sick and tired of being dumped into this truck,” I snap, feeling like all the blood in my body has rushed to my head. I’m angry. Really angry. When he gets inside, he hits the button, and his truck starts up.
“You’re being an asshole!” I announce, shooting him an angry glare.
He flexes his jaw.
Oh. No smirks? No smartass comebacks? Guess he’s grumpy today. Maybe the shine on the new penny is wearing off. Not a surprise. That’s how it goes, doesn’t it? They want you. They want to impress you, make you think they’re sweet as pie and that they wouldn’t even look at you the wrong way. Not ever. And then they show their true, selfish colors, don’t they? Only took two days, too.
Whatever.
“Seatbelt, Amie.”
I buckle the belt as he pulls out and cross my arms tight over my chest again.
“I’m sorry, baby, but I’m exhausted. Slept six or seven hours across three days. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was up immediately yesterday, but I was assessin’ the situation and as soon as it seemed serious, I did tell you and I got you here. As for today, I have shit to do today and then tomorrow… tomorrow we’re stayin’ in bed all fuckin’ day. All I’m gonna do is sleep, and between sleeping, get better acquainted with every inch of your body.”
He grabs my thigh and squeezes it. It feels like my heart is being squeezed, too.
Because a day in bed with Mason on a quest of discovery sounds like perfection.
But then I shove that thought away. Or try. I want to shove it with all my might, like it’s something ugly that has to be thrown down the stairs. It’s like I’m at the top of a long, steep staircase, but I can’t stand by to watch it tumble and fall apart, so I look out the window and chew the inside of my cheek instead.
Having someone apologize the minute after they hurt your feelings is weird.
But my feelings shouldn’t be getting hurt. I need to be practical here. I have stuff to do, too and need to decide how to go about doing it.
I need to talk to Ivy.
I need to find that ring, though, so I guess I’ll do that while I’m being babysat.
I need to get to Mom’s and go through Auntie Nelle’s stuff.
I should probably also call my job and get put back on the schedule early, since I have a bunch of stuff to pay off. Not to mention get the ball rolling on canceling the wedding. If I get ahold of my phone, I can go onto the wedding website where we have all our details and send out a mass announcement from there. Three quarters of the people coming are on that mailing list.
How dare he think his things to do are more important than my things to do. A babysitter? Ridiculous.
“Mad at me?” he asks.
“Very observant, aren’t you?”
“Well, your ears are practically smokin’. Plus I’m sensing emotions in you. But yeah, I’m observant. I’m tired, so I’m moody. Clearly you are, too.”
“I’m always moody,” I retort. “If this bond with us were real, that’d be your life sentence.”
He doesn’t seem shaken by that. He keeps talking. “I’ve got shit to do and I can’t trust you’ll stay and wait for me. I’m lookin’ forward to the time when I can trust you, and I know we’ll get there.”
I scoff.
“But wildberry, I know we’re not there yet. So I’ve got company for you. People I care about, so be nice to ‘em okay? You and me are mated for life so these people are gonna be your people for life, too. Remember that before you mouth off or hurt their feelings.”
“Your parents?”
“Yeah. Mom might bring some of the girls from the pack. I suggested that so you can make some friends.”
“I have friends at home. I’m all set in the friend department, fuck you very much.”
He sighs. He does look exhausted. I look away, feeling guilty.
“What things do you have to do?” I ask.