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Gabi
Gabi felt like she was in heaven for the rest of the weekend. Mason was so doting and loving and genuine, that she knew there was no way her heart wouldn’t be his. It was really just a matter of when and how to tell him.
They watched stupid movies, ordered pizza, made love until they could hardly move.
As they were curled up on the sofa together that night watching Ghostbusters, Mason’s phone rang.
“Kylie,” he said, looking at the screen with confusion.
Gabi pulled herself up while he answered.
“Yeah, hi, Kylie,” he said. “Yes, she’s here with me. ... . Yep, of course.” He handed her the phone. “She wants to talk to you.”
“Hey, Ky,” she said. “What’s up?”
“Why didn’t you tell me where you were going to be and why haven’t you answered your phone?”
She blinked in confusion. “Kylie, I texted you back last night to tell you I’d be at Mason’s. I don’t even know where my phone is. I probably left it in the car.”
“Well, I didn’t get a text,” she pouted. “You can’t do that to me; I’ve been worried sick.”
“I’m so sorry, Ky. I promise I texted you. I probably just didn’t hit send. You know me.”
She harrumphed but didn’t argue.
“I’ll be here again tonight if it’s okay with Mason.”
“You better fucking believe it,” Mason said, making both of them laugh.
“How’s it going with Cruz?”
“Oh, Gabs,” she breathed, her entire demeanor changing. “Wonderful, everything is so wonderful. I feel like he really cares about me, not just my looks, but me. Does that sound crazy?”
Gabi looked at Mason, who was absentmindedly stroking the back of her free hand. “Not at all. I know exactly how you feel. You still with him?”
“Mm-hm,” she answered happily.
“Good, have fun, I’ll see you in the morning. Love you, Ky.”
“Love you too, Gabs.”
“Is she having fun with Cruz?” Mason asked when she hung up.
“Pretty sure the girl is in love,” she answered, handing the phone back to him.
“Oh thank God, Cruz has been pining over her since the first time she came into the shop. Now I won’t have to hear him sigh sadly all the time. It was getting depressing.”
She giggled and curled up under his arm so she could touch more of him. She wanted to feel her body against his. He was so warm and solid.
“I’m going to have to ask him what his secret is.”
“What secret?” she asked.
“Whatever he has that makes beautiful, intelligent women fall in love.”
Her heart skipped one thousand beats, and she just settled into him further. “I’d say you’re doing fine on your own.”
He pulled her in closer and ran his fingers through her hair. “That is the best news I’ve heard in a very long time.”
When the movie came to an end, he turned toward her and pulled her into his lap. “So, I have this crazy idea,” he started, “and I want you to hear me out.”
“All right,” she said with a small smile. Her heart was beating out of control. At the moment, she’d probably agree to just about anything he proposed. A date? Absolutely. Move to Siberia? Why not? Marry him? Tomorrow was good.
“Well, I’ve heard that there’s this thing that people who like each other do. And like I said, it’s a little out there, but I think I’m ready if you are.”
“Just ask,” she said, putting her palm up to his cheek. “You might get a yes.”
He grinned.
“Unless,” she warned, “it involves spiders and/or snakes.”
“Fair enough.” He cleared his throat. “Gabriela Turner, will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night in a real restaurant with real people provided there are no snakes and/or spiders?”
She laughed and felt her insides permanently shift. This man was everything. How had she not seen it before? “Mason Adams,” she said, failing to look serious, “I would like to formally accept your request for a snake-and-spider-less dinner tomorrow night.”
“Really?” he asked, his entire face brightening. “Was that a yes?”
She nodded.
“A real yes, not just a ‘say yes for now to get him to shut up’?”
“A real yes.”
“Fucking finally!” he shouted, kissed her hard, and then ran around the living room with her over his shoulder badly singing “We Are the Champions.”
She laughed until she couldn’t breathe and just held on for the ride because she had never felt happier than she did in that single moment.
“So, we’re really going on a date tonight?” he asked her again when he dropped her off at her apartment the next morning.
She laughed. “Yes, of course,” she told him and kissed him square on the lips. “I’m not sure how else I can convince you.”
“More of that would help,” he said, so she kissed him again. “But remember the spider/snake thing.”
He grinned. “I will.”
“I’ll see you at seven.” She was so excited she could barely keep her enthusiasm inside. She felt like a baby experiencing jingling keys for the first time.
“That’s a long time from now,” he said softly, drawing her in for yet another kiss.
Fuck if that wasn’t the truth. “So then six?”
He laughed. “Works for me.”
“Perfect.” She let out a sigh. “I really do need to get out of this car and get ready for work.”
“Do you though? Is gainful employment really all they say it is or just what the ‘kids’ are into these days?”
She giggled. “It’s not bad. I like paying my bills.”
“That’s a weird hobby,” he told her and kissed her lips again. “Now get out of my truck, but only if you promise to get back in it at 5:45 tonight.”
Laughing, she asked, “5:45 now, huh?”
“Only because I need time to shower.”
“Okay then, I’ll be ready for the sixty-five-and-older specials at Denny’s.”
“That’s my girl.”
She opened her door. “Thanks again, for an amazing weekend, Mason.”
“You too, Gabi,” he said tenderly. “I mean that.”
She smiled and finally stepped out of the truck.
“Oh, hey, babe,” he said. “Is that your phone down there?”
“There it is!” She sighed in relief and grabbed the phone from where it had camouflaged itself with the floor mat. Frankly, she hadn’t looked very hard; she had been with the only person she really wanted to communicate with.
“Thank you, handsome. See you tonight.”
He grinned his heart-stopping grin. “See you tonight, gorgeous.”
He waited while she walked into the building, and only when she was safely on the other side of the locked door, did he pull away.
Once she was inside her apartment, she leaned against her closed door and sighed. Happy. She hadn’t felt this happy since ...
Actually ever. Matt never once made her feel like Mason did, and for just a moment, she thought that maybe, just maybe, her father was right. That she could have her true love yet. Maybe Matt hadn’t ruined her forever.
She plugged her dead phone in and hopped into the shower, trying to mentally dress herself for her date later. She actually squealed when she thought about it. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she was going to go the distance—no eyebrow hair out of place, no toenail polish unmatched.
And as she dressed for work, she had to remind herself that there was really no reason for her to stop by AdamsMade. But just in case, she donned one of her favorite work dresses and made sure her make-up was as close to flawless as she was able.
On her way out the door, she grabbed her phone but froze in her steps as she powered it on. She stood there with her mouth open as it buzzed over and over, texts and missed phone calls and voicemails scrolled across the screen. Hundreds of them.
All from UNKNOWN.
She dropped her purse and felt her knees go weak. What was this? What was he doing?
Eyes wide, heart stopped, blood rushing in her ears, she opened the text app and read just a few of them.
UNKNOWN: Answer me! Who the FUCK is Mason?
UNKNOWN: Are you with him now, you little slut?
UNKNOWN: I bet Mason doesn’t know how to fuck you like I do.
UNKNOWN: ANSWER ME!
UNKNOWN: You’re doing this to torture me, aren’t you?
UNKNOWN: WHO THE FUCK IS MASON????
She felt her bile rush up her esophagus and she had to run to the bathroom to make it to the toilet on time. She vomited so hard tears came out of her eyes.
How did he know about Mason?
Sobbing and trembling on the floor of her bathroom, she scrolled back through the messages, trying to ignore the anger and hatred until she got to the night of the wedding.
Her blood went cold, and she let out a heart-wrenching sob.
She hadn’t texted Kylie that she was with Mason. She had replied to Matt instead by accident.
Oh Fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. What did she do now? How did she fix this? She didn’t even know where to start. As far as she knew, Mason didn’t even know she’d been married.
She hadn’t withheld that on purpose, it had just seemed too complicated and embarrassing to bring up the fact that she had been too weak to break free from Matt for so long. But now. Jesus, now she wished she had.
As she pulled herself up from the floor, she took a few deep breaths and tried to straighten herself out. It was simple. She would tell Mason tonight, he would understand, and everything would be wonderful.
More than wonderful. Because it had to be. Because fuck it all, she was in love with the man.