At the end of the work day, Sophie was the last person to turn off her computer and pull on her coat. She’d purposely stayed behind as her coworkers had left for their dates. Most every female in her department had gotten flowers or candy delivered to their desks. The only thing Sophie had gotten was more complaints concerning the insurance changes.
What are you whining about, Sophie? Thom has been sending you all kinds of gifts. You never appreciated any of them. And if you hadn’t feigned sickness and called off your date, you would’ve probably gotten roses or candy. You’re getting just what you deserve.
The accusing voice in her head left a bitter taste in her mouth. She tried to ignore both as she buttoned her coat. She might be down for the evening, she thought as she made her way out of the building and to the parking garage, but by tomorrow she would pull herself together and put on a brave face. If anything, she wanted to show Mason she was a strong woman. Not a whiner.
Darkness had settled over the city more than an hour ago. The dim lights illuminating the garage showed only a handful of vehicles left on this level. Which was hardly surprising. Everyone had been in a hurry to go off on a night of romance.
She had no idea what, if anything, her parents were doing. With the news breaking about Mrs. Reynolds and Chloe, she figured her father had most likely found an out-of-town business meeting to attend.
Trying to shove away the melancholy cloak wrapping itself around her, Sophie hurried to her car. The sooner she got home, the sooner she could sink herself into a hot bubble bath with a glass of wine. By then she might forget she’d wasted all this time pursuing Thom, when Mason was the man she should have set her eyes on.
She was unlocking the door, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks and stared at the cuddly red teddy bear propped against the windshield.
Who could have left the precious stuffed toy? Oh, please, not Thom, she thought. She couldn’t bear to deal with him again.
A note was stuffed under one of the bear’s arms and Sophie quickly retrieved it.
No one should spend Valentine’s Day alone.
Clutching the bear to her breast, she glanced around to see if there was anyone who could tell her who’d left the stuffed animal. And then she spotted a man standing next to a nearby car.
Was that Mason?
Her heart tripping over itself, she took a hesitant step forward. Across the expanse of concrete, the man emerged from the shadows and joyous relief flooded through her.
“So you found Mr. Bear?” Mason asked, a sheepish grin on his face.
Hope spurted through her. She didn’t exactly comprehend how or why Mason was standing there in front of her. But at the moment, it didn’t matter. The sight of his handsome face sent her spirits soaring.
“You’re the one who left this adorable little guy on my car?” she asked.
Nodding, he said, “I thought you might be needing someone to hug about now.”
The urge to laugh and cry hit her at the same time, creating a hard lump in her throat. She tried to swallow it away, and her voice came out sounding like a husky whisper.
“I thought—uh—shouldn’t you be leaving soon?” she asked in confusion. “Your date must be waiting for you.”
He shrugged as a guilty expression crossed his handsome face. “To be honest, I don’t have a date, Sophie. I never cared much for going out on Valentine’s Day. Everyone has such high expectations—like they’re going on a romantic fantasy. Then the reality of the evening sets in and all those hopes fall flat. It’s deflating.”
Strange how only moments ago the parking garage had felt freezing and spooky, but with Mason standing close to her, she was as warm as if she was standing on the beach of a tropical island.
“Before—well, before things happened I always loved this day,” she admitted. “Valentine’s Day is a time when a woman can get mushy and flirty and no one will laugh at you for being a romantic. And there’s hardly a woman alive who doesn’t dream of finding her prince. But today...”
“What about today?” he gently urged.
She glanced down at the bear’s fuzzy red ears. “It’s not been a good day. I came to work dreading it and I stayed late hoping no one would see I was going home alone. Especially after the way I crowed to you about Thom and how I was going to make Mr. Perfect all mine.”
“I don’t understand, Sophie. I thought you had your Mr. Perfect right where you wanted him. The big Valentine’s date—everything just as you’d planned.”
Her head swung back and forth as she lifted her troubled gaze up to his brown eyes. “It was too perfect, Mason. And nothing like I thought it would be. Everything about it—from the very start—was absolutely wrong. I was wrong for imagining Thom was the man for me.”
He let out a long breath and Sophie had to wonder what he was thinking about her now. That she was fickle and couldn’t be trusted? She could hardly blame him. One minute she’d been purring about Thom and next minute she’d given him the boot. The whole thing made her look worse than shallow.
“I confess, Sophie, I was in the marketing department this morning and I overheard you telling Thom you weren’t feeling well. Are you feeling better now?”
So that was how he’d known she wasn’t going with Thom tonight, Sophie concluded. Sometime after that, he must have purchased the bear with the intention of waiting until she showed up at her car. What did it mean?
“I have a confession, too, Mason. I wasn’t really sick. Not physically sick, that is. Emotionally—well, that’s a different matter.”
His eyes continued to study her face and it suddenly dawned on Sophie that Mason had given her the benefit of the doubt about being sick, whereas Thom had brushed her off and practically accused her of lying. The two men were as different as night and day. And it had become crystal clear to her as to who was the better man.
He stepped closer and her heart nearly stopped as he smoothed a finger along her cheekbone. “Sophie, it would make me happy to see a smile on your face.”
She must truly be standing on a hot beach, she decided, because her heart was melting right into the palm of his hand.
“You don’t think I’m awful for cancelling the date with Thom?”
His gaze delved deep into hers. “Sophie—”
Suddenly anything else he might have planned to say went unspoken. Instead, he lowered his head and kissed her.
The sweet contact instinctively caused her eyes to close, her lips to part. The feel of Mason’s mouth upon hers sent a shower of hot sensations pouring through her body, prompting her to move closer, to savor even more of the masculine taste of him.
Wild and reckless and oh, so good. That was Mason’s kiss and not for anything did she want it to stop. It didn’t matter that they were standing in a cold, parking garage or that any passerby could see them. Touching Mason, kissing him, being close to him was taking away all the doubt and misery in her heart. This man was all she wanted or needed.
By the time he finally lifted his head, Sophie was completely dazed and realized she probably looked it.
“Umm—that was quite a Valentine’s Day kiss.”
He grinned and tugged on one of the bear’s ears. “To go with little red here.”
She smiled impishly up at him. “Thank you for the bear. And the kiss.”
His hand kneaded her shoulder and Sophie felt the heat of his fingers all the way through the heavy coat.
He asked, “Would you like to go out for dinner?”
Not about to play coy, Sophie punched the button to relock her car, then looped her arm through his. “I’m hardly dressed for a night on the town, but I would love to go out to dinner.”
“You look perfect to me. Let’s go see if we can find a restaurant that isn’t booked solid.”
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, Mason tossed his phone onto the console between the bucket seats and groaned with frustration. “Everything is booked up. I can’t find one nice restaurant in Austin with available seating. Looks like we’re going to have to settle for fast food. What about pizza?”
Laughing, she fastened her seatbelt. “Sounds wonderful to me. Let’s go.”
Grateful that she was being so understanding, he said, “There’s a pizza joint not far from my place. The food is delicious and the service fast. How does that sound?”
“I’m in your hands.”
As Mason drove through the city traffic, he kept glancing over at Sophie and wondering how his luck had managed to change in the matter of one short day.
If he hadn’t overheard Sophie cancelling her date with Thom this morning, he would’ve never known she’d be spending the evening alone and he’d have missed the opportunity to spend this special evening with her. Now, somehow, he had to make the most of it.
A few minutes later, as the two of them sat in the pizza parlor waiting on their order, a group of rowdy kids romped through the tables and yelled across the room. The chaotic atmosphere was hardly the sort of evening he wanted to give Sophie.
“I’m sorry about this, Sophie. This is not the romantic dinner I’d envisioned.”
She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Don’t fret about it. Just spending the evening with you is enough for me. But maybe we should get the pizza to go and find someplace quieter to eat.”
Was being with him really enough for her, Mason wondered. These past few days he’d sensed that all was not well between Sophie and Thom. Still, that didn’t mean that she’d suddenly fallen head over heels for Mason. He needed to put the brakes on his runaway feelings. He couldn’t let his hopes get out of control just because she’d kissed him like she’d never wanted it to end.
“I could take you home,” he offered.
She shook her head. “I still live with my parents. And I have no idea if either of them is home.”
He nodded, his mind whirling with possibilities, none of which seemed appropriate. Finally he asked, “What about going to my place? It’s only about five minutes away. It’s nothing fancy, but it would definitely be quieter than this.”
She laughed as a plastic fork went whizzing by his head, while Mason glared at the pair of adults who seemed oblivious to the children’s unruly behavior.
“That sounds nice, Mason. I’d like to go to your place.”
* * *
Minutes later, Mason showed her into a charming, second-floor apartment with a small balcony that looked out at the river.
While he switched on a pair of table lamps and lowered the overhead lighting, she gazed curiously around the living area. “This is so homey and comfortable, Mason. I love it.”
He chuckled. “I don’t expect it’s anything like your home. But I try to keep it tidy and make the most of the space I have.” He inclined his head toward a short hallway to his left. “If you’d care to freshen up before we eat, the bathroom is that way.”
“Thanks. I would like that. I actually think some food hit the back of my head while we were waiting in the pizza parlor,” she said with a laugh.
“Take your time. I’ll get our dinner ready. Where would you like to eat? At the table or the couch? You choose.”
She glanced at the dark green leather couch with a long coffee table sitting in front of it. “Oh, then I choose the couch. If you don’t mind it would feel great to kick off my heels and get comfortable.”
Mind? Mason didn’t know how many times he’d dreamed of having her on that couch. The fact that she wanted to get comfortable was making his fantasy really come true.
“Then the couch it will be,” he told her.
While she was gone, Mason placed the pizza box on the coffee table, then fetched napkins and paper plates, and just in case she didn’t want to use her fingers, added two forks.
When she reappeared a few moments later, he saw she’d freshened her pink lipstick and brushed her brown hair to a sleek curtain against her back. She looked like a walking dream and he could only hope he didn’t wake up and find he was actually alone.
“Have a seat and I’ll get some sodas. Or if you’d prefer I have beer.” He started toward the kitchen, then tossed teasingly over his shoulder, “Sorry, I’d offer you champagne, but I’m all out. I didn’t know I was going to be entertaining a beautiful woman tonight.”
She called across the room to him, “We don’t need champagne to make a Valentine’s toast. Soda will do just fine.”
“Sophie, did anyone ever tell you—”
“That I’m a good sport? Oh, please, Mason, whatever you do, don’t say that to me.”
He emerged from the kitchen carrying two chilled cans of cola. As he took a seat next to her, he said, “I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say that I’ve never seen you behave like a spoiled little rich girl.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “And hopefully you never will. If I ever do act like that I hope someone will bop me over the head. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been spoiled. But that doesn’t mean I always need to have everything perfect. I want to be able to appreciate the simple joys of life, Mason. Otherwise, I’d be missing out on the things that are the most worthwhile.”
He smiled at her. “Like pizza for Valentine’s dinner?”
“Exactly,” she answered. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather be eating tonight or any other place I’d rather be than here with you.”
He handed her one of the sodas, then opened the pizza box.
After serving her a slice, he helped himself and settled back against the couch. She was already eating with gusto and the fact that she appeared to be enjoying herself surprised him somewhat. Partly because she was a Fortune Robinson and could buy the finest gourmet food, even an entire restaurant if she chose to. And partly because he’d never really gotten the hang of how to entertain a woman. At least, not a woman like Sophie.
He said, “I think you actually meant that.”
“Mmm. This is delicious and well worth the wait,” she said of the pizza. Then she turned to face him. “And why wouldn’t I mean it? You didn’t twist my arm to get me here.”
“I know. But you had such high hopes for tonight. This wasn’t the sort of date you envisioned, I’m sure.”
“I’m certain Thom had made reservations at one of the ritziest places in town. He might even have given me flowers and taken me dancing. Only because he felt obliged to do those things for me. Not because he actually wanted to.” She shook her head. “Believe me, Mason. That’s not the sort of date I wanted. I want things to be genuine. And with Thom—I’m not sure that he cares about anyone’s feelings. Except his own.”
He momentarily forgot about the pizza he’d lifted halfway to his mouth. “When did you come to this conclusion? I thought—well, for the last few days he was giving you gifts and planning this night and you didn’t say anything. I thought you were still gaga over the man.”
Her face tinged with color, she lowered the plate to her lap and slanted him a rueful glance. “In a way, Mason, I suppose I’m just as phony as Thom. I’ve been pretending all this time. I didn’t want anyone to guess that after our first date I realized he and I would never be the real thing. It was just too embarrassing. My sister Olivia had tried to warn me and I wouldn’t listen to her advice. You see, where men are concerned, she has a cynical streak, so I thought she was just being negative. Now I’m going to have to listen to her say I told you so. Not to mention the gossip that will go on at Robinson Tech once the news gets out that I called it quits with Thom. After everyone could see I was chasing after him.”
“Sophie, you’re being too hard on yourself. You didn’t chase after Thom. You merely made him notice you. Which, if the truth was known, he’d already done. You just made it easy for him to ask you on a date.”
She smiled at him and Mason wondered why she was the only woman who’d ever made him feel so vulnerable and weak, yet so oddly happy. It didn’t make sense. But was love supposed to make sense?
Whoa, Mason, you’re getting way ahead of yourself. You don’t love Sophie. You’re enamored with her, for sure. And you’d like to take her in your arms and kiss her until the two of you end up in the bedroom. But that isn’t love. And, besides, this woman is going to move on to a bigger and better man than you.
“You’re being way too kind, Mason. But thank you for listening. And for trying to make me look not so much of a fool.”
Her comment broke through the warning voice in his head and he glanced over to see her eyes had suddenly clouded with doubts and sadness. In all the time he’d known Sophie, he’d never seen her as she’d been these past few days. It was like her confidence and sassiness had flown out the window. If Thom had caused this abrupt change in her, then he’d like to choke him until he turned blue in the face.
“Sophie, you can tell me if this is none of my business. But is this all about Thom? Or has something else been bothering you?”
Instead of looking at him, she stared at her plate. “I do have other things on my mind, Mason. But I’d really rather not talk about them now. Maybe later.” She looked at him, her eyes pleading. “Tonight I just want us to enjoy this time together. Okay?”
Although Mason would’ve liked for her to open up to him and share her problems, he wasn’t about to push his luck. But eventually, if he got his wish, she might want to talk about all the things she’d buried in her heart.
He scooted close enough to wrap his fingers around her forearm. “It’s perfectly okay, Sophie. So let’s dig in and finish this pizza before it gets cold.”
With a look of relief, she began to eat and Mason purposely changed the direction of their conversation to a safer topic. Eventually they began to talk about their college days and the sticky situations they’d gotten into both in class and on campus. Which had them both laughing.
Finally she placed her empty plate on the coffee table, then kicked off her heels and drew her legs up beneath her. She was wearing black lacy tights and Mason could hardly keep his eyes off the shapely calves, slim ankles and dainty feet. Beneath the black stockings there would be smooth creamy skin that would be soft and warm beneath his hand. The need to touch her was growing with each passing minute.
Rising restlessly to his feet, he said, “Uh—I could turn on the TV, or put some music on the stereo?”
“Some music might be nice. If you have something that’s not too intrusive.”
“I have plenty of elevator music—the kind we listen to all day at work. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like you’re trying to pull my leg.”
He laughed and her soft chuckle joined in.
“Okay. I’m teasing. I’d really like to take a shotgun to the speaker over my desk.”
“I know. If we didn’t have to listen to that morbid music, we all might be more productive.” She looked at him with raised brows. “We’re not at work, so what are you going to play for me?”
He walked over to the stereo and began to dig through a stack of CDs until he found the one he thought she might enjoy. “Something soft and romantic,” he said. “For Valentine’s night.”
Soon the sexy R&B music floated quietly out of the speakers, and he walked back over to the couch.
Holding his hand out to her, he asked, “Would you care to dance, my lady?”
“I would love to,” she murmured.
Placing her hand in his, she uncurled herself from the couch and stepped into his arms. His first instinct was to wrap his arm around her and crush her warm body to his. But she viewed him as a friend and a gentleman she could trust. He needed to keep a respectable distance between them, he reminded himself.
Earlier this evening in the parking garage, she wasn’t kissing you like a friend, Mason. She was kissing you like a lover. Now isn’t the time to hold back. Show her exactly how much you want her.
He was trying to ignore the prodding voice in his head when she said, “The music is nice. You have good taste, Mason.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he murmured as he dared to rest his cheek against her silky hair. “But you probably should’ve put your heels back on. I’m not that good a dancer. I might step on your toes.”
“I’m not worried. Besides, dancing barefoot with you feels...very good. Why would I want to stop and put on my shoes?”
As she spoke, he could feel her drawing closer until the tips of her breasts were brushing against his chest, her hips swaying rhythmically against him. The intimate contact filled him with sizzling sensations and before he realized what he was doing, both his arms had wrapped around her, his hands linked at the small of her back.
“We still have time to go to a club—to dance and celebrate. All you have to do is say the word.”
“We’re dancing and celebrating right now. And honestly, I don’t want to be crammed in a crowd.” She looked up at him, then brushed a finger against a spot on his chin. “You have a speck of cheese. Right there.”
“I’m messy. Thanks.” He looked down at her and his gaze focused on the plump, pink curves of her lips. “And you have a tiny dot of sauce at the corner of your mouth.”
“I do?” She paused long enough to lick both corners. “Did I get it?”
The only thing she’d managed to do was make his insides clench with longing. He struggled to keep from groaning out loud. “No. It’s still there. Let me.”
He wiped the speck of sauce away, but his gaze remained frozen on her lips. Had there been some sort of potion in the soda or pizza? He seemed to have forgotten how to breathe and the temperature in the apartment felt as though it had zoomed up to ninety degrees or higher.
“Sophie, either I’m getting sick or being this close to you is doing something strange to me.”
Her hands were suddenly on the middle of his chest, sliding slowly upward toward his collar bone. Mason swallowed and tried to keep his head from reeling.
“It’s doing something to me, too. But I don’t think it’s strange, Mason. I think it’s natural and nice and nothing to run from.”
Run. Yes, that’s what he should do. Run to the balcony or out on the stairs. Anywhere he could breathe and clear his head of this drunken desire that was taking control of him. But he didn’t want to move away from her. At least, not until he could taste her lips again.
“I’m glad you think so. Because I—”
The remainder of his words stuck in his throat and, no matter how he tried, he couldn’t cough them up or swallow them down.
Her eyes were glowing and her lips tilted in a provocative smile. “Because you want to kiss me?”
The softly spoken invitation was more than Mason could resist. Without a second thought, he drew her in the tight circle of his arms and, with a hungry growl, took her lips with his.
A flash fire roared through him and as his hands roamed her back and her soft curves melted into his body, he recognized this feeling was not just a man wanting a woman. He was holding something precious in his arms. He wanted to cherish and protect everything she was giving him, not take advantage of her vulnerable emotions by asking her for more.
The thoughts in his head continued to wage a war with the very real needs flowing through his body. But eventually common sense won the fight and he gently eased his lips from hers and set her away from him.
“I—I’m sorry, Sophie. This is getting out of hand.”
She stared at him, her eyes full of confusion, her swollen lips parted with surprise. He could see words practically forming on her tongue, but they were never released. Instead, she turned her back to him and walked to the opposite side of the room.
As Mason studied her slumped shoulders, he felt sick with loss. Moreover, he felt like a coward. This was his chance to show Sophie exactly how he felt about her. If he let this moment slip away, he might never be given another.
With that desperate thought pushing at his back, Mason took a fateful step in her direction. Then another. And another. Until his hands were on her shoulders, urging her back to him.