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Yes, he finally said, straightening and speaking precisely. Sarah told me about the makeup. She
told me about everything you two did last night. And no, Mom is not going to fire you. She s probably
going to give you a bear hug the next time she sees you. Sarah was absolutely glowing this morning.
I ve& I ve honestly never seen her so happy. So whatever you think you did to annoy me last night
after my shower has been erased tenfold by everything you did for my sister.
My jaw dropped as I watched him gaze at me with a sincerity that tore open my chest and made
my crush for him expand into a wicked, hot mess.
After I cleared my throat, I straightened my spine and tried to calm myself. Resist the hunky
gigolo, Reese. Resist!
And you couldn t have said anything like this to me earlier this morning because& ? I arched an
eyebrow, actually proud of myself for standing firm against his oozing sensuality.
But that s when it happened.
His face lit up and he grinned.
He grinned.
It was the first real grin I d ever seen him give. And it was all for me. It fried a couple of my
nerve endings. I definitely felt overheated. Might ve even smelled smoke.
With a carefree shrug, he answered, You were giving me food& and apologizing. If I had said
anything then, you might ve taken that bear claw back.
He had a point. I would have. Bear claws were very important to me. Unless he had pulled out
that sweet grin this morning. In which case, I probably would ve sat on his lap and hand fed him the
damn doughnut.
But I snorted and shook my head, because I needed to fight my attraction.
Fight it!
You are such a guy. I said it as if it was an insult, but he smiled again as if I d complimented
him.
Seriously, we were going to have to do something about that smile. It was way too powerful.
I rolled my eyes and let out a big sigh. When I realized he was still just standing there, watching
me, I lifted an eyebrow. So, are you going to sit down or not?
His smile fell flat. You don t mind?
Mind? Sitting beside the most gorgeous guy on the planet? He obviously needed to get to know me
better.
The surprise in his voice made my throat go dry, however. If he could look so stunned by a girl
asking him to sit by her, then it must be a rare occurrence. Did his gigolo status really make him that
much of an outcast?
Needing to keep things casual before I turned misty-eyed with sympathy, I lifted my hand to the
back of my neck and pretended to knead strained muscles. I mind this crick in my neck you re giving
me by making me look up at you, I said, startled when my fingers drifted over my scar.
Crap, I d completely forgotten about my scar. I never forgot about my scar. Dropping my hand, I
swished my head to make sure my hair fell back over the area, concealing any and all red, puckered
flesh. Sit down already.
Scrutinizing my face as if he expected me to retract my invitation, Mason slowly looped the strap
of his messenger bag from around his head. Then even more slowly, he lowered himself onto the
bench seat beside me, leaving two feet of space between us and keeping his back to the table with his
feet braced firmly on the ground probably for a quick getaway. He set his bag gingerly on the bench
between us, using it like some kind of shield. His shoulders looked so stiff I swear he was holding his
breath.
I grinned, feeling the itching need to tease. Comfy?
He shot me a short glance before his shoulders visibly dropped a fraction of an inch as if to
appease me.
Turning my attention back to my lunch, I tried to start a casual conversation. I feel like your mom
totally played me, by the way.
Mason cringed. I know. I m sorry about that. I told her she needs to tell people about Sarah s
condition whenever she interviews them. But she insists it takes her five times longer to find a willing
sitter when she does.
Yeah, Dawn really should ve told me about Sarah in the interview. But then, I guess Dawn had a
point too. I bet it did take her significantly longer when she was up front and honest. I m ashamed to
admit it, but if I d known about the CP thing before I d gotten the job, I totally would ve declined it.
I don t see how I m allowed to watch Sarah at all, I said. Not that I m complaining, because
your sister is absolutely the sweetest thing ever, but& doesn t she need, like, a trained medical
professional watching her or something?
No. He shrugged and made a face as if he d never considered that scenario before. I watch her
all the time, and I have no medical training. It s not like you have to give her any of her prescriptions
or treatments when you watch her either. That all lands on the day sitter, who, okay, is a retired nurse,
but government programs pay her wages, whereas your job is off the records since you only work
part time every couple of evenings. Mom and I pay you cash out of pocket.
Oh. I sat back, my brow wrinkled in thought. When I glanced at Mason, he was staring at me
again with that unreadable scrutiny that made me want to fluff my hair and pull up a mirror to check
my face. What the hell did he see when he looked at me like that?
Needing to fill the silence between us, I drew in a quick breath and pushed my hair out of my face.
You know, I kind of freaked out when I saw her picture board. I thought she couldn t talk at all.
I wasn t going to admit that wasn t the only thing to freak me out last night, but I felt more honest
by confessing one of them.
Mason barked out an incredulous sound. The picture board? Mom didn t really show you that,
did she? God, Sarah hasn t used that stupid thing in over a year, and she only needed it in extreme
situations when she was too excited or distressed to talk properly. He rumbled out a frustrated
sound. I swear, I love my mother to death, but sometimes the woman is way too overprotective. She
can treat Sarah as if she s still two.
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