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Paul shrugged his thin shoulders, ducking his head.
Kate cleared her throat, her eyes darting between Mason and Avery. “I hate to shut this party down, but we have a lot to do for Kellen’s party tomorrow. I’d like to be wheels up ASAP.”
Mason’s eyes widened, and he smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Right, the adoption ceremony,” he said, his voice filled with chagrin. “I can’t believe I almost forgot.”
He turned to Paul, his face serious. “You should come with us.”
Paul hesitated, his eyes darting around the room as if he was looking for an escape route. “Nah, that’s okay,” he mumbled, his voice barely audible.
But Mason shook his head, his eyes blazing with conviction. “You’re family. We want you there.”
The rest of the team nodded, their faces warm with acceptance and love.
“He’s right, Paul,” Tai said, his voice gruff with emotion. “You’re stuck with us now. Sorry, not sorry.”
Paul cleared his throat, clearly unable to speak.
Avery wasn’t sure she could say anything either, without bursting into tears. So much healing had come from such a horrible situation.
Mason turned to her then, his eyes searching her face with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat. The team, sensing the shift in the room, quietly slipped out, leaving them alone in the kitchen.
Avery braced herself, preparing for the terse goodbye that she knew was coming.
Don’t cry. Do not cry.
Mason took her hand, his eyes nervous and uncertain. He seemed to be stalling, his free hand fidgeting with the hem of his shirt as he searched for the right words to let her down gently.
“Wait a sec,” he said finally, his voice rough with emotion. “I have something for you.”
He disappeared from the room, leaving Avery alone with her bleak thoughts and the pounding of her heart. When he returned, he was carrying the landscape painting he’d bought at the auction, the one she’d admired so openly.
“For you,” he said, his voice soft and tentative as he held it out to her.
Her eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat as she took the painting from him, her fingers trembling slightly. “Mason, I … I don’t know what to say. This is too much. You don’t have this kind of money …”
A small smile played at the corners of his mouth. “I do, actually. There’s a lot about my background that I wish I could tell you, but …”
“But you’d have to kill me.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Something like that.”
But then his smile faded, his eyes growing serious as he looked at her, his gaze filled with an intensity that made her heart skip a beat.
“Avery, I …” He ran a hand through his hair. “Boy, this is hard.”
“Just say what you need to say,” Avery encouraged him.
“You still up for that vacation?” he asked, not quite meeting her eyes. “We’ve got an extra seat on the Pilatus. By my calculations, you’ve got another week of vacay. Come with us.”
She hardly dared to breathe. Did she have the courage to dive into water this deep, to take a chance on a future that was so uncertain?
She wasn’t sure, but before she could figure out a way to answer him, Mason set the painting aside and took her hand, his fingers caressing the sensitive skin in a way that made her skin tingle and her breath catch in her throat.
But still, she couldn’t bring herself to take the leap.
Mason seemed to sense her hesitation, his eyes filling with disappointment even as he tried to hide it behind a brave smile. “Too soon. I totally get that. You know where to find me.”
And then he turned away.