Page 159 of Bang

He was wrong.Still, it was nice of him to say. I wanted to say something nice in return. But there was nothing Icouldsay, not without making an even bigger fool of myself.

Into my silence, he said, "Cami?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not the fool.Iam."

Oh, God.So now he was pulling out his own version of,"It's not you. It's me?"

How humiliating was this?

"Anyway," I said, "I just want to let you know it won't happen again. So you don't need to worry, alright?"

His voice was tender in the night. "I'm not worried."

Of course he wasn't.He wasn't the worrying type. But me? I was worried enough for both of us.

Soon, I'd be returning to work.Could I seriously get over him while living in the same house?

Yes. I could.

Hopefully.

And if I were smart, I decided, I'd end this conversation now, before I said something I shouldn't.

So, with as much dignity as I could muster, I said, "Alright. Then I guess I'll see you next year." And with that, I ended the call beforehecould, if only to keep from looking desperate.

Technically, "next year" was only a week away. Until then, I decided, I'd be smart to put Mason out of my mind.

As if that were remotely possible.

Chapter 58

Mason

When I returned to the family room, Chase was sitting on the sofa where I'd left him. But his appearance had changed.

From the open doorway, I stopped to stare. Over his red sweater, he was wearing the ugliest necktie I'd ever seen. The thing was bright yellow with streaks of purple and gold.

I shook my head.No.It waspurplewith streaks of pink.

Shit.The damn thing was changing colors right in front of me. I felt my eyebrows furrow. And unless I was seeing things, it was glowing in the dark – except the room wasn't dark enough for me to be sure.

I reached over and flicked off the nearby light-switch. The lights went out, leaving only the light of the fire –andthe flashy tie.

Oh, yeah. It was glowing, alright.Glowingandpulsing in random colors.

When I flicked on the lights, Chase grinned at my reaction. "I know, right?"

I had to laugh. "Where'd you get that thing?"

He pointed vaguely toward the Christmas tree. "I found it in a bag."

I stopped laughing. "What?"

Chase reached beside him on the sofa and picked up the familiar shopping bag. It was the small plastic one that Cami had thrust into my hand the last time I'd seen her.

I glared at my brother.The fucker.He was wearingmyChristmas present.