Page 26 of Developing Hearts (Pine Point Fixer-Uppers #5)

Chapter twenty-six

Mason

The house was coming along nicely, and the job was smooth enough that Mason actually got to go up on the rooftop deck.

Usually, he was needed down at the main command center—the janky folding table where everyone scattered their stuff around his laptop—but the paths were all set, so when Ozzy asked for some help, he was able to head on up and lend a hand.

It was a particularly bright and sunny day, even if there was a touch of chill still in the air, so even though the deck was absolutely a work in progress, it was lovely all the same.

Ozzy had almost nowhere else in this project to direct his focus, so he’d really gone whole hog on this.

Mason had helped him set up a portal to get input from all the tenants, and he and Evander had gotten into at least an hour of bickering over architectural and design styles while Ozzy decided on exactly how to set things up.

The result had been worth any heartache or effort laid out, as far as Mason was concerned.

They were still doing a ton of work, so it wasn’t finished, but the concrete had been covered over with decking.

Mason wasn’t sure if it was real weather-treated wood, or just an incredible facsimile, but it made the entire space feel more inviting and homey.

Jake had set up shop out on the deck not only to avoid making quite so much noise running his power tools, but because Ozzy had him building a load of benches to serve as seating.

Three separate fire pits had been erected, making three individual congregating areas: two mid-sized rectangular ones on the sides, and a larger round one at the far end.

They’d been plumbed into the building’s gas lines, with approval from the condo board, and bags of teal-colored fire glass were piled in one corner, waiting to fill in around the burners.

The design was light on actual plant life, but Ozzy had pushed hard for at least one nice garden area.

According to the design he’d mocked up, there would be lots of potted plants and raised beds, but in the middle, he’d cajoled them into allowing for a community garden for the residents.

At the moment, that areas was simply marked off with masking tape.

Mason helped him cart some bricks around, but after two loads, Ozzy jerked his head to the side, calling Mason over.

Away from everyone else. Oh great. Because he always has such nice things for me when he needs to talk alone .

Still, it was Mason’s job to manage the project, including any spats, hurt feelings, or grievances, so he marched over, plastering on his absolute best smile. “What’s up?”

Ozzy leaned against the glass barrier on the edge of the building and shrugged. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Haven’t seen you quite this bubbly in a couple…lifetimes.”

“You don’t think I’m bubbly? I’m offended, sir.”

Ozzy rolled his eyes. “Cut the bullshit. I’m happy that you’re happy, I’m just wanting to find out what’s going on. You just thrilled to almost be done filming?”

He could lie. Ozzy had offered a perfectly valid out for him: they’d been on the road and away from home for so long, it would only make sense if Mason was simply looking forward to sleeping in his own bed and not having to go anywhere for a good long while.

“Would you believe that I…might have met someone?”

Ozzy snorted and grinned. “On this show? I’d be more surprised if you didn’t at this rate.”

It had been four days since he and David had hooked up.

Again. Mason had expected all the tensions to leach back in after he shot his load.

He didn’t have post-nut clarity nearly as much as he had post-nut panic.

Yet it didn’t. He and David had hopped in the shower and rinsed off.

They ordered in dessert, and Mason actually ate a slice of chocolate cake in front of David without feeling weird about it.

Then in the morning…he felt light. There was some value in being tethered to the ground, but for so long, Mason had been tied down like Gulliver in his travels.

It seemed like a bunch of them had been loosened and…

“Okay, maybe I’ve been a little more bubbly than usual. ”

“So what handsome rogue swept you off your feet?”

“I…don’t have permission. I’m not going to kiss and tell. Sorry.”

“Eh, I’ll figure it out. Now that I know there’s something to figure out.” Ozzy took half a step away, then moved back, and his expression hardened a little. “I’m not trying to be a buzzkill, but you’re good on this one, right?”

It was a vague statement, but Mason followed it just fine.

Three separate times, Mason had found himself a boyfriend, gotten invested…

and then the guy left him. One of them only told him he was turned off by Mason to his face, but the other two had shared pictures of him online.

Nothing salacious, but with captions and comments that made it clear it was everything from his appearance to his anxiety to his ‘stupid interior design bullshit.’ It was as if nothing about Mason was good in their eyes.

“Am I the best judge of whether or not I’m good?” He had gotten into those relationships on his own, after all.

Ozzy rested both hands on Mason’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “You’ve been burned, and I don’t want you getting burned again. But the fact you’ve been through it means that yeah, you’re a great judge on this. If you’ve got doubts, don’t ignore them.”

Doubts. Mason had plenty of doubts. He doubted that he was worth the relationship. He doubted that it would last into their eighties. He doubted his own ability to do this job.

“No doubts in my mind: he’s a good one.”

Ozzy smiled, and it was one of those rare moments when he was truly warm and friendly. He patted both of Mason’s shoulders a couple times…then marched around him. “Hey, come on, what the fuck? You born with your head up your ass or was it purely an aesthetic choice?”

Oh, that was a good one. Mason made a note to check in with Ozzy and see how he was doing.

Ozzy was rarely the vision of level-headed optimism, but when he started getting too salty, especially with anyone outside of the crew proper, Mason tried to make a point of stepping in.

Sometimes it just pissed Ozzy off, but usually, if there was something going on, Mason could calm the waters enough that he was tolerable again.

Even if he did appreciate a well-crafted insult.