Page 59 of Hidden Resolution

“Let me know if you need a ride,” he said gently, full of the easy kindness he’d always possessed.

“I’d take you up on it, but Eva has the spare set of keys to my place.” She offered a small smile. “Thanks, though.”

“So, you and Mason, huh? It’s hard to believe.”

Her brows drew tight. “Why?”

“You’ve always been a nice girl, and they’re not really his thing.”

His innocent comment was like a dagger dipped in acid, then plunged straight into her fucking chest. She managed a sickly smile and reached for the phone receiver on the wall.

17

Valentine’s Day sucked, pure and simple. The holiday was created for saps and die-hard romantics. Commercialism at its finest. A day to spend an ungodly amount of Benjamins in an effort to impress. Who really believed expressing one’s emotions with a too-expensive gift or over a dinner would get and hold the girl? It made love between couples transactional.

No, thanks!

The business line rang, jarring Mason from his righteous disdain and reminding him to focus.

“Fuck Cupid,” he muttered. Raising his voice, he called out to Todd. “Hey, how about you do your job instead of flipping through a magazine, and answer the phone?”

The meathead paled in the face of his irritation. “Sure, dude. Sorry.”

Technically, Mason should be the one apologizing, but if he gave an inch, Todd took an entire fucking football field’s worth of yards.

Since Erica’s stabbing, Mason had been doing double duty. But he didn’t blame Zack for refusing to leave her side. His brother was in love, and the threat to Erica still existed. WithDane and him taking up the slack for the business, Mason didn’t have time to take a piss, much less pretend he was the romantic sort and shower anyone with paper hearts.

It was his primary excuse for not seeking out Shonda to apologize. The gentlemanly thing to do would’ve been to make sure she wasn’t suffering ill effects from last week’s mugging, but she had others, like her family… and Tommy.

The real truth lived in his ire at her relief when his cousin had hugged her protectively, as if she required saving fromhim.

Mason swore under his breath at the bullshittiness of it all.

As if he would ever hurt her!

Granted, he’d probably looked exactly as he felt, as if he wanted to rip Tommy’s arm from its socket and stuff it down his throat. Taking umbrage at another man touching her was to be expected, right? Shonda had been sleeping with him and should be loyal.

“Loyalty doesn’t exist outside immediate family,” Mason reminded himself for the millionth time.

Unable to remain seated, he shoved back his chair and strode to the wall of windows overlooking the parking lot. It was pretty empty for this late in the day. Apparently, all the saps and diehards were still smarter than he was, at least when it came to playing the romance game, anyway. They had someone to go home to at the end of the day.

And wasn’t being alone the root of his problem?

Shonda had made him care. Made him remember how fun it was to be in love—when it was good, before the ugly end.

He didn’t love her, and maybe he wouldn’t ever catch feelings, but hedidcare.

Envisioning her home alone, without someone to make her day special, bothered him. The only visual more troubling was the possibility she wasn’t alone. She might’ve taken Tommy up on the ready invitation he’d been silently offering that day.Perhaps a guy like his cousin was simpler, less complicated, and easier to love.

Mason scoffed at the drivel clouding his brain. If he kept it up, he might as well tattoo her name on his arm.

Having made up his mind to return to work, he pivoted on his heel.

And hesitated.

He should definitely check on her. Perhaps scavenge whatever the local florist had left, and bring her flowers. Gourmet chocolates, too. Both would go a long way toward making up for his craptastic behavior.

The sheer irony of his situation? The night of her mugging, he’d been moody with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, and although he wanted to spend it with her, he didn’t want her to get the wrong impression.