Page 7 of Raised On It (Between the Pines #1)

She can lift that pretty little eyebrow all she wants; I have no shame in my game.

“I know what people say about me, and I can’t imagine what people have probably told you. The thing is, it’s all true, but I’m still the most trustworthy guy you’ll meet.”

“Hmm. You are, are you?”

“Damn straight. I’m as faithful as they come. I may be loud, and like my dog, I may be a bit of an attention whore. I will never deny that I’m a flirt, but I have never cheated on anyone.”

“From what I hear, you’ve broken many hearts.”

“I can’t help it if women have more feelings for me than I have for them, but it doesn’t mean I have ever promised more than I was willing to give.”

“And why is it you aren’t willing to give them more? Do you come from divorced parents, or was your heart broken when you were younger?”

Well, looky there. She’s trying to figure me out.

She is sure going to be disappointed.

“Nope, my parents have been married for thirty-eight years. They are the happiest, most in love couple I have ever seen. Don’t even get me started on my grandparents. It’s because of the four of them that I never promise more than I can give.”

The little crease between her eyebrows is a clear indication that she's trying to read into my answer. Dissecting me inside that pretty little head of hers.

“Mason, I know what it looks like to be with the one you were meant to be with. My parents are the perfect example of what we should all strive for in a relationship. I haven’t met my person yet.

Have never been lucky enough to fall in love.

I’m a patient man, but I can’t wait for her to finally show up. ”

The sun shining through the window highlights the rosy glow spreading across her cheeks. Her mouth hangs open for a beat before she catches herself and closes it.

Clearly, she wasn’t expecting my answer.

“You’ve never been in love?”

“I can’t say that I have.”

But I have a feeling my luck may be changing.

“So that girl I saw all over you the other night knows you aren’t gonna put a ring on it?”

“Scheana was actually using me to get her ex’s attention.”

“I’m sorry. What?” She chokes on her Cherry Coke.

“Yep, she loves Adam in a big way, and he loves her right back. In fact, when I came back to the bar to talk to you, he stopped me at the door ready to fight for her. I made sure to let him know what she was up to, and if he was smart, he’d go get his girl. They were back together by morning.”

“Wait, did you say you came back to the bar to talk to me?”

There’s no stopping the smug smile forming on my face because in my book, I just won this round. All that talk of true love between Scheana and Adam and all she heard was the part about me coming back to the bar to talk to her.

“You heard me right. I dropped Scheana off at home and was so desperate to get back to the bar before you left that I even agreed to be her date to a wedding in a few weeks, and I don’t take dates to weddings.”

“Gotta leave your options open?”

“Listen, you never know when a bridesmaid is gonna drink too much champagne and need a ride home. I’m a damn Boy Scout, I tell ya. Wait until you meet the girls in The Crew. They’ll set you straight.”

“The Crew?”

“That’s what my closest group of friends and I named ourselves back in middle school.

There are seven of us, eight if you count Parker’s wife, Audrey, and we’re like a little family.

If you want to know anything about me, the good, the bad, or the ugly, just talk to The Crew, and they’ll fill you in.

We may not all live in Eastlyn anymore, but we’re still just as close. ”

“That’s really cool.”

“It is. I’m a pretty lucky guy. So what’s your story?”

“I don’t really have one.”

“Sure, you do. You said you’ve known plenty of men like me, so there has to be a story there. Oh, and you’re wrong about that, by the way. You’ve never met anyone like me.”

“There you go. You two need anything else?” our waitress, Sherry, asks when she drops off our food.

“I’m good, thanks,” Mason replies with another sincere smile.

“How about you, sweetheart?” Sherry asks, turning her attention my way .

“I’m good, but I’d love it if you’d answer a question for me?”

She’s suspicious, but she bites. “What question is that?”

“Have you ever met anyone else like me, Sherry?”

Her head falls back, and the belly laugh that follows answers my question.

“Oh, darlin’…” She has to catch her breath after her moment of hysterics. “I certainly have not. Miles Montgomery, you are one of a kind, to say the very least.”

“Told you,” I say to the smiling beauty across the table from me.

“Oh, sweet girl. You’ve met your match with this one. He could charm the skin off a snake. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.”

After a giggle, Mason replies. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Sherry, you're really never gonna leave Stan and run away with me, are you?”

As always, Sherry shakes her head and walks away after my playful flirting. She always pretends I exhaust her, but she loves every second.

As soon as it’s just the two of us again, the first thing Mason does is sneak a fry off my plate.

“Hey, if you wanted fries, you should have ordered them,” I say, scolding her, but deep down, I’m crazy glad she’s comfortable enough to eat off my plate.

“I don’t want a bunch, just a few. Besides, how are you gonna stay in that kind of shape if you eat all these fries? I’m doing you a favor.” She winks. “You’re welcome.”

So you have been checking me out.

Did I just win round two?

Suddenly, she’s relaxed and flirty. It’s pretty damn sexy.

“I’ll share my fries, but it’s your turn to share.”

Actually, I’d let her eat everything on my plate if it kept her in this playful mood, but I really do want to get to know her .

“There isn’t much to tell.” She shrugs and fills her mouth with her ranch-covered chef salad.

“Nice try. Somebody did something to you. You don’t get this cynical if you haven’t been screwed over. Besides, I want to hear about all these guys you’ve met who you claim are just like me.”

She finishes her bite and takes a sip of her soda.

“Well, we won’t even go into my college sweetheart who it turns out wasn’t just the life of the party but was also just using me for sex.

I thought we were in love, and he was just into getting laid on a regular basis.

But the one who really did the damage was Grant.

I was with Grant for nearly five years. He was handsome and charming and said all the right things. ”

She lifts an eyebrow, which I am learning is something that makes my dick twitch, even if she is using the move to be a smart-ass.

What can I say? It’s hot.

She’s hot.

I might need to invest in some loose-fitting sweats or shorts or something if this dick twitching is going to become a thing.

As much as the dick twitching is distracting, I’m not missing a word and committing everything she’s sharing to memory.

“He too was a flirt. Young and old, there was no discriminating. Men, women, gay, straight, he was the person who made everyone feel good. The life of the party. He came from a good family, went to the best schools, and had a great job. I too came from a good family and went to good schools, so on paper, we were a perfect fit. Except, in the end, he hated my job.” She looks me dead in the eye the entire time she speaks. Making sure I hear every word.

Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m hanging off every syllable.

“What didn’t he like about your writing?”

“Apparently, writing romance isn’t classy enough for the likes of him.”

“Sounds like he was afraid he couldn’t hold a candle to the men you write about. See, there’s another thing I don’t have in common with him.”

After another dramatic eye roll, she continues.

“If that weren’t enough, we were at a party at my parents’ house when I caught him screwing a needy little socialite on my dad’s pool table.

When I confronted him, he couldn’t figure out what my problem was.

Turns out, he didn’t really believe in monogamy.

It also turns out he was only with me for my family name, connections, and of course the family money. ”

What a fucking idiot.

“Mason, I’m real sorry this Grant asshole couldn’t see what he had and chose to hurt you like that.”

“To top it all off, when I went crying to my girlfriends, they weren’t surprised in the least. Seems I was the only one unaware of his constant indiscretions.”

“Your friends knew and didn’t tell you?”

“They knew all along. Even when I gave up my apartment in the city to move to the burbs with him. I worked so hard to afford that apartment and buy it on my own. Not my family's money, but my own. I started writing a column for a women’s magazine in college, and when my first series hit it big, I saved every penny and had enough for my apartment before my books became a TV series.”

“Whoa, Mason. That’s awesome. Congratulations on all of your success. So, we really do have a celebrity writer in our midst.”

“Thank you, but I’m not a celebrity by any means.

If only I hadn’t given up so much of what I had worked so hard for, for him.

For the man I thought I was going to marry one day.

If only it hadn’t been for a man who was sleeping with most of the Upper East Side and using me as his arm candy.

However, that was three years ago. Now, I have an apartment overlooking Central Park again, and I’m back where I want to be. ”

“Good for you. ”

“I learned a lot about myself and what I’m not willing to give up in the future.”

What I wouldn’t do to meet Grant one day. To tell him what a colossal fuckhead he is to not only waste a life with a woman like Mason but also to beat his ass for hurting her so badly.

Dick.