When I’m Gone (Rosemary Beach #11)(37)
Author: Abbi Glines

She didn’t look so angry anymore. Crestfallen was a better description. It was a shame there wasn’t one small piece of me that cared. We shared a father, but I hated this woman. Not just for what she had done to Reese but for how she had treated Harlow when she first came to Rosemary Beach, too. I didn’t hate easily, but Nan made sure to bring that emotion out in people.

“Wait. Here, take the damn check. I don’t want any more money. But I don’t want to see her again, either. She isn’t getting her job back.”

I turned and took the check from her outstretched hand. She’d just left all of Reese’s life savings lying there on her coffee table under a bowl of fruit, as if it were a napkin.

Tucking it safely into my pocket, I gave Nan one last pitying look. “I hope you figure out one day that piss and vinegar ain’t attractive. After a while, you can turn everyone away from you for good. Snap out of whatever this shit is that controls your head, and change. Because you’ve lost everyone else already. Don’t lose Rush, too.”

The pain that sliced through her expression was enough. I left.

I was ready to go take care of my girl.

Reese

A ringing in the distance interrupted my dreams, and I turned in circles to look for the source. I saw nothing but the clouds around me. The ringing stopped, but then it started up again. Frustrated, I stomped my feet, but then it dawned on me. This was a dream.

My eyes snapped open, and the ringing was my cell phone. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and looked for it, still a little disoriented. The sun hadn’t risen, and it was still very dark outside. It had taken me forever to fall asleep.

My phone continued to ring until, finally, I saw the screen glowing in the darkness. I climbed out of bed and picked it up from where it had fallen to the floor. Cowboy boots. Mase.

“Hello,” I said in a hoarse whisper.

“You have someone at your door. Could you open it so both of you can crawl back into bed and go to sleep?” he said in his deep, sexy drawl on the other end of the line.

I frowned, and then I heard the knock. It took me a few seconds to register that Mase was at my door. I dropped my phone onto the bed and took off running to open the door. Why was he here? His phone call earlier tonight had been so short it had worried me. He hadn’t even asked me to read to him.

This was why. He was coming to see me.

I threw open the door, and he stepped into the apartment, looking as perfect as always. It was then that I realized my hair was probably sticking up everywhere. I hadn’t even checked myself in the mirror.

But he was here. I just didn’t care about anything else.

“Sorry I woke you up, but I didn’t want to sleep in the truck all night when I could crawl into bed and sleep with you in my arms.”

Swoon. This man and his words.

I grinned. I was so happy to see him I couldn’t help it. I knew I had the silly grin on my face that I got when I was giddy. But having Mase here made me giddy. I hadn’t expected to see him again so soon, and after the week I’d had so far, I needed this.

Just being with him fixed everything.

He closed the distance between us and ran his hand over my hair with an amused smirk on his lips. “I like this. Seeing you like this.”

I wanted to melt into him. “You’re here,” was all I could say.

He nodded. “I am. We can talk about it tomorrow. Let’s get you back into bed.”

He was coming with me. This was . . . oh, crap. I was dreaming. I would have bet this was a dream. It was the only thing that made sense. I didn’t want this to be a dream. I wanted him to be here, dammit.

“Pinch me,” I told him, as his hand slipped to my lower back.

He frowned. “Why would I do that?”

“To prove I’m not dreaming,” I explained.

His deep chuckle made me tingle all over. “How about I do this instead?” he said, just before his mouth covered mine.

I had started to open for him when he gently bit my bottom lip with a small snap that caused me to jump. “See, baby? You’re awake,” he said, sliding his hand down over my bottom and squeezing it once before moving it back up to my lower back.

I wanted more of that, but he was once again leading me back to the bedroom.

“Why are you here?” I asked, when he straightened the messy covers and pulled them back for me. I crawled in obediently.

“Because I needed to see you,” he said simply.

I watched him take off his boots and unbutton his flannel shirt and throw it onto the chair. He was wearing an undershirt that fit so snugly I could make out every beautiful line of definition on his chest and back. When he turned to get into bed beside me, I pulled the covers back for him. I didn’t want him to think he still had to sleep on the top. He still had on his jeans. Those couldn’t be comfortable.

“You can take off your jeans. You’ll sleep better,” I told him, before he sank down on the bed beside me.

He paused for only a moment and then started unbuttoning his jeans. I felt his gaze on me as he did it, but I was too riveted to look at his face. His big hands quickly unzipped the jeans, and they slipped down his thick, muscular thighs. I had to gulp in air. I’d forgotten to breathe.

“You sure you’re OK with this? I can sleep in my jeans, baby.”

He was worried that I was freaking out over him being in his underwear. Well, I was freaking out but for a different reason. Mase Manning really made white boxer briefs look yummy. I had been panicked after breaking that mirror, so enjoying that first glimpse hadn’t been on my agenda that day But right now . . .

“I’m good. I mean, you’re good. I mean, I’m fine, and . . . oh, just get into bed,” I rambled.

Mase smirked this time. Then he slid in beside me, but he was careful not to touch me. I had reacted so badly to making out and touching last time that he was now gun-shy. But I wasn’t sure I had the nerve to make a move on him or ask him to do anything. The idea of it being all on me was stressful.

It didn’t matter. Not right now. Mase was here tonight, for whatever reason. I curled up to his side, and he pulled me in closer, but he didn’t do anything else. Glancing up at him, I could see his long eyelashes fanning his cheekbones. He’d already closed his eyes. Smiling contentedly, I closed mine, too.

The next time I opened my eyes, the sun was filtering in through the blinds, and Mase was now on his side, with me wrapped up in his arms. I tilted my head back to see if he was awake. His eyes were still closed, but his arms tightened around me as a small smile tugged on his lips.