She grunted and rolled her eyes, smoothing her hands over her skirt. “Whatever. You should’ve called for him. I warned you.”
Our gazes were locked in a battle, and that was when I knew. “You’re still going to be a bitch to me, aren’t you?”
“You thought I wouldn’t be?” Her head reared back. “Where did you get that idiotic thought?”
Well, that sealed her fate. With a big grin on my face, I stepped back and shut the door in her face.
“Mature much?” she asked from the other side.
I shrugged. Any chance I got to shut a door in her face, I was going to take it. That made this more enjoyable. I turned the lock. Cass could knock and yell all she wanted. She was screwed. What she didn’t know, I did, and that was the fact that Mark was with Logan right now, and they didn’t have their cell phones with them. They weren’t even here.
Mason looked up from the table as I rounded the hallway for the kitchen. “Who was that?” A pad and pen were sitting in front of him as he was finishing up a speech.
Mark was the best man with Mason and Logan being the rest of the groomsmen. The other two snuck out for an errand, something to do with doves. I didn’t want to know any details, so I hadn’t asked. All I knew was that they’d left their phones for some reason, declaring they didn’t want to risk evidence being recorded against them. As they had done that, Mark dropped another bombshell. He was horrible with speeches and he wasn’t going to do one. No one trusted Logan to give the speech so that left one person: Mason. This was the reason my boyfriend remained behind with me.
Needing to leave to get my hair done, I was glad Mason and I were the only two in the mansion at that moment. It would be overrun that afternoon, but right now, I was trying to hold back from climbing onto his lap instead of sinking into the chair beside him. His hair was tousled and messy since he hadn’t cut it most of the summer. It would be buzzed tomorrow for football season, so until then, I would enjoy running my fingers through it.
A shadow had formed over his jaw, but he was gorgeous. With striking eyes, angular cheekbones, a strong jawline, and an athletic build, which was sculpted to perfection from years of playing football and his extra training over the past summer, I knew why he was coveted by so many at Cain University.
My fingers ached to smooth some of the worry lines from his eyes as I said, “No one.”
His eyebrows lowered. “That didn’t sound like no one.”
I shrugged and leaned close. “Trust me. No one important.”
“Hmm.” But he grinned and met me for a kiss.
With that gentle brush from his lips to mine, a small tingle went through me. We’d been together for three years now, and we had been through a mountain of troubles, but our time apart during the last year was coming to an end, permanently. After this weekend, all the cars would be packed, and Mason, Logan, and I would be moving to Cain University.
Mason would be starting late with his practices, considering his probation time from Cain U. After his last run-in with Sebastian, Sebastian’s crew got suspended, and so did Mason. He was allowed to take all his finals online, and he didn’t lose his football scholarship, but I knew he was antsy about returning to college.
As our kiss deepened, he sighed, and I could feel the tension in him.
Cupping the side of his face, I pulled back. “Everything will be fine.”
The concern was heavy in his eyes. He lifted a hand to tuck some of my hair behind my ears, resting his fingers on my cheek afterward. “If they hurt you…if they hurt Logan…” The ends of his mouth tightened, and a flash of pain filled his eyes for a moment. “I don’t know what will happen, Sam, if they touch you. I don’t.”
“It’s not going to come to that.”
Park Sebastian was the ringleader for the now officially banned fraternity, and he was the real reason behind Mason’s feud with them. Mason hadn’t wanted to play the fake who-are-you-related-to, how-wealthy-are-you-going-to-be-in-the-future, or you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours games that Sebastian initially tried to recruit him for. The rejection wasn’t taken lightly.
I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled back enough to gaze into his eyes. He was scared. I’d felt it during the summer. Each night, as he’d hold me, he’d grow more and more tense, the closer we got to this weekend.
I had no intention of being one of his weaknesses. “Mason, you don’t have to worry about me. No matter what, we’ll fight it. No one will hurt me. No one will hurt Logan.”
His hand rested on the back of my neck. He was searching my face. He wanted to believe me, but he couldn’t. Mason knew better. We’d been through too much bullshit to believe that everything would be okay, but I couldn’t be his Achilles’ heel.
No, it wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t going to be used to hurt him.
I shifted closer to him. “I mean it, Mason. I’m here. I’m at your side. I’ll do whatever you want.”