Bang (Blast Brothers #2) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,97
straight from Buster himself, who Mason had tracked down personally.
After some not-so-friendly persuasion, Buster had told quite a story.
Apparently, Veronica had spotted the nanny-mobile while out Christmas shopping and had decided it would be hilarious to steal the vehicle – whether to make me look bad as revenge for the slapping incident, or because she wanted to scare me off so she could reclaim her old job.
Regardless of her motives, she obviously hadn't thought things through. For one thing, her accomplice was so idiotic, he couldn't even remember Willow's name, much less Mason's attitude toward anyone who messed with his family.
Sure, I wasn't family. But Willow was.
And I was apparently her favorite nanny.
I guess that had to count for something, right?
As my thoughts churned with memories of Mason, I scanned the crowded nightclub in search of my friend. Finally, I spotted Livia near the main bar, surrounded by several admirers, including Chopped Liver – the guy from our last club visit, back in September.
When Livia spotted me, she gave me a happy wave and set down her drink before heading in my direction, even as I waded through the crowd to meet her halfway.
After greeting me with a fierce hug, she pulled back to say, "So, you wanna hear my news?"
"Sure," I laughed. "I mean, that's the reason we're here, right?"
"Nah. That was just an excuse."
I wasn't following. "Sorry, what?"
In reply, she lifted her left hand and waggled her fingers. On her ring finger was a huge diamond ring. But that wasn't the only sparkly thing I saw. She was also wearing an emerald ring on her pinkie and a giant sapphire on her index finger.
With a laugh, she said, "So…What do you think?"
If this were anyone but Livia, I'd be offering congratulations. But I'd made such a mistake before, and she hadn't been happy.
Bracing myself, I gave it my best shot. "So…you're hand-modeling again?"
Her smile faded, and she dropped her hand. "Excuse me?"
"You know. For your dad's jewelry store?"
She gave a snort of disbelief. "Oh, please. That job sucked. It was so boring."
I wasn't quite sure I agreed. Regardless, it was time to pull out my second guess. "So, you're…?"
"Getting married!" She gave a happy squeal. "He proposed on Christmas Eve!"
"Oh." I blinked a few times before summoning up the biggest smile I could muster. "Congratulations!"
She laughed. "I know, right?"
Now, this is where it got awkward. If I had to guess, I'd say that the lucky guy was almost certainly Lorenzo, the father of the two teenagers across the river.
But the last time I'd talked to Livia, she'd mentioned nothing about a serious relationship. In fact, I'd had the distinct impression they weren't even a couple, not officially, anyway.
Still, I kept my smile plastered in place as I asked, "So, is it…?"
Her eyes filled with excitement as she practically yelled, "Mason!"
I froze. Wait, what?
Chapter 60
Cami
As I stared at Livia, I waited desperately for the punchline – for her to tell me that she was just kidding, or that the rings were simply borrowed from her dad's shop.
I was still waiting when an unfamiliar male voice from somewhere to my left said, "Hey, you wanna dance?"
I turned to look. It was Chopped Liver. And this time, he wasn't looking at Livia. He was looking at me.
By now, several seconds had passed since Livia's startling announcement. I still hadn't found my voice when Chopped Liver held out his hand, as if preparing to lead me out onto the dance floor.
His hand was still there when another male voice – this one very familiar – said, "Forget it. She's mine."
I whirled to look, and there he was – Mason, holding at least a dozen yellow helium balloons by their strings, along with a giant bouquet of yellow roses.
But that wasn't the only thing that made me stare.
It was the necktie – the one I'd given him on the roadside. He was actually wearing it, along with a tailored business suit that looked a million times more traditional than the rest of his getup.
As for as the tie itself, Mason had apparently activated the power switch because even now, the hideous thing was glowing and pulsing, almost in time with the music.
I gave a quick shake of my head. Okay, this had to be a dream – or maybe a nightmare, because honestly, I still had no clue what was happening.
Oh sure, I recalled telling Mason that I loved yellow balloons and roses. And I also recalled buying him that tie.