personal space when I was pregnant. It’s nice to finally meet you, though.”
She smiled back, and I was pretty sure I detected some relief in her beautiful eyes. “You too. Tristan’s talked a lot about your famous birthday cakes.”
“We remember what’s important,” Tristan responded solemnly.
I chuckled.
“That’s my boy,” Mason said from the doorway.
“Here, let me get that for you.” I offered to take the bag Katie was holding, and then I made my way toward the house. “Mason and the others are almost finished in your room upstairs, but I’d like to tidy up a bit before you get settled if that’s okay.”
“Of course,” Katie assured. “We’re not here just to relax. I want to help—”
“But you need to rest first,” Tristan interjected.
“Yes, it was really exhausting to sit on my ass all the way from Vancouver,” Katie deadpanned.
Oh, I liked her already.
I could get used to this.
It was crazy how easily I could get used to this.
Mason was like any other man in a store, utterly clueless and disinterested, but he was here, and he was making me feel like I was the only woman in the world.
“What about these?” I held up a set of dish towels.
He stopped kissing my neck to give the towels a fleeting glance. “I’ll dry my hands on them. It’s fabric, right? Good enough.”
I pursed my lips and eyed the towels. No, wrong color. Since he clearly didn’t give a rat’s ass, I had to. Not that I minded. For his kitchen, I considered three people. Katie and me—and Mason since it was his place. But I suspected Katie would use it more, and whenever I was over, I’d do the cooking.
The new fridge and freezer were stainless steel, so I figured all appliances could match those. The cupboards were dark blue…
“You have to tell me if I’m overstepping,” I warned him.
He was funny sometimes. He’d clearly chosen his furniture with great care and consideration, but colors and styles flew right by him. If it had nothing to do with gadgets or woodworking, he shrugged at it.
He did show a bit more enthusiasm about the appliances, and we were in that aisle when my phone buzzed with a message from Brady.
Can you buy apples and cinnamon for tonight?
Which reminded me… “You’re invited to dinner tonight, Mason. Bring Tristan and Katie if you don’t have other plans.” I texted Brady back, saying we had cinnamon but that I would pick up apples. I had a feeling I knew what the boys were planning.
“No plans here,” Mason answered. “You don’t have a kitchen table, though. Where are we going to sit?”
“On the patio.” I smiled up at him. “Aurora’s with William, but Brady and Matt aren’t heading back to the city until tomorrow, and I suggested we could do a barbecue. They’re setting up the heaters as we speak.”
I considered it a triumph that Matt hadn’t asked if he could use the pullout in Brady’s studio. It was the first time, after a year and a half of consistently telling him that Brady’s room was his room too. Matt didn’t have to ask.
Mason lifted a brow and smirked strangely. “Barbecue in November?”
“It’ll be cozy! The boys don’t have a yard at their dads’, so I let them go nuts at my house. After William moved out of the old house, we barbecued all year round too. It’s insane to restrict that to the summers.” I pushed the cart to the coffeemakers and pointed at a fancy one in question.
Mason nodded his answer but stayed on the topic. “How many heaters are we talking about here?”
“Only two. I swear it’ll be enough. I have a roof over the patio, you know. Just bundle up a bit.”
His smile reached his eyes, and he closed the distance and dipped down to kiss me slowly. “And you wonder why I call you wild. Count us in.”
“I really do wonder that!” It came out as half a chuckle, half a confused whine. Because I just didn’t see it. “A barbecue in the fall doesn’t equal wild.”
“I think it’s technically winter now,” he pointed out with another kiss. “But it’s the little things. You literally took the nine-ball off the pool table and pulled your own Shawshank stunt.”
I spluttered a laugh and rested my forehead on his sternum.
“I love that about you, Lis.” He hugged me to him and kissed the top of my head. “You make me feel more alive than I have in years.”
I shivered and peered up at