The longer we go, the more insecure I feel. It’s awkward now, and instead of a comfortable silence, I feel like there is a heavy weight all around us. “Mason?”
He seems to wait for me to continue, and when I don’t, he asks, “Yeah?”
“I know this is weird and you can tell me no…” I start and then stall.
He doesn’t respond, just looks in the rearview mirror and back at the road again. I put my hand on the console between us.
He still doesn’t look at me, but the corners of his lips tilt up. “What is it? I won’t tell you no. I mean, what kind of husband would I be if I told my wife no about something on her wedding day. What is it? You don’t want to go to the cabin?”
“No! I mean, yes, I want to go to the cabin. I uh, well, I’m a little nervous and I thought maybe, if you don’t mind, maybe you could hold my hand if that’s all right,” I ask him. My voice, once strong and demanding, fades off with insecurity. I mean, he’s my husband. Surely to goodness I can ask him to hold my hand. I flex my hand, palm up on the console between us.
He looks taken back for a minute and I think he’s about to tell me no. “You want me to hold your hand?”
“Forget it,” I tell him and start to pull my hand away, embarrassed.
But Mason reaches out, taking my hand in his. He curls his fingers around mine and holds on to me tightly. Pure happiness surges through me, and I couldn’t hide my smile if I tried. And of course, now, after looking straight ahead the whole way, Mason now chooses to look over at me, and I can’t wipe the goofy grin off my face.
Instead of smiling back, he grunts and nods his head at me. “We’re married, Mia. You don’t have to ask me to hold your hand. You don’t have to ask if you can touch me, or really, ask for anything. You want something from me, something I have or can give you, you take it. It’s yours. I know this—the arranged marriage and well, me—isn’t what you were expecting, but I’m going to do right by you. I promise. And if there’s anything I can do to make you happy, well, I’m going to do it.”
It’s the most words he’s ever said to me, and instead of grumbling and attitude, I got poetry. Stunned is the only way I know how to describe it. If I was standing up, I’d probably fall over at his words. As his hand tightens on mine, I can’t help but push him a little further. “So if I wanted to kiss you, just out of the blue, you’d let me? I can kiss you anytime I want? Because I have to tell you, you don’t seem too happy I’m here, so I just want to be sure that I get it all right.”
He seems taken aback. He opens his mouth and then closes it again. He brings our hands up and presses his lips to the back of my knuckles. “I’m your husband, Mia. And you’re my wife. I know nothing about today was normal, but what I do know is that you can kiss me anytime you want. And you’re wrong, Mia.”
“Wrong about what?” I ask, feeling lost as I watch his lips touch my hand.
He drops our hands to his lap, pressing my palm to his thick, corded thigh. I can feel the muscles pull and flex under my palm, and he rests his hand on top of mine. “I do want you here. With me.”
My whole body shivers, and I can feel my heart start to race. He wants me here. I could keep talking, asking him questions just so I can hear his voice, but I don’t. I sit next to him in the cab of his truck, listening to the soft song on the radio as he drives us to our honeymoon cabin. I’m not expecting words of love or anything like that, but for the rough start we had, it’s definitely improving. I look over at Mason and watch him as he drives before smoothing out my dress.
“Your dress is pretty,” Mason says even though I don’t think he even looked in my direction to see me smoothing it out. Maybe because he says so very little, his compliment means more to me because I can feel my cheeks burning with my blush.
“Thank you,” I tell him before looking out the window and already trying to picture what our future holds.Chapter SixMasonI pull into the driveaway to the cabin that is in the mountains of Snow Valley. I could have just taken her home, to my place at the edge of town, but I thought this would be better. We need time to get to know one another. My family has decided that instead of a big Christmas, we will see the family closer to the New Year to give everyone time to get settled. But I know my family, especially my mom. There’s no way she could stay away, and I don’t want to share Mia with anyone right now. I want to spend it with her and only her.