“I was trying to be careful!” I’m still laughing as I roll over to face her. Fiona’s head is on the pillow beside me, eyes shining, lips curved up, smiling at me.
For me.
She sees me. And I see her too.
I smooth a curl away from her cheek, my finger lingering on the softness. “Even though things didn’t start out so great, it doesn’t mean they have to end like that,” I offer.
I hear the catch of her breath and my smile widens. Softens into something I’ve never felt before.
Chapter Fourteen
Fiona
“Areyousureyoufeel better?” I ask hesitantly.
“Do you mean, am I about to throw up all over you?” Mase asks wryly.
“Well, yeah.”
He laughs. I love the way his eyes crinkle at the corners. I love how his voice can change in an instant from theaw-shucksdrawl to a sexy rasp, and then become playful and mischievous.
I love—
Not yet. Ever the romantic, even I know how impossible it would be to think myself in love with Mase Stirling. Maybe someday. Maybe someday soon, but not yet.
I’m a bundle of emotions when it comes to Mase, but I don’t love him.
I don’t think so anyway.
That’s not something you should consider when thinking about your husband. I like him a lot and hope he likes me. I hope someday he’ll love me.
I won’t be the one who says it first.
“I feel one hundred—maybe ninety percent—better,” Mase announces. “We are going on about two hours of sleep.”
“What time is it?” I wonder. Reaching out, my arm struggles to find the nightstand where I left my phone. I must have rolled closer to Mase while sleeping, drawn to his warmth or his form, like a firm body pillow.
There’s something about him that pulls me in.
“It’s almost eleven,” I say after catching hold of my phone to check. “We didn’t sleep much at all. Did something wake you up?”
Mase solemnly lifts the sheet covering him and peers under it. “I know something that’s awake.”
I push at his shoulder. “You’re so cheesy.”
“Do you like it?” he asks in a husky voice. My insides literally turn over at the sound of that voice and I nod. And then he makes it worse—better—by leaning in and brushing my ear with his lips. “What else do you like?”
For a moment I don’t think I’ll be able to answer. Then finally, I manage a whisper. “I like to kiss.”
“Anything in particular?”
“Just kiss.” I give a shaky laugh. “Told you I’m boring.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
“All the guys I’ve been with never seemed to enjoy it. Maybe at first—”
Mase stops me with a finger to my lips. “Those guys don’t matter at all. It’s easy to get other things on one’s mind pretty quick.”