Page 24 of Tempt
Hey, it’s Millie. What are you wearing?
DELETE.
This wasn’t me. It felt too awkward. What if he wasn’t the sexting type? What ifIwasn’t the sexting type? I’d never done it before.
Sighing, I set my phone on the charger and tucked his card back into the top drawer. Then I reached into the second drawer and pulled out my Lelo.
Switching off the lamp, I let memory and fantasy take me away.
CHAPTER6
ZACH
Iknew who Mason was the moment I spotted him.
I’d handed my coat to the hostess and glanced into the restaurant’s dining room, my eye immediately going to a dark-haired young man with a slender, athletic build. He sat at a table for four with only one other person, a woman with curly brown hair. When he saw me, he stood up.
I began walking in his direction and nearly stumbled. Not because the resemblance to me was so strong—although it was there, in the height, in the coloring, in the way his hands unconsciously clenched and unclenched at his sides—but because I knew in my gut I was about to meet myson.
My insides were churning, and I felt tension mounting throughout my shoulders, neck, and back. I swallowed hard as I approached, prepared to extend my hand. Instead, Mason threw his arms around me.
“It’s true,” he said, his voice catching. “I wasn’t sure if it would be, but it is. Youaremy dad.”
I was so stunned by his embrace, it took me a moment to recover. Awkwardly, I put my hands lightly on his back. Patted it a few times. I didn’t know what to say.
Mason let go of me and stood back, laughing sheepishly. “Sorry.” He pushed his hair off his face in a gesture I recognized as one I’d made a thousand times in my youth. “I get a little emotional sometimes.”
“But it’s one of his best qualities.” The woman at the table rose to her feet and held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Lori Campion, Mason’s fiancée.”
I shook her hand. “I’m Zach Barrett.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” She had a pretty smile. “Please sit down.”
I took the seat across from Mason, who lowered himself into his chair and stared at me with awe. “I can’t believe I’m really meeting you. I looked for a photo of you online, so I’d recognize you, but couldn’t find one. You don’t have social media or anything.”
“No.” I loosened my tie a little. “I’ve never had any of that.” And Kimberly, my ex-wife, had wiped her social media profiles clean of our relationship, so it didn’t surprise me that he hadn’t been able to find any pictures.
“I thought maybe my mom would have kept one,” Mason said, “but I searched everywhere in her house without any luck.”
“I’m not sure we took any pictures. We didn’t know each other very long.”And we were too busy having unprotected sex.
The server appeared and asked me if I’d like a drink, and I looked up at him with extreme gratitude. “Whiskey. On the rocks, please.”
“Sure. We’ve got a couple options from Michigan distilleries. Journeyman—”
“Sounds good.”
He laughed. “Okay. Coming right up.”
“So how did it happen?” Mason asked earnestly.
“Sorry?” I tugged at my collar.
“Like, how did you meet my mom? What happened with you guys? Why didn’t she ever want me to know about you?”
“Honey.” Lori put a hand over Mason’s. “Maybe let him get his drink first.”
“Okay.” Mason closed his eyes and took a breath. When he opened them, I realized they were blue, and I saw the resemblance to Andi. He had the shape of her face, her high forehead. “I’m sorry, Zach. I promised myself I wouldn’t overwhelm you with questions about the past. I just...have a lot of them, I guess. And you’re a connection to my mom, a part of her life she never shared with me. I just want to understand her better—understand the decision she made to keep you from me. And it never seemed right to ask you this stuff over the phone, or by email.”
