Page 25 of Please Open Me
“Hey, what’s that?” I asked, pointing at the TV.
Obvious distraction play, but it worked. Both girls turned to look.
I used the moment to fish my retainers out of my mouth. A strand of saliva stuck between the trays and my lips, but I wiped it away fast and slid them into my pocket like the dirty secret they were.
Crisis averted.
I kissed Mason’s cheek, wrapped my arm around her waist, and stole a beautiful chunk of cake.
Mason squeaked at the sudden affection but leaned into me, and I felt the tension in her melt a little. Sophia watched us out of the corner of her eye.
“You guys are cute,” she said.
My cheeks warmed. I pretended it didn’t get to me. I didn’t need validation. I didn’t care if people thought Mason and I looked like a couple.
Nope. Not me. Totally unbothered.
“I like Sebastian,” Mason said suddenly, her voice laced with something warm and sleepy. Her accent was thicker than usual. “He feels like a normal boyfriend.”
“What’s anormalboyfriend?” Sophia snorted before I could.
Mason blinked at us like we were the weird ones for asking. I focused on my bite of cake.
It was just as perfect as I remembered—sweet, soft, cloud-like. Probably why they hid this one. The last one barely survived a full afternoon thanks to me, Lucian, and Cameron.
Mason answered eventually. “Like the ones people my age have.”
“You mean the ones who don’t have a husband, three kids, and a boyfriend old enough to be their dad?” Sophia teased, nudging Mason with her foot.
Mason nodded anyway.
“Cameron doesn’t like when we say he’s old enough to be my dad. Or Sebastian’s. It makes him feel like we don’t respect his morals.”
I laughed out loud. Oh, I was bringing that up the next time Cameron got preachy.
“What’s so funny?” Mason asked, looking back at me.
I opened my mouth to answer, but the TV cut to a commercial.
A baby’s giggle echoed through the room.
We all looked at the screen. A tot in a diaper scooted across the floor, laughing.
It reminded me of Rosie. She had no interest in crawling, so that was how she moved now. It also reminded me of how much I missed her, although she was asleep just one room over.
I glanced at Mason’s flat stomach, and a strange ache settled in my chest.
I missed feeling Rosie kick. Missed watching Mason grow with her. Back then, I was too deep in my obsessive, toxic ruminations to fully appreciate it. Now? I thought I might enjoy seeing her pregnant again.
But Dale was still out there.
He haunted every fucking corner of my mind. Even if I packed our things and took Mason, Cameron, and the kids back to Portland, he’d find us. He’d told me as much. Dale was no threat to me on his own, but… I couldn’t take on all the Sons of Christ. Not alone.
And if I left, everyone I loved would be targeted. Though I wasn’t the type to believe in divine punishment, this predicament felt like karmic payback for all the shitty things I’d done in my life.
“Aww, I think Sebby wants another baby,” Sophia cooed, reaching across Mason to pinch my cheek.
My blood went cold. I leaned away and stared at the screen.
