Chapter 11
Sutton
I ignored the lump that filled my throat at the thought of my mom’s cello. No one had explained what had happened to it. All I knew was that it had been gone when I’d come out of surgery. At the time, I was disoriented from all the meds, and then later, my heart was too full of grief to mention it.
Pushing back the more painful emotions, I focused on Mason. Everything settled into place when he was close. Seeing him never failed to have warmth blooming in my chest…and other places.
Blue-gray eyes zeroed in on me instantly, a smile spreading over his handsome face. Pausing long enough to carefully place the case down, he practically sprinted over to where I was still seated on the couch.
“There’s my beautiful girl. Fuck, I missed you.” He pressed a kiss to my temple, inhaling deeply like he was breathing me in, before lifting his head. Only then did he acknowledge Lucy. “Hey, Lu.”
She smirked. “Hi. Did you get everything sorted?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw for a moment. “Mostly.”
“Interesting,” she commented, taking a sip of her coffee.
Mason focused on me once again. “Any issues getting here? I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here sooner. My meeting ran longer than anticipated. I should have been here when you arrived.” His jaw clenched hard for a short beat before he forcibly relaxed it. “No, I never should have left you this morning.”
Without conscious thought, I grasped his hand.
Once we were touching, he visibly relaxed.
I loved when that happened, when I had visual proof that my presence brought him comfort.
It was an endorphin high that I couldn’t get anywhere else.
Seeing and understanding that I was someone important enough, special enough, for Mason Stevenson.
“You’ve put your life on pause for me all week, Mason. There was eventually going to come a time when you had to leave the perfect little bubble you created for me.”
“No, don’t do that,” he said, an edge in his tone. “Nothing was put on pause because of you.”
He crouched down in front of me, even though he could have just sat on the couch beside me. “Fuck, beautiful girl. You’re the reason the play button was finally engaged for me. Everything started moving, working, falling into place the moment I saw you.”
Emotions choked me as the room disappeared, my focus, my life, narrowing to only Mason. When he said sweet things like that, in that deep, no-nonsense voice that curled around me like a physical caress, it was impossible not to believe he meant it.
As I struggled to find words, all I could do was stare at this man, no doubt with stars in my eyes. Before I could clear my throat, the door opened again, and Harper entered with her husband only a step behind.
Heat instantly filled my cheeks when I noticed how flushed Harper’s face was.
She fluffed her hair, trying to finger-comb it into something less wild.
Her top was haphazardly buttoned halfway down, her skirt slightly higher up one thigh than the other.
Meanwhile, Shane was fully composed, dressed in well-worn jeans and a plain black T-shirt with a baseball cap turned backward on his head.
“Hey! Sorry for the delay.” Harper’s cheeks were practically flaming. “We lost track of time.”
“Typical,” Mason said dryly. “Let’s at least get this set up before you two disappear. Again.”
Lucy snickered and finished her coffee. “In anticipation of that, I have already gotten everything ready. We’ve just been waiting on you guys.” Standing, she waved Harper over, and Shane moved across the room to take a seat, not joining us but not excusing himself either.
“Pretend I’m not here,” he said, lifting a few papers to skim. “I’m not needed. Yet.”
“Harper, the angle will be better for you here. Sutton, stay exactly where you are. Mason, once you’re ready, your camera and other gear are in the corner.
” Lucy fussed over us, mostly Harper, until she was positioned perfectly, while Mason walked over to the huge trunks in the corner and began extracting a camera with multiple lenses.
I tried to listen carefully, but Mason distracted me.
Not watching him was impossible. How he moved with such confidence as he switched out lenses, snapped a few pictures to test lighting at different angles and then turned on a lamp when he didn’t get the desired effect.
How he kept glancing at me with a half smirk on his face that I wanted to taste.
During the few times I could glance away from him, my gaze would land on the cello case. My fingers itched to open it, curiosity gnawing at me so hard that I forced myself to look away from it. Only to go straight back to Mason.
Finally, Lucy had Harper in order, including the button issue with her top.
“Ready?” Mason asked, snapping another random picture, this one of his dad. The flash was on and it blinded him, causing Shane to curse and throw a balled-up piece of paper at his son, who dodged it easily enough.
I laughed at their antics, relaxing into my seat a little more at how naturally this family moved around one another.
Over the next two hours, Harper and Lucy both asked me questions for the interview while Mason captured it on his camera.
Harper’s questions were for the article, and Lucy’s primarily out of curiosity since she wasn’t actually interviewing me, just directing it.
I was so at ease with them all that it didn’t feel like anything heavier than telling them little snippets of my life.
Mostly, we chatted about how I’d fallen in love with the cello, my mother’s obsession with 1970s-era rockers, and my time in high school.
We didn’t so much as skim over the fact that I was a supposed scholarship student, and I was glad because I didn’t know how I would respond if Harper asked me directly.
I didn’t want to lie, yet I wasn’t sure I was ready to share my dynamic with my father.
Maya told people I was a charity case, that I was on a scholarship.
Correcting her only made things worse for me, so I’d learned to keep quiet.
“And now we come to the best part of the day!” Harper announced, hopping to her feet, her hair bouncing around her as she grabbed Mason’s arm. “We have a surprise for you.”
“Easy, Mom,” Mason cautioned with a hearty laugh, offering the camera to Lucy. Shane came over to join us, a smile teasing at his lips as he carried a straight-backed chair that I hadn’t noticed before.
“With your permission, I’m gonna film this part,” he said once he had the chair exactly where Lucy directed him to put it.
Nervous, I bit my lip but nodded. With all the pictures Mason had taken, I wasn’t sure why being recorded made me suddenly anxious. “O-okay.”
A new energy crackled in the room—Harper’s excitement and something else.
My gaze found Mason’s and held. His eyes softened, his smile wrecking me.
Holding out a hand, he waited for me to take it.
As soon as I placed my palm against his, the world changed around me.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly, my heart drumming in my chest.
He guided me over to the straight-backed chair. Brushing a kiss against my forehead, he urged me to sit, and then he was picking up the cello case.
“Mom and I got you a little something,” he said.
“Mason…”
“Open it,” he commanded.
Fingers trembling, I opened the case. Tears blurred my vision as I stared in awe at the beautiful piece of craftsmanship.
The sweet, slightly smoky wood scent hit my nose.
That woodsy smell was richer than the odor of glue or varnish that accompanied a newer instrument.
I traced my fingers down the neck to the base, taking in its perfection.
“There’s a luthier here in LA. He repairs string instruments for a conductor friend of Emmie’s,” Harper explained, her tone a blend of excitement and nervousness.
“Unfortunately, there was no way to repair your cello, given how severe the damage was. However, he had a few replacement options. Mason and I chose this one because it felt like it was completely you.”
“This is… This is mine?” I breathed.
“All yours, a gift from both Mason and me.”
“This is too much,” I choked out.
“It’s not nearly enough,” Mason said with conviction, pressing another kiss to my brow. “But it will do for now.”
“Mason.”
He tilted his head to the side, an unspoken promise in his eyes that caused my breath to catch. “Play for us.”