Brynne
M ason gripped the bouquets in his hands, shifting from one foot to the other. He was always so nervous about seeing the Caldwells, until he remembered they were basically family and he had nothing to be anxious about.
I, on the other hand, had a lot to be anxious about.
Mainly, that I hadn’t seen Theo since the bathroom blowjob. We’d both been busy for the last few days, so we were mostly keeping to ourselves. He was working tirelessly on the lighthouse, and I was swamped with the living wax museum I did every year with my students.
It was fun, but god I was tired.
I twisted my hands together before I shoved the door open and stepped inside. The usual warmth of Demi’s house wrapped around me like a hug, and the scent of something cooking filled the air.
“Honey, I’m home!” I shouted, kicking my shoes off and hanging my purse on the hook by the door. “And I brought a guest!” Mason shifted again, his grip tightening on the flowers.
Trin poked her head around the corner, eyes meeting mine before lifting to Mason. “Is it weird to say you’re taller?” she asked.
“I get that a lot,” he muttered.
“Is it some secret Hollywood procedure? Because I’d like to be a little taller—no, not a little taller. Way taller. Like, tower over everyone, taller.”
His lips twitched. “These are for you,” he said, holding out a bundle of multi-colored flowers. She grinned before she leapt forward, wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug. Taking the flowers, she dropped her nose into them, inhaling deeply.
“We’ve missed you,” she said.
Trinity and Mason weren’t close—not like I was close with her brothers—but they still felt like family.
The Caldwells welcomed us both into their lives, into their family, as their own when Trin and I became inseparable. Mason was weary at first, worried they were only using me to get to him, but they quickly proved they couldn’t care less about his fame or riches.
“I need to warn you,” she said, dropping her voice conspiratorially. We leaned closer. “Willow and Scout are slightly freaking out.”
I huffed a laugh. I didn’t realize Willow was such a big fan, too.
“I brought flowers for them, too,” Mason said. “That should help them calm down.”
Trinity laughed, patting his arm. “You poor naive rockstar. That’ll only make them freak out more .”
He turned wide eyes my direction, and I shook my head dismissively. “It’ll be fine,” I said softly. “They’ll act like fangirls for a moment, then realize you’re just a regular person and get over it.”
“I think Scout might pass out,” Trinity whispered. “She’s been pacing for the last twenty minutes.”
“Poor kid.” He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing heavily. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re more nervous than they are.” Trinity eyed him, and he shrugged.
“Meeting fans is always nerve wracking. What if I don’t live up to their expectations? And it’s always awkward as fuck when they just stare and don’t say anything.”
“If they start staring, I’ll pinch them so they know they’re not dreaming,” Trin said. “Deep breaths. Ready?”
We nodded, then headed deeper into the house. The closer we got to the kitchen, the louder the chatter became. It was just Theo and Ronan talking, a woman’s voice—Demi’s—filtering occasionally throughout. But I didn’t hear Scout or Willow.
Maybe they were hiding.
Then we stepped into the kitchen, and Scout was pacing just like Trinity said she was, and Willow was sitting at the island, gripping Ronan’s hand so tightly, his fingers were red. For a moment, no one noticed.
And then Demi looked our way, and her entire face lit up. “Mason!” she said, holding her arms out. He chuckled as she wrapped him up in a motherly hug before pulling away, keeping her hands on his shoulders. “You look bigger. Have you grown?”
“I said the same thing,” Trin said, pointing at him.
“I have a trainer,” he muttered, pink staining his cheeks.
“Oh, maybe that’s it.” Demi nodded a few times, then stepped out of the way for Theo and Ronan to give him bro-hugs.
“I brought this for you,” Mason said, handing Demi the biggest bouquet. She smiled as she took it, doing the same as Trinity had and softly inhaling their gentle floral scent.
“I still have those forever roses you got me last Christmas,” Demi said. “They’re in the hallway upstairs.”
“And I still have the sweater you knitted me,” he told her. Whether he really did or not, I wasn’t sure, but seeing her smile was enough for me to keep my mouth shut.
I glanced around, finding Scout in the corner of the kitchen, eyes wide, arms wrapped around herself. She looked like she was staring at a ghost, or an alien with fifteen heads.
And Willow wasn’t even acknowledging him. Her gaze was on the marble counter in front of her, as if the intricate lines and different colored specks were very interesting.
“This is my fiancée, Willow,” Ronan finally said, laughing under his breath. “Sweetheart?” He held his hand out for her to take, and when she did, it was trembling. She got to her feet and finally lifted her gaze to Mason.
“Hi, Willow,” he said. “I’m Mason.”
“I know,” she blurted, nearly shouting. “Oh, my god.” She turned toward Ronan with a panicked expression, but he just wrapped his arm around her, his thumb rubbing up and down on her shoulder soothingly.
“I brought you some flowers,” Mason said, holding the bouquet out.
“Oh, my god,” she said again, reaching out to take them. They trembled in her hand so badly, I thought the petals were going to fall off.
“Wait.” I lifted my hand, brows pinched together in confusion. “Did you say fiancée?” Willow’s lips twisted into a shy smile as Ronan nodded proudly.
“We went to New York a few days ago,” Ronan explained, gesturing toward Theo. “He let us use his penthouse and set up some reservations at a nice restaurant.”
Willow extended her hand, the ring glinting in the light. “Oh, my god!” I squealed, snatching her hand to get a better look at the diamond. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“We wanted to tell everyone in person.” She laughed.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said, tilting her fingers back and forth. “Congrats, guys.”
I hugged them both, my throat tightening. And when I pulled away, my gaze swept the room for Theo.
I wouldn’t let myself think too deeply about why I sought him out in that moment. My mind had a million excuses at the ready, but none of them were true. So, I shook myself and forced the wave of emotions back.
Everyone fell into comfortable conversation, and when I looked around once more, I found Theo standing by Scout in the corner, quietly coaxing her forward. She shook her head, eyes on Mason.
I hesitated—did she want me to go over there? Would that make things worse?
Or better?
My feet made my decision for me, taking me across the room to them. Theo tensed for only a moment, then he shifted to the side, letting me get closer.
“You okay?” I asked quietly. She barely nodded.
“She’s a little nervous,” Theo said.
“I promise he doesn’t smell. I made him shower before we came.”
Her eyes snapped to me, a blush rising to her cheeks. “He’s?—”
“Usually very smelly,” I finished, nodding solemnly. I felt Theo staring at me, but I kept my focus on his daughter. “He brought something for you, too.” I tilted my head over my shoulder.
“For me ?” she whispered.
“He’s really excited to meet you.”
Her lips parted on a small gasp. “ Really ?”
I nodded a few times, crouching slightly to get more to her level. “But you have to go over there, you know? He's shy, too.”
“No way,” she breathed, shaking her head. “He’s—he’s—” She gestured vaguely in his direction.
“I’ll tell you a secret if you promise not to tell anyone,” I whispered. “He has a lucky charm in his pocket. It helps him stay calm when he’s on stage and around new people. Do you want a lucky charm?”
“You have one?” she asked.
Reaching up, I unclasped my necklace. Theo stared as I draped it around her neck, watching the diamond fall against her hoodie. “When you get nervous, you just have to touch the diamond. Then everything will be better.”
Scout rested her hand over the necklace, pinching the diamond between her fingers like I’d done for years. “I think it’s helping,” she said, and I smoothed my hand over her hair.
“You’ve got this,” I whispered. “Come on.”
I looped my arm in hers, and gently guided her toward my brother. He leaned against the wall with his hand in his pocket, laughing at something Ronan said, but as soon as he saw us, he stood up straight.
“Mason, this is Scout.” I waved my hand between them. “Scout, Mason.”
He bent in half, getting to eye-level. “Nice to meet you, Scout.” He held his hand out, and her eyes widened as she stared at it.
“I think he wants to shake your hand,” I said from the corner of my mouth.
One hand went to the diamond at her neck, the other pressed against his palm. “Hi,” she whispered, her lips twitching like she wanted to laugh. “My mom loves— loved you.”
His eyes darted to mine briefly—I’d told him her story. His throat bobbed.
“She had good taste,” he said with a laugh, and she nodded. She still hadn’t pulled her hand away from his. “What about you?”
“Yeah.” She nodded a few times. “I have good taste.”
The corner of his mouth tucked up. “I meant, do you like my music, too?”
“Oh.” She shifted slightly. “Yes. I do. I—we were going to see you in New York at the end of the year, but you sold out, like, immediately. It was crazy.”
“It was crazy,” he agreed. “Do you still want to go?”
It looked like she stopped breathing.
“Scout?” Theo rested his hand on her back. Her head whipped around, hand still gripping Mason’s.
“Can we?” she asked excitedly. “Please?”
“Of course.” Theo chuckled.
“I’ll get you tickets.” Mason finally stood, but let her keep his hand.
He always said he was terrible with fans, but he wasn’t. He had this way of making people feel comfortable around him, this way of making them feel safe. And I was just thankful he was able to make Scout feel like that.