13. Callie #3
“It’s not very functional as a primary room.” I sigh, noticing even more details in the room—patches of the same brickwork from downstairs, exposed timber beams with the initials F & G carved along the side. “Plus, none of these windows is very good for watching the sunrise.”
“No one’s looking for the sun when you’re in bed,” he says, in such a perfect manner of teasing that I feel it straight between my legs.
“I would be. I’d love to snuggle in bed and watch the sun rise and have doors that open out to a patio letting in summer air, or smell the rain as it hits the earth in a storm.”
Mason stares at me, and I feel a little silly for getting lost in my daydream.
I clear my throat. “But this could be a cool playroom. I’d love to give Navie something like this. Hell, I’d probably steal it myself.”
“Really?
“Let’s just say you’re lucky I don’t have a million dollars, or I’d be fighting ya for it.” I poke his chest as I stroll past him. God, that thing’s firm.
“Actually, the asking price is four point five.”
My eyes almost fall out of my head. Four point five million dollars?
I click my tongue, feigning disappointment. “Just out of my price range.”
“That’s a shame. I would have hated fighting you for it.”
“You wouldn’t step aside and let a lady have it? That’s not very gentlemanly.”
He shakes his head, eyes alight with fire. “I’m very competitive. And I fight dirty.”
The way his voice drops an octave when he says dirty has my head throwing hands with my neglected libido. A shiver runs up my spine, so I try to disguise it by moving towards the exit, and I trip in my haste.
I gasp, my hands flying out, ready to catch myself, when a firm grip catches my wrist. I’m spinning on my heels, and an arm scoops behind my back, and for the second time today, my body is pressed against my boss’s.
One blue eye, and one green, transfixed on mine.
I’ve truly never seen anything more beautiful than his eyes.
“Why am I wet?” His tone is both baffled and amused.
I almost ask ‘You too?’ but thankfully, my mind rights itself right before my mouth speaks. “Excuse me?”
Mason looks between us where our chests are pressed together, and that’s when I register the wetness seeping through my bra and shirt, leaving two distinct patches against Mason’s front. Oh. My. God. I’ve leaked breastmilk on the man.
I squeak in horror and clumsily pull myself from my boss’s grasp.
“I am so sorry.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I usually pump at lunchtime, and I missed it. Now I know, five hours is about all my breasts can handle until they explode.”
Oh fuck me, now I’m talking about my breasts.
Mason chuckles. “I would have waited if you needed to do that.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, shaking with mortification.
“Hey,” he says, his hand resting on my shoulder. “Hey, Callie?” He says my name so softly. In any other circumstance, I might mistake it for affection.
“Please don’t be embarrassed, especially by anything you have to do as a mum or a woman. I promise I’m not that insensitive or insecure in my manhood that I can’t handle breastmilk and periods.”
I swallow down the moment that I’d rather sink into. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Come on.” He steers me towards the stairs. “Let’s find Carmen. I wanna see if she has the floor plans for this place. I’ve got some spare shirts in the car we can change into.”
“It’s not been your day for that,” I say, as we make our way through the house. “This is the second time you’re changing your shirt.”
“Oh yeah? You weren’t checking me out earlier, were you, Moore?”
Our arms brush as we walk in sync, neither one making an effort to create any distance. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, Heart,” I fire back.
Mason hurries ahead only so he can turn and face me, walking backward with his hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face.
“Keep telling yourself that. I know you were looking.” He pulls a face as he lifts one arm, flexing his biceps.
He’s playing around and stirring me up, but he’s not wrong. Who wouldn’t look at all that?
“Your ego is quite impressive. Has anyone ever told you that?
“Telling myself that is part of my daily self-care routine. I love a bit of praise.”
I don’t know where I’m going. I just continue to follow him, even though his eyes don’t leave mine as he keeps stepping backwards. How is he not bumping into walls or tripping over his feet?
I’m well aware we’ve slipped into flirting territory. The traded barbs skirting the edges of intention masqueraded as disinterest. As long as they stay as words, no one gets hurt. Right?
“There you two are.” Mason’s eyes go wide. The confidence he was just wearing shatters when Carmen speaks up, causing him to fumble as we find ourselves back in the kitchen. “What did you think?”
“I personally love it.” I raise my brows at Mason in challenge.
“I think it would make a beautiful home.” My thoughts turn sombre as I think of my own idea of home.
I’m raising my daughter on my own, but I’m determined to give her everything I had, as well as all the things I wished for.
“I can see a lot of happy memories being made here.”