That made me smile. “It’s just two.” Though it was true that one was very long and was wrapped around my neck a lot of times. “I hope you’ve abandoned the idea of throwing the earrings in the river.”
He cocked his head to the side as he grinned at me. “I definitely won’t do that, especially now that I’ve seen how good they look on you.”
I was pretty sure the flush forming on my cheeks wasn’t just from the cold. But surely he just said stuff like that to be nice. What else could he have said after he saw I was wearing them? That perhaps my earlobes didn’t look wealthy enough for the diamonds?
Mason’s gaze was still on me, and I smoothed a gloved hand over my hair, probably making the wind-blown waves worse, not better. “What?”
“Go out with me tomorrow night.”
“What?” It wasn’t a great response, but it was all I could think of as my stomach twisted into a knot.
“I’d like to spend some time with you.”
“Like… a date?”
“Exactly like that.”
“On a Monday night?” It was only one of many questions tumbling around in my mind. The others were: Really? With me? Why? And Really? once again.
He cocked an eyebrow. “I can’t ask you to go out with me on Friday, that’s Christmas. Besides, wouldn’t an evening date give you something to look forward to on the most dreaded day of the week?”
Yes. But… still… no. “But we… we don’t even know each other.”
Mason’s lips curved into a half-smile. “Hmm, you’re right. So maybe we should go on a date and get to know each other so that we know each other well enough to go on a date.”
Oddly enough, I was able to follow that circular sentence quite well, so I moved onto my next objection. Well, the next one I was willing to voice. My mind was still stuck on: does he really want to go out with me? “I can’t leave Parker at night. Jane—my neighbor who watches him after school—can’t watch him in the evenings.”
“So what do you do when you need to go out at night?”
“I stay home. It’s part of the job description as a single parent.”
A flicker of some sort of emotion passed across his face, too quick for me to identify. Did he think I was being flippant? I hadn’t meant to be, I was just stating a very real fact about my life.
“So I’ve been told. Luckily, I did some research last night. Take a look.” He thumbed at his phone for a moment and then handed it to me. On the screen was a webpage for something called Elite Childcare. “My assistant has used their services for her grandkids. The sitters are all vetted with full background checks. They’re experts in CPR, first aid, bedtime stories, tucking in… hell, they probably could land a plane in an emergency. They’re the best of the best.”
“So says the website,” I mused because it did pretty much say that exact thing on the banner. Was the place for real? I hadn’t even known there was such a thing as high-end babysitting, but the more screens I flipped through with cold fingers, the more reputable the company sounded. But the prices weren’t even mentioned, which meant that the rates must be very expensive. Wasn’t that what they said about really expensive restaurants? Like if you had to ask about the price, then you couldn’t afford it.
Mason was watching my carefully. “A woman named Nina is all lined up for tomorrow night. She’s got excellent references, and if she arrives and you don’t feel comfortable, then no problem, we won’t go out.”
He’d thought of everything, but I hadn’t had time to think it through. The decision to leave my son in someone else’s hands wasn’t something I took lightly. I didn’t even like leaving him with Jane after school, but for that, I had no choice. For this, I did.
This was all happening so suddenly. I’d only first laid eyes on Mason on Friday. Granted, he’d spent half the day at my apartment yesterday, but still, this felt really fast and rushed. If he was truly interested in me, and I still had trouble convincing myself that he was, then waiting until after the holidays shouldn’t be an issue. It was such a crazy time of the year.
“When’s the last time you did something just for yourself?” Mason’s tone was low, but the words seemed to slip under my guard.
“Parker’s the priority, not me.”
“As he should be. But don’t you think his mom deserves a break every once a while?”
“I—”
“Because he does,” Mason spoke over me. “That’s one of the first things he said to me at that jewelry store. He said his mom worked really hard and that was why he wanted to buy her something special.”
Blinking rapidly, I turned to stare at Parker who was hunting down rocks and throwing them toward the river below us. Everything I did was for him. He loved me, I knew that, but it hadn’t occurred to me until he brought home the diamond earrings that he truly wanted to do something for me, too.
Mason moved behind me, not quite touching, but still, I could feel the heat from his body. When he spoke, I could feel his breath caress my hair. “Can you even remember that last time you did something for yourself?”
Not really. Not unless the occasional bubble bath once Parker was asleep counted “It’s been a while,” I admitted.
Mason stepped in front of me, drawing my gaze back to him. “It sounds like you’re long overdue.”
God, his eyes were intense. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen any quite like them. Right now, they looked like warm honey. “I, um…” Lord help me, I was tempted to say yes. But then reality kicked in. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
He shot that down without even blinking. “What you’re wearing now is fine.”
That seemed highly doubtful, but it made me grin. “Even though I’m wearing twenty-seven scarves?”
“Especially because you’re wearing those. We’re going to start off with seeing some Christmas lights.”
“Really?” I think I probably sounded Parker’s age as I said it. I used to love walking around downtown Chicago when I was a kid, seeing the display windows and the decorated trees. My grandpa had taken me every year. Nowadays, I was usually too tired after working both jobs to go out much at night, and Parker’s evening routine include homework, bath, reading, and then a fairly early bedtime. It was what I was used to.
But I had to admit, going to see the lights and sights sounded like a lot of fun. And moreover, it didn’t sound very intimidating. It wasn’t like he’d invited me to some fancy five-star restaurant where I’d feel out of place. So maybe if the sitter was as responsible as he said she was… maybe I’d give myself one night with him. Like a Christmas gift to myself.
Somehow, Mason read my answer on my face, and he put his arm around me briefly as we walked toward Parker. “The sitter and I will be at your place at seven.”
Parker rushed over to us before I could respond. “Do you see that? Over there on the sidewalk.” His words came out in a rush. “That dog’s wearing little boots!”
Looks like we both had something to be excited about.
7