Mason popped a green cookie into his mouth and then peeled his coat off. “Don’t set it down,” I said hastily as he was about to toss it on the nearest chair. “It’ll get covered in flour. I’ll take it.”
He smiled as he handed it over. I hadn’t intended for him to stay long enough for all this, but I couldn’t very well let him get that rich, black wool covered in flour, glitter, and who knew what else.
I used two hangers for the heavy coat and hung it in my closet rather than slinging it over a hook by the door with ours. I couldn’t help running my finger along the fine fabric. It must keep him very warm. Leaning in, I pressed my nose to the sleeve. It smelled of fresh, crisp air and a hint of spice. I wondered if Mason smelled like that, too.
With a sigh, I stepped out into the living room, taking a quick look around. Except for a few toys, everything was fairly tidy. We’d straightened things up before the bake-a-thon this morning. But everything in the room looked shabby compared to Mason’s gleaming and pristine office yesterday. Nothing in this room was new, not even our coats.
Back at the table, Parker was demonstrating how to use the cookie press. Seeing their two heads bent close together made my heart skip a beat. When was the last time Parker had had a man like Mason pay attention to him? The teachers at the school were all female. It hit me hard when I realized that Parker hadn’t spent much time with a grown man since my grandfather died two years ago. He and my grandmother had taken me after my mother kicked me out for getting pregnant.
“Mom, it’s not working.”
The hint of frustration in Parker’s voice helped me focus, and I moved to stand by his side. “Don’t squeeze as much through the press. Remember, if you put less dough on the tray, it tears away more cleanly when you pick up the press.” I guided his hand a few times until he was doing it better.
Being that close to Parker meant being that close to Mason, too. From where I stood, I could see the muscles in his broad back. The sweater didn’t do much to hide the size of his biceps, either. What was a man like that doing in my apartment? Well, besides learning to use a cookie press. It boggled the mind.
The timer went off, so I took the second batch out of the oven. Parker and Mason were still huddled together, as if they’d been friends forever. “Good job,” Parker was telling the rich man sitting next to him. I’d looked Mason up late last night after Parker went to bed. He was the CEO of his own management firm and apparently highly respected in the corporate world. There’d been a ton of articles about him and pictures, too. Him at fancy restaurants. Him in his offices. And even some in the penthouse he owned in an exclusive building just north of the Loop.
Yet nothing I’d looked up had given any indication that he was so good with kids.
Yep, it was definitely mind-boggling.
Mason looked up as I sat down across from them. He already had a smudge of flour on his sweater. It didn’t make him look any less hot, however. “Sorry to drop by unannounced.”
For some reason, that made me want to smile. “No, you’re not.”
He grinned. “Okay, I’m not. But we have some unfinished business.”
“What does unfinished business mean?” Parker asked as he shook sprinkles on the blobs of dough.
“It means I have something I need to give you mother.”
Alarmed, I jumped to my feet, but it was too late.
“This.” Mason pulled the little black and silver box out of his pants pocket and handed it to Parker.
“Are those mom’s earrings?”
“They are indeed.” Mason shot me a wink, and I wanted to strangle him. How could he give that to Parker when he knew I didn’t feel right about keeping them? “I borrowed them so I wanted to bring them back.”
“Why’d you borrow them?” Parker asked. It didn’t seem to occur to him to wonder how Mason and I knew each other.
“I wanted to see if they went well with that necklace I got my mother, so your mom let me keep them for a few days.”
Parker nodded, then looked at me. “I was wondering why you weren’t wearing them. I thought maybe you didn’t like them.”
Oh, no.
“Of course I did. They’re the most beautiful earrings I’ve ever seen. I love them.”
Parker’s face cleared, and he held the box out to me. “Good. So can you wear them now?”
A thud hit my stomach. If I put them on, that meant I was keeping them, didn’t it? I doubted the store would take them back if they were worn. Actually, the store hadn’t even taken them back when I went there yesterday. The only reason the stuck-up man in the three-piece suit had finally revealed Mason’s name was to get rid of me.
Two pairs of eyes, one set blue, one set the color of warm honey, stared at me. I focused on the blue ones. “Honey, look at me. I’m wearing old clothes and I’m a mess. Those earrings are meant to be worn with fancy clothes.”
“No, they’re not,” Parker said. “And besides, you look good.”
Mason’s dark head bobbed in agreement. “Yes, you do.”
Heat seared through me at Mason’s words, but it was my son I focused on. This meant so much to him.
He cheered when I opened the box and took the earrings out. As delicately as possible, I slid off the backing of one and lifted it up to my ear.
“They’re just earrings,” Mason said. “They don’t bite.”
Easy for him to say. Just knowing that the beautiful little stones were worth five figures made my hands tremble. But finally, I got them on, and I looked up at my son. His grin was literally from ear to ear. Then I glanced over at Mason. The expression on his face was pleased but in an entirely different way. In fact, the look in his eyes made my face flush.
“They suit you.” His words were quiet but sincere, and they warmed my skin even more.
“Thank you.” I hoped he understood I was thanking him for the gorgeous earrings he’d paid for, not the compliment. “Are you guys done decorating those cookies?” The absurdity of my words hit me as I stood up and reached for the baking tray. I’d just called one of the richest men in the Midwest a “guy” and he’d been sitting at my table pouring sprinkles on green dough. And if you added in the fact that I was wearing huge diamond earrings, it was even more surreal.
However… this was my only day off with my son in quite some time, and just because it was shaping up to be a strange as hell day for me didn’t mean I should let Parker know that. “Shall we do the yellow food coloring next?”
5
Mason
“Really? Every single thing?” I smiled at Parker’s enthusiasm.
“Except the lights. But we made all the ornaments ourselves.”
“So that’s why you have glitter in your hair.”
“Yep. That was from these red and green ones.” He snagged a shiny shape off of the tree. I think it was supposed to be a Christmas stocking.
“Did you make the paper chains or your mom?”
“I did.” Parker’s grin was humongous. When had I last felt that happy about anything? “But Mom made the star on the top,” he continued. “She knows oregano.”