LITMIR.BIZ

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my mouth, but no sound came out. I tried again and was able to spit out, “Um. Good. You’re home.”

      He chuckled at my blatant statement of the obvious. “Yeah.” He did his shy smile. It had been almost a year since I’d seen it and I had forgotten how adorable it was. He ran his finger over the nick in his eyebrow and said, “A bunch of us are going off-roading. Would you like to come with us?”

      I stared at him for an awkwardly long time. After I blinked three times, I finally forced myself to breathe and answered, “Can’t. Have to work.” My Neanderthal sentences came across sounding rude, so I scrambled to find more words. “Thanks anyway.”

      “What time do you get off?”

      “Never. Um, I mean, it’s not like a real job. It kind of depends on how busy it is. And it is. Busy. This weekend. Lots of people.”

      “Okay. Would you like to go to a party with me in Squamish tonight?” His hand rose in a hold-on-a-second gesture. “Before you answer, I want to remind you about the deal we made last summer. Remember?”

      I remembered our deal—of course I remembered our deal. I had thought about it about a thousand times since then—I was just surprised he remembered. The deal had happened during a crazy time in my life. I had just found out my boyfriend Steve had cheated on me. Trevor had just gotten home after five months away but made it clear we shouldn’t be more than friends. And to top it all off Mason informed me that if we were both single when he got back from working abroad for a year, he would ask me out on a date. At the time, I didn’t know where I would be living in a year or if Trevor and I would be together in a year. Plus, I had always been curious about Mason, so I had agreed. But I thought the chances of him actually honoring the deal were slim. Apparently I was wrong.

      He seemed half-amused and half-worried by my lack of response. “What do you say?”

      Again, I was frozen in an excruciatingly awkward stare as I considered the prospect of a summer fling with him. Then I choked out, “Sure.”

      “Great. I’ll pick you up at eight.” He handed me a business card. “Here’s my number. Text me yours.”

      I nodded like a bobble head.

      His mouth flashed a lopsided smile as if he wanted to laugh at my peculiar behaviour, but he hid it with the back of his hand, probably not wanting to be rude. I knew I was acting like an idiot, but tragically I couldn’t help it. Mason was literally the best-looking human being I had ever met. To save my dignity, I didn’t even attempt to say anything else. I just waved at him, then watched him run back through the rain and climb into the truck.

      The guy in the passenger seat said something. Mason nodded, smiled, and then waved at me before he drove off with the convoy of trucks following him south on the highway. I jiggled around, trying to contain my excitement.

      “Is that a friend?” Granddad asked, making me jump out of my seat.

      Clutching my chest to attempt to still my heartbeat, I said, “No. Not exactly. I kind of know him from school. He’s one year older than I am. We never really hung out with the same crowds.”

      “Does he go to university?”

      “No, he works for his dad’s import business. He’s been travelling, so I haven’t seen him since last summer.”

      “What’s his name?”

      “Mason.”

      “The Cartwright boy?”

      I glanced at him, curious that he’d heard of him. “Yes. Why?”

      “No reason. Just wondering.” Granddad didn’t say anything else, but his eyebrows lifted and he nodded, as if he was impressed or something. He smiled, then wandered into the dining room, whistling.

      Still not completely recovered from the shock, I picked up the phone and called Sophie. I was talking so fast and high-pitched only Sophie would have been able to decipher the content.

      “Oh my God!” she said. “Why do all the good things happen while I’m not there? Okay, hold on. Cut it out, you idiots, I can’t hear,” she yelled at the guys in the van. “I need to focus. So, Mason Cartwright showed up at the Inn after a year abroad to honour your deal from that day at the Britannia pools last summer. And you have nothing to wear that even comes close to being suitable for a date with Mason Cartwright. Do I have it right so far?”

      “Mmm hmm.”

      “Okay, calm down. Hold on. You guys, please shut up. This is an important call. Okay. This is huge. Does he still look good?”

      “Unbelievably.”

      “Nice. What about Trevor?”

      “What about Trevor? Could you please get over that? He has a girlfriend. Oh, and more importantly, he doesn’t share the same feelings. It’s never going to happen. Mason is a real possibility.”

      “What if he’s like all those pretentious snots he used to hang out with at school?”

      “I don’t know, but I should give him one chance, right?”

      “Hell yeah. No girl in her right mind wouldn’t go on at least one date with Mason Cartwright.” Sophie laughed, then shouted away from the phone, “Oh, simmer down, Doug, I’m not a girl in her right mind.” She switched back to me again, “I just don’t know Mason well enough to be sure if he’s a good guy.”

      “How will I be able to tell?”

      “You’ll feel it. Are you positive you don’t want to hold out for Trevor? It’s been a month since you saw him. Maybe you should at least wait to talk to him and see if he’s going to make a move.”

      “I did talk to him. He called.”

      “And?”

      “And nothing. Nothing has changed. Nothing will ever change. He asked me to save him a damn muffin. I’ve been holding out all year and now he’s taken. I’m moving on.”

      “Hey, Doug. How do you think Trevor will feel about Deri hooking up with Mason Cartwright?” He made a grumbling sound. I couldn’t make out his words, but he probably didn’t want to get involved, since he was friends with both of us. Sophie laughed. “Yeah. That’s what I thought. Tell him he blew it. Boys are so stupid. Damn. I wish I could be there to do your hair and makeup. This is so exciting. Okay, wear your new European jeans with the dark-purple halter-top and the black heels I lent you—yes, before you say anything, I did see every one of your posts from your trip, even though I said I didn’t want to know how much fun you were having. It was obviously an awesome experience. You looked amazing in that outfit. That is all I will say about that. We are never again talking about that opportunity of a lifetime I missed out on. Or just give me a week. I’ll probably want to talk about it by then—next, under no circumstances may you wear your ugly faded cardigan. I don’t care how rainy it is out. Straighten your hair and wear it parted in the middle. Mascara and lip gloss should be enough. You don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard. I want details first thing in the morning. Promise?”

      “I promise. Thanks.” I scribbled down some notes so I wouldn’t forget her advice. “Good luck tonight.”

      “Get lucky tonight,” she teased.

       CHAPTER 3

      The afternoon dragged compared to the crazy morning. I was worried about Trevor getting hurt while he was training for Search and Rescue and jittery about the date with Mason. Despite checking the clock constantly, time didn’t seem to be passing properly. Trevor hadn’t replied to my text, so of course I assumed the worst and visualized all sorts of horrifying accidents that could leave him dead at the bottom of a ravine or river or something. I couldn’t even concentrate enough to read the novel I was three-quarters through.

      After

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