Crystal and Ruth stood behind the cookie counter the next day, reading through all the comments on Mason’s Facebook post about his chocolate sleigh sculpture. They had to read them between customers, so every time they pulled it back up, it seemed there were more.
“Wow. It’s really getting some attention,” Crystal said, scrolling through the post again.
“Well, when you’re giving away ten pounds of fancy chocolate, you’re bound to. I really want to go over there and see it.”
“So, go ahead. What’s stopping you?”
Ruth didn’t want to tell her that she was a complete mess over Mason. The way he’d touched her hand—sigh. It played through her mind over and over again. As she remembered the look in his eyes, his nearness, his complete focus on her, she got butterflies every time. No, she couldn’t confess that. “We’re too busy today. I’ll go later. Maybe after hours.”
Raising an eyebrow, Crystal said, “We’re not that busy.”
“No, but we could get a rush any minute.”
“Yeah, right.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the door swung open and a big group came in, somewhat chaotically as they shuffled past each other in the doorway and then spread out. There were three women and five kids. Crystal’s mouth fell open in such a comical way that Ruth burst out laughing.
As soon as she got control of her mirth, she said, “Welcome to Sugar Lips Cookie Company.”
The older woman in the group, probably the kids’ grandma, smiled but was too distracted by the kids pointing out cookies to respond. The two other women were obviously the mothers of the group. To Ruth’s surprise, they grinned at her in a very pointed way.
“Hello,” the taller one said, heading straight toward her. “I’m Lori, Mason Baker’s sister. And this is Tonia, our sister-in-law.”
“Hey,” Tonia said.
Both of them were looking her over too curiously for it to just be casual interest.
“Well, hello,” Ruth said to Lori. “I was wondering why you looked so familiar. I’m Ruth.”
Lori laughed. “I know. This is too exciting.” Tonia elbowed her so she rolled her eyes and added, “Sorry. We don’t mean to be so weird. It’s just that we’ve heard your name every time we’ve seen Mason lately, and then that picture on Facebook popped up. We had to come meet you.”
Ruth felt her face go pale. “Oh. Um…”
Crystal laughed beside her but pressed her lips together when Ruth glared at her. “I’m going to go help the kids over there,” she said, slinking away.
Shifting her feet, Ruth tried to figure out how to deal with this situation. “Look, I get the impression that you think Mason and I are…that we’re…dating.” She had to pause for breath at that point. Holy awkwardness. “But we’re not.”
“Oh, I know that,” Lori said. “But there’s no doubt in my mind that Mason is interested in you. And that is amazing. He’s never told us much about his dating life, but from what we can tell, he hasn’t dated anyone seriously since he started culinary school. We’ve been worried about him since he works so much that he doesn’t have a social life. The fact that he’s looking up from his chocolate to notice a woman is exciting.”
Tonia shook her head at Lori and said, “Don’t let her freak you out. As much as Lori wants to play matchmaker, we’re just going to buy some cookies and go away again.”
Ruth managed to smile. “I’ll be happy to sell you cookies. As for the rest, well…I think you’re probably reading too much into things.”
Lori leaned over the counter and said, “But if he did ask you out, what would you say?”
Feeling like she’d been sucker-punched, Ruth just stared at her.
Meanwhile, Tonia stepped back and took a picture of her and Lori. She worked on her phone for a few seconds. Ruth noticed but couldn’t focus on that when Lori was still waiting for an answer.
“I might,” she said at last, her voice so quiet she realized Lori might not have even heard. She made her voice louder. “Maybe.”
Before Lori could say anything, the door burst open with more force than usual. Ruth looked up and nearly died when she saw Mason striding in like a storm cloud.
“What are you all doing here?” he asked.
Ruth watched the way his family reacted, trying to figure out what on earth was going on. Lori smirked, Tonia bit her lip, his mom looked confused, but all five of the kids turned from the cookies and ran for Mason.
He hugged and greeted them all but in a distracted way. He met her eyes over their heads with an expression that was both a question and an apology. “Are you guys picking out cookies? You’d better hurry—you don’t have much time left.” He looked at his sister. “Before you leave.”
Lori grinned at him, totally unrepentant. “I’m not in any hurry.”
Mason shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets as if he’d given up and walked over to his Mom. “So, what’s this? You can buy Ruth’s cookies but not my chocolate?”
His mom smiled, responding to the teasing note in his voice. “Why would I buy from you when you bring me chocolate for free all the time?”
He gave her a hug. “Fine. But you’re going to stop in and see me, right? I wouldn’t have even known you were here if Tonia hadn’t texted me.”
“Of course. As soon as we’re done here. Aren’t these cookies beautiful? I can’t believe I’ve never come here before.”
“Wait till you taste them,” Mason said, smiling across at Ruth. “They’re life-changing.”
Ruth bit her lip to control her smile before it turned into an idiotic grin. “Thanks.” She didn’t know how much longer she could suffer through Lori’s perceptive gaze as she looked between the two of them. “What can I get for you ladies?”
Toni stepped up to the counter and pointed. “I want one of those gingerbread snowflakes.”
Mason lingered for a few minutes, helping the kids make their choices then waited by the door as if he wanted to shoo his family outside. The whole time, Ruth felt electrified and bewildered.
Soon, their cookies were boxed up and paid for. Lori was the last one out the door, and as she left, she called back, “Hope to see you again soon.”
“Me too,” Ruth answered. Then she looked at Mason and raised her eyebrow.
He shook his head slowly back and forth. “Meet you after work to talk?”
“It’s fine—”
“Please?”
Why did it feel like talking would be significant somehow? Gathering her courage, she nodded. “Okay.”
As Mason closed the door and followed his family down the sidewalk to his store, Ruth could feel Crystal’s eyes on her. “Ugh! Stop staring already. I feel like I’ve been under a microscope since they got here.”
“Oh my gosh. I knew it. Mason has a thing for you.”
“He does not.”
“Oh, come on. That would have been obvious to a five-year-old.”
“That stupid Facebook photo just gave his sister the wrong idea.”
Crystal crossed her arms over her chest. “Then why was Mason so worried about what you thought?”
Ruth rolled her eyes. “Because how awkward would it be for him if I thought he liked me when he didn’t? Let’s refill the display cases.”
With a gusty sighed, Crystal followed her into the back. “I don’t know if you’re just lying to me because you don’t want to talk about it, or if you’re lying to yourself. But will you just consider something?”
“What?”
“Open up to possibilities.”
“Crystal, have you ever heard the term out of my league?”
“He’s not.”
“He was in high school. And what has changed since then?” She held up her hand to stop Crystal from interrupting her. “He’s hotter than ever and I’ve gained about thirty pounds, that’s what. He’s lived in foreign countries and I’ve never left Willow Falls. And he’s probably had loads of girlfriends while I have only ever had a few failed attempts at dating guys I wasn’t even attracted to.”
Crystal was silent. “Okay, that’s just sad.”
Ruth closed her eyes and nodded. “Tell me about it.”
“But that doesn’t mean Mason doesn’t see how incredible you are.”
“It does mean that I’m not ready to let myself hope just because his sister wants to be a matchmaker.”
“Just trust me, okay? I can see the way he looks at you.”
She felt a sharp, tight sensation in her chest that she thought might be hope. “And how is that?”
“Like you’re a chocolate he wishes he could taste but doesn’t dare.”
“Why doesn’t he dare?” Ruth realized how loud her voice had gotten and lowered it. “Not that I want him to taste me. That’s weird.”
“Okay, so the metaphor isn’t perfect. I just mean that if you give him a little bit of encouragement, you just might be surprised.”