Sunlight arced between the curtains in my bedroom, and my eyelids fluttered open. Memories from last night rushed back to greet me—the carnival, the fight, the sex against the now-broken front door.

“Oh god,” I groaned and gripped my forehead. Paper crinkled against my palm. “Huh?” I tugged at the paper and removed a sticky note from my head. “What the heck?”

It was yellow, and words were scrawled across it.

Morning, angelface.

I’m downstairs fixing the front door. Come down when you’re in the mood to talk.

Coffee in the kitchen.

I stared at the note and read it over a second time, a small smile taking the place of my confusion. That was kind of quirky, and kind of adorable. Who stuck a sticky note to someone’s forehead while they were asleep?

Doctor Dunn, that was who.

I scrambled out of bed and into the shower, desperate to rinse off the night’s sleep and all the hot thoughts about him—but it was impossible. Mason was a dominant force in my thoughts, and scouring him out of there was impossible at this point.

Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed and ready to go. I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, poured two cups of coffee, and walked them out into the entrance hall.

A new door was up—decorative, thick, dark wood with a sweet little window in the front. It was exactly the type of door I’d have pictured in the house. I opened it and stepped out onto the porch.

Mason was on all fours in front of it, measuring the stairs.

“Coffee,” I said, and he looked up at me, an easy grin parting his lips.

“Good to see you’re up. It’s only what, nine?”

“It’s a weekend,” I replied. “So sue me for wanting to sleep in. You did tire me out last night.”

“An accusation I’ll gladly accept.” Mason tramped up the stairs and accepted the mug from me. “Thanks.” He lifted it and took a sip, then gestured to the top step.

We took a seat next to each other, the wood groaning beneath us. “Good thing we didn’t have our little midnight adventure here,” he said and patted the wood. “We’re going to have to rip this up sometime soon. It won’t last long.”

I nodded. “Thanks for making the coffee this morning, by the way. I—uh, didn’t expect you to stick around after everything that happened last night.”

“Why not?”

I didn’t want to answer that. It wasn’t because two people had told me he had the habit of leaving when the going got tough. No, it was because we’d both acted like assholes last night, thanks to the tension and the emotions that’d flown around.

“I don’t know, Mason,” I said and shrugged. “None of this has been simple.”

“I know,” he replied. “I know, but goddamn if it hasn’t been worth it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that despite all the shitty external factors, I wouldn’t change a damn thing.” He set his coffee mug aside and turned to me, took one of my hands in his. I loved that—how my small my palm fit into his. How I fit into him. “Becca, I’m glad I met you. I’m glad all of this is happening.”

“Me too.”

“I don’t feel like I’m going to lose you,” he continued. “I feel like, no matter what happens, I’ve got you, angel.”

I stared at him, blinking rapidly and trying to take that in properly. “Explain, please.”

“Fuck it, Becca, what do you want me to say? Before you came along… Fuck, don’t judge me for this, all right?”

“For what?”

He cleared his throat. “I don’t talk about this shit to anyone, because that’s just not who I am. I came from a line of men who were focused on keeping emotions in check. My dad was military, my grandfather was military. High emotions, even anger like last night, were frowned upon. It’s part of the reason I was frustrated with myself after it happened.”

I nodded, listening. Mason didn’t need my input now. He was on a track, and all I had to do was lend him my ear.

“So, trust me when I say that talking about feelings is the last thing I want to do.” He ran his hand over the top of his head. “There’s shit you should know about before I go any further here, so I’m just going to spit it out.”

“Go ahead. I’m all ears.”

“Maybe that’s not a good thing,” he chuckled, and squeezed my hand tighter. “I left Tabitha to go do my service, it’s true, but part of leaving was because I couldn’t handle what she’d become. I needed time to be me, to think, and when I was called up, it was perfect timing in a sense. Perfect and horrible.”

“How so?”

“War is war,” I replied. “And Tabitha wasn’t understanding. She’d spent the past couple years at home, ‘looking after the house’ even though we had a maid, and shopping. She spent more money than I had, racked up credit card debt, and blamed me when I told her we couldn’t afford that type of lifestyle. When I left, it was a relief.” He massaged his forehead. “I came back and walked in on her and Perry together. They both tried talking their way out of it, but the damage was done.”

“Wow,” I whispered. “So it was him.” I’d figured as much, but the confirmation, so raw and right here in front of me, was intense.

“Yep,” Mason said. “I was furious at first, but, eventually, I let it go. It was long ago. She stalled on signing the divorce papers too, which pissed me off, but I dealt with it.”

“But she did sign them?”

Mason quirked a smile, that handsome doctorly Adonis grin that should’ve been illegal. “Worried I’m married?”

“Yeah, affairs are not my style.”

“Me neither,” he replied. “The divorce is final, but only because Tabitha and Perry got engaged.”

“Oh, wow,” I said. “I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.”

Mason chuckled. “Yeah, I had no idea he was such a creeper. Or that she was a cheater. I sure can pick ’em.”

I walked my fingers up his arm and met his gaze. “I think you do OK.”

“You do, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“So, now you know the nasty story, Becca. I’ve got my baggage, and so do you. All I wanna do is hang out with you, let whatever the hell this is develop. Sound good?”

I opened my mouth, but he cut me off with a wave.

“And fuck all the rest. Fuck the idiots in Stoneport. Fuck Perry, and fuck Tabitha. We don’t have to worry about them. If we see them out again, I won’t rise to the taunts. The only reason I flipped last night was because he brought you into it. I can’t stand the thought of him getting away with what he did to you at the practice.”

“I’m fine,” I said, for the bajillionth time. “Really, I’m fine. I don’t need you to stick up for me like that.”

“I know you don’t need me to do it. I want to do it.” There was something unspoken in Mason’s gaze, and it froze me to the spot. “So, scout’s fucking honor, I won’t get angry like that again. But from now on, we’re not just friends who fuck. We’re going to go on dates. We’re going to enjoy each other’s company for as long as it’s good.”

“For as long as we still want to,” I said.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me.” It wasn’t dating, it wasn’t friends, it was something weird in between, and I still had my doubts. They didn’t matter, though. It wasn’t as if I’d turn my back on this now. Sheesh, I could hardly stand when I was close to him, let alone walk away.

Mason drew me into his arms and pressed his lips against mine. The warmth and the scent of his cologne immediately sent me into desire overdrive. I leaned into him and his kiss without a hint of internal or emotional resistance for the very first time.

I’m yours. That was what the kiss said. All yours.

“Knock, knock,” a woman called from the front gate.

I jumped and turned on my ass, raising my hand to block the bright, early morning sun.

Kathy stood at the front, holding a gorgeous golden retriever puppy in her arms. “It seems I’m interrupting something,” she said, stiffly. “I can come back later.”

“No, no! It’s all good.” I sprang to my feet, excitement bursting through me once again. A Mason and a puppy all in one day? Best Saturday ever. I rushed to the front gate and opened it for Kathy, who stepped inside.

She cast an eye over the house and gave a nod. “I see you’ve had more work done on the place. I like the new front door.”

“That was a necessity,” Mason said, strolling up to us.

“Thank you so much for bringing Ty over.” I held out my arms for the puppy. “You really didn’t have to. I was more than happy to come down and fetch him myself.”

“That’s quite all right,” Kathy sniffed, still studying the landscape as if a puppy-eating monster would spring out of the bushes and leap toward Ty. “I just wanted to ensure that everything was in order before I handed him over.”

“Would you like to come in for coffee?” I asked, still with my arms out for the pupper.

“No, that’s fine.” Kathy held onto Ty for another good few seconds, using that time to switch from eyeing the house and yard to eyeing Mason. “Doctor Dunn,” she said. “I see you’re still here.”

He let out a deep belly laugh, and Ty barked, tilting his fluffy head to one side, his ear flopping up. “Don’t sound so surprised, Kathy,” Mason replied.

The older woman sniffed and finally handed me the dog. Ty settled into my arms, a warm furry ball of cuteness, and licked at my neck and face, thumping his little tail frantically. “Hello, boy, hello,” I whispered. “Aren’t you the sweetest? Aren’t you the sweetest?”

“I assume you have everything prepared for him? Kibble? A puppy bed?”

“Actually,” I said, between licks from Ty, “I was going to go out today and get everything I needed.”

“And who will stay with the puppy while you do that, hmm?” Kathy asked, arching a graying eyebrow.

“I will,” Mason replied. “I’m going to be here all day fixing up the house. We’ve got it from here.”

Kathy mouthed the word “we” then shook her head as if she needed to clear it. “Good,” she said, stiffly and exited the gate, slapping it shut behind her. “All that’s in order, then. I hope you enjoy your time with Ty. He’s a real little ray of sunshine. Look after him, Miss Starr.”

Ty barked again and scrambled in my arms. I set him down, and he raced around between my legs and then Mason’s, barking like crazy.

“What else would I do?” I replied, laughing already.

Today would be a good day. Thanks to this boy, and this man. Today would be the best day.

Wasn’t that what I’d wanted from the start? Peace? Happiness?

And a little restaurant of my own.

Soon.