The Snuggle is Real (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

Ford

The front door opened and shut downstairs, followed by the excited yipping of Peppermint Bark.

“Mason’s back,” Charlie said, putting her paintbrush into the tray on the floor.

She’d wanted to help, and after some guidance, she was doing a decent—if slow—job of it.

“Sounds like it.” I continued rolling the butter pecan paint onto the walls of Mason’s guest room. “Why don’t you take a break and go say hi?”

Charlie took off like a shot. She’d spent most the morning playing with Peppermint Bark until the poor dog had sacked out on the floor, exhausted.

Mason and I had finished stripping the last of the wallpaper yesterday and pulled up the carpet.

The floors weren’t perfect—but given the time constraints, Mason had decided to buy a large area rug and leave them in imperfect condition.

I’d refinish the living room and dining room floors during the workweek. The industrial sander would be noisy—and it was really a one-man job, anyway.

That’s how I preferred to work, but after I’d returned from the hardware store the day before, Mason had insisted on helping .

Closed up in a room with him, stripping the last of the wallpaper in awkward silence had been awful. I couldn’t stop remembering the first time I’d come into this room. When I’d shown Mason how to strip—stumbling over my words, flustered by his teasing but liking it too. The way he looked at me, the way he smiled.

Well, there were no smiles now. Not after I’d kissed him then walked away like a coward. Didn’t help that I showed up here in a shit mood after LuAnne’s call about getting out early and taking Charlie away.

I hadn’t expected Mason to seek out a matchmaker, though. Was he really that eager for a boyfriend that he’d kiss me one night and search for someone new the next?

Was that moment with me not meaningful to him at all?

Not that I wanted it to be. I couldn’t date anyone right now, much less a man. I had to focus on Charlie. Had to come up with a plan. If Lu got out early and came for her, I had to make certain Charlie was going to a safe, stable home. And if she wasn’t…well, then, I had to figure out how to fight for her.

“Hey.” Mason came through the door. “You’ve made good progress in here.”

I kept painting. “This is the easy part.”

“Yeah.” My back tingled, almost as if his gaze was a physical touch running up and down my spine.

When I finally looked over, though, he was frowning at the floor.

“Regretting that we decided not to refinish that?”

“Hmm?” He blinked and looked up. “Oh, no. Just distracted.”

“The matchmaker gave you a lot to think about, huh?” I said, then regretted it instantly. I didn’t want to know.

“I guess,” Mason said, joining me by the wall and picking up the paintbrush Charlie had abandoned. “There were a lot of questions to answer. I have to get back to Nick with a few of them because I just wasn’t sure…”

“What kind of questions?”

Damn it. Why did my mouth keep speaking? I focused harder on rolling paint.

“Just what qualities are important to me in a partner,” Mason said. “Not just the stuff like looks, but like, what personality traits are most important to me.”

I resisted the urge to ask what those traits were, but just barely. I was burning up with curiosity.

“Some of it’s easy. I want someone honest, someone with a good heart.”

“Of course,” I murmured.

“Someone who can make me laugh.”

Damn. Did I make him laugh? I wasn’t sure I did. Mason kept listing qualities. Strong. I had that one covered. Smart. I hoped he didn’t think I was dumb, but I sure as hell wasn’t educated. I was a roofer/handyman. Would someone like Mason consider me in the same league at all?

Fuck, my head was all kinds of messed up right now.

I had to be his type. Otherwise, why had he asked for that kiss in the first place?

But hearing him list his ideas of a perfect man was getting to me.

It wasn’t as if Mason didn’t deserve a good guy in his life, but what was the big rush? His family was visiting for Christmas. He wouldn’t be alone in this house.

Not like I would be once Charlie left.

“…but then if I list all these ideal qualities, will I be ruling out a perfectly good man?” Mason was musing as he brushed paint up and down the walls.

“I don’t know,” I said, wishing the conversation would just die.

I glanced his way, properly looking at him for the first time since he’d entered the room.

“Mason!” I grabbed his arm. “You shouldn’t be painting in those clothes. You need to take them off.”

He glanced down at the slacks and burgundy sweater he’d put on for his meeting with Nick.

“You trying to teach me how to strip again?”

He lifted his gaze to meet mine and a jolt went through me. I let go of his arm before I did something crazy like pull him to me.

His cheeks turned pink. “Sorry. Bad joke.”

I huffed a little laugh. “It’s okay. I walked right into that one.”

“You really did,” he said with a smirk.

My phone alarm went off, and I checked the time. “Shoot. I have to get over to the park to help tear down the brew fest.”

“Okay, no problem. I can finish this up on my own.”

“I’d stay if I could,” I said, hating to leave a job unfinished. “I’m just hoping these festival odd jobs might turn into something more official next year, so I can’t really afford to say no.”

“I know, Ford. I wouldn’t want you to say no.” Mason took the paint roller from my hand. “Go. You’ve been a huge help.”

I hesitated when I got to the doorway. “When’s your date?”

“What?”

“The matchmaking? When will you meet the guy?”

“Oh. Uh, I don’t know. Nick said he might be able to set something up by next weekend. Why?”

Good question. I didn’t have an answer.

“I better go. See you later.”

I collected Charlie and headed for my pickup. It was late afternoon, just shifting toward evening, and bitterly cold.

But it was a welcome distraction from the heat that Mason stoked in me. At this point, I didn’t know what to make of it.

Did I want him, even though I’d never wanted a guy before? The kiss had rattled me. That much was clear. It had replayed in my mind more than once, and each time I’d shut it down because I was straight. Always had been.

But now my chest was tight and every time he talked about this potential date, I wanted to punch a wall.

So, did that mean I wanted him—or just that my ego was hurt that Mason wasn’t pining over me?

Working at Mason’s place was easier during the week. He’d given me a key so I could come and go while he was at work.

Sanding hardwood floors was a mind-numbing task. I put on headphones and pushed the sander, the vibrations rattling through me and giving my arms a good workout, but I could listen to music and block out all thoughts, which was a plus.

I’d made it to Wednesday afternoon, when Mason had texted to let me know he probably wouldn’t see me that evening because he was going out that evening.

I’d fought back the impulse to ask if he was going on a date.

To ask him , anyway.

But I couldn’t resist the curiosity plaguing me. I scrolled through my contacts, found Nick, and hit Call.

He answered on the second ring.

“Ford? Are you okay?”

His voice was perplexed, as if he couldn’t imagine a reason why I’d call him. Which was fair. I hadn’t called since…well, not since we were dealing with my sister’s belongings in the weeks after she’d died.

“Yeah, I…” I stopped and cleared my throat. “Sorry for calling out of the blue. I had a question.”

“Okay.”

“It’s about your matchmaking service.”

“Oh, did you want to sign up? I’ve got a new website for it. I’d love to help match you with someone.”

“No, I… I was just wondering about one of your clients.”

“Well, that’s confidential.”

“It’s just that Mason is a…friend of mine.” I shifted and cleared my throat. “I want to make sure this date he’s going on is safe.”

“I vet all my clients, and they always meet at a public place. Mason will be fine. He’s a sweetheart, and he totally deserves love. Honestly, I think the date I’ve got lined up is going to find him adorable .”

My hand tightened on the phone. For some reason, Nick’s use of the word adorable got under my skin. That was m y word for Mason. I didn’t want some asshole blind date thinking it.

“You’ve got a date for him? Who?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Nick said.

“Then tell me when and where, at least. So I can go…keep an eye on them and make sure Mason is okay.”

That sounded reasonable, right?

Nick didn’t take the bait. “Sorry, can’t do that either.”

“Then what good are you?” I snapped.

“Wow,” Nick said quietly.

Guilt hit me like a ton of bricks. I winced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“Maybe you did. This is the first time you’ve wanted to talk to me in a long time.”

“Yeah, I know. Shit. I just… Seeing you just makes me think of Nicole and how she’s not beside you. It’s hard.”

“I know,” he said softly. “It hasn’t been easy for me either.”

“Yeah. I’ve been a miserable bastard to everyone for too long. I’m starting to see that.”

“Charlie has been good for you,” Nick said.

I smiled. “Yeah, she has.”

“And Mason?” he asked tentatively. “Has he been good for you too?”

I tensed up, but hell, Nick had the right to ask after my absurd phone call demanding answers. “I think so. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m kind of confused.”

He chuckled. “I kind of thought you might be. You seemed like maybe you were a little upset he was going on a date?”

“Uh, well…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I shouldn’t be.”

“Why not?”

“I mean, I’m— You know I’m straight, Nick. I was married to LuAnne.”

“And I was married to your sister, but you’ve always known I was bi. You can be attracted to men and women. I’m living proof.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I’ve heard the rumors about you and that new guy. The whole town has been talking about how you’re moving on.”

A little bitterness crept into my tone, but I couldn’t help it. Nicole was my sister, and I’d never replace her. She’d always be a gaping void in my life. But if the gossip was true, then Nick was falling in love again. That was hard to take.

There was a long beat of silence. “I’ll always love Nicole. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And I think she’d want me to move on. She’d want you to be happy too, and if Mason makes you happy…”

“I kind of screwed up,” I said. “I don’t know if he’d want to date me now.”

“Well, I don’t normally do this, but…”

I held my breath, waiting for him to finish. Maybe he’d cough up the time and place of this date, so I could at least be there to check out this guy and make sure he was good enough for Mason.

But what he said next blew my mind.

“If you want to know how he feels about you, I think I can help. Here’s what you’d need to do…”