Chapter 32

32

MASON

F ia panted beneath me as I moved within her slowly, savoring the feel of her. I’d pulled the bodice of her dress down enough to free her breasts and I was undone . Completely, utterly unwoven to the core of my being. I’d been thinking about this all night. From the moment I walked into that ballroom and I saw her wearing that sparkly red gown with a slit nearly up to her hipbone, her curves on display.

Nothing was better than this. Being with her. Buried inside her. The table creaked in rhythm with my thrusts. I had one hand on her waist and the other gripping one of the steps on the staircase to the loft, directly above my head. We were still dressed. I hadn’t had the time or desire to strip her of her dress. I needed her right then.

Her legs locked around my waist, trembling, as she arched off the table with a muffled moan. I wanted her screaming my name, but we weren’t in my apartment in midtown. She had neighbors close by and windows overlooking the street.

“You’re so close,” I rasped, closing my eyes as she tightened around me. “Fia, you’re perfect.”

She came, hard, incoherent words tumbling out of her beautiful mouth as her body shook and she gripped the table for support. I wasn’t far behind her. I pulled her up, clutching her to my chest, and took her mouth in mine the moment I unraveled, groaning her name against her lips.

Our untangling was a blur of expensive fabric and wobbly legs. I picked her up and carried her to the couch, where I continued to kiss her, unable to get enough, that itch not quite scratched.

At some point we fell asleep—Fia lying on the couch in nothing but her underwear and a fluffy blanket tangled around her body, and me, on the floor, in my slacks, using her discarded designer gown as a pillow.

I sat up, wincing as my back popped. She groaned, rubbing her eyes, her wild curls catching the sunlight peeking through the windows. She blinked down at me, her shoulders slumping. I sucked in a breath and leveled her with a look.

“You need a bigger apartment,” I said, resting my arm on the couch.

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling but surrendered with a shrug. “Is that what you’re getting me for Christmas?”

“That depends,” I breathed, tired but suddenly hyper-aware of her blanket sliding down her chest to reveal the tops of her soft, perfect breasts. I climbed onto the couch, pinning her down. “Have you been a good girl this year, Fia?”

“No,” she replied with a mischievous grin.

“I didn’t think so,” I rasped, dipping my head to kiss her.

I tossed my phone into the passenger seat of my sleek black car for the second time as I sped up a private, winding lane in upstate New York. The daylight was fading fast as my car approached a security gate, manned by a single guard, who opened the gate without even looking in my direction.

I bit the inside of my cheek, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel as a stately mansion came into view. Its boxy, gray exterior blended with the snow-dusted landscape beyond.

I’d left Fia’s apartment earlier this morning, gone back to my apartment to change my clothes, and drove here. To my parents’ house. The old family estate.

No Christmas lights lit the carport as I pulled beneath it, greeted by William, the butler who’d been working for the family since before I was born.

“Sir,” he said by way of greeting, looking slightly surprised and off kilter as I got out of the car before he could finish rushing down the steps. “You’re aware that the dinner is tomorrow night, in the city, not here?—”

“I’m just here for a quick visit,” I told him with a clap to his shoulder.

“Your father isn’t home.”

“Thank God,” I murmured and stepped through the grand, glass-paned double doors. The grand foyer brought back a rush of memories of Christmases past. The huge Christmas tree between the curving twin staircases. The warm scent of pine and spice. The reds and green I couldn’t see very well. It all felt familiar, and for the first time in years, I didn’t shy away from it. I didn’t scowl or ignore it.

“Fia is going to love this,” I murmured to myself with a smile as I looked around.

“What on earth are you doing here?” Small, rushed footsteps sped in my direction, Mom’s heels clicking on the hardwood floor. Her light blonde hair was pulled away from her face in a tight ponytail and she was wearing her usual matching beige cashmere “house clothes,” as she called them. Her smile beamed toward me as her light blue eyes creased, shaking her head at me in confusion. “We’re having dinner in the city tomorrow night, remember?”

“Yes, I am aware.” I tucked my hands in my pockets. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“Why?” She looked me up and down, tilting her head to the side as she took in my crewneck knit sweater and jeans, my ruffled hair and five o’clock shadow. “Are you well?”

“Of course. Why?”

“You look so casual.” She smiled again, chuckling softly. “I haven’t seen you out of a suit in years, I think.”

“Well it’s the day before Christmas Eve and I had no reason to go to the office today.” I pursed my lips as the reality of why I’d driven out here, to the country, to the family estate, came crashing down on me. “I need your help with something.”

Mom perked up, her tiny hands on her hips. She was just over five feet tall and lithe, always had been. I’d been taller than her by third grade, and now I towered over her with ease. She looked at me like she knew exactly what I was here for, which sent feelings skittering through my chest. “You want the ring, don’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“You have that look.” She waved a hand toward my face, her gaze lingering on my eyes for a moment. She exhaled with what I could only describe as relief. “Like when we’d take you to Grand Central Station to ride the trains.”

“I did love the trains as a kid.”

“You did.” She sighed wistfully, her eyes going glassy. “Well, come on then.” She turned on her heel and started climbing the stairs to the east wing of the mansion.

“Aren’t you going to interrogate me about her? Her family? Whether I’ve considered how she might be using me for my money?” I climbed after her. She was surprisingly fast for such a small person.

“I’m sure your father did that already.” She shot me a knowing look before tucking her hands behind her back and leading me into the depths of the house. “You forgot that I was once in Fia’s position.”

I was honestly shocked she remembered Fia’s name. They hadn’t met yet. That would happen tomorrow night, and now I was really looking forward to it. She opened the door to the library and turned on the light. “So, tell me about her.”

Where did I even begin?

“She’s beautiful, of course.”

Mom climbed a ladder and raked her eyes over one of the built-in shelves, pulling on a large leather-bound book. A loud click echoed through the room as she climbed down again without missing a beat.

“Well, there must be more to her than that,” she said before grunting with effort as she pulled the trap door open leading into the safe.

I rolled my lower lip between my teeth as I followed her inside a snug space made of solid concrete, stopping in front of the built-in safe itself.

“She’s smart, and capable.”

“Uh huh.” I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Is she of good breeding, a championship line, perhaps? Are we talking about a purebred dog or your future wife?” She pulled the door open, and a new room was revealed, bright lights flickering to life. Jewelry glittered in a display. Bank boxes were stacked neatly on shelves. Mom even kept some of her favorite purses in here, which I found kind of silly, but I knew very little about handbags.

“She’s brilliant. She makes me laugh. She’s funny, easygoing, and loving. I feel like I’m able to be myself around her. I’ve felt like that from the very beginning and I can’t—” I sucked in a breath as she pulled a small, pale green ring box out of the display and set it on the table, her eyes meeting mine. “I don’t see a future without her in it.”

Mom’s mouth ticked into a smile. “She sounds lovely, sweetheart. Does she look good in emeralds, perhaps?”

“She’d look beautiful in anything.” There it was. The family engagement ring. A stunning, priceless emerald surrounded by diamonds totaling at least four carats. It had been my grandmother’s ring, and she passed it down to my mother.

“Are you sure?” she asked, holding my gaze.

“You should say what you need to say to me.” I tucked my hands in my pockets and prepared for the third degree, but it never came.

“You O’Leary men are so stubborn and thickheaded.”

I arched a brow, and she laughed, walking back to the display and pulling out the matching earrings. “What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Your father. Well, let’s just say his father gave him the same treatment he’s giving you. You know how your grandparents came here with nothing. You know the story as it was told to you, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Yes, your grandfather came here with very little but your grandmother is the reason our family ended up as privileged as we are. She was an heiress. Her parents disagreed with her decision to run away with your grandfather?—”

“She ran away?”

“Oh, yes. It was a big scandal.” She smoothed her fingers over the emerald earrings. “History repeated itself with me and your father, although I wasn’t necessarily an heiress. But my parents weren’t happy I’d chosen to marry into new money.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Dad has been so hard on me about my business, and now about Fia.”

“I know.” She sighed, walking toward me with the jewelry. “He had to pave his own path. It was hard for him, for both of us. He just wants what’s best for you, even if he doesn’t realize the way he’s going about it is exactly how his own father treated him when he decided to get out of the family oil business and go follow his own dreams on Wall Street, marrying a socialite.” She smirked. “And now you’re following your dreams, marrying someone you love.”

Love. The word rang through the room.

“I do love her.”

“I know. I can hear it in the way you talk about her.” She closed my hand around the ring box. “We’ve always married for love in this family. I wasn’t going to let you break that cycle. Your relationship with your future children?” She shrugged her shoulders. “One day, you’ll be old and grouchy like your dad, so I can’t do much about that.”

“I think this goes beyond him being grouchy.”

“Decide that tomorrow night,” she replied, patting me on the arm. “It’s Christmas, after all. I think you’ve both been looking at these issues between the two of you too deeply.”

I heaved a breath, my feet still planted as she started to leave the room. “Mom, are you sure you don’t need to tell me to get a prenup or something, anything?—”

“Do you have doubts about her?”

“No,” I said without hesitation.

“Then I trust you. I’m so excited to finally meet her tomorrow. I think your dad is excited to see her, too.”

I couldn’t help but let out a choked, disbelieving laugh. “Did he tell you that?”

“He feels bad for what he said. He told me all about it. Come on, Maria just made ginger snaps. I’ll have her make some coffee to go with them. Spend some time with your old mother.”

I tucked the ring in my pocket and nodded. “I could never say no to a good ginger snap.”