Page 94 of Without Judgment

Thankfully, Emma broke me out of my lust-induced thoughts. “Hi, Mason. Nice to see you again.”

“You, too,” he replied.

Okay, it made sense that my brother would want to visit with Mason while he was in town. What I didn’t understand was why Mason would’ve opted to show up where he would have to see me. Unless he hadn’t known I was coming and was as blindsided by tonight as I was.

“Mason called two weeks ago, so I told him we were coming up to visit you,” Trevor said. “Guess I forgot to mention he was joining us tonight. That’s okay, right?”

A sick feeling settled in my stomach. Mason had known I’d been living here in Austin for the last two weeks—at least? So despite discovering I was here in his city, he hadn’t bothered to search me out. Of course, I’d told him not to call me. He’d simply listened. Nothing had changed since the morning I’d left him in Mobile.

But while Mason seemed to be fine with having me there during a casual dinner, I definitely was anything but okay with his presence. Leave it to my brother to neglect telling me Mason would be coming tonight. Yes, I knew eventually I would need to put the past where it belonged and deal with it. I just hadn’t expected ‘eventually’ to happen this soon. But I was a big girl. He was Trevor’s best friend. I could do a simple dinner.

“Of course. It’s good to see you,” I managed to say. Meanwhile, I wished I could press fast-forward on the night.

Emma scooted into the booth to make room for my brother. That left Mason to sit with me on my side of the table for four. Luckily, my purse acted as a good wedge between us. The physical barrier was a relief but unfortunately short-lived.

Emma reached over. “Here, pass me your bag. I’ll put it up here on the ledge, so you have more room.”

I didn’t have a good reason to avoid giving her the bag. “Uh, sure.”

As soon as she took it, Mason scooted closer to me.

Damn. He smelled good. Why was his leg inches from mine? I moved over closer to the wall, but he only inched closer again. What the hell?

“How far is your apartment from here, Avery?” Emma asked.

“It’s only a few blocks.”

I was saved from having to come up with any more conversation when the waitress arrived to take our drink orders. Knowing if I ordered three shots of vodka, it might appear strange, I settled on a beer.

“Is your class going well?” Trevor inquired.

“Yeah. Really good. So tell me about your build site in Dallas. Any trouble with construction?” The last I’d heard, my brother had broken ground on his first investment property and was now in the middle of the build.

Thankfully, that shifted the discussion while we waited for the drinks and food. Mason was evidently going to provide the security for the buildings, so he and Trevor talked about that. Damn. I’d missed his voice. The husky way he used to call me princess. And his hands. His very capable, sexy hands.

My fork played with my food when a kick came from across the table. I glanced up to see Emma mouthing the words, ‘you okay?’

I gave her a slight smile and nod. But I wasn’t okay. My emotions were swirling over seeing Mason for the first time since Alabama. To pretend this didn’t hurt was proving impossible. It was too soon. I was still too raw.

Emma smiled back and then posed a question I wasn’t expecting. “How are the college guys here in Austin? Dating anyone?”

I’d been asked out on a couple of occasions by my male classmates, but I’d said no. I wanted to give myself the ability to be alone for once. This was important as I needed to find out what it was I wanted. Plus, nobody compared to Mason. I could only hope that feeling would fade with time, but seeing him tonight wasn’t helping.

The entire table went silent, waiting on my answer. “I think the guy I’m living with is more than enough for me right now,” I replied.

I had the brief satisfaction of feeling Mason tense beside me.

But my brother quickly spoiled it. “Koda doesn’t count. Yet I’m completely good with that scenario. I hope you’re still putting the muzzle on him? I know you don’t like it, and hell, neither do, I but given his reputation—”

I cut him off, appreciating the warning but not needing it. “Of course I am. Also, I’m spoiling him rotten.”

“You adopted Koda?” Mason asked, fixing his gaze on me.

“I did. Figured it was fate that no one else had adopted him in the meantime. As if he was waiting for me. I couldn’t leave him behind.”

“I don’t know what it is about you, your brother, and Peyton all having big scary dogs,” Emma commented with a smile.

Her words pulled my attention from Mason’s intense stare. Prior to meeting my brother’s big mastiff, Emma had been terrified of dogs. She still was hesitant about meeting new ones, but I knew for a fact she was completely smitten with Rufus.