When Its Least Expected (23 page)

course, but it might as well have because the girl absolutely took his breath away.

That sexy pink dress, that satiny skin … Jesus, was that her? Mason swallowed a moan.

Yeah, the big burly men wouldn’t exactly appreciate that one. Yep, they were still
there too watching him, most likely plotting ways to tie him up and torture him if
he screwed up. Still, his eyes never left Harley. The world could stop spinning, the
house could be burning down around him, and still, all he would ever see was her.

He started at the lower half of her body below that fantastic pink dress. Bare and
sheen

calves held feet adorned with strappy high heeled shoes that did nothing but lengthen
her

gorgeous legs. Mason licked his lips. He wanted to touch her.
All
of her. He followed the length of her barely there dress and swallowed, attempting
to wet his dry throat, when he finally made it to her neck line. One shoulder was
bare while the other held only a tiny strip of fabric.

Then she stepped full on in front of him, and the lack of fabric was forgotten as
he stared into her muddy brown eyes. They melted his heart and stole his breath every
single time he

stared into them.

“Hey,” he croaked, attempting a half-hearted smile but failed miserably.

“Hey back,” she teased, brushing one of her wispy curls away from her face.

Someone cleared their throat, and Mason lost focus. His face burned as he remembered

they had an audience.

“Umm, so let’s get you both together for a picture before you have to skedaddle, shall

we?”

Mason nodded, wetting his lips. Harley stood stock straight, her knuckles cracking
at her

sides. The knuckle cracking must have been a twin thing. She was nervous though; that
was

more than obvious. He’d fix that once he got her alone.

Slowly, he reached for her hand, drawing her inappropriately close to his body. He

should have been more careful, more cautious, but he couldn’t help it. He needed her
near him.

She was his water in a drought filled land, and he was burning up. Dehydrated. Dying.

“God, Harley, you look … incredible. Perfect...” He cupped both of her hands together

and brought them to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Everyone around
them

disappeared in that moment. It was only Harley and Mason, eyes locked, gazes unwavering.

Harley smiled shyly at him. Her face blushed a shade of pink that put her dress to
shame.

It wasn’t the dress making the girl; it was the girl making the dress. She was a vision,
his
vision.

“Thanks. You don’t look too shabby yourself, surfer boy.” She freed her hand and ran
it down the front of his hot pink and black tie. He shivered. Damn, when had he become
a shivering kind of dude?

He cleared his throat. “What do you say? You ready to get out of here?” He leaned

forward, unable to stay away any longer. He had to touch her somehow.

His lips grazed the tip of her ear. He wanted to latch down, but her parents along
with

David and Abigail were there, arguing over something. He clenched his fists into his
pockets. He couldn’t keep them at bay much longer. Harley was way too irresistible
to avoid, especially with her soft, freckled skin so easily accessible to his fingertips.

Harley nodded, looking every bit as mesmerized as he was. “Okay, let’s do this.” Mason

held out his elbow, and she grabbed hold. He grinned. He couldn’t
stop
grinning. “Mom, Dad?

Can we hurry and get these pictures taken? We’ve gotta go get Mason’s sister and her
date.”

Mason didn’t bother correcting her. They had at least forty-five minutes before they
had

to go and get them. He had other plans though. God, he just hoped they didn’t blow
up in his face.

“Sure, honey,” her mom blinked, a few wet tears escaped down her cheeks, and Mason

turned back towards Harley, noting the quick roll of her eyes. Mason shook his head,
chuckling at them both.

After the pictures were done, Mason stood bouncing on his feet attempting to make
small

talk with Abigail and Harley’s parents while Harley stepped off to talk with her brother.
He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her no matter where she went, and the conversation
around him quickly became unrecognizable. Harley held his attention, one hundred percent.
He watched her, studied her, noting the sudden stiffness in her shoulders as she waved
one finger down at her brother. He fought the temptation to go to her, curling his
toes in his shoes. Whatever they were discussing, it obviously wasn’t his business.

“She looks beautiful doesn’t she?” Mason jumped. Harley’s mom stood at his side. He

stared down at her. The lady didn’t look a day over thirty-five. She was beautiful
in that middle aged sort of way.

“Yeah, she does.” Except for Harley wasn’t just beautiful. She was stunning, beyond

everything Mason had ever expected.

“Mason, look,” she paused, placing a firm hand on his shoulders. “I don’t know what

your intentions are with my daughter, but I do think that she cares for you.” She
sighed,

“I just can’t have my baby girl hurt again. She’s finally started to recover from
past tragedies.

The last thing she needs is another setback.” Mason looked down at his black patent
shoes, guilt rose in his throat, and he tried to swallow it down. It was stuck though,
and it felt like shit.

“If you plan on sticking around Hillsdale for a while, then that’s great, but if you
plan on taking off one day never to look back then do me and Harley
both
a favor. End this now before she gets hurt.” Eyes wide, surprised at her threat,
Mason turned to face Mrs. Anderson. She was full of fire, and she was almost worse
than her husband.

In a way he was happy about her behavior. It meant his little beast was loved and
that she

had people to stand by her when he most likely did screw up. It was what it was though,
and he couldn’t deny the fact that he was bound to hurt her. He couldn’t stop the
bad from happening.

He
could
make the most out of what they had together, even though his time in Hillsdale was
going to be short, just like she had assumed.

No matter his feelings, he had obligations back in California.

If he was a good guy, then he would walk away like she’d asked. He’d end a relationship

between him and Harley before their connection deepened more.

Mason Daniel
wasn’t
a good guy. He was selfish, and his inability to walk away from Harley, proved just
that.

* * *

knew I never wanted to go with her to that damn dance. Why’d you have to go and make
her ask me anyways?” Harley stared down at her brother, shaking her head in exasperation.
Her hands were inches from slugging him in the face. Yeah, this definitely wasn’t
the time or place to have this conversation either. Seeing her friend so miserable
though just about did her in.

She pushed her brother’s chair down the hall, anger flaring, head pulsating even harder.

She felt like crap, but she had to get this over with. “Because you two were meant
to go together, two legs, ten legs, no legs – it doesn’t matter,” she paused, not
thinking about her words, just letting them go. “I just wish you’d just get the hell
over yourself and do something for someone else for once! And you love her David.
She loves you too.” Harley pointed back over her

shoulders towards Abigail who was laughing and smiling, a permanent fixture in their
family.

The two of them were destined for each other. There was no denying the look in David’s
eyes when she glanced back at him. He had to have felt the same way.

“She deserves better than this,” he spat, hands gesturing to the empty spot where
his leg

used to be. “She needs someone who can give her what she truly deserves out of life,
like a nice home, a perfect family.” His voice was barely a whisper. Harley crouched
down next to him,

placing a gentle hand on his arm. “You know I shouldn’t be the one to do that for
her. I mean, just look at me. I’m nothing more than a waste of space. I’m pathetic.
A guy who sits in a damn wheel chair all day, for Christ’s sake. I’m going nowhere
in life and I don’t want to drag her down with me.”

“Shut up, David! You know you can change that! The prosthetic, more therapy … You

have to stop using that as an excuse!” Crap, why now did she choose to go preachy
on him?

“Just stop, Harley. You don’t get to choose how I run my life.”

“I’m not—“

“Yes, you are. You try to run my life, so you don’t have to deal with your own shit.”

Harley’s eyes watered. She reached over to hug him, but he pulled away and pushed
into the

other room.

She stood straight with her hands clenched at her sides. She had to make things right

before leaving. She had to make things right altogether, and she’d forgo his attitude
and his words.

She always did what she wanted with her life, right?

She blew out a breath just as looked over at her family, her brother, her life. Abigail
was there, planting herself down on his lap. A giant bowl of ice cream was in her
hands with a spoon outstretched and ready to go into his mouth. David lit up, despite
his mood only seconds before.

Harley relaxed, confident that everything would be okay. Well, at least for one more
night.

Still, she couldn’t shake his words. They had stung, burned even. She was just trying
to

help him. Why couldn’t he see that?

“Are you ready to go, little beast? I wanted to show you something before we pick
up

my sister and her date,” Mason snuck up next to her, his arm wrapped around he lower
back as he whispered low in her ear. She closed her eyes. His breath was warm against
her cheek, and Harley relaxed into his hold.

Mason made the ache in her chest better, but the thing was she knew she had to learn
how

to make it go away on her own. He was just a temporary fix, an escape.

“Sure, let me just grab my sweater first,” she whispered back. She was the perfect

composed person on the outside, but dying, needy, breathless inside.

When she turned to walk away, Mason surprisingly stopped her, his hand tightly wound

across her back as he pulled her flush with his front. She stopped breathing as he
gave her one slow, scorching, secret kiss. Then he was gone, taking that grin and
kiss right along with him.

Wow. Just … wow.

Minutes later they rejoined at the door, saying their goodbyes as they headed out
towards

Mason’s car. Harley inhaled the leather of his seats as they settled in. Weirdly,
it was like freedom because for the first time in days, Harley had left the house.
She loved her family, but being smothered was highly overrated.

“I have a surprise for you, little beast.”

He shocked her out of her mindless complaints as they pulled out of her driveway.
She

turned to face him, a grin burning her cheeks. “Oh, yeah? I’m not a big fan of surprises,
you know, so you can just tell me now. Save yourself the trouble,” she teased, tugging
at the sleeve of his suit. His dimples were there accenting his perfect smile. His
hair fell just over his eye.

Good God almighty, he defined the word dangerous.

“Why, little beast, are we impatient tonight, or what?” He reached over, placing his
hand

on the sensitive spot, right above her knee.

She swallowed, instantly forgetting her fear of surprises. His thumb went to town

drawing tiny circles all over her kneecap. She tried to stay cool and keep her breath
even, her heart at a steady ninety beats per minutes. She tried to stay loose, but
her body was tense and aching.

It wasn’t the fever kind of ache either.

She didn’t respond verbally to his touch as she turned to gaze out at the dark sky.
All

these emotions, they were too much.

Moments later the car parked, and she gasped at the site that stood before his car.
They

were at North Park, but it was a whole other world after what he’d done. Candle lit
lanterns lined up in a circle, surrounding a blanket that had been draped across the
mulch by the swings. A basket was placed right in the center of it all. It was hard
to tell exactly what else was there, but at least she had a pretty good idea of what
he’d done.

He stepped out of the car and opened her door without her knowledge. She glanced up
at

his shadowed face under her hooded lashes. He was menacing and beautiful under the
moon. His sandy colored hair was shining silver off the reflection from up above.
He smiled down at her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into his side.

Harley’s eyes widened as she looked between him and the ever approaching scene. She

gasped, feeling like a freak for getting emotional over the site. Sweet mother of
God, he’d done it all. Strawberries, whipped cream, and a bottle of grape juice?

Wow, Mason Daniel sure as hell knew his stuff.

“Did you do this all for me?” Harley stated softly, her mouth forming a wide O as
she

turned to look over at him.

“Do you like it? I mean, if not, we can just forget I brought you here and go to the
dance

early if you want...” His confidence – he’d lost it to endearment. It was the sexiest
thing she’d ever seen or heard.

Harley shook her head, grabbing his tie to pull him closer to her. He didn’t touch
her like she had wanted him to. Instead, one of his hands rubbed the back of his neck,
while his eyes, appearing almost terrified and excited at the same time, searched
her face. Her grin grew even wider. He had actually gone and put his heart and emotions
out there for her.

Tiny sparks of electricity battled for control as their eyes held. Then moments later,
it