Her Sweetest Fortune. Stella Bagwell
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You must have done something right this time. I love sports, but to be honest, I perform better on the dance floor than I do the gym floor.”
In Mason’s opinion, the grin Thom was giving Sophie could only be described as lecherous. Which made it even more puzzling to Mason as to why she’d want a guy like Thom in her life. But women viewed things differently than men, and clearly she was seeing something in Thom that Mason was missing. Whatever the reason for her infatuation with the man, Mason couldn’t just stand passively around and watch this beautiful woman get her heart crushed.
“I’m sure you’ve had lots of practice doing the...hustle,” Mason replied.
Sophie’s brows arched upward, but she didn’t make any sort of reply. Thom merely let out a cocky laugh. Mason decided he should make a quick exit before he really insulted Thom and made both of them angry.
Glancing at his watch, Mason said, “Well, my break is over. Nice to see you two.”
Once he’d returned to his desk, it was only a matter of seconds before Nadine sauntered into his cubicle and propped a hip on his desk. “Okay, what happened? Did you score points with the girl?”
Frowning, he tried to focus on the computer screen in front of him, but the only thing in front of his eyes was Sophie. “I wasn’t trying to score points. Which is just as well. I came close to calling Thom a creep right to his face.”
Nadine groaned. “Let me give you some advice, Mason. The more you toss insults in Thom’s direction, the more she’s going to defend him.”
He turned and glowered at her. “I know that much. It’s just that whenever I’m around the guy I get the urge to vomit. And then things start coming out of my mouth before I can stop them.”
“Look, my friend, if you’re really interested in snagging Sophie’s attention, you need to forget about Thom Nichols and start concentrating on how to make yourself more appealing to her. If you do things right, she’ll start looking at you instead of him.”
“You think so?”
“Trust me. You have loads to offer a woman.” She patted his shoulder. “I better get to work. Wes has assigned me the job of coming up with a mother/baby app store. I can’t imagine what our boss was thinking. My daughter is twenty years old now. What do I remember about having a baby?”
“Hmm. I expect it’s like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget.”
Nadine laughed, causing Mason to chuckle along with her.
“Well, a person can get rusty if he doesn’t practice,” he agreed. “But you can always knock off a little rust.”
“And how am I supposed to do that? Have another baby?”
“Why not? Women your age are having babies all the time.”
Her expression softened in a way Mason had never seen before and then she reached out and gently patted his cheek. “You are the sweetest man ever. Sophie’s an idiot if she doesn’t latch on to you.”
Sweet. Mason didn’t want to be a piece of candy. He wanted to be viewed as authoritative, masculine and tough. He wanted women, particularly Sophie, to see him as a take-charge kind of guy who could melt a heart with just one smoldering look. He wanted to be more like his brothers, Doug and Shawn. Neither one of them ever had to worry over catching a woman’s attention. Their problem was trying to decide which one they wanted and on what night of the week.
But Doug was an assistant prosecutor in Bexar County, a fierce lion in the courtroom. And Shawn was a lieutenant on the San Antonio police force. They were both handsome and forceful, with jobs that women admired. Even as children, Mason had never felt as though he could compete with his stronger, older brothers. And time hadn’t changed Mason’s feelings. Sure, he had a great job and his physical appearance wasn’t exactly homely. But compared to his brothers, he was a geek.
If he ever expected to get Sophie to notice him, then he was going to have to be more like Doug and Shawn and a whole lot less like himself, he thought grimly.
* * *
More than an hour later, Mason was working when Sophie suddenly walked into his cubicle, nearly sending him into shock. The only time she’d ever stopped by his desk was when she’d personally helped him with a health insurance issue.
But it was clear this visit of hers had nothing to do with insurance. She was grinning from ear to ear and practically dancing on her toes.
She pulled up a chair and leaned her head close to his. The soft scent of her perfume swirled around him and tugged on his already dazed senses.
“Mason, I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your work,” she said in a hushed tone. “But I’m so excited I had to tell someone! And since I shared my plans with you last night—Well, it’s happened!”
Totally bemused, he stared at her beaming face. “It has?”
“Yes! Already! Can you believe it? Here I was thinking I was going to have to do handsprings out in the hall to get Thom to take a second look at me and all it took was a cup of exotic coffee.”
Mason had never felt so deflated in his life. “You two looked pretty chummy in the break room.”
“Chummy? Mason, you’re so funny.” Laughing lightly, she gave his knee a gentle squeeze. “He’s asked me out on a date! A real date! Tonight! Isn’t it incredible?”
Mason felt like handing her the letter opener on his desk and telling her to stab him right in the gut. The act would have been more merciful than the news she was giving him.
He looked into her brown eyes and wondered if they would ever shine for him the way they were shining at this moment.
“A date, huh? That was fast work.”
“You’re telling me! I only started my plan today. I never expected to have results this quick.” Her expression suddenly sobering, she glanced around the large room to make sure no one was listening. “Mason, you’re a really honest guy. Tell me, do you think Thom might’ve asked me out just because—well, because I’m Gerald Robinson’s daughter?”
Hell yes! Mason wanted to shout the words at her. But he held them back. One thing he was certain of, Sophie was a soft, gentle person. It would hurt her deeply if she thought her dream man might be using her for his own gain. Mason couldn’t do that to her. Not right now. He couldn’t bring himself to shatter the deliriously happy look on her face.
The more you insult Thom Nichols, the more Sophie will defend him. At this moment, Nadine’s words couldn’t have been more right.
Unable to keep looking her in the eye, Mason’s gaze drifted to the computer screen. But for all he could see, the words might as well have been written in a foreign language. “Oh, Sophie, I wouldn’t worry about that. Thom already has a good position in the company. He hardly needs you to help him get in your father’s good graces.”
“I guess that’s true enough,” she said quietly. “I shouldn’t have ever let the idea cross my mind. It’s just a date. Not a marriage proposal.”
Thank God, Mason thought. If that ever happened, he’d have to speak up.
“That’s true. And anyway, you’re an intelligent woman. You’d know right off if a man was trying to use you.”
Her eyes grew soft. And then suddenly without any warning at all, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“Thank you, Mason. You’re wonderful!”
To his utter amazement, she pressed another kiss to same spot she’d already branded with her lips, then jumped to her feet.
“Stop by my desk tomorrow and I’ll let you know how things go,” she told him, then with a wiggle of her fingers she hurried away.
Mason lifted fingertips to the spot she’d kissed not once, but