The Pairing (The Proposition #3)(62)

Mason grabbed his hand and led him through the door. Pesh took in the cozy décor of the basement apartment. In one chair, Megan’s textbooks and papers were strewn around, while on the floor it looked like a tornado had blown through the living room with all the toys lying around. When he met her gaze, she flushed. “Sorry it’s such a mess.”

“It’s fine.”

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“No, I’m good,” he lied, as his stomach rumbled.

Megan cocked her head and shot him a look. “Sit down and let me fix you something.”

“Not with you feeling unwell.”

“Although I wish I could cook you something, I think I’m up to reheating some of the pizza we ordered today, or there are some homemade enchiladas I made last night,” she replied, as she opened the fridge.

“Enchiladas would be lovely.”

She smiled and took out a casserole dish. “You hungry, Mace?”

“Mmm, hmm,” he murmured, barely looking up at his mother from one of his toys. After spooning out two heaping plates full, along with some rice, she put it in the microwave. She then motioned for him to have a seat at the table.

“You don’t need to wait on me.”

“Just shut up and let me take care of you for two seconds.”

Her words reminded him of when she had cleaned his wounds after Dev’s punch. No matter what the situation, she was always ready to be there for him and take care of him.

The microwave beeped and brought him out of his thoughts. Mason hurried over to the table and sat down beside Pesh in his booster seat. When Megan put down the steaming plates, he reached for her hand and kissed it. “Thank you.”

A funny look passed in her eyes before she smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“Won’t you sit with us?” he asked.

“Actually, I would love to take a warm bath. You know, to see if it would help relax my muscles.”

Pesh smiled. “I’ll be happy to keep an eye on Mason while you do that.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” She kissed the top of Mason’s head, and then kissed his cheek. She turned to start into the bedroom before whirling back around. He lowered his fork at the expression on her face. Placing her hands on his cheeks, she leaned in and laid a big one on him. He couldn’t hide his surprise. When she pulled away, she grinned at his speechlessness. “I won’t be long,” she said.

Once the bedroom door closed behind her, Pesh gazed over at Mason. “What do you want to do when we finish eating?”

“Minions,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

Pesh furrowed his brows in confusion. “What’s minions?”

Hopping down off his chair, Mason ran over to the TV. When he returned, he had a DVD box in his hand. He pointed to some yellow blobs on the cover. “Minions.”

“Ah, I see. You want to watch this.” Mason bobbed his head. “Is it your favorite?” Pesh asked.

“Uh, huh,” Mason replied.

“Then I guess we better eat fast so we can watch it.”

At Mason’s beaming grin, Pesh felt a little tug in his chest. Even though he shouldn’t, he already had strong feelings for the little boy. From almost the moment they’d met, Mason had let Pesh into his world.

The sound of a fork clattering on a plate brought Pesh out of his thoughts. “Done!” Mason exclaimed, hopping out of his chair. Although Pesh wasn’t finished, Mason grabbed his hand and led him from the table. Instead of arguing with him, Pesh just let himself be dragged over to the TV. Once he got the movie on, they settled down on the couch. He couldn’t fight the warmth that spread through his chest when Mason snuggled close to his side. Instead, he just embraced the feeling and let happiness override the doubt that screamed in his mind.

Under the strong, warm jets of the jacuzzi tub, Megan’s pain started to fade. Of course, as much as she tried to relax, it was too hard considering that Pesh was in her living room. She couldn’t believe that he had shown up out of the blue to check on her. Just when she thought he couldn’t be any kinder or more attentive, he did something like that.

Tilting her neck on the foam headrest, she thought about her talk with Kristi the day before. She hated to admit it, but she knew she had a choice to make. She either had to let go of Pesh, or she had to make things official with him. They couldn’t just keep dating and hooking up…or was it just hooking up?

With a frustrated groan, she shifted in the tub, sloshing the water around. Closing her eyes, she tried to search her heart for how she truly felt. No man had ever made her feel like felt with Pesh, and that could be said both inside and out of the bedroom. Gazing down at her pruning fingers, she knew it was time to get out of the tub. She could stay there for days and still not have the answer she so desperately sought.

After she toweled off and wrapped herself in her terry cloth robe, she went out into the bedroom. As she threw on a fresh pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt, she noticed it was awfully quiet in the living room. Wondering what Mason and Pesh could be doing, she ducked out of the bedroom. The sight across from her on the couch made her chest clench with emotion. Reaching up, she clutched her T-shirt over her heart, trying to still some of the ache that burned there.