Page 23 of Banging the Drummer

“Yeah, it was really good.” I shake my head. “Wow. I think I might have washed my brain out while I was shampooing my hair. Sorry I'm a spaz and I have zero cool.”

He laughs again. “It's okay.” He brings me over a plate of fresh fruit. “I should probably get some food into you since I wore you out. I mean, you do teach children, so you probably don't normally stay up quite this late.”

I gasp dramatically. “Are you calling me an old lady?”

“I would never.”

chapter

fourteen

Mason

While we eat, we talk about everything and nothing. Just laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

I know that it’s time to come clean. To tell her all the things I need to say before she convinces herself that I’m temporary. That this thing we’ve found together isn’t forever.

She looks fucking adorable sitting in the bed, cocooned in the white fluffy hotel robe while picking at her fruit plate. I set my own plate aside and face her.

“I’ve put together a list of random facts for you. A lightning round, if you will,” I say.

Her smile is instant and so bright. I can actually feel the warmth radiating through my chest. She is happiness incarnate.

“You did?”

“I did.”

“Just for me?”

I frown. “Of course for you.”

She sets aside her plate. “Okay, let’s have them.”

I take a deep breath. “Did you know that scientists have proven that the butterflies you feel when you are near the love of your life are real? It’s adrenaline flooding your body.”

She smiles.

“Did you know that falling in love suppresses the prefrontal cortex of your brain? This can lead to impulsive and somewhat embarrassing behavior in new relationships. Like perhaps getting jealous and acting like an ass because of her brother.”

I take another breath and continue. “Did you know that the reason for wearing your engagement ring on your left hand is because Ancient Greeks believed that the ‘vein of love’ ran from that finger straight to the heart?”

Her eyes are glistening again, but I press on so I can make sure I get everything said.

“Did you know that couples who are in love synchronize their heart rates if they gaze into each other’s eyes for three minutes?”

She shakes her head.

“Did you know that I’m wildly and irrevocably in love with you?”

She releases a watery laugh. “I definitely did not know that.” She wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m in love with you too. And I love that you did all of that research for me.”

“I would do anything for you.”

“Even uproot your fancy life to move to my small hometown?”

“Is that what you’re worried about?”

She nods. “Moonbeam, I looked up Saddle Creek after the first time you told me about it. The town sounds perfect. But I just want to be with you. I don’t care if we move to the desert or Antarctica or the rain forest or anywhere else. Where you go, I want to be. That’s all I know. So, if you want to stay in Saddle Creek, then I’m happy to consider myself a Texan.”