Her Sweetest Fortune

After taking seats at one end of the counter, they removed their coats and draped them across their laps. Then a barrel-chested man wearing a white apron came over to take their orders.

“Good evening, Miss Sophie,” he greeted her with a toothy grin. “How are you tonight?”

“I’m fine, Leo. Thank you for asking. And you?”

“I’m cold,” he complained as he rubbed a hand over his bald head. “I want the sun to come out. The birds to sing. The bluebonnets to bloom.”

“From your lips to God’s ears, Leo,” she said. “I’m cold, too. So give me a cup of the strongest, hottest coffee you have. And do you have something good for dessert this evening?”

“Bread pudding with raisins and rum sauce.”

“I’ll take a dish.” She looked over at Mason to see he was arching a brow at her. “What? Is something wrong?”

“I didn’t know women ate rich desserts. I mean, women that look like you.”

Leo chortled and Sophie found herself blushing. She’d not ever thought about Mason looking at her figure in any form or fashion. But she needed to remember he was a man and a very nice looking one to boot. Something she’d not really noticed until recently.

“Well, I make sure I work off the calories. Every little bite of something sweet is worth the pain to me.”

Clearing his throat, he looked at Leo. “Give me what she’s getting.”

Leo glanced curiously from Mason to Sophie before he ambled off. “Coming right up.”

Sophie cleared her throat. “I suppose you want to hear about my date with Thom.”

Behind the bar, a small radio was tuned to a blues station, while above their heads a flat screen TV was silently broadcasting an NBA game. Mason appeared to have his attention focused on the basketball game, but Sophie got the feeling that he was waiting intently for her to continue.

“That’s right,” he said off-handedly, “you and Thom did have a date last night. I’d almost forgotten.”

Had he really forgotten or was he just teasing, Sophie wondered. With Mason it was hard to tell. Frankly, Sophie was relieved he wasn’t making a big issue of asking her about the date. Not after the way it had bombed so miserably.

“Well, you do have more to think about than me,” she said, while wishing Leo would hurry up with their order. She needed to do something with her hands. For some strange reason she kept wanting to reach over and rest one on Mason’s arm or knee. What was the matter with her anyway? It wasn’t like her to touch any man. Even Thom. A point that had been all too evident last night.

He turned his head and Sophie found herself looking into his brown eyes. They were very dark with a few lighter flecks radiating out from the pupils and at the moment they appeared to be zeroing in on her lips. Which gave her the ridiculous urge to flick her tongue out and lick away the tingling sensation.

“So how was your date? Have a good time?” he asked.

The need to clear her throat hit her once again, but Sophie resisted. Not for anything did she want Mason to think she was hemming and hawing about her date with Thom. Especially one that she’d announced to him with such fanfare.

“It was nice,” she said simply.

“Nice? I figured you were going to tell me it was spectacular, stupendous, and a bunch of other S words.”

How about silly or slow, Sophie thought, then quickly scolded herself for such negative notions. Maybe her date hadn’t been half of what she’d wanted or expected from Thom. That didn’t mean he was wrong for her. She truly believed he was her Mr. Right. After they spent more time together, she was certain their relationship would start to gel perfectly.

The bright smile she forced on her lips was hardly genuine, but she couldn’t let Mason guess that her date with Thom had been about as exciting as watching an inchworm cross a sidewalk.

“It was a start,” she said. “By the time Valentine’s Day rolls around, I’m sure things will be getting—uh, heated.”

A wan smile slanted his lips before he turned his attention back to the game. Sophie was glad she could use the diversion to change the subject completely.

“Are you a big sports fan?”

“I’m not a fanatic by any means. But I enjoy basketball and baseball.” He inclined his head toward the small screen. “The San Antonio Spurs are playing at home tonight and I’m wondering if either of my brothers are at the game. Both of them have season tickets. Sometimes I drive down and go with them.”

She looked at him with interest. “Oh. You have brothers?”

He nodded. “They both live in San Antonio. One is a lieutenant on the city police force. The other is an assistant district attorney for Bexar County.”

“Mmm. That’s impressive. You must be very proud of them.”

He shrugged. “Yeah. They’re both a bit older than me. So I’ve pretty much spent my whole life trying to be as successful as they are. But I doubt I’ll ever make it.”

Leo arrived then with their coffee and dessert. As she stirred half and half into her cup, she studied his strong profile.

“Now why would you say something like that about yourself?” she asked him. “Don’t you consider working for Robinson Tech as being successful?”

“Since I’m working for your father, I plead the fifth,” he said, his voice full of wry humor.

“No. Seriously, Mason. You’re a brain. Everyone says so. And the new sports app you’ve created has great potential. Otherwise, Dad would never be investing money in a media blitz.”

He sampled the pudding before he replied, “Yes, I can create things to use on our computers and smartphones. But that isn’t like my brother Shawn facing bullets on the streets. Or Doug arguing in court to make sure a dangerous criminal is put behind bars. They both work to make our lives safer. What I do is—well, it’s for entertainment. What my brothers do is meaningful.”

Strange how very much she could relate to this man. For as long as she could remember, she’d always considered herself the inferior one of the family. The youngest sibling that didn’t quite stack up to the others. It was an awful feeling and she hated to think that Mason ever suffered in such a way.

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