“I’m fine and I’ve got to get back to work,” I said gruffly. I grabbed my best friend into a hug and whispered in her ear, “Thank you.”

She pulled back and looked into my eyes. “Call me later. I mean it.”

“Okay.”

I was about to start walking across the street, but Joe called after me, “Rose!”

I turned around to face him. “What do you want?”

He took several steps closer until we were no more than a few feet apart. “I wanted to tell you that I might have a way around the sketch artist situation.”

I blinked. “Oh. What is it?”

“I don’t feel comfortable saying yet, but I wanted to let you know I’m working on it.”

I smelled a trumped-up excuse to talk to me, but I was too eager to get away from him to call him on it. “Great,” I said, turning around. “Let me know when you have something you can share.”

I hurried across the street, thankful that Joe didn’t follow. I picked up Mason’s salad and hurried up to his office on the second floor of the courthouse, hoping he wouldn’t notice I’d been crying. And hoping I didn’t run into Joe again.

Mason was on the phone, shouting at someone about following the proper procedure, when I walked into the office. He glanced up at me, surprise washing over his face, followed by just about the brightest smile I’d ever seen. “I’ve got to go,” he said. “No, I’ll think about it over the weekend, and we’ll discuss it on Monday.” There was no mistaking the command in his voice. He hung up and grinned at me. “Rose. I thought you were eating with Neely Kate today.”

“I did, but I was worried you wouldn’t eat,” I said, walking behind his desk.

Gratitude flooded his eyes as he stood and grabbed my arms, tugging me to him for a gentle kiss. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Thank you.”

I gave him a saucy look. “If that’s the response a salad gets, I wonder what a piece of lemon crème pie would get me?”

He laughed, a rich, pure sound that filled the room. “Maybe you should bring me one and find out.”

Something warm and overwhelming bubbled up inside me. Was this love? It was hard to compare it to what I’d had with Joe. But while that relationship had been built on a stack of lies and half-truths, I knew I’d loved him. And if Mason and I were possibly going to have a baby together, I needed to be sure I loved him. Did I? I was sure Mason loved me even if he hadn’t told me yet. In fact, I suspected he had loved me before we even started dating. Back when I was with Joe.

“Rose?” Mason asked, his eyes narrowed. “You look tired. In fact, you’ve been more tired than usual lately. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

I realized I’d spent several moments staring at him. “I’m fine. I just love lookin’ at you.”

He smiled again, warming my insides like a sunny summer day. “And I love looking at you too. Let’s spend the entire weekend just looking at each other.”

“While that sounds wonderful, I have to work at the store tomorrow.”

He groaned, but I knew he wasn’t upset. He knew my work schedule and respected it just like I respected his.

“But only in the morning. You know that I don’t spend much time at the store. Bad for business and all.” I winked. “Have you ever stopped to consider that associatin’ with me could potentially tarnish your sterling reputation?”

A playful look filled his eyes. “I’m counting on it, sweetheart.” Then he kissed me senseless right in front of the open door of his office.

“Mason,” I sighed when he finally lifted his head. “That’s a good way to mess up that reputation.”

“Go out to dinner with me tonight.”

“We eat dinner together every night you can get out on time.”

“No.” He shook his head. “A date. At a restaurant with us dressed up.”

“You’re always dressed up.” I tugged on his tie.

“Well, then with you dressed up too. We can go to Jasper’s.” His face froze. “If you want to, that is. Maybe you’d rather stay home.”

I shook my head. “Nope. I’d rather go out with you. I’ll even wear a dress.” I used to wear them all the time before I started my landscaping business, and I realized I missed it.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he murmured in my ear, his hand resting on my hip and sliding down to cup my bottom. “I love looking at your bare legs.” His voice was husky and it sent flutters through my chest, warming my lower parts.

“Then I really need to wear dresses more often.”

“I like the sound of that.”

I gave him another kiss and realized I was still carrying the bag with his salad in my hand. “You’ve been complaining about not getting to exercise with your broken leg and worrying about that nonexistent pouch on your belly,” I teased, putting the bag on his desk. “So do not take the salad in this bag as a criticism of your physique because I definitely have no complaints.”

He kissed me again. “Maybe we should skip dinner,” he murmured, moving his mouth to my ear and gently biting my earlobe.

Shivers ran down my spine and I wished we were at home. But we were in his office and anyone could walk in through the door. Mason might claim he didn’t care about his reputation, but I knew better. I broke free of his hold. “Nope. We’re goin’ out. You want to see me in a dress and I aim to please.”