It Takes Two Book 5 by Ellie Danes

Harper
    “Harper, wake up.” Avery bounced into my room, jumping on the foot of my bed.
    I rubbed my eyes. The afternoon sunlight streamed through my window, its warmth only making me feel more tired.
    I hadn’t realized how tired I had been after staying the night at the mansion with Mason. Although I had slept well, tangled in his arms, my entire body had felt drained when I had gotten home in the morning.
    Avery’s face was already made up and she looked ready to go somewhere. “So? How did it go?”
    “What?” I grumbled, stretching. “How did what go?”
    Avery laughed. “Very funny. The date with Mason! You didn’t come back last night!”
    Memories flooded my mind. My dream had quite literally come true. Mason pulling off my clothes, Mason holding me close, Mason touching me with those strong, manly hands...I shivered.
    Again Avery laughed, the pitch increasing as a mischievous glimmer filled her eyes. “That good, huh?”
    I grinned, sitting up a little. Now that I was finally waking up, I felt more energetic thanks to my nap. “I don’t know where to start.”
    “Tell me everything. You have to. Start at the part of how Mason ended up here, at our apartment.”
    I giggled, launching into how Mason had saved me from Jake, how he had invited me to dinner. I couldn’t even begin to describe the feelings I had felt that evening, but tried my best to give her a picture of the fancy restaurant.
    “Everyone knew him there,” I told her.
    “How?”
    I shook my head. “No idea. He evades questions about his personal life and just changes the subject when it comes to work.”
    Avery pursed her lips. “That’s somewhat suspicious, don’t you think?”
    I shrugged. Yes, Mason was secretive, but I thought he might have been downplaying how connected he may be to Asher so he wouldn’t intimidate me. For that, I felt grateful; even though I felt more comfortable around him now, I hadn’t been that way at first at all.
    “He works at the mansion, so he’s probably been to an expensive place like that restaurant tons of times. He always jokes that he gets ‘perks’ for his work. I guess membership does have its privileges,” I giggled.
    Avery’s brow furrowed a little as she thought, but eventually she seemed to accept my answer, suddenly smiling at me. “What about bed?”
    I leaned back on my pillows, laughing at the question. “Avery, if I told you everything, you wouldn’t believe me. We stayed at the mansion.”
    She raised an eyebrow, looking at me with suspicion. “You’re kidding!”
    “No. We went swimming and...” I could feel my face flush a little. “We ended up staying in the pool house all night.”
    “Oh my God, Harper, sounds like you had quite the night!” Avery giggled, falling onto the bed and sprawling out on her stomach, propping her head up on her hands like a giddy schoolgirl. “That reminds me! Guess who got picked to be in the latest bachelor’s top five?”
    I blinked a couple times, looking at her, a smile growing on my face. Her face looked radiant in the natural lighting of the room, glowing with happiness.  “You?” I guessed, happy for her.
    She nodded. “Yours truly! So weird—I didn’t even think he liked me at all! To be honest, I wasn’t really sure I was in to him, but then when I heard I was picked, I guess I changed my mind.”
    “Well, I’ll one up you. I have a job at the mansion now and I’ll be there for the mixer. So I’ll still get to see you in all your glory.”
    Avery’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. “You’re kidding!”
    I laughed, shaking my head. “Mason hired me.”
    “Sounds like your new boyfriend is pretty handy. I guess now you have some perks.” Avery smiled and shot me a goofy grin.
    I rolled my eyes. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I protested, blushing a little again. At least, I don’t think he is . Mason and I hadn’t exactly set clear boundaries on our relationship at all, and I didn’t know what that