She had no intention of keeping and then keeping them anyway. Clare checked the time. Mason noticed. You know, the trail doesn't close at 11:30. I have lunch at 1:30.
Restaurant? Yes. Reservation. Obviously backup reservation. Clare looked at him.
Mason kept walking. You're making fun of me a little. You designed buildings for a living. Of course you think every problem has a practical answer. Mason glanced at her.
I like problems with practical answers. You're quieter at home. At home you're usually carrying groceries and arguing with the elevator. The elevator deserves it. I know that surprised her.
She glanced at him. He had noticed. Not in the dramatic way people notice things in romantic movies. He had simply been there three doors down, holding the lobby door, collecting packages, standing beside Lily while she searched for a mitten. Clare had known Mason for almost a year.
She realized she knew almost nothing about him. Lily stopped near the water. Dad, mom would have liked this. Mason's hand moved automatically to his chest, to the chain beneath his shirt. Clare saw the gesture, only for a second.
Then his hand dropped. "Yeah," he said. "She would have." Lily crouched beside the path and studied a patch of moss. No explanation followed.
Clare didn't ask. Her phone buzzed. "Grant," she almost ignored it. The message was short. I took my name off tomorrow's carriage tour.
It's yours. No weirdness. Have fun. Clare read it twice. What?
Mason asked. Nothing. That sounded convincing. Grant canceled one of our activities. Mason looked ahead.
Good. I don't know. He's giving you space. That's the problem. Mason glanced at her.
Clare sighed. He's being considerate. It's very inconvenient for hating him. Exactly. Mason thought about that.
I can ask him to be worse. Clare laughed before she could stop herself. Lily looked back. What happened? Your father offered terrible emotional support.
He does that. Mason pointed toward the trail. Keep moving. By the time they reached the overlook, Clare had missed her preferred checkpoint by 12 minutes. She did not care.
They ate sandwiches instead of going to her reservation. Lily traded half her cookie for one of Clare's emergency protein bars and immediately regretted it. This tastes healthy. That's because it is. Dad, take it.
I'm driving. We're sitting down. Still responsible for the vehicle. Clare laughed again. For nearly 2 hours, she forgot about Grant.
She forgot the abandoned wedding. She even forgot the itinerary folded in her backpack. That was the part that bothered her later. Not that the day had gone completely wrong, that somewhere between Mason's dry comments and Lily's terrible rock collection, wrong had started feeling unexpectedly good for once in weeks. The next afternoon, Clare discovered the inn had not received the message about boundaries.