Page 22 of A Diagnosis Dark & Deadly

Chapter11

Mason hated goingout on weekends. Actually, he hated going out anytime, except now, of course, he was definitely growing fond of going over to Olivia’s place. Besides work, Mason rarely ever chose to leave his downstairs apartment. He would rather stay nice and warm inside, playing his piano or avidly watching American Idol or Bones than traveling outdoors for any reason. However, Saturday afternoon, Mason was walking down a block on a Boulder street, shopping for his mother’s birthday present. He would have nearly forgotten it if Olivia hadn’t written him a note and taped it on his computer screen reminding him of thedate.

In all honesty, Mason had no idea what to get his mother. He had casually entertained the idea of asking Olivia for assistance, but he didn’t want her to think he was incompetent of picking out a gift, especially his mother. His hands were deeply shoved into the pockets of his jeans, wearing a grey flat cap on his head with dark plaid designs. The light drizzle wasn’t bothering him very much; he was wearing a long sleeved collared shirt, a blazer jacket, and a scarf with tennis shoes on his feet. He definitely wasn’t cold, but he did want to get home as quickly as possible. Currently, he was in the middle of composing an original piece of music on his piano, and he wanted to finish it by the week’s end (or beginning, depending on how one looked atit).

Mason had passed numerous shops, but nothing had struck him as worthy of his money. What would his mother like? He knew that just remembering her birthday would be enough for her, but he wanted to get her a gift. Maybe jewelry…? No… he wasn’t good at picking out women’s finery. The last time he bought jewelry was on his anniversary with his last girlfriend, and he had gotten her a nice promise ring. He didn’t propose or anything, but it had reminded him of her and he wanted her to have it. Turned out, he had gotten one size too big, and because he didn’t know her ring size, she hadn’t spoken to him for the entire day. Jewelry was definitely out of the question.

What about money? Like a big, fat check? That would be too impersonal. Scratch that option off along with gift cards. He knew his mother well enough to know that she would be offended by such an indifferent gift. Maybe shoes? God, no. He had the same pair of tennis shoes for five years, and those took quite a while to find. Women’s shoes were a whole different language to him. He didn’t even want to think about clothes; if he got her the wrong size, he’d never hear the end ofit.

A figure caught his attention from inside what appeared to be a bridal shop. She was standing in the middle of the room, one arm crossed over her chest while the other arm’s elbow rested lightly on the back of her hand, and her fingers tapped her chin, deep in thought. Now, what would Olivia be doing in a bridal store? He took a step forward, hoping to see her at a different angle; she wasn’t trying on any dresses, thank goodness, but appeared to be looking at someone wearing such a dress. Then she scrunched her nose and shook her head, her lips moving as she validated her reason why this dress wasn’t appropriate for whoever it was she was talkingto.

An idea sprung into his mind. This was his chance to meet a close friend of hers, and maybe this person would give him more insight into who Olivia was. It still baffled him that he had known her for three years and didn’t know that she played soccer on a regular basis. He even believed he knew her fairly wellthen.

Without fully comprehending what he was doing, he maneuvered his way into the store. It was then he realized he had never been in such a specialty store before, especially such a store geared towards women – women who were planning on getting married. He had never seriously thought of getting married before, and yet here he was, standing in a bridal store. He ignored the assistant that came over to him and greeted him; instead, he managed to walk around the edge of the store, hoping to get a better look at Olivia and her friend without beingseen.

She was definitely familiar, he realized as she took in the shorter woman. Her long, black hair was pulled into a loose bun, and she was wearing a very big, and seemingly very heavy wedding dress. She was listening to what Olivia was saying quite intently, her brow pushed together and her lips pursed. The dress was white, with long, bell-shaped sleeves, narrowing at the waist and flaring at the hips. The young woman seemed to drown in the pounds of material. Then he saw the young woman stand on her toes and seemed to tell Olivia a secret. Olivia listened, and then her eyes locked intohis.

Oh shit. Busted.

“I was wondering when you were going to introduce me,” he drawled, walking up toher.

“We’ve been introduced twice,” the young woman told him before Olivia could respond. “I’m Shelby Woo, Head of the Nursing Station at Boulder Grace.”

“Ah yes,” Mason said, nodding. “Now I remember you. Well, now it all makes sense how you and Goodson arebffs.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Yes, Hadley, this is my best friend Shelby,” Olivia told him. “She’s getting married to someone else in the hospital. You might know him, Dr. Andy Summer. You know, the guy who asked for a consult last week.” She cocked a brow athim.

“Ah, yes, I think I know who that guy is,” Mason said. Olivia was watching him suspiciously, her arms crossed over her chest. “Isn’t it a little juvenile to be wearing a hat sponsoring a pirate?” he asked Olivia.

“Isn’t it a little elderly to be wearing a golf cap?” Olivia retorted.

“Touché,” he said, a small smile touching hislips.

“All right, now here I have…” Melanie’s voice trailed off as her eyes registered the man standing in front of Olivia. “Is this the man you were talking about?” she asked the young woman, to which Olivia could only respond by dropping her head in herhand.

“You were talking about me?” he asked, nudging her slightly with his arm. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling as of right now. He felt good… maybe even a little flattered that she was discussing her relationship with him with her friends.

“It’s really not a big deal,” Olivia said, lifting her head and shaking herhead.

“If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be blushing,” he taunted lightly.

“What the big deal is is why you haven’t taken her out on a date yet,” Shelby stated flatly. Instead of elaborating, she turned to Melanie, and the two started murmuring things about the dresses.

Before the two walked off, Melanie glanced at Olivia and said, “You were right. He definitely is sexually appealing.”

Olivia groaned as her friend and the assistant disappeared, and Mason chuckled. Olivia’s face snapped up, and she grabbed his wrist and led him into the nearest, unoccupied dressing room and all but slammed the door behind themselves.

“What, exactly, are you doing here?” she asked through gritted teeth. Her voice was quiet due to her desire of keeping things private betweenthem.

“I was shopping for my mother’s birthday gift,” he replied innocently. “Was I surprised when I saw you in a bridalshop.”

“What’d you get her?” she asked skeptically, crossing her arms over her chest.

Mason reached up to scratch the back of his head, averting his eyes from her. Olivia rolled her eyes once again.

“God, you are such a guy,” she muttered, and then said, “Let me give you advice; when it comes to women, you can never go wrong with an assortment of lotions. For example, a gift basket of lotion and soap and stuff from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. You’re on your own when it comes to the scent.”

Mason made a mental note of what she said but said no more on the subject. “I like your friend,” he stated indifferently.