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if she 'd left her hair down , it would cover more of the exposed skin that the spaghetti straps and neck of the dress showed .
glancing at her phone one more time , she cringed .
`` fuck it , '' she muttered , before spritzing on some perfume .
after the fragrant cloud faded , she headed out of the bathroom .
she grabbed her purse and headed upstairs .
when she came into the kitchen , a loud , cat-calling whistle pierced her ear .
she scowled at sean .
`` seriously ? ''
he shrugged .
`` you look hot , sis . ''
gavin , who stood beside sean at the counter , nodded .
`` we never see you in anything but scrubs . ''
megan could n't help smiling at her brothers .
`` thank you . ''
wagging his brows , gavin asked , `` got a hot date , huh ? ''
`` not exactly , '' she replied , as she went to grab her purse .
`` yeah right , '' he mumbled under his breath .
after slinging her purse on her shoulder , she whirled around to pin him with her stare .
`` and what 's that supposed to mean ? ''
`` it means that chicks do n't get dressed up like that for nothing .
you obviously want to impress this guy .
so , it 's obviously a hot date . ''
`` since when did you become the love guru ? ''
she questioned .
sean grinned as he elbowed gavin .
`` she 's getting riled , man .
being irrational about little things usually means love . ''
megan opened her mouth to lay into her brothers , but then found herself speechless , so she closed it back up .
without another word to her brothers , she went into the living room .
she found her dad lounging in his chair with mason snuggled to his side .
when her dad looked up , he did a double take .
`` do n't you look beautiful , sweetheart , '' he said .
she bent down and kissed his cheek .
`` thanks , daddy . ''
mason tore his gaze away from the television to look at her .
`` mommy , bye-bye ? ''
this was one question she had n't anticipated explaining .
`` yes , mommy is going to go see a friend today , and you 're going to stay here with grammy and granddad . ''
his tiny brows furrowed .
`` mace no go ? ''
guilt rocketed through her .
how could she spend one of her few off days away from her son ?
the doorbell rang , and she was forced out of her self-loathing to answer the door .
taking a deep breath , she opened it .
her heart did a funny little flip-flop at the sight of pesh on the porch .
it was n't just how handsome he looked in his khaki pants , red button-down polo shirt , and black blazer .
it was also the fact he held a dozen red roses in his hand .
`` hi , '' she said shyly , after they had stared at each other for a few seconds .
he smiled .
`` hello . ''
`` would you like to come in ? ''
as he nodded , she stepped aside to give him room to come in the door .
he turned back to her and held out the roses .
`` these are for you . ''
after the words left his lips , he grimaced , as if what he had said offended him .
`` they 're beautiful .
thank you . ''
`` bye-bye kiss , mommy ! ''
mason called from the living room .
she smiled apologetically at pesh .
`` i 'm sorry .
i 'll just be one minute . ''
`` take your time . ''
she hurried across the foyer and into the living room .
she deposited the roses onto one of the tables .
`` i 'll be back tonight .
you be a good boy , okay ? ''
she said , when she got to her father 's chair .
she leaned over and kissed both of mason 's cheeks .
`` give mommy a kiss . ''
he gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek .
`` bye , my love , '' megan said , before turning and heading out of the room .
she 'd just reached pesh 's side when he glanced past her .
`` what ? ''
she asked .
`` i think we have a potential stowaway , '' he replied , with a smile .
she whirled around to see mason standing in the foyer .
`` what 's wrong , baby ? ''
`` no go , '' he whimpered .
she glanced up at pesh .
`` i 'm sorry .
he usually is fine about me leaving him . ''
she knelt down beside mason .
`` i wo n't be gone long , and you 'll have much more fun here with grammy and granddad .
pesh and i are doing boring , big people stuff . ''
`` no go ! ''
he cried , as big tears pooled in his eyes .
pesh knelt down beside her .
`` hey buddy , do n't cry .
i 'm not going to take your mommy away from you . ''
`` mace go ? ''
he asked hopefully .
megan shook her head .
`` no , sweetheart , i told you that we were going to do big people things today . ''
`` that 's true , '' pesh said .
then he smiled at mason .
`` but that does n't mean we ca n't take a little detour first . ''
megan 's widened her eyes in surprise .
`` what do you mean ? ''
`` why do n't we take mason to lunch at his favorite place ? ''