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that
approaching anyone he knew or had dated was out. He could...
    The
doorbell rang. Mason was surprised by the relief he felt. Straightening his
tie, he headed for the door. Pulling it open, he did a double take. Emma was
standing there, looking completely different from two days ago. Gone was the
black skirt with sensible heels. Gone was the unruly hair and the business-like
scarf around her neck. Instead, she was dressed in an ivory-colored dress suit
- a lovely simple tailored jacket over a plain matching ivory sheath, that
stopped above her knees. Her wavy hair was tamed, and swept up into an elegant
chignon. She wore one single pearl around her neck, simple pearl earrings, and
carried a teal-colored purse over one shoulder. Her legs were enclosed in silk
hose, and her feet were lovingly encased in the most amazing shoes Mason had
seen on a woman. Three inch heels that matched her purse made it look like her legs
stretched to eternity, but the shape and height of them added to Emma’s elegant
appearance. She looked like a society woman, a lawyer, and a fashion model, all
rolled into the same woman. And while he felt a wave of heat roll over him as
he took in her appearance, he quickly hid his reaction, and just stepped back
to let her in.
    Emma
was having a similar moment. Mason was dressed in a black suit, with an
ivory-colored shirt and a blue and black striped tie. It was a normal business
suit, but his appearance was giving her heart palpitations. Good lord, she
thought, this man was sexy. Not a hair out of place. Not a piece of fur on him.
She had needed to use the lint brush she kept at home, and the one she kept at
work, to ensure that all of Chaos’ fur was removed from her outfit. The suit
was one she wore occasionally in the summer, so it was no big deal to wear it
today - she had just thrown a scarf around her neck and used sensible shoes at
work, then pulled off the scarf and changed her shoes on the way over. But
Mason looked like a model from a catalog. He was gorgeous. Still, Emma noted
that there was no warmth in his eyes as he pulled the door wider and stood back
to let her by. So she took a deep breath, and reminded herself that this was a
business transaction, and nothing more.
    “You
came.” The relief in Mason's voice was especially surprising, given the cool
way he’d looked at her when he opened the door for her.
    “Of
course. You really gave me no choice,” she said quietly.
    He
smiled slightly. “True. You look lovely, Emma.”
    She
looked at him with some suspicion. Why was he being nice? “Thanks,” she finally
said. “Can we get this over with please? I took a long lunch, but I’ll need to
get back to work as soon as we're done.”
    He
nodded. “Of course. Did you have a chance to look everything over?”
    “Yes.
I signed everything this morning. And you?”
    “My
lawyer read over the copy you sent to him yesterday and gave me his approval.
So we can countersign everything and take the forms with us. He’ll take a quick
look, make copies, and we'll be set.”
    It
took less than fifteen minutes for them to deal with their paperwork, and for
Emma to sign the marriage license. Emma had taken a cab over to Mason's home,
so she joined him in his car on the ride over to the office of his lawyer,
where a justice of the peace would be waiting. She had expected that Mason
would use a driver, but she realized that this was exactly what he had told her
it would be - a quiet marriage between two people. He wasn't yet ready to announce
it to the world. He helped her into the passenger seat, then moved over to the
driver’s seat and got in next to her.
    Before
he started the car, he turned to her briefly. “Thank you for doing this, Emma.
I know it is not what you would have chosen, and I appreciate that you are
honoring your sister's commitment.”
    She
looked over at him, her eyes boring into his, her expression serious. “I know
you do, Mason. And you’re welcome,” she added with a