Chapter 50
50
MAC
Penny trailed her finger slowly down the center of my chest, circling just above my belly button before sliding back up again. Over and over, she traced the same path, each stroke light as air, teasing and tickling in a way that lit up every nerve ending. I lay there beneath her touch, completely content, completely hers.
We’d spent the morning tangled in bed, the kind of lazy intimacy that didn’t need to be defined. Just us. Just the quiet comfort of knowing the hardest part was behind us.
My girlfriend.
My everything.
I reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, my fingers lingering at her jaw as I looked at her with a smile I couldn’t contain. I must’ve looked like a lovesick idiot, but I didn’t care. Not one bit.
We were here. Together. No secrets. No confusion. No more pretending we didn’t want the life we kept dancing around.
Honesty was the new rule, so I decided to stop holding back.
“I’ve been thinking,” I said softly.
Penny smirked, eyes twinkling. “I hope not too hard. Wouldn’t want you hurting yourself.”
I gave her a mock glare. “Fine. Forget it. I’m not telling you now.”
She gasped dramatically and sat up, shifting to straddle my hips, her thighs hugging my sides. The oversized shirt she wore slid off one shoulder, revealing a teasing flash of skin.
“Boo,” she said, grinning. “Tell me.”
I turned my head, feigning stubbornness, but she wasn’t having it. She cupped my face, guiding my gaze back to hers.
“Mac,” she whined, dragging my name out like it was a promise.
I sighed, hands finding her hips as I pulled her flush against me. My fingers dug in just enough to make her gasp as I began to roll her hips, guiding her to grind against me.
“I’ve been thinking,” I murmured, “about how damn cute our babies will be.”
Her eyes widened, her breath catching. “Babies?” she squeaked.
“Oh, Penny,” I said with a wicked smile. “I’m going to get you pregnant. That’s not up for debate.”
Her lips parted, surprise written all over her face—and a flicker of something else, too. Something warm. Curious. Turned on.
“We have a lot of things to figure out first,” she said, though her hips kept moving with mine, slow and sinfully sweet.
“Like what?” I asked, voice low, pulse kicking up.
“Well,” she murmured, biting her lip, “we definitely can’t raise a baby in either of our tiny apartments.”
“Then let’s get a house,” I said instantly. “Let’s move in together.”
She blinked, stunned by how fast I answered—how sure I was.
I didn’t flinch. Didn’t hesitate.
Because I didn’t need more time.
Didn’t need more signs.
Penny Hudson was it for me.
“You’re serious,” she whispered.
“So fucking serious.”
I sat up slightly, sliding my hands up her sides to cup her breasts, thumbs brushing over the thin fabric of her shirt. She stilled for just a moment, then a slow, sultry smile spread across her face.
“Well,” she said, her voice dipping into a sultry purr, “that could be kind of fun…”
Her lips found my neck, kissing, nibbling, teasing her way toward my ear. I groaned, letting the sensation roll through me like thunder.
“Think about all the places I’d get to fuck you,” I murmured, my voice rough as I pictured her naked in every room of our future home—her body arched over countertops, knees on couch cushions, back against a shower wall.
The thought alone had my cock hard as stone. But it was the image of her, round with my child, glowing and soft and mine in every way, that nearly did me in.
Her grin widened as she ground down harder, rubbing along the length of me with a wicked giggle.
“Thinking about you, growing our baby…” I groaned, jaw tightening.
“You were really hot reading to the kids at the library,” she teased.
I raised an eyebrow. “That’s what you were thinking about while watching me?”
“Maybe,” she sang, then leaned back, placing both hands on my chest with a satisfied smirk.
God help me, I was in so much trouble.
“Then let’s do it. I’ll get you pregnant right now.”
I sat up, flipping Penny onto her back. She hit the mattress with a laugh, and her hair flew around her. I grabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head.
“We move in together first, then we talk about a potential baby,” she said.
“Fine,” I groaned, leaning down to press a trail of kisses along Penny’s bare shoulder. “I’ll start looking right after I’m done with you.”
Just then, a knock sounded at the door—firm and relentless.
I sagged against her with a groan. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Penny laughed, squirming beneath me. “Go see who it is and hurry back.”
“I don’t want to,” I muttered, brushing another kiss to her shoulder before leaning in for one more. “I’d much rather stay right here.”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Whoever was on the other side of that damn door clearly wasn’t taking a hint.
With a growl, I finally peeled myself off Penny and stalked toward the door in nothing but my boxers. I didn’t care who saw me. This was my place, I wasn’t promising modesty.
I flung the door open, ready to snap, only to find my sister standing there. Arms crossed, jaw tight, her sharp bob just brushing her shoulders like it was cut for battle.
“What?” I asked, my tone sharp, clearly irritated.
“Can I talk to you?” she asked coolly. “Downstairs.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Penny, who gave me a playful wave of dismissal. I sighed, shutting the door softly and heading for my clothes.
After pulling on a pair of jeans and grabbing a T-shirt off the floor, I leaned down and gave Penny one last kiss. Then, reluctantly, I made my way downstairs to see what the hell Lizzie needed now, of all times—especially when Penny and I had just been talking about moving in together.
The hardwood felt cool beneath my socked feet as I padded into the bar. Lizzie sat perched on a barstool, waiting.
Naturally, I rounded the bar and stood behind it, leaning against the back wall. I crossed my ankles and folded my arms, giving her a look.
“So? What’s so important it couldn’t wait ten more damn minutes?”
She didn’t flinch. “I want to give you the bar.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“Why?” The word shot out before I could stop it.
She pulled a thick stack of papers from her tote bag and set them on the surface like a challenge.
“I never wanted it,” she said quietly. “I thought I was doing you a favor by holding on to it. But after everything… I realize I was wrong.”
My eyes flicked to the paperwork, then back to her face. She was unreadable, all business, no emotion.
“What’s the catch?” I asked, skeptical.
She rolled her eyes. “You said you didn’t want to keep fighting. We called a truce. This”—she nodded toward the documents—“is me honoring that.”
I stepped forward, flipping through the pages. My name. Legal transfer. Ownership. It was all there.
The bar.
The woman of my dreams—half-naked in my bed upstairs.
Everything I wanted was within reach.
“What happens next?” I asked, my voice softer.
“We call the lawyer, sign those papers, and the bar is yours.”
“No. I mean for you,” I said, looking up at her again.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face. The guarded expression cracked just slightly.
Truth was, I wanted the bar. Always had. But now? After everything with Penny… after watching my friends rally for me, after Sandy and realizing what mattered, I wanted to change a lot about my life. That included Lizzie.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Maybe head back to the city. Find a new job. I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“Stay,” I said.
She raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously. I’ll take the bar, but I want you to stay in Faircloud.”
Lizzie immediately shook her head. “I can’t. My lease is up, and I don’t have a reason to sign another because who knows how long it will be.”
“Then move upstairs.”
Her laugh burst out. “What? I cannot live in a one-bedroom with you. We barely survive an hour together.”
“Not with me,” I said, exasperated. “I won’t be there much longer.”
She blinked. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I’m looking for houses,” I said with a shrug. “It’s time I grow up.”
Lizzie tilted her head, assessing me. A slow smirk curled her lips as realization dawned.
“This have something to do with the girl upstairs?”
“It’s because of her,” I said simply.
She hummed, nodding slowly. “I’m happy for you.”
I reached behind the bar and grabbed the pack of cigarettes and lighter I kept stashed there. I lit one and took a long drag. Lizzie opened her mouth to protest, but I beat her to it.
“Hey,” I said, tapping the stack of papers. “This is mine now. You can’t say shit.”
She snorted. “Not yet.”
I exhaled slowly and looked her in the eye. “I really want you to stay, Lizzie. I want you in my life. I know things weren’t always civil between us, but… I want to change that.”
Her smile started small, but then it grew—bright, genuine, the kind I’d never seen from her before.
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
Lizzie slid off the barstool, reaching for her tote. “I won’t keep you,” she said softly. “Once you’ve signed the papers, let me know.”
We exchanged a small smile, and I gave her a firm nod—the kind that said more than words ever could. Without another word, she turned and walked out the front door, leaving behind a stillness that settled deep into the room.
I sat there in the quiet, letting it wash over me.
Everything was changing.
And for the first time in a long damn while, it felt good.
I had the bar. I had my woman upstairs. I had a future that looked more like a dream than anything I ever thought I deserved.
The soft patter of bare feet came down the stairs, pulling my gaze upward. Penny stood at the base, wrapped in my oversized shirt, her hair tousled and wild from bed. Her eyes searched the room, cautious and curious.
“She’s gone,” I said, taking a slow drag from my cigarette. The smoke curled in the air between us as she relaxed, the tension falling from her shoulders.
Penny crossed the room and slipped behind the bar without hesitation, sliding against my body like she belonged there—and damn, she did. She wrapped her arms around my waist, resting her cheek against my chest.
“What’s going on?” she murmured.
I let the cigarette hang between my lips as I wrapped her up in my arms, squeezing her tight, grounding myself in her warmth.
“She gave me the bar,” I said into her hair.
Penny pulled back, her eyes wide with delight. “She did?”
“She did,” I said with a grin. “As soon as I sign those papers, I’m officially the owner of The Tequila Cowboy.”
Her whole face lit up. “Mac!” she squealed, grabbing my hands in hers. “That’s amazing!”
I slipped my hands from her grasp, placed the cigarette into the ashtray, and then hooked my arms around her waist. With a playful grunt, I lifted her and settled her on top of the bar. She let out a surprised giggle, looping her arms around my neck like it was second nature.
“Now,” I said, stepping between her legs and cupping her jaw with one hand, “I really have everything I could’ve ever wanted.”
I kissed her then, slow and deep, letting every word I hadn’t said fall into that kiss instead.
She kissed me back like she felt it, like she knew exactly what it meant.
I never thought of myself as a lucky man.
But with her in my arms, my name on the bar I’d built my dreams around, and a life that finally felt like mine…
I couldn’t imagine being anything but lucky.
The End