Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
There wasn’t much to clean up. The food Mack had brought came in its own packaging.
He tossed some empty wrappers and tied up the leftovers, then glanced around the small kitchen.
It made sense that he was a little antsy.
He’d never been this interested in a woman before.
There was something about Lacey that had him throwing all his notions aside.
He pulled open a couple of drawers until he found the rags, then he set to work wiping down the surfaces. It was getting late, but he didn’t want to just slip out of her home without telling her goodbye.
More than that, he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t make it so hard on him the next time he spent time with her.
Honestly, he’d nearly expected to show up here at her place and find that she’d been lying about her son being sick. It would make sense, after all.
It didn’t stop him from bringing everything she might need to take care of him.
While it wasn’t ideal that the kid was sick, he’d actually been relieved that she wasn’t just making excuses.
Was it stupid of him to believe that might mean she was warming up to him?
Probably.
He wrung out the damp rag and then moved into the living room.
There were a few toys lying around from when Bridger had gotten enough energy up to show off his favorite things.
Mack grinned as he scooped the jeep, toy giraffe, and the dinosaur into his arms. The kid liked him.
That much was clear. Maybe Bridger would be the key to winning Lacey’s heart completely.
Mack wasn’t an idiot. He knew that Bridger was incredibly important.
But then what could he expect? Most children held a part of their mother’s heart in their fist. That was a given.
Something told Mack that this relationship was slightly different.
He couldn’t put his finger on it exactly, but he could tell Lacey wouldn’t put up with nonsense when it came to the guys she might be inclined to date.
He smirked, placing the toys in a woven basket in the corner of the room. Then he straightened up the coffee table and fluffed the pillows.
For a split second, he wondered if Lacey didn’t plan on coming back out to the living room. Was he supposed to just gather his belongings and lock the door behind him? That didn’t sound right to him no matter how he attempted to rationalize the situation.
But then the door to the bedroom opened, creaking softly as Lacey emerged.
Their gazes clashed from where she stood on this side of her bedroom. Her eyes swept through the small apartment, lingering on the tidiness of the space before landing on him with an arched brow. “What are you doing?”
He shrugged. “I said I’d get things cleaned up, right?”
She offered him a shy smile. “Sure, but I didn’t think…”
“What? That I would actually do it?” He flashed her a grin he prayed would show just how much he liked her—how serious he was about spending time with her. There wasn’t much more he could do on the matter. This connection he felt with her had begun to get overwhelming at times.
Was it possible that Angela was right? Should he simply tell her that he liked her—more than how a friendship could be defined?
No.
He didn’t want to scare her off. He needed her to see that he was a viable option before he told her the extent of his feelings.
Mack remained standing in the living room between the television and the coffee table. There wasn’t much else he could do to clean up. Lacey was one of those people who valued being organized. Everything had a place and a purpose.
It made sense, really. Her place was too small to allow for much else.
Her hands were behind her back, presumably to hold onto the doorknob. She didn’t move from her place, either.
If he were a more confident man, he would close the distance between the two of them and finish what he’d started.
He wanted to kiss her, to claim her lips as his own.
He wanted to show her that she didn’t have to be scared of a relationship with him because he wouldn’t hurt her. He’d never let anything happen to her.
But he didn’t.
His legs refused to move.
Why couldn’t he take those half-dozen steps toward her? What was wrong with him?
Mack fidgeted. She was probably tired. And he would rather things not get awkward when Angela came home.
Avoiding that awkwardness was his main excuse for planning an activity while he knew Angela was gone.
He wasn’t sure how Lacey’s older sister would react if she found out the one he cared for was in fact living under the same roof as herself.
“So…” Lacey drawled.
“So…” Mack added, a sly smile spreading lazily across his face. “How was the kid?”
Her brows lifted, and he reveled in her surprise.
“Fine—he—uh—he was just wanting a song.”
The woman was perfect. There was no other way around it. The fact that she hadn’t already been scooped up by some other man was more than a surprise. “What song did you sing?” he pressed.
“Just a song I learned when he was a baby.” Lacey looked away, and she pulled her lower lip in between her teeth. “Thanks again for coming. It… this… it was fun.” Her eyes met his once more.
It was that look that spurred him forward, and he took several steps toward her until they were standing only a couple feet apart. “Does this mean we can officially go out again?”
“Mack,” she muttered with exasperation, “I told you?—”
He held a finger to her lips, and she sucked in a breath.
Leaning forward, he lowered his voice. “I’m not going to ask anymore.
” Mack wasn’t sure if he saw a flicker of disappointment or relief in her eyes.
Regardless, she’d misunderstood his statement.
A devilish grin took ahold of him, and he tilted his head as he shifted his hand so he could brush the pad of his thumb along her jaw.
“I’m not going to ask anymore, because I’m telling you. We’re going to go out again.”
She blinked several times before she snorted. “You can’t just?—”
“Stop fighting this,” he said, his voice raspy. “I don’t know why you’re so insistent that we keep our distance, but I’m telling you right now, it’s unnecessary. You can’t claim that you don’t feel this pull between us. I’ve felt it since the moment I laid eyes on you at my family’s barbeque.”
Lacey didn’t argue, thank goodness. Her wide eyes rounded further, and he allowed himself to drown in those baby blues.
“We’re going out again. I just need to figure out when the best time would be.”
“Mack—”
“You’ve been working so hard to take care of your son that you’ve neglected to take care of yourself.”
“What? No, I haven’t.” Even her words sounded weaker than before.
“It’s okay that you have. But I’m telling you right now that it stops. You and me? It’s gonna happen.”
Her mouth fell open as if he’d put the final nail in the coffin for this whole conversation. Did she actually like his cocky demeanor? Or was she irrevocably so worn down from him chasing her that she was willing to give in again?
Maybe it was both.
Finally he took a step back. “I mean it, Lacey. I’m going to get you to go out with me again and again—until you realize that you can’t live without me.”
Not a sound filtered through the air. They could have heard a pin drop if it wasn’t for the inexpensive and matted carpeting of her apartment.
He took a step backward and then another, hating the distance that grew between them. He should be holding her in his arms and telling her how much he cared for her. He should be promising to take her to places she could only have dreamed of going.
But he’d worn out his welcome—at least for tonight.
Lacey watched him through hooded eyes as he grabbed his jacket and slung it over his shoulder.
Then he pulled his cowboy hat from the back of the couch.
“Mark my words, doll, one of these days you’re going to realize how right I was, and we’ll both laugh about how stubborn you’d been all along.
” Mack touched the brim of his hat and tilted his chin down a moment before he spun around and headed out the door.
His grin was still plastered to his face when he strode up to his parents’ new place.
The house didn’t look like it belonged on a ranch—more like it should have been built in the suburbs of Billings.
Sure, there were touches here and there to show off that it was, in fact, a house where cowboys resided.
The oversized porch being only one of them.
He hurried up the wooden steps toward the door and stepped inside.
“Where were you, tonight?”
Mack whirled around to find his younger brother seated on a high-backed chair, his eyes raking over Mack like he could see into his soul. Noah was the baby of the family, but that didn’t mean he kept his nose out of everyone’s business.
Chest growing tight, Mack stared hard at his brother. “I thought you were at the rodeo tonight. What are you doing back?”
Noah smirked, one brow lifted. “I was at the rodeo. You practically sent me there. What’s wrong with you? Does this have to do with Angela? Because she?—”
“What did you say to her?” Mack hated how he immediately wondered about his childhood friend. “You didn’t tell her that I asked about her, did you?”
Noah chuckled, rising from his chair in a fluid motion. “No, of course not. I knew what you were trying to do when you asked about her.”
Wait, what? He did? How? Had Angela said something?
Before he could ask these burning questions, Noah laughed again. “You should see the look on your face. I swear. What is it with you and this chick? I thought you didn’t like her?”
“I don’t,” he said all too quickly. “At least not like that. We were—are—friends. I would really rather not lead her on or make her believe that we have something at all.”
“Well, there’s no chance of that happening, let me tell you.” Noah sauntered over to him and folded his arms tight across his broad chest. “She’s interested in one of the rodeo stars. At first, she asked a lot of questions about you, all of which I didn’t answer—at least not honestly.
Mack didn’t know whether to be grateful for the help or concerned that his brother was clearly smarter than most of his family gave him credit for. “What did you say?”
Noah shrugged. “I just turned the conversation around. She asked about you, so I’d point out someone else. It worked pretty well. I guess she wasn’t just looking for someone to hang with for the next couple of weeks.”
Mack had never made a comment remotely close to that sentiment, but it made sense that his brother would assume as much. “You think she’s pursuing something deeper? More permanent?”
“Heck if I know. I just could see the way she made you uncomfortable the other day… so I tried to help. Besides, it was more fun watching her flirt with other guys when she finally realized that you weren’t ever going to be an option. That girl knows how to get a guy wrapped around her finger.”
Mack rolled his eyes, but he knew exactly what Noah was talking about. If he hadn’t been entranced by Lacey, he would have easily given in to Angela’s charms. He set his brother with another curious stare. “So why aren’t you still out there with her and your friends?”
“Just got back. We all left about ten minutes ago.”
Mack had left Lacey’s just in time.
“How was your night?” Noah drawled. “You win her over yet?”
Mack gave his brother a slight shove. “None of your business.”
Noah rocked back on his heels with a laugh. “I think it is my business, seeing as I kept her sister entertained for the evening.”
“Nice try.” Mack kicked off his boots and headed farther into the house. Then he glanced over his shoulder and murmured, “You’ll hear about it when everyone else gets the news.”
“News? What news? Are you saying you actually want to marry that girl?”
Mack didn’t answer. He couldn’t bring himself to utter a single word regarding his brother’s question.
The truth of the matter was he could see himself with her for the long haul.
Mack had never seen himself dating a girl with a kid—until Lacey.
He’d never thought he’d connect with said kid—until Bridger.
Now all he thought about was them. He just needed to convince Lacey they could be good together.