Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Okay, I’ve waited long enough. What’s with that stupid smile?”
Lacey jumped as she glanced up from her morning coffee. For how late her sister was out last night, she sure got up early—especially for a Sunday.
Bridger was still asleep, and Angela had slipped out to get them both a pastry and a drink from her favorite coffee shop.
They currently sat next to one another on the couch.
The blankets and pillow that Angela had used last night were strewn on the floor, and she closed her eyes with pure bliss as she took a sip.
Then she opened her eyes and gave Lacey a pointed look. “Come on, tell me. What’s up with you and that grin?”
Lacey flattened her expression, pressing her lips together into a thin line. “I’m not smiling.”
“Yes, you are! You’re smiling like a fool. What’s going on? Please? I can keep your secret.” While she pressed Lacey, it was clear she’d enjoyed her evening just as much as Lacey had, and perhaps this was a way to lead into a conversation about her night.
Lacey shook her head. “I’m just having a good weekend. I think you should be telling me how your night was. Did you meet anyone interesting?”
Angela jumped on the question without hesitation. She heaved an exaggerated sigh. “I met this amazing guy. He competes, but in that one event with the barrels? He’s so hot.”
Smiling behind the brim of her cup, Lacey listened to her sister talk about the group of friends she’d spent most of her evening with. She even got asked out on an official date by the guy she was fawning over.
It appeared that was all Angela had needed to get her thoughts off Lacey’s smile. When she was done gushing, she settled back on the couch, spent. Lacey bit back a laugh. In the quiet of the morning, Lacey was able to revel in her own memories.
Mack had nearly kissed her. They’d come so close to crossing a line she’d told herself she would never cross. There was a huge problem with that. What was going to happen if she started having feelings for the guy?
Or had she already started?
“What is that ?” Angela leaned forward, pointing.
Lacey stilled and followed Angela’s attention to the small gorilla that had been placed in the corner of the room among the other toys. “Bridger’s gorilla?”
Angela turned her focus to Lacey, her eyes boring into her, a sly smile touching her lips. “Who came over last night, Lacey?”
Throat closing up, Lacey couldn’t breathe. Her sister was far too attentive. “What makes you think someone came over?”
Angela’s gaze swept through the room, and a triumphant look crossed over her face.
“There’s a new movie on the television stand.
The toy in the corner. And snacks on the counter.
I’d thought maybe you ran out and got some stuff, but I know you.
You wouldn’t just splurge on a movie—even if Bridger is sick.
That’s what streaming services are for.” She shifted closer to Lacey.
“Spill. You’re not going to get out of this. ”
There were two ways to play this. Lacey could admit that Mack had come, and he’d done it because he was interested in her… or that he’d come but only because he was a good guy.
Lacey chose the latter.
She shrugged and took a long sip of her coffee before quietly saying, “Mack came over last night.”
Angela’s brows lifted into her bangs. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was no big deal,” Lacey brushed her off. “He’d heard that Bridger wasn’t feeling well, so he brought him some stuff.” Lacey steeled herself for the inevitable. Angela was smart. She’d probably ask how Mack had heard about Bridger. Then what would Lacey be able to say to that?
Thankfully, Angela didn’t focus on that tidbit of information. She swooned. “Really? That is so sweet!” She shook her head. “Man! I wish he wasn’t already interested in someone else. He would be the perfect guy for me.”
Lacey grimaced then froze, praying that her sister hadn’t noticed her reaction. She wasn’t about to let it slip that Mack was interested in her. And she definitely wouldn’t admit that Mack had nearly kissed her.
No, she definitely wouldn’t let Angela know about any of that.
She turned slightly so she didn’t have to look straight on at her sister. There was no way Angela would understand. Her crush ran too deep.
“Don’t you think he’s a sweetheart? He’s so good with Bridger.”
Lacey nodded, humming in agreement. “He sure is.”
The rest of the morning went off without a hitch. Bridger wasn’t aware of how much Mack seemed to be interested in his mother and didn’t have anything to add fuel to the fire when his aunt interrogated him on the evening he’d had with her crush.
“I’m so glad you could get the day off to come check on the shop with me.
You always had an eye for this stuff,” Angela murmured as they strode along the sidewalk.
Bridger was feeling well enough to go to school, and while Lacey didn’t want to lose out on a shift of tips, she couldn’t deny that her relationship with her sister was only getting better.
Lacey offered her sister a wide smile. “I’m so excited for you. This is such an accomplishment. I knew you were going to be great—even when we were kids. You always made the best decisions.”
Angela didn’t miss the underlying comment—the pointed way Lacey didn’t mention how much of a disgrace she’d been to her parents.
The two sisters couldn’t have been more different.
Angela was successful and had her feet planted firmly in a successful future while Lacey did everything she could to maintain a happy life for her and Bridger.
It was fine. Lacey didn’t need to get a degree or a high paying job to find happiness. She just needed to make sure Bridger had everything he could want.
Angela looped her arm through Lacey’s and leaned her cheek against her shoulder.
“We’re just about done with the renovations.
I want you to tell me if there’s anything missing.
” She gasped, and Lacey jumped, finding Angela staring at a display to their right.
She spun until she faced Lacey. “That would be perfect to hang up in the shop.” It was a rustic wooden sign that read, ‘This is my happy place.’
Lacey grinned. It screamed Angela and her aesthetic. She nodded. “You should check it out. I’m going to head over to the bookstore across the street. Bridger is begging for another book.”
“Meet me at the shop. It’s just up there.”
Nodding in agreement, Lacey made a move to cross the street. She made it to the curb when a familiar figure stepped from between two trucks.
Lacey’s heart stopped in her chest, and her eyes immediately darted across the street to the home décor shop where Angela had just disappeared.
“Hey, beautiful,” Mack drawled.
A gasp ripped from her throat, and she yanked on Mack’s arm to drag him out of eyesight of the shop.
If Angela got to the front window and even glanced in their direction, she would see them talking.
It wouldn’t take much for her to put two and two together.
That was all Lacey needed—to be caught with the guy that Angela wanted to date.
“What are you doing here?” Lacey hissed. “Are you following me?” She practically threw him down and out of the way.
He chuckled, his eyes flashing with pure amusement. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Lacey popped her head over the edge of the truck but didn’t see any sign of her sister. She turned an irritated scowl at him. “Then what are you doing here?”
He lifted a bag from the bookstore. “Happy accident. I’m assuming that you were on your way to the bookstore yourself?”
She pursed her lips, not sure if she wanted to believe him.
Once again, he chuckled. The deep, throaty sound of it doing things to her that she wasn’t proud of. “Are you worried about something?” He moved to take a look as well, but she placed two hands on his shoulders and shoved him down again.
“My sister is over there.”
His brows lifted. “You don’t want her to see me?”
The cogs were practically whirring in his head. Clearly, he was connecting the dots about something. Then he confirmed her assumptions when he tilted his head. “You’re worried that she’s going to be upset with you if you start to date me.”
She grimaced, which drew another chuckle from his lips.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Lacey’s eyes flew wide. “How would you know? I know you were friends with her, but she hasn’t stopped talking about you since you showed up that day at my apartment.” She couldn’t keep the accusation out of her tone. “This is all your fault.”
His head reared back, but the amusement never left his face. “My fault?”
“Yes, your fault. None of this would be happening if you didn’t come over like a blast from the past with all your charm and intrigue.”
“You think I’m charming?”
She groaned. “ Angela thinks you’re charming.” It didn’t matter what she said or how she phrased it. Mack still grinned at her like she’d hung the moon just for him.
His eyes locked with hers, and he leaned in closer to her, making her feel even more aware of their close proximity. His voice lowered until it held a husky quality. “Go out with me.”
“I can’t.” Her answer was too quick for his liking based on the flat look he gave her.
“Why not?” Mack leaned even closer to her, his gaze darting to her lips before lifting his eyes once more to hers. She could smell the scent of his shampoo with how near he’d come to her.
Her breath caught, and her mind went fuzzy. He was so close—too close. “You know why,” she whispered.
Slowly, Mack shook his head. “There isn’t one good reason that we shouldn’t explore this… whatever it is that’s between us.” He still spoke in that sultry voice—the one that made her question everything, the one that made her forget every excuse.
“My sister,” she finally whispered. “We can’t… because of my sister.”
He drew closer still until their noses almost touched. “You want to know what I think? I think that if your sister loves you, she’d be happy for you—happy you’ve finally found someone who cares about you.”
Through the haze and fog in her mind, Lacey clutched the small amount of clarity that came with his words. He cared for her? He couldn’t possibly. How would he even know if he did? They barely knew one another.
And yet she could tell that she cared for him. It was a small little spark of a feeling deep inside her chest that she’d long since locked up. Mack had managed to get past her defenses and figured out a way to make her care for him.
Dang him!
Mack’s hand came around the back of her neck. His thumb traced up and down the skin, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her body.
She closed her eyes in an attempt to push out the sensations he was setting off. Swallowing hard, she shook her head. “It’s not that easy.”
“Sure, it is. Family should always care about each other, even if it means they don’t get what they thought they wanted.”
Her eyes flew open, and she pulled back.
Life wasn’t black and white like he suggested.
Her parents certainly didn’t care about her feelings when she’d turned eighteen and wanted to take Bridger back.
He’d been two, and she’d insisted she could take care of him.
But they fought her tooth and nail. Then, when she’d turned twenty, they still fought her.
It wasn’t until she got help at the age of twenty-one that she’d finally managed to convince the courts that she deserved to raise her son.
Lacey shook her head. “I can’t.” The words burned coming out of her mouth.
As much as she wanted to give in and date this beautiful man before her, she knew she couldn’t.
It went beyond the relationship she had with Angela.
The relationship she had with her parents was still strenuous at best. One wrong move meant the risk of having Child Protective Services breathing down her neck.
She refused to risk what she had with Bridger.
“I can’t,” she repeated, stronger this time.
He studied her, as if his gaze could zero in on every deep, dark secret her heart possessed. Lacey fidgeted beneath his stare. Angela would be coming out of the store soon, and she’d be looking for her. If Lacey couldn’t get rid of Mack before then, she’d have to scramble for some other excuse.
Mack reached out, dragging his knuckle along her jawline. “I’m going to wait as long as it takes.”
“What? No, you’re not!” she hissed.
He smirked at her. The perfect specimen of a man actually smirked at her. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
She groaned, throwing her head back with frustration. “It’s not going to happen.” There had to be something wrong with him.
Mack shrugged, straightening to his feet. Then he rolled back his shoulders and winked at her. “I’m a patient man. When I decide I want something, I usually get it.”
Lacey should have been infuriated with his statement. She wasn’t some thing . She was a human being. And her desires were just as important as his. But before she could say as much, he pulled something out of the bag he carried then handed it out to her.
“Give this to Bridger, will you?”
She gaped as she fumbled with a child’s educational book about gorillas. Mack chuckled as he strode away, not giving her a chance to shove it right back at him. All thoughts of chasing him down were wiped from her thoughts when her sister’s number populated her phone screen.
“Where are you?” Angela asked as soon as Lacey answered.
“On my way.” Lacey got to her feet, staring off at the cowboy who was quickly melting her heart.