Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Lacey felt like she was floating in some sensory deprivation chamber. She couldn’t feel or hear anything. Only him.
All she could see was Mack and his beautifully infuriating face.
She’d stepped through the door just as he’d started talking.
The second she saw his truck out front, she’d known something was wrong.
Angela had called after her as she flung herself from the car and toward the house before Angela had put it in park.
How had Mack found his way here? In her head, a thousand possible scenarios played out, and she couldn’t get her heart to stop racing as she scrambled toward the door and prayed that he wasn’t doing something they’d all regret.
But then he’d said those words, and she couldn’t move.
Mack stared at her now, unflinching determination in his gaze. He wasn’t about to back down. She could read it in his posture and the set of his jaw. He’d come here without telling her, so there was no way he could have set this up to manipulate her.
Lacey’s chest ached, and she sucked in a sharp breath as she took a step toward him. She vaguely heard Bridger ask if Mack was going to be his dad before Angela herded him back through the door with a chuckle.
“Come on, kid. Let’s get some ice cream.” The door closed with a soft click.
It was just the four of them now. Her parents. Herself. And the love of her life.
Eyes flicking to her parents, Lacey attempted to read the expressions on their faces.
Her mother didn’t look thrilled, but she also didn’t appear to be any more upset than she’d been when they’d heard the gossip at the salon.
Her father simply took them in with an inquisitive expression.
Lacey hadn’t had a real boyfriend since she’d dated Bridger’s biological father.
She’d shied away from dating when she lived under this roof, and she’d kept her distance from everyone else in Rocky Ridge.
Her parents were probably shocked that she had found someone who claimed to want not only her, but her son as well.
A sob caught in her throat, and she did her best to swallow it back. Mack’s speech had been the most romantic thing she’d ever witnessed, and she didn’t have the words to express it to him.
He took a step toward her. “Lacey,” he whispered, an apology in his tone. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…” His brows creased, drawing together as he ran a hand through his perfectly coiffed hair—mussing it up just the way she liked. “Will you say something?”
There was a pain in his words that tore her heart into pieces. She’d pushed him away, hurled insults at him, demanded that he leave her alone, and yet here he was— still fighting for her. He really was perfect.
Tears stung her eyes, and she sucked in another deep, shuddering breath. “Did you mean what you said?” she whimpered.
In two large steps, he was before her, taking her hands in his and bringing them to his lips.
“There are only so many ways I can try to convince you.” He hadn’t meant for his words to cut, but they did all the same.
He was right. He’d tried to tell her over and over that he cared for her—that he wanted her, and he wasn’t giving up on her.
“I don’t deserve you,” she whispered.
He let out a sad chuckle. “Love is unconditional, babe. No one deserves anything. If we’re blessed, then we find that person who’s our other half, and if we’re smart, we do everything we can to latch onto it and never let go.
” He kissed her hands again before he pulled her into his chest and hugged her so tight, she thought he might never let her go.
She wanted to wrap her arms around him, cling to him and show him just how much she loved him back, but something still held her back. That something being her parents—and they were hovering just on the outskirts of her periphery.
Lacey glanced up to find her father standing beside her mother.
He seemed to be contemplating something—likely the scene that had just played out among all of them.
When his eyes found hers, he asked. “Do you love him?” His voice was gruff, and she wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard a little bit of hope just beneath the surface.
Mack tensed, his arms tightening further around her.
She nodded. “I do,” she whispered. “If I’m honest, I can’t imagine a future where I’m happy if he’s not in my life.”
He pulled back just enough to search her gaze, his eyes brimming with desire and an emotion that both terrified her and thrilled her to no end. “Really?” he breathed.
Lacey nodded again but couldn’t get a word out before his lips crushed over hers, searching, delving deeper with a desperation that she understood right down to her soul.
It didn’t matter how often she tried to convince herself that she didn’t need him in her life or that she’d be able to get over him eventually, she would never be the same after she’d fallen in love with Mack.
They were two sides of the same coin. They understood each other on a level that she’d never experienced with anyone else. And she didn’t think she’d ever be able to find another man like him.
She pushed her hands into his hair as she pulled him closer, unable to squash the need she had for this man. He was her everything, and it had taken too long for her to realize that.
Her father cleared his throat, and she gasped as she attempted to pull away from Mack with embarrassment. He nipped at her lips one last time before releasing her enough for her to face her parents.
His hand found hers, and he kept her close, his eyes trained on her parents as if he expected them to tear her from him.
A blush crept over her face, and she looked away.
Thankfully, neither one of her parents looked inherently angry with her.
If anything, there was concern on their faces—it was strange to see that emotion play out.
Up until she’d fought and won custody of Bridger, all she’d seen was judgment from them.
This change was… nice.
Her mother was the first to comment, her arms folding as her distrustful gaze swept over Mack. “Sweetheart, it’s not that we don’t trust you.”
Mack scoffed, earning a hard look from her, but he didn’t comment as her mother continued.
“It’s that you haven’t had the best track record when it’s come to the men in your life.”
“To be fair, Bri, she hasn’t really dated anyone seriously since…” Her father trailed off, and his gaze found Mack’s. That shrewd gaze was enough to make Lacey start fidgeting all over again.
Mack’s hand tightened on hers, indicating he wasn’t going anywhere, and she loved him even more for it.
Lacey looked at him and blinked. “I haven’t dated because I’m not going to just let anyone into Bridger’s life. Mack has proven time and time again that he’s worthy of Bridger’s love.”
Once more, Mack’s hand squeezed hers, and she could practically feel the joy radiating off him.
“You’ve been wrong about me,” Lacey added. “That sixteen-year-old girl you knew—the one who made one big mistake in her life—she’s gone. I’m not that girl anymore. I love Bridger more than life itself, and I would do anything to make him happy—anything to keep him safe. And Mack?—”
“Me too,” Mack interrupted with fervor. “I’d take a bullet for that kid.”
Her father’s brows rose, and one corner of his mouth twitched upward.
Lacey leaned into Mack, reveling in his closeness.
It was during moments like this one where it became painfully obvious just how much it had hurt to keep him at arm’s length, and she never wanted it to happen again.
She bit down on the inside of her cheek as she continued watching her parents warily.
This was it. This was the turning point in her life.
She’d come here to stand up to her mother and tell her that she couldn’t control her decisions any longer.
Instead of coming away from here with a battle won, she’d be getting so much more.
Her heart thrummed a happy tune. Even if her parents chose to weasel themselves into her life after this—even if her mother made good on her threat to bring Child Protective Services down on their heads—she knew she’d be able to get through it with Mack at her side.
He was everything she wanted and didn’t know she needed.
Her mother reacted first, a heavy sigh bursting from pursed lips.
Lacey’s shoulders slumped with relief. Her mother was the harder one to convince.
While her father didn’t instigate much when it came to this sort of thing, he’d always been severely supportive of his wife.
All it took was a request from her lips, and he’d do what it took to make her happy.
From the looks of it, he was pleased with what he was seeing.
Did he notice the same sort of fierce love in Mack’s eyes that he held for his wife?
Lacey looked up, drinking Mack in until her whole body warmed once more. All at once, she could see her future laid out before her. Mack was already a wonderful role model for Bridger. He would make a good father, and that knowledge had her stomach flipping all over itself.
He caught her eye and grinned as he pulled her into him, his arm wrapped around her waist almost protectively.
She could see it in his eyes—that determination that had continued to burn in him despite everything that had happened between them.
Mack tugged her close enough to brush a kiss to her brow, and she leaned into it with a contented sigh.
Her father moved toward them, and she had to give Mack props.
He didn’t even flinch as her father drew closer.
She eyed her father, wondering what he was going to do just before he held out his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mack. I can tell you care deeply for my daughter.
And that’s all I could have hoped for when it comes to my family. ”
At that moment, the door burst open, and Bridger entered with an ice cream cone in hand. Angela offered an apologetic smile to the group. “He insisted on bringing home milkshakes for everyone.” She held up a cup carrier with both hands.
“No,” Bridger argued. “I wanted to get ice cream for everyone.”
Angela rolled her eyes, a hand on her hip. “And what did I say to that?”
“You said the ice cream would melt all over your car, and you weren’t going to clean up that kind of mess,” Bridger sighed.
“Exactly,” Angela stated with a no-nonsense sort of tone. Then her eyes swept through the room, landing briefly on everyone before locking with Lacey. “We good?”
Lacey looked up at Mack, who stared down at her with what could only be described as adoration. She nodded. “We’re good.”