30. Gracelyn
CHAPTER 30
GRACELYN
I don’t think I’m winning Tinsley over. And I don’t think I care, either.
I thought Jamie was bad.
Turns out, Tinsley’s her even-more-evil twin.
I’m almost one-hundred percent sure she just told Mack I’m not good enough for him. Which is most likely true, but still. Rude of her to point that out.
Besides, what’s it to her? She doesn’t want him anyway.
“Hey, Gracelyn. Yes, I’m fine. Let’s go back to the table.” Mack takes my arm, looping his elbow with mine, and we practically jog back to the dining room.
“What was all that about?” I squint up at him, not sure I want to know.
“She wanted to rehash old times. I wasn’t up for it.” Mack frowns, his worry lines pronounced.
“Oh.” I want to know more, but we’re already back at the table and Mack’s pulling my chair out for me, the waiter fanning the black linen napkin over my lap.
“You good, son?” Mack’s dad asks over his fork.
“Yes, sir. Fine.” Mack resumes eating at a rapid pace, his plate almost clean. Tinsley’s still not back.
“I’m going to check on Tinsley.” Emma Kate tosses her napkin on the table. “I’m done eating anyway.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake. I’ve never had so many disruptions at a meal,” Mrs. McIntire mutters, but Emma Kate ignores her. She hustles away from the table, leaving me and Mack alone with his parents.
We eat in silence for a few more minutes, the mood strained. Suddenly, all the water and wine hits me at once and I have to pee. Desperately.
“I hate to do this, but I need to use the restroom.” I don’t bother waiting for a response, hopping up and half-jogging to the bathroom.
I burst through the door, already lifting my dress to make a sprint to the first available toilet. The restroom is spacious, a large enough spot to throw a party, complete with multiple rooms. All I care about right now though is finding a toilet.
Sprinting through an ornate sitting room, I finally find the toilets and shove into one of the private stalls. I lock the heavy door and pee in complete peace.
The stalls are fancy, with gold bath fixtures and intricately carved wood doors reaching all the way to the floor. Not like in cheaper places, where you can see the feet of the person peeing next to you.
I’m almost finished when I hear a faucet running, followed by two now-familiar voices.
Oh shit. Tinsley and Emma Kate are still in here.
It’s fine, everyone pees. I’ll just wash my hands and leave, like a normal potty break.
“I can’t believe your brother, Emma Kate.”
Tinsley, and she sounds like she’s crying.
“I mean, we were engaged! I thought he’d still care about me, at least a little.”
“I know, I know.” Emma Kate shushes her like she would a small child, her voice calm and soothing. “He’s a man, Tins. They don’t know what they want.”
“Right?” Tinsley’s voice rises, and she laughs harshly. “I mean, obviously, judging by what he brought home.”
Ouch.
My face burns and I start to sweat. I don’t know if it’s from shame or being locked in the stall, but my hair’s sticking to my neck and I’m hot all over.
“She’s so…so…”
So what, Tinsley?
Perversely, I’m dying to hear.
“Average. Like, not special. What does he possibly see in her?”
She does have a point, although it sucks to hear the words out loud. I’ve asked myself that a million times.
“You don’t think he’s going to marry her, do you, Emma Kate?” Tinsley sounds horrified at the mere idea of me marrying Mack.
“I doubt it. They haven’t been together that long, I don’t think. And like I said, she doesn’t seem like his type. If you know what I mean…”
I have a pretty good idea she’s talking about my weight and not-so-slender figure. Another wave of hot mortification rolls over me, my feelings impossibly hurt.
“Well, you’re his sister. Put in a good word for me. I thought I was over him, but maybe not. Seeing him with her —” She snarls the word her like I’m a vampire or a smelly swamp monster. “—is making me rethink everything.”
“You know I will, babe. Come on, my mom’s probably pissed we’ve been gone so long.”
The water shuts off and I wait until the door creaks open, then slams shut.
Silence.
Then I wait another solid thirty seconds, just to be on the safe side.
Finally, I crack the door open and peer out. The bathroom’s empty except for me.
I stand at the sink, staring at my reflection in the mirror. Tight ringlets curl around my face from the humidity, my cheeks flushing bright pink with heat and humiliation. The skin on my neck’s blotchy and my hands tremble.
Tinsley still has a thing for Mack.
What if he still harbors feelings for her, deep down? What if he’s not sure how he feels? About her or me?
My heart aches as I kick around the possibility that maybe Mack and I aren’t meant to be. Tinsley and Emma Kate do have some things right—I’m different than other girls he’s dated. Less sophisticated, less thin and fit, and apparently a whole helluva lot poorer.
Maybe Jamie and Tinsley and the rest of the world see what I’m too delusional and lovestruck to see.
That Mack and I don’t belong together after all.
* * *
Mack avoids a confrontation with his mother, sneaking into the guesthouse after we “retire” for the night. We snuggle together in the dark, the low howl of the wind rattling the windows. He pulls me in close, his cock rock-hard against my back.
“You interested?” He nuzzles my neck, but I shake my head. I’m way too upset about everything that happened today to even think about having sex.
“Not tonight.”
Sighing, his warm breath dusts my skin. “You okay?”
“Mm-hmm.” I don’t trust my voice to say more. Not after the convos I overheard today, first in the garden, then in the ladies. Chest tight, I can barely breathe, let alone speak.
He strokes my arm and tears sting my eyes. I blink rapidly, trying to get the offending liquid to dissipate.
The move backfires and the tears streak down my face into the fluffy cloud of a pillow, seeping into, and most likely staining, the five million thread count pillowcase.
Dammit.
I cry quietly, but my body must shake because Mack stirs, lifting up on his elbow.
“Hey—are you crying?” He gently spins me to face him and I shake my head no, furtively swiping away the tears.
“Firecracker…” He pulls me against his chest, folding his arms around me and holding me close, my body shuddering as I cry harder.
I sniffle into his bare chest. “I’m…I’m sorry.”
Mack strokes my hair. “Shhh. No, I’m sorry. My family’s horrible.”
“N-n-n-ooo,” I protest. A total lie. Because yes, they absolutely are.
“Yes, they are, babe. Why do you think I moved away?”
Despite how awful I feel, Mack still manages to make me giggle, my chest lightening a touch.
“Is there anything specific I need to address? Whose ass do I need to kick tomorrow? Or maybe tonight? I can rush in there and haul them out of bed.”
I laugh hard at that, drying his beautiful pecs with the sheets. “Not tonight. And no, I’d rather leave it alone.”
He frowns at me, his hand running down my spine. “You sure? If it was my mother, I can talk to her.”
“It wasn’t. Not really. Nothing in particular.” Tinsley’s name dances on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t have the energy to go there. Not right now.
“Okay. If you change your mind, holler, and I will absolutely kick some ass. Got it?” He swipes the last remaining tears from my cheek, so soft, so tender, I almost start crying again.
“Got it. Night, Mack.”
“Night, Firecracker. Sleep tight.”
We fall asleep together, twisted up in each other’s arms, a united front.