Chapter 4 #4
She left him standing in the dark. He saw her enter her house through the sliding door on the back porch and took a moment to get himself together before returning to Maddie’s apartment.
“Did you have trouble finding the trash cans?” she asked.
“No.” He skimmed his fingers through hair, still damp from the shower. “I ran into your sister.”
“What did she say?”
Mac shrugged. “Nothing worth repeating.” He debated for a second but had to know. “What did my mother have to do with putting your mother in jail?”
Maddie gasped. “She told you that?”
“Is it true? Did my mother have something to do with it?”
Maddie seemed to weigh her words carefully. “It was a combination of things.”
He lowered himself to the coffee table, forcing her to look at him. “Tell me.”
“My mother passed a bad check at the hotel bar, and yours reported her.”
“For a first offense?”
“Third.” Maddie’s eyes dropped to her lap, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Your mother didn’t have a choice.”
Mac covered her good hand with his and squeezed. “I’m sorry.”
“She’s been courting disaster for years now. It was bound to happen eventually.”
“And you’ve tried hard not to make the same mistakes.”
“For all the good it’s done me. I’m always one step ahead of disaster.”
He linked his fingers through hers and was pleased when she let him. “I’m incredibly drawn to you, Maddie.”
Her face flushed again. “Don’t say things like that. You don’t mean it.”
“I do mean it.”
Bringing their joined hands to his lips, he kissed the back of hers and decided not to push the issue. He had a feeling that too much too soon was not the way to woo this stubborn woman. “What do you say we clean up those cuts?”
“I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”
“No such luck.”
“I’d love to take a shower. I feel gross.”
He tucked a shank of honey hair behind her ear. “You don’t look gross. In fact, you look quite lovely.”
“You don’t need to say that stuff to me. It’s not going to get you anywhere.”
“And where is it you think I want to be?”
She replied with the scathing look he’d grown quite fond of during their day together.
“Why don’t we deal with this thing you’re worried about right now?”
“What’re you talking about?”
“You think I’m only doing all this so I can sleep with you, right?”
She had the good grace to appear embarrassed by his frank assessment. “It’s crossed my mind.”
“Then let me put your mind at ease—we won’t sleep together until you tell me you want to.
” When she began to protest, he rested his fingers over her lips.
“Until you say these words: ‘Mac, make love to me,’ I swear it won’t happen.
I can’t promise I won’t try to kiss you again, because I really liked kissing you.
But anything more than that? It’s all you. ”
“Can I talk now?” she asked.
Mac smiled and removed his fingers.
“I’m not used to people without ulterior motives.”
“I’m sorry you’ve been mistreated in the past, but not all men are lousy pigs.”
She studied him with eyes utterly lacking guile, and his heart stuttered in his chest. “They aren’t?”
Without breaking the intense eye contact, he shook his head. Reaching out to caress her cheek, he leaned in to kiss her lightly. “I can’t resist you.”
“Try harder.”
“You don’t really want me to.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, you started the whole kissing phase of our relationship.”
“I was asleep! And it’s not a relationship.”
Mac’s grin spread across his face. “What would you call it?”
“An annoyance.”
He laughed—hard, which seemed to infuriate her. “Let’s table this debate for now and get those cuts taken care of.”
“Do we have to?”
“Yep. Ready for a lift to the bathroom?”
“I guess.”
Mac moved carefully to lift her from the sofa and carry her to the bathroom. “How do you want to do this?”
“By myself.”
He followed her into the bathroom. “You could fall.”
She turned and seemed surprised to find him right behind her. Placing a hand on his chest, she stopped him from coming any closer. “There’s no way you’re seeing me naked, so turn around and get out.”
Mac put on a pout face. “You’re no fun at all.”
“So I’m told.”
He closed the lid to the toilet. “Why don’t you sit and let me take off the bandages?”
Eyeing him warily, she said, “All right, but then you’re out of here.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mac helped to ease her down and then knelt in front of her to unwrap the gauze. Uncovering the angry, seeping wound on her knee, he winced, and his stomach turned. “God, Maddie.” He glanced up at her pale face. “Don’t look.”
“Okay.”
He removed the bandages on her elbow and hand, struck by her stoic courage when she had to be in terrible pain. “I hate that I caused this.”
With the fingers on her good hand, she brushed the hair off his forehead.
Staggered by the gentle caress, he looked up at her.
“You’re not what I expected.”
“No?” He kept his tone light, but the small bathroom became airless.
“From your mother’s stories, I pictured you as a real playboy. Different day, different woman.”
Mac cringed at the somewhat accurate description. “That might’ve described me at one point in my life, but not anymore.”
“And when did this miraculous change occur?”
He pretended to give that significant thought. “About nine o’clock this morning.”