Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
L orna drew in a deep breath as Mack pulled his truck into the parking lot of the Tipsy Pig the following night.
“We’re here,” he announced a little too loudly, and she wondered if he was half as nervous as she was.
She’d spent close to an hour that afternoon destroying her closet as she tried to find something to wear. Shorts seemed too casual, and the only jeans that fit were the two pair she wore to the coffee shop, and she didn’t really want to wear her work jeans on a date—even if it was a pretend one.
Even though Izzy was almost a year old, she still hadn’t taken off all the baby weight and her body seemed to have changed after having a second child, so half the stuff she tried on was either too small or didn’t look right on her anymore.
Not for the first, or what seemed like the hundredth time this week, she’d wished Leni had been there. They’d spent so many years apart with her older sister in college at MIT and building her career in aerospace engineering, but having her back in Woodland Hills for most of the past year and living in their old house together had been so fun, and she’d come to depend on the support and friendship of her sister again.
Although, knowing Leni, she probably would have created a spreadsheet of outfit choices, a list of pros and cons for each one, and reorganized her closet while they were at it.
It was killing her not to text or call to tell her about Lyle being back—and about kissing Mack—and talking through what she should do about both things. But her sister deserved this honeymoon, and she didn’t want to do anything to spoil her and Chevy’s time together. And knowing the two of them, if they sensed trouble at home, they’d pack up and be on the first plane back to Colorado.
No, she was an adult. She just needed to pull up her big girl panties and face going out on a fake date with a hot cowboy on her own.
She twisted the strap of her purse around her fist as she peered across the parking lot, trying to see if she recognized any of the cars.
“You okay?” Mack asked, nodding to her knee, which had been shaking for the past five minutes. “You’re as fidgety as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said, pressing her foot into the floor of the truck to stop it from shaking. “It’s just that…well…I got married not long after high school, and this last year my focus has been on the kids…and it just feels a little pathetic that this is the first date I’ve been on in eight years. And it isn’t even real.” She wrapped the strap tighter until it suddenly gave way and snapped apart in her hands. “Oh shoot.”
Tears threatened as she stared down at the two torn pieces.
“Hey, now,” Mack said, sliding an arm around her shoulder and pulling her to him. “We don’t have to do this. The last thing I want to think is that going out on a date with me makes you cry.”
She shook her head against his shoulder and huffed out a small laugh. “It’s not you. You’re amazing…”
“And so damn hot, if I recall the words you used yesterday,” he said, obviously trying to tease a smile out of her.
She laughed again. “Yes, and so damn hot that any girl would be lucky to go out with you.” She blew out a breath. “It’s just been a long time. I haven’t really been out on a date since high school. I don’t remember how to even act.”
“I get it. All those months I was in Texas, I was working so hard, and only left the ranch a few times, so it’s been a dang long time since I’ve been out on a date, as well. But I can honestly say, you’re the only woman I’ve wanted to take on a date in years, even if it is a fake one.”
“That’s sweet, but I’m not sure that takes the pressure off.”
He chuckled. “There’s no pressure. And I’m serious, we don’t have to do this at all. If this makes you uncomfortable, I’m happy to take you home. We can pick up a pizza on the way.”
The idea of going home, putting on comfy pants, and scarfing down a pizza did sound appealing.
She lifted her chin. “No. I can do this. I’m just being silly. Lyle always said I tended to be overdramatic.”
Mack’s easy expression darkened. “First of all, you need to stop giving two shits about what Lyle said about anything. That guy is a fool and an idiot and a few other choice words that I probably shouldn’t say in front of a lady. You’re not being silly. Or overdramatic. You’re being honest. And real. And you have every right to feel whatever you’re feeling.”
“Thank you,” she whispered around the sudden lump in her throat. Apparently, there were still good men left in this world.
And if she could just get over herself, she could go out on a fake date with one of them.
“There’s one thing I know I can make better.” He reached over the seat, dug through a tool pouch, and came back with a small coil of thin wire in his hand and a pair of pliers. “Hand me your purse. It won’t be perfect, but there’s not much either bailing wire or duct tape can’t fix.”
She laughed as she handed over her bag. “It’s an old purse anyway. So, anything you can do to hold it together until I get home will be great. I just wanted something smaller than my normal gigantic purse slash tote slash diaper bag.”
The purse, which now that she thought about it, was in the back of her closet because the strap had already been a little bit torn, had broken on the side with the buckle. Mack undid the buckle and tossed the broken section to the floor of the pickup, then poked the wire through the hole on the good part of the strap and looped it through the small ring on the side of the purse. Twisting the pieces of wire together, he cut off the excess and tucked the sharp edge and the remains of the torn strap into the bag.
“It’s not perfect, but it should do what you need it to.” He offered her a gentle smile as he handed back the mended purse. “Kind of like this date. If you still want to go on it…”
She smiled back as she nodded. “I do.”
His face broke into a happy grin. “Stay right there,” he said then got out of the truck and hurried around to open her door. He held out his hand to help her climb from the cab.
She’d finally settled on a flouncy light blue dress that hit her mid-thigh and had a wide, open neckline, a lower cut in the back, and small flutter sleeves. Digging out her curling iron, she’d even spent extra time creating big wavy curls that cascaded over her shoulders and back. She’d found a pair of navy-blue wedge-heeled sandals that she hadn’t worn in years and had even painted her toenails a bright watermelon pink.
By the time she’d left the house, she felt like a real person again for the first time in a long time, not just someone’s mom, and she had a smidge of confidence in the way she looked.
Mack, on the other hand, looked good enough to eat in faded jeans, his normal square-toed cowboy boots, his gray felt cowboy hat, and a fitted black snap-up western shirt that hugged his broad shoulders and had her thinking all sorts of naughty thoughts about yanking open those snaps and running her tongue over those rock hard abs he’d been flaunting the other day in the barn.
He placed his arm around her as they walked across the parking lot, and she inhaled the scent of him. His cologne was a mix of something woodsy, soft citrus, and sandalwood and threatened to send her into a swoon.
He leaned closer to her ear as they approached the restaurant door. “And just for the record, I think you’re pretty damn hot, too. Especially in that dress.”
A smile curved her lips. If she wasn’t careful, she could really fall for Mack Lassiter.
Or maybe she already had.
The hostess had sat them at a table by the window with a great view of the mountains, and things were going fine until Lorna spilled her water and it poured right into Mack’s lap. The guy seemed unfazed as he laughed it off, sopped it up with the extra napkins on the table, and signaled for the hostess to bring her another water.
“It feels like everyone is already staring at us,” she whispered. “Now I’ve drawn even more attention by being such a klutz. We’re supposed to be an established couple, but I don’t know how to stop acting like a nervous girl on a first date.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Mack said, reaching across the table to hold her hand. “We just need to think about how two people who really were a couple would act.”
She looked around the restaurant and nodded to a man and woman in their mid-forties who went to her church. “Well, the Nelsons have been married for like twenty years, so they’re a real couple, and they’re just ignoring each other and looking at their phones.”
Mack laughed. “I’m not sure that’s the best route to take. I don’t want you to seem bored with me already. How about instead, we stare into each other’s eyes and act like whatever we’re talking about is the most interesting conversation in the world?”
She let out a soft chuckle. He had an easy way of making her laugh. “I can do that.”
“And I’ll call you a cute pet name when the waitress comes back if you act like my conversation skills are so fascinating and witty that you can’t look away.”
She caught the waitress, a woman named Luciana, who’d been a few years ahead of her in school and usually ordered a Caramel Macchiato when she came into the coffee shop, approaching and let out a hearty laugh.
“Oh Mack, you tell the funniest stories,” she said, probably a bit too loudly.
“Thanks Sugar Muffin,” Mack said sweetly, then acted startled as the waitress appeared at his elbow.
“Hey Lorna, you two seem like you’re having a good time over here. But I’m not sure I’ve met your friend,” Lucianna said, glancing at Mack.
“You mean my boyfriend ?” Lorna asked and tried not to wince at how stupidly cringy that had sounded. “This is Mack Lassiter.”
“Oh sure, you’re Ford’s brother. I mean, I know you’re Dodge and Chevy’s brother, too. But Ford and I were in the same class in high school. We were lab partners for Chemistry our senior year, and he used to bribe me with Snickers to take all the notes.” She pointed a well-manicured fingernail at Mack. “I think I did meet you sometime last year.”
Mack nodded. “I was here last fall. That’s when I met Lorna. Then I had to go back to Texas to help out on the ranch where I used to work.” He offered what felt like a meaningful look at Lorna. “But I’m here for good now.”
She waved her pen between them. “And now you two are dating?”
“Well, it started last fall. I think I fell for her the first day we met, back when I was here the first time,” he explained. “I mean look at her, she’s gorgeous. Totally out of my league. My family helped hers at the Beans and Brews festival, but the chili wasn’t the only thing there that I thought was hot. Then after I left, we had kind of a long-distance thing, and I won her over. And now that I’m back, we’re all in. Totally a couple.”
He winced at Lorna as if he realized that he’d given way too much backstory.
Real smooth, Lassiter. Totally natural.
“Oh-kay. Thank you for that detailed explanation,” Luciana said, then grinned at Lorna. “He’s cute, but a little nerdy, huh?”
Lorna laughed. “Yes, to both.”
The waitress laughed with her then tapped her pen to her notepad. “So, what’ll you have, Sugar Muffin?”