Chapter 77
MAC
She wasn’t kneeing me in the nuts! No! She was kissing me back. Sure, I’d kissed the hell out of her in the past, but this was different. This time, Georgia was mine. I felt it in the kiss, and I showed her how I felt for her with my mouth. With my hands around her.
Fuck, I’d missed her. This. Holding her. Knowing she was safe, that she was with me and that she was mine.
I now could see what Theo meant. What Dad meant. What every single person who gave me a weird look in the past week about Georgia being gone probably thought.
How the hell had I ever thought I could let her go?
My hands began to roam, sliding beneath the hem of her sundress to cup her ass. I felt the cool satin of her panties and I squeezed.
I couldn’t get enough. Couldn’t get close enough.
Her hands were on my chest and drifting lower, too. In a second, she’d find out how hard I was for her. How I wanted to bend her over her childhood bed and make her shout Hallelujah like a good Southern Baptist would.
I’d make her see God, too.
My very dirty thoughts were going to have me smote dead or whatever the Biblical term was for wanting to defile her in her mother’s house, but I was willing to take the risk.
“Mac, I need–”
“Yes,” I breathed, my dick hard and aching to get in her.
A stampede of wildebeests, or a group of kids, stomped up the steps. Georgia’s mother’s place was an old sprawling house that hadn’t seen much updating in the past fifty years. The wood staircase was solid and could stand the test of time, and a bunch of children.
We stepped apart a second before the door burst open. I shifted Georgia in front of me so the kids wouldn’t get an eyeful of the hard dick outlined in my jeans.
“Ew, gross.”
“Gag, they were kissing.”
“Yuck.”
“Just wait!” Andy said to them. “Their love’s going to overflow any second and they’re going to make a baby!”
I looked down at the six little faces, then up at Georgia.
Next, Keely stuck her head in and caught on that Georgia was standing strategically in front of me.
Her gaze drifted to the hem of Georgia’s dress and she hastily smoothed it down, not realizing it had been folded up on the side.
She grinned. “Kids, c’mon out of there. That man’s got a size twelve shoe and your Aunt Georgia’s gonna see if it fits. ”
They turned right on around and ran out the door beneath her arm, all except for Andy. He stayed and stared up at us with all the hope and eagerness I saw on his face at the airport.
“She’s wearing the crown!” he said excitedly.
“I guess I never asked… come back to Hunter Valley?” I asked, then held my breath.
“Do you want me to stay?”
This was the question she asked me that night in the garage apartment. The one I fucked up. “YES!” I shouted. “The answer I should’ve said the last time was yes.”
She nodded and grinned, then pointed at her mouth. “A real smile and my answer is yes.”
I smiled too and felt the relief course through me like adrenaline on a fire scene. “Take the job with James Corp?”
“Yes.”
I turned her to face me, so she could see the intent in my eyes. The truth that was there. “Be mine. And Andy’s. And Dad’s? Georgia Lee Gantry, will you be ours?”
She glanced down at Andy, who was eagerly waiting.
“Is that okay with you?” she asked him.
He nodded and hopped from foot to foot with his excitement.
She looked back to me, happiness lighting her eyes and giving me a real fucking smile. “Then yes. I will be you yours.”
Andy jumped up and down and whooped while he dripped water from the sprinkler all over the floor.
“I knew it would work,” Andy said, fist pumping the air. “They said the whole makematching thing would work!”
I stared at Andy and tried to understand what he was saying. With a glance to Georgia, I wanted to see if she did. We were both clueless.
“Bud, makematching?”
He nodded at my question, his hair dripping water down the sides of his face. “Yes, when grownups play a game to make two people fall in love.”
Now Georgia and I looked at each other, trying to figure out what he meant.
Then her eyes widened in surprise. “Matchmaking?” she asked.
What? Someone tried to put us together? That made no sense.
“Yes!” Andy said, pointing at Georgia. “That! It worked!”
I ran a hand over my face, then leaned down and set a hand on Andy’s bare shoulder. “Andy, who was playing this game? Which grownups?”
Andy beamed, clearly not realizing that he’d shared a very big secret.
“Grumpy said Mr. Maverick, the big guy with the dog and a man named badly were playing the game and we were going to help.”
“A man named badly?” I asked, looking to Georgia. What the hell?
She blinked. “brADLEY?” she said, a little too loudly.
“Yes!” Andy confirmed.
“Is that–” I began.
Georgia’s eyes narrowed and she set her hands on her hips. I didn’t remember seeing her angry before, but the look was a little scary, maybe because it was coming from someone so damned nice all the time. “Bradley and Maverick played matchmaker?” She huffed. “My cousin is in serious trouble.”