Chapter 6 Penny
6
PENNY
DECEMBER. FIVE MONTHS AGO.
Penny: Answer my FaceTime!!
Mac: I’m about to get in the shower…
Penny: And?
Mac: As much as I love the thought of you and my shower. You’ll have to take me to dinner first, Trouble (; I can’t keep giving myself away so easily
Penny: *inserts photo*
Penny: What about now?
Mac: You’re naughty… how am I supposed to say no when you look like that?
Ileaned back in my chair, my phone propped up on FaceTime with Theo and Aspen. We were in the middle of a battle—me trying my hardest to convince Theo to let us throw her a baby shower, and her stubbornly resisting.
Despite her protests, this was her first baby, and she was going to need everything she could get.
I had plans: raffles at the library to gather supplies, inviting people from around town to pitch in, making sure Theo felt as loved as she deserved because she did deserve it.
Seeing her smile like this, like she was right now? A real, genuine smile? It had been too damn long.
Theo found something in Rhodes—something solid, something safe. He understood her in a way no one else did. They were two people who thrived in each other’s simplicity.
It was kind of beautiful…
Aspen was at the farm stand, the glow of string lights behind her as she flitted around, the hem of her dress catching the air. Theo sat cross-legged on her bed, folding some of the cutest little onesies I’d ever seen.
Baby fever was a bitch.
I had to keep reminding myself that whenever I needed a little dose, I’d just have to steal Frankie.
“I really don’t want anything big and elaborate,” Theo said, placing a onesie down and giving us her full attention. “The gender reveal was plenty, and while I loved it, it completely wiped me out.”
She had a point. Aspen and I would handle everything, but once the dust settled, Theo would be the one left drained. And that wasn’t fair.
With a sigh, I leaned back further in my chair, holding my phone up toward the ceiling.
“Fine, fine, I get it. Nothing big, but I still—”
A sound caught my attention. I sat up, and there was Mac, standing in the doorway of my office.
I shot him a pointed look, widening my eyes and waving him over with a sharp nod—shut the door, stay quiet.
Mac grinned, the corner of his mouth tilting up, infuriating me in the best way possible. With both hands behind his back, he obeyed and stepped closer.
My mind was pulled between the conversation going on and curiosity about what Mac was holding behind his back. With a smirk like that, I knew there was something.
Stopping next to me, he finally showed his hand, and my breath hitched.
A bouquet of red roses. The color vibrant, the leaves full of life and perfectly green.
I schooled my face, ignoring the way my heart stupidly flipped in my chest.
Keeping my expression neutral, I turned my focus back to the phone screen, making sure Mac stayed out of view.
I wanted to smile. Wanted to tell him how beautiful they were. But I couldn’t. Not right now.
Mac laughed silently, shaking his head before setting the bouquet across my keyboard. Then, as if he belonged there, he perched himself on the edge of my desk.
My gaze flicked to him, just for a second.
Big mistake. He looked so damn good.
That perfect mess of hair I loved, the soft Henley hanging loose on his frame, the top buttons undone just enough to reveal a sliver of his chest tattoo.
The way his sleeves were rolled up was like he was about to get down to business.
Not to mention, his hands flexed with each deliberate move, the tattoos on the backs moving in just a way that made anticipation pool in my belly.
Mac reached out, seemingly to touch me, but I kicked my leg to shoo him away. The bastard pulled back, making me kick the side of my desk instead.
“Who was that?” Aspen asked.
My skin prickled, shit.
I cleared my throat before responding. “No one.” I shrugged. “Anyway, I still want to do something for you, Theo. You deserve it.”
I needed to redirect the conversation and take the heat off me before either of them caught on.
What Mac and I were doing—this little game, this secret—was fun. It was hot. For now, it was just ours.
There was something thrilling in the hiding, in the tension that crackled between us when no one was looking. And Mac? He loved it just as much as I did.
Theo hesitated like she was considering caving, but instead, she sighed, shaking her head.
“I appreciate it, but really, I’m okay.” A small smile touched her lips as she folded another onesie. “Maybe we could just have a small get-together? No gifts. Just the three of us and maybe the guys hanging out.”
Aspen’s face lit up. “I could bake some goodies!”
I trusted Aspen with anything baked. She made a pretty good blueberry muffin. I couldn’t bring anything like that, but I knew there was one thing I was good at.
“I’ll bring the fun,” I added, grinning.
Theo giggled. “Rhodes might be up for cooking something.”
Ugh. A man who cooks? Be still, my heart.
A sudden thud against my desk chair snapped my attention back.
Mac.
Still perched there. Still waiting.
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He pointed at himself, mouthing something I couldn’t quite catch.
I didn’t dare acknowledge him—if I did, Theo and Aspen would know.
So instead, out of view, I reached down and pinched his leg.
A silent warning.
A reminder that I knew he was still there.
Judging by the slow, wicked grin that spread across his face, Mac loved every second of it. The idea that no one knew he was sitting so close to me, that once again, it was our little secret.
My body betrayed me, reacting in ways I had zero capacity to handle right now. Heat pooled low in my stomach, my pulse kicking up as Mac’s hand slid onto my thigh.
Asshole.
“Speaking of Rhodes,” Aspen said, a sly smile creeping onto her lips, “how are things going?”
“Ooh, ooh, did he like the pictures?” I asked, desperate to focus on anything other than the man beside me, whose hand was teasing my inner thigh. The same man who was very much enjoying my torment.
Theo burst into laughter. “Yes, he did. He keeps it in his truck, actually. So… I guess you could say things are going great.”
Mac’s fingers stilled like he was waiting for me to look at him. Instead, I kicked his leg again, a silent warning for him to back off.
The urge to end this conversation and deal with Mac head-on was so strong, but I forced myself to stay present.
“Hot!” I sighed dramatically, dragging my focus back to the call. “That is every girl’s dream.”
Mac stood from my desk, moving enough to catch my attention before casually making his way to the opposite side.
One by one, he started clearing off my desk.
What the hell is he doing?
Every item—my planner, my pens, even my phone stand—moved elsewhere, making space for something else.
“You’re happy,” Aspen said softly, resting both hands on the counter as she peered through the phone.
“I am,” Theo admitted, her smile soft, content. “Rhodes has been so supportive, so kind. Being with him is… easy. I’ve always liked being alone, but being with him is better. He makes me feel understood, heard. He gives me a kind of comfort I haven’t felt in a long time.”
I should’ve been invested in the conversation. I wanted to be.
But my focus? It was fully hijacked.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mac glanced at me as that irresistible smirk spread across his face.
He was taunting me.
“I have to go,” Theo mumbled suddenly, cutting out before Aspen and I could respond.
I blinked, snapping back to reality as Aspen shrugged. “Well, that was—”
“Ugh, me too,” I blurted, already hitting end before she could question it.
Mac let out a low, satisfied snort because he knew he won. I was intrigued and desperate to know what the hell was happening.
Locking my phone screen, I set it down and finally turned my full attention to him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, glancing at the bouquet of roses he’d brought me.
Roses. I loved roses.
He knew they were my favorite. I always kept a pitcher full of them on my counter, never letting it go empty.
“Well,” Mac said, strolling toward me as I sat in my desk chair. “I had some time before the bar opened and thought I’d come see what you were up to.”
“Working,” I replied dryly.
Mac stopped in front of me, leaning down, his hands bracing on the armrests of my chair. His face was dangerously close now, eyes locked on mine.
My breath hitched, but I held my ground, staring right back at him.
I shifted under his gaze, my pulse betraying me as I tucked my hair behind both ears—damn it.
“You nervous, Trouble?”
He caught me, just like he always did.
Being nervous around Mac was part of the course, though I never let it show beyond that tick. But he knew. He always knew and he used it to his advantage every damn time.
His hand came up, fingertips skimming my cheek in a touch so soft, so damn tender, it stole my breath.
A shiver rolled down my spine. My body warmed under the simple touch, betraying me completely, but I kept the rest of myself calm and collected.
I met his gaze with a smirk. “Why would I be nervous around you?”
Mac scoffed, his fingers falling away as he straightened to his full height. He ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, exhaling like I was exhausting him.
“You love to play these games…” His voice was rough, edged with something dangerous.
“Hmm?” I tilted my head, feigning innocence, bringing my manicured hand up to inspect my nails. “Whatever do you mean?”
His eyes darkened.
In one swift motion, Mac picked me up, lifting me right out of the desk chair.
I gasped, clinging to his shoulders as a giggle slipped past my lips.
With purpose, he carried me toward the exact spot he’d meticulously cleared off while I was on the phone.
A man on a mission.
I had a feeling I knew exactly what he had in mind.
“You pretend to be unaffected, but I know it’s a lie,” Mac murmured against my neck, his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin.
A shiver ran down my spine.
“I know your body, Pen. I see how you respond to me. The way your skin blushes… right… here.” The tip of his finger danced across the swell of my chest, goosebumps forming in its wake.
My hand slid to the back of his head, fingers tangling in his hair, holding him close.
His lips found the spot he knew drove me crazy, kissing and nibbling with slow, torturous precision. Two months into whatever this was, and he already knew my body better than I had in twenty-six years.
“I’m not affected by you,” I whispered, a small smile tugging at my lips even though he couldn’t see it. “You can keep thinking I am, whatever makes you sleep at night.”
His mouth curved against my skin, his hands gripping my waist.
“Tsk, tsk…” He ran his tongue along the shell of my ear before pressing a lingering kiss to my jaw. “We both know you just can’t control it.”
He was right.
My body reacted the second I saw him in a room. My pulse spiked, anticipation coiling tight, my every thought consumed with getting him alone.
But it wasn’t just this—wasn’t just the heat and the tension.
Mac made me laugh, too. He was playful, sharp-witted, the perfect match for my own chaotic energy.
That’s what made this dangerous.
My palm pressed against his chest, pushing him back slightly. His gaze snapped up, locking onto mine, heat flashing in his dark eyes.
I licked my lips, and his smile turned downright wicked.
In one smooth motion, I hopped down from my desk, my body pressing flush against his. I had to stop this before it went too far, not here.
“You wanna see just how much I can control it?” I teased, my voice low, taunting.
Mac’s jaw ticked as he glanced down, right to the strain in his jeans.
“If I’m being honest?” His voice was rough, edged with need. “No.”
I laughed—a real, head-tilting-back kind of laugh.
Brushing my fingers over his length, I watched in delight as his breath hitched, a quiet, involuntary whimper escaping him.
Before either of us could push this further, I stepped out of his orbit entirely, because if I didn’t, I’d prove him right and lose all of my control.
“As hot as it would be to have you take me on my desk,” I mused, flashing him a smirk, “this is a place full of children. And I love my job.”
Distance. I needed distance.
Because Mac?
He had the kind of pull that made a woman forget everything—morals, rules, ethics—until all she wanted to do was obey his every damn command.