Chapter 7
Mac took his time returning to the reception.
He needed to gather his thoughts as much as he needed his swollen cock to go down.
Ellie held the power to bring him to his knees with desire, the scent of her on the air enough to do him in for hours.
He remembered that smell, remembered her voice and the way it felt when she touched him.
He remembered it all, and he was more determined than ever to get her back.
“I’m marrying Mike Turner.”
That was a fucking complication of the highest order. He withdrew his cell phone and called Moto, putting the HERO Force computer guru to work researching Mac’s competition. If Turner had any skeletons in his closet, Mac needed their bones for ammunition.
He’d been worried Ellie may have remarried, and if he’d found her already someone else’s wife he would have conceded in hopes she would be happy with her new husband.
But a fiancé was competition, not a done deal, and he’d have to be out of his mind to step back for that man.
Ellie still had feelings for him. That was as obvious to Mac as the moon shining in the clear night sky, and he had every intention of winning her love back—Mike Turner be damned.
He made his way over the grassy hill and approached the reception, fast-paced music and golden light spilling from open double doors and hundreds of tiny windows into the warmth of the summer evening.
From this vantage point, he could see everyone who mattered.
Ellie talking to the DJ. Shonda with her new husband, standing by a table of people he recognized as Ellie’s extended family.
Lewis at the bar, laughing with another groomsman, and his sweet little Callie, dancing with someone he didn’t know.
Emotion filled him, overwhelming him in a rush.
He didn’t just want to get Ellie back. He wanted his children, too.
How many years had he waited to see them again, to be near these people he loved more than any others on earth?
The unit of time didn’t matter. It had been an eternity, a span so great he could barely hang on, a moment so elusive he feared he might never experience it.
Yet here he was, his wife and children all in sight, the potential of a happy ending finally within reach, and in that moment he thought he might lose it and weep like a baby.
The first notes of “At Last,” rang out, electrifying his nervous system.
This had been their song, his and Ellie’s, and for the briefest moment he thought she might have reconsidered his intentions toward her.
But then the DJ announced the bride and groom’s first dance together as husband and wife, and Marshall lead Shonda to the middle of the dance floor.
Mac stepped into the room, taking in the sight. Shonda had grown into a breathtakingly beautiful woman, with her mama’s grace of movement and proud countenance. He couldn’t be more pleased. Ellie had clearly done a wonderful job raising her, and a pang of guilt intruded on his happiness.
Ellie. His eyes sought her out in the crowd, finding her alone on the opposite side of the dance floor, her expression saying she, too, was lost in this moment.
He longed to go to her and lead her to the dance floor, to hold her in his arms as Marshall was holding Shonda.
He made his way to her, his body moving of its own accord, ignoring the certainty of rejection and desperate for his wife.
He’d nearly reached her when the DJ suggested everyone join the couple on the dance floor, and Turner appeared out of nowhere.
Mac watched as Ellie accepted his arm with a smile, Mac’s heart wrenching in his chest as another man swept Mac’s beloved wife off her feet.
Bastard.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and scowled.
“Daddy?” He turned to find Callie standing behind him, her amber eyes so much like her mother’s.
What was she, fifteen now? She’d been a little kid the last time he’d seen her, always desperate for attention and quick to hug anyone.
He could lose himself in all he had lost, and he pushed the regret away to smile at her.
She grinned impishly. “Do you want to dance?”
“I’d love to.” He led her to the dance floor, one hand in hers, the other settling at her waist as they moved to the music. “You’ve grown into an amazing young lady.”
“Thanks.” Her eyes raked over him curiously, and he had the distinct impression she was looking for some physical attribute to compliment. “You look the same.”
He chuckled. “I’m a little more gray.”
“Oh, yeah.” Her eyes went wide. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine. It’s been a long time.”
“I just meant, you feel the same. You know? I remember how you felt.”
“You, too.” Memories of Callie as a toddler filled his mind.
She was a handful, that one. In constant motion.
So full of love and wild emotion, she would wrap her arms around your leg and refuse to let go one minute, then wail and cry that nobody loved her the next.
“I remember you used to come running to the door whenever I came home, as if you hadn’t seen me in years.
” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he longed to stuff them back in.
Her expression seemed to freeze. “I didn’t come running this time.”
“I know. I didn’t mean…” His voice trailed off. I didn’t mean to point out the fact that I’ve been out of your life for most of it. That I’m a terrible father who probably gave you abandonment issues and—
She reached her arms around his neck and pulled him to her in a tight embrace. “But I missed you so much.”
Mac’s heart damn near exploded. He wrapped his arms around his youngest child.
She was welcoming him back into her life, no questions asked.
The past didn’t matter, as long as he was here now.
“I’m sorry, baby-girl,” he said, pushing the words past the knot in his throat. “I missed you, too. So much.”
“I love you, Dad.”
The wave of emotion knocked him off-kilter, and a tear ran down his cheek. He didn’t care that he was crying in front of a hundred people, didn’t care about anything but his daughter in his arms. “I love you, too.” He slowly released her. “More than you could ever know.”
Callie was crying, too, and he wiped at a tear on her cheek. “I wish we could have stayed with you in France,” she said. “I’m so mad at Mama for taking us away.”
He shook his head, remembering the arguments, the way he’d yelled at the children almost every day.
He’d hated himself back then, and the realization made him see how far he’d come since moving to New York and working for HERO Force.
He wasn’t the same man he’d been during that time.
He was better, stronger. But he still had to own who he’d once allowed himself to be.
“She was right to do it. I was an awful person to be around. Yelling all the time. Screaming at my wife and children. Blaming everyone for everything that went wrong with my life. I hated myself, and I spread that hatred onto you guys and your mother.”
Her brows drew together. “That’s not what I remember.”
He didn’t want to tell her the truth, didn’t want her to believe it. But he had to. “You thought I walked on water back then. But I was a mean son of a bitch, Callie. I was poison, and your mama knew she had to get you children away. I don’t blame her one bit for that, and you shouldn’t either.”
Mac felt someone watching them, and he looked up to find Lewis glaring at him from just beyond the dance floor, with what looked like a glass of liquor in his hand. Pure hatred shot out from the boy like a laser focused directly on Mac. “Lewis remembers better than you,” he told his daughter.
Callie followed his stare until it reached her brother. “He’s angry.”
“I get it.”
She turned back to him. “Not just about you. All the time. He’s angry about everything. He’s just one unhappy guy.”
Mac frowned. Lewis wasn’t like that before he left, and he wondered how big a part his parents’ separation had played in the boy’s personality shift. He watched as Lewis drained his glass, looked pointedly at Mac, then headed for the bar.
The song ended, and he rolled Callie away from him before twirling her back in and thanking her for the dance. She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thanks for the dance, Daddy.”
“Superfreak” began playing, a cheer rising up from the crowd as new blood headed for the dance floor.
“Anytime, sweetheart.” Mac smiled at her, then turned toward the bar and his middle child, memories of the boy drifting through his mind.
Of all the kids, Lewis was the one who was most like Mac.
That meant they shared a special bond, and could fight like nobody’s business.
Lewis had been thirteen when Mac left, a rough age on top of a rough situation.
“I asked for a double,” Lewis said to the bartender with a shake of his head.
The woman behind the bar wore a tuxedo-like outfit with a dark vest. She didn’t look at Lewis, but poured more liquor into his glass.
“Thanks,” he grumbled, stepping back from the bar and noticing Mac in one motion.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” He turned back to the bartender, addressing Mac over his shoulder.
“What’s it gonna be, Pops? Whiskey or scotch? ”
The heavy scent of liquor on his breath had Mac instantly concerned. “Tonic and lime.”
“A gin and tonic for the old man over there,” Lewis said to the bartender. She looked to Mac for confirmation.
“Tonic and lime,” he repeated.
Lewis laughed. “You don’t have to pretend in front of me, Mac. We all know how much you like your booze.”
“I stopped.” The bartender passed Mac his drink, and he left her a tip as he picked it up, more than enough to cover his gratuity and his son’s.
“Right. And a leopard changes his fucking spots.”
Lewis pushed off the bar and headed in the opposite direction, toward the now empty buffet and the elaborate, tiered wedding cake.
Mac followed. “I’d like to talk to you.”
Lewis called over his shoulder. “I ain’t got nothing to say to you, old man.”
He bumped into a woman bending over to talk to a group seated at a table and held up his hands. “My bad, ladies. My bad.”
Mac scooted around them carefully. “Sorry,” he told the women. Lewis was getting closer to the cake, and Mac had a sinking feeling in his stomach this wasn’t going to go well. “Hold up, son.”
Lewis spun around quickly, his voice overly loud. “Don’t you fucking call me that.” He stumbled backward.
“I’m sorry, but I would like to talk to you.”
“There ain’t nothing to say.” The boy was even more blitzed than Mac had realized, his eyes bloodshot and his articulation slurred.
“I have things I need to say to you. All you have to do is listen.”
By this point, he knew talking to Lewis would be futile this evening, but he most definitely wanted to get his drunken son away from that cake. He was almost within arm’s reach of it, and Mac was already visualizing it hitting the floor.
Lewis scrunched up his face. “You think you can just walk in here, give Shonda a hug, dance with Callie, and everything will be alright?”
He took a step backward and seemed to lose his balance, heading directly for the cake.
Mac swooped in, grabbing Lewis around the torso and nearly throwing him in the opposite direction. “Careful there, buddy,” he said. “You don’t want to knock over your sister’s wedding cake.”
“Let go of me!” Lewis yelled, though Mac’s hands were already off him. “I ain’t gonna knock over her damn cake. Jesus.”
He took a sip from his glass, nearly draining it in one gulp. “Like I’m the one who doesn’t know how to fucking hold my liquor.” He blew out air, spitting scotch over a group of older couples, who yelped in surprise and disgust.
“Come on,” said Mac, moving to put his arm around Lewis. “Let’s talk about this outside.”
The last notes of Superfreak ended, Lewis’s voice rising above the sound of people talking. “Don’t you fucking touch me, you son of a bitch!” he slurred, pushing Mac into the table he’d just spit on, and pushing himself backward just enough to lose his own balance.
Mac moved as quickly as he could, but it was too late.
Lewis fell back into the cake table and the top tier collapsed.
He tried to right himself by pushing on the edge of the table, and the board on top of the cake table rose up on the other side, dumping the entire cake on Lewis’s back before it hit the floor.
Ellie’s voice echoed through the stunned, quiet crowd. “Lewis!”
She came running as Mac tried to help Lewis to his feet, the younger of the two swearing in a colorful string of curses. “I don’t want your fucking help!”
Mac took a step back as Ellie arrived. She slipped in the cake frosting and he reached out to steady her. She yanked her arm away, glaring at Mac. “What the hell did you do?”