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MAC
Angie came down the hall, tugging on the hem of her short jean skirt. She narrowed her eyes at Mac and scrunched her nose. “Are you sure this is okay to wear to breakfast? I don’t want to be inappropriate with your family there.” She glanced to the side to catch her reflection.
Mac couldn’t help watching her with a glow in his chest. She was perfect. She had no idea the effect she had on him and she didn’t try to manipulate him with clothing or makeup or anything artificial like that. Her skit came to mid-thigh and they were supposed to be swimming in the pool after eating, so she wasn’t expected to look like she was dressed for a formal.
He shook his head and pushed off the stool he’d waited for her on. “You look perfect. Remember, it’s not a big deal. We’re not dating. You’re going as my friend. Easy, right?” He wanted to introduce her to his parents as more, but he left it alone. She’d made her stance clear the night before and he’d gotten a text from his mom about doing a breakfast the next morning.
Angie let her pent up breath out on a whoosh. She nodded, her lips pressed tight together. “You’re right. Just friends.” She smiled, then skipped out the door ahead of him.
Before following her out, Mac rolled his eyes to the ceiling and inhaled deeply. She was intoxicating and he hoped she caught on fast to the attraction between them. He couldn’t deny it and usually he was the one who fought anything remotely similar. Although, to be honest, he’d never been pulled toward a woman quite like he was pulled toward Angie.
The drive was short and Mac touched her arm when they pulled in front of the house. “Can you wait? I’ll open your door. I kept trying to do that last night, but you bounced out too fast.” He’d been raised to be a gentleman, and while it was hard for him to do around his sister, he refused to not honor his upbringing with every other female on earth.
“Okay.” She looked at him, questions in her eyes.
He could feel her gaze on him as he came around the front of the truck and opened her door. Was it pushing things to offer his hand? He didn’t care. He offered his fingers and she didn’t hesitate as she accepted and dismounted from the truck.
Mac offered a reassuring smile at Angie. “Kelsey and Eva will be here along with JT and Blake. At least you’ll know some people.” He didn’t mind claiming her as his with his friends, but Angie didn’t want to be claimed. Not yet. He’d respect that and continue to introduce her as a friend.
As they approached the front door, Mac studied her and then realized something was missing. He stopped, touching her shoulder. “Angie, do you want to get your purse?”
She half-shrugged, pushing the hair she’d left down behind her shoulder. “No, I didn’t bring it.”
There was no way she had a phone in her skirt or anywhere else. “Do you want me to run and grab it?” He was confused. Why hadn’t she brought her things with her? Everyone he knew carried their phones like lifelines to oxygen. He’d seen people drop children on the ground in favor of saving their cells.
“You can get it, if you need it, but I don’t want it.” She smiled flippantly and looked toward the door, closing the distance to the front stoop.
She didn’t want her phone? Knox wouldn’t be able to get a hold of her. The fact that she didn’t seem to care spread an overwhelming optimism through Mac. She was willing to chance not answering Knox’s calls or texts. Yep, Mac liked that very much.
He didn’t just walk in with Angie by his side. The moment felt like he needed to level up his formality and he knocked on the front door. Stepping back to stand beside Angie, he reached out to wrap his arm around her waist then drew back with a jerk.
The door opened before Mac could check if she’d noticed or not. He desperately hoped not.
Eva answered with a glass of orange juice in hand. She grinned wide at seeing Angie. “I’m so glad you came! You can help me convince Kelsey that dirt biking is exactly what she needs to do with JT.” Eva reached out, ignoring Mac and grabbing Angie’s arm. “Come on. She’s in the kitchen.”
Angie shot a nervous glance at Mac before being whisked away. He chuckled, following them inside and closing the front door. The ambience was festive and not in a forced way.
Mac’s mom stood at the counter, pouring from a blender a green concoction which made her grimace as it plopped into a tall white cup. She put the lid on and added a straw before looking up. A wide smile shed the somber expression from her face. “Malcolm, I’m so glad you’re here.” She looked curiously at Angie who had escaped the clutches of Eva. Mac’s mom didn’t let her smile slip.
“Mom, this is my – friend, Angie.” Mac winked at Angie as she glanced at him in horror at his near slip-up. Well, it wasn’t really a mistake. He’d done it on purpose to tease her and he couldn’t contain his delight at getting her riled up.
His mom put the cup down and reached out to pull Angie into a hug. She pulled back a bit from the surprised girl and smiled. “I’m so glad to meet you. Get used to the hugs. We get to be pretty friendly around here.” She released Angie and then retrieved the cup. Wincing at the contents, she offered a half-grin. “I need to try to convince your dad to eat this... slop. It has a lot of spinach in it. Anti-oxidants or something that he needs.”
Mac winced. “Yuck. Spinach? Don’t tell him what’s in it.” He shot a look at Angie. “Want to come with me? I want to say hi to, Dad. Plus, I think everyone is outside, already.”
She nodded, falling into step behind him and they followed his mom out the slider doors.
The backyard had been cleaned up a bit with new lounge chairs placed strategically around the kidney-shaped pool. A buffet-style brunch had been laid out on long tables on the side of the house under the shade of multiple umbrellas. Brightly colored towels draped from the clothesline his mom had installed for looks more than practicality.
Angie breathed in sharply beside Mac. “This is breathtaking. Did you grow up here?”
He nodded tightly as he spied his dad set up in a recliner that had been moved outside. He sat in the shade at the foot of the pool, watching as JT and Blake picked up Eva and threw her screaming and thrashing into the deep end of the pool.
Brian didn’t move fast as Maggie, Mac’s mom, called to him from a few feet away. “I’ve got your drink, Brian. Are you hungry yet?” She reached his side and carefully lifted his hand and set his cup in his weak grip.
Mac and Angie reached Brian’s other side, coming to an uncomfortable pause as he lifted the straw delicately to his pale lips.
Taking a long draw, Brian closed his eyes and grimaced. After another attempt to drink it, he placed the cup back on the table set up beside him and shook his head. “Maggie, I’d rather die than drink spinach mulch. Take me now before I have to eat that again.”
Everyone within hearing range burst into laughter. Maggie shook her head and reclaimed the cup. “It can’t be that bad.” She sipped from the same straw and then jerked the cup away from her mouth. Spitting to the side, she put it back on the table. “Oh, that is just plain awful. I’m so sorry.” Her shoulders sagged. “The pamphlets said you shouldn’t have anything but healthy antioxidants to prevent more cancer.”
Brian thoughtfully reached out and took her fingers gingerly in his. “Maggie, I already have stage four. I’m dying. Please, don’t make me miserable with that crud. I want the bacon smothered in maple syrup and pancakes. I saw scrambled eggs with cheese over there, too. Don’t hold back.” He winked at his wife who smiled woodenly, but nodded in agreement.
His dad’s declaration that he was dying struck a sharp chord inside Mac’s chest he didn’t want to acknowledge. Instead he focused on the sweetness between his parents. Mac wanted that. He needed the connection with someone who would appreciate him. He couldn’t help peeking at Angie. Would she be the type of woman who would step up in a situation like that? Why was he even putting that kind of pressure on her when she’d already told him where she stood? There he was planning forever with her.
Ugh, his dad’s cancer was getting to him, in more ways than one.
After an uneventful breakfast, Angie, Kelsey, and Eva jumped in the pool while JT and Blake moaned about being too full to fit anything else in their stomachs. They sat at the table with Maggie and in between their complaints they stuffed candied bacon in their mouths and then sighed at how delicious the food was.
Mac sat near his dad and watched the group of girls as they swam around each other and laughed.
“She’s good for you. I like her. She might be what you need, Malcolm.” Brian’s words were measured, like he’d taken the time to pick each one and expend only the amount of energy needed to form the specific vowels.
Mac couldn’t agree more, but his answer was more casual. “We’re just friends, Dad. I’m helping her deal with some things.” He’d been able to ignore the Knox Taylor and Des Nations incident for the morning, but as they spoke, everything crashed back around him.
He didn’t have Angie as his. She belonged to Knox until she’d severed those ties. Des Nations was just a few days away and while he was determined to race, a large part of him didn’t want to. What if he missed out on time with his dad? Time he’d never be able to get back?
Brian’s laugh ended on a cough. His usually strong shoulders shook. “Whatever, I don’t believe you. I think you should look into something more with her. Don’t accept a girl’s rejection when she’s like that. She’s sweet, funny, and easy on the eyes. Our grandkids would be adorable.” He smirked at Mac’s shocked expression. “Oh, stop. We think about that all the time.”
But his dad didn’t understand. Mac wasn’t ready to think of his parents as grandparents. Worse? He wasn’t ready to think of his dad dying before he could see his grandkids. The awful possibility slapped him across the face.
“What do you mean you’ve never been on a date?” Eva and Kelsey leaned their arms on the edge of the pool and watched Angie swim up to join them.
She avoided looking at Mac. “My last boyfriend... he didn’t take me out. He said, um, he said he didn’t want to be seen with someone who looked like me, so...” She smiled brightly, as if what he’d said was normal and acceptable.
Mac’s jaw dropped but he closed it quickly. How was that possible? She was amazing and Mac considered himself lucky to be seen with her.
Before he could speak up to defend her to herself in front of everyone, Eva jumped in. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I have a crush on you and I’m straight. You’re gorgeous and extremely sweet. That guy was a jerk. Who was he?”
Caught off guard by Eva’s immediate loyalty, Angie answered without thinking. “Knox Taylor.”
“Knox Taylor? The British dirt biker? That guy is scum. Well, be glad you’re with Mac now. He’ll treat you right.” Eva nodded tightly. “Oh, I could just kill Taylor. Let me race him. I’d waste him.”
Angie glanced at Mac through her lashes, obviously embarrassed by Eva’s assumptions.
Blake hopped into the pool and tread water forward, coming up behind Eva. “Slow down, Tiger. You’re not going anywhere near Knox Taylor.” He rolled his eyes, meeting Mac’s gaze with his. “You seriously need to not let her have sugar. She gets all kinds of wound up.” He laughed as Eva splashed him.
“Yeah, Mac already took me dirt biking, then for Mexican, and a drive-in movie. But that wasn’t a date.” Angie rushed on. Her eyes flitted from face to face like she wasn’t sure who to look at.
Knox hadn’t taken her out but Mac had taken her on more memorable non-dates.
If he kept it up, he’d impress her enough to consider dating him.
He couldn’t think of a more worthy goal.
