“Wow.”
It’s not lost on me that it’s the only word that’s been uttered since Mac knocked on my door. Maybe he’s right. Sometimes you just don’t need words at all.
Eighteen
“Try all you like, but there’s never been a woman who could keep a secret from herself.”
– Cookie Rutledge
I’ve been avoiding Katelyn. And Cookie. And definitely Bunny and Bobby Lee. I think part of it is I’m trying to cut down on my lying, but the other part most likely has to do with the fact that I don’t have a clue how to interpret the feelings Mac has rising in me.
Iris is the only one who even comes close to knowing what’s actually going on and even she doesn’t have the full story. Hell, I don’t have the full story and I’m the one living it!
Suffice it to say, Mac is confusing as shit.
He practically eats me alive with his eyes and mouth and tongue one minute and the next he’s completely AWOL. Even my cute texts aren’t getting a response.
If I were stupid, I’d say he’s just not attracted to me, but I’ve never been stupid. I know what those smoldering looks and that rock-hard monster in his pants mean and it’s a far cry from meh. Mac wants me. Which is a damn good thing because I’ve never wanted someone so badly in my entire life.
My vibrator is going through batteries like a colicky baby’s bouncy chair at four a.m. and it’s doing a piss poor job at finishing what Mac started.
He’s got me going crazy wondering what in the actual hell is going on here and why we’re not setting my bed on fire right this damn minute. But, if I’ve learned anything about Mac thus far, it’s that he’s very deliberate in his actions. So something is going on that I’m clearly not privy to.
I pick up my phone, letting my thumbs work over it for a few minutes before I finally settle on something I hope might work.
Me: I got the photos back. You want to see them?
Previous unsent versions included “I’m ordering sushi tonight. And eating it naked,” “Was that a hammer in your pants or were you just happy to see me?” and “Goddammit, Mac, I’m super horny, you big giant bastard!”
I think I made the right choice.
My phone remains silent, not that I expected anything else.
I sigh and lean back in my chair, eyes going back to my computer screen where Mac’s broody countenance stares back at me. The photos turned out beautiful, not that there was any doubt. Mirren had given us a peek during the shoot, but the finished products are nothing short of breathtaking. Unbelievably, she was able to capture the essence of his quiet intensity not to mention the shadowed outline of all those muscles hiding under his clothes.
I take a minute to read over the article one more time, not that there’s any need. I devoured it the moment Naveed sent it over, my chest loosening when I saw that he didn’t dive too deeply into the charity or its origins. Hopefully, the provided link and the few sentences about it will be enough to garner some attention and donations while still allowing Mac his privacy.
I just wish I knew what deserved such lengths to protect.
Knowing there’s nothing left to tweak, I shut down my computer and start gathering my things. I’m finally biting the bullet and stopping by Kate’s office on my way out. She definitely suspects something, but she hasn’t called me out on it yet—something that has me wondering if Zach’s been keeping her too busy to fully turn on her friend-bullshit-meter to its full power.
Before I can move an inch, though, my cellphone rings. I snatch it up, pinning all my hopes and future orgasms on what I hope to see on the screen.
But it’s not Mac. It’s Bobby Lee.
Crap, crap, double crap!
This is a sign that I’ve been selfish. It’s God or karma or whatever coming to kick me in the ass for ignoring all the people in my life just so I can get my rocks off. So I scrunch my nose up and answer.
“Hey, Bobby Lee.” I even manage to sound cheerful.
“Well, hello yourself, Poppy.” He’s sounding even more cheerful than me, which immediately makes me suspicious. His ignoring me had all the earmarks of sulking.
I rack my brain trying to stay one step ahead of him.
“I heard Mama sent you a package.”
Dammit! Did I forget to send Bunny a thank you note? No. I’m sure I sent one. And, anyway, me forgetting would be more likely to prompt a call from Cookie, not Bobby Lee. Back to square one.
“She did and it was lovely.”
“I reckon you’ve already gone through the entire bag of cookies if I know you.” I can hear the smile in his voice. He does know me, so of course the cookies are gone. Hell, they were gone before Iris and I hit the sack that night.
“Why, Bobby Lee, didn’t Bunny ever tell you it’s not polite to ask a lady about how much she’s eating?” I’m totally pushing it now.
He chuckles. “I do apologize. But I think I can make it up to you.”
“How’s that?” I’m almost afraid to ask. Strike that. I’m terrified.
My fear proves entirely warranted at the next words out of his mouth.
“By personally delivering another batch.”
* * *
I race up the stairs two at a time—quite a feat given the kitten heels I’m wearing. I’m unsure how my urgency is gonna make this situation any better, but something in me says the longer Bobby Lee is left roaming the streets of New York on his own the worse things will be for me. Hell, he’s likely to get a wild hair and take a trip to Tiffany’s just to surprise me.
My heartburn digs at my chest as I round the corner and finally set eyes on the man of the hour.
Bobby Lee is standing in my doorway, shoulder leaning on the jamb and one of those leather satchels lying on the ground at his feet. He’s the picture of clean-cut, handsome businessman, complete with carefully combed tawny hair and not a wrinkle in his dress shirt. He’s also wearing a warm smile aimed right at me.
Dammit, Bobby Lee, why do you have to make this so hard?
“Hey there.” My voice is a bit quieter than I intended when I greet him with a tiny wave and a smile.
He shakes his head, his own smile getting bigger. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, Poppy James.” Then he pushes off the door jamb and approaches.
What used to be completely natural between us is now painfully awkward as he dips in to kiss my cheek and I, for some unknown reason, decide to go for a handshake. I don’t miss the hurt look on his face at my blunder.
“Sorry.” I force out a laugh and an eyeroll. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Then I go in for a hug and I can feel whatever tension I caused release from his posture.
“Well, I reckon they do things a bit different up here.”
I want to respond that we’re not on Mars, but then I remind myself of all the things that really are so much different here.
There’s not much else I can do so I unlock my door and invite him in. He ambles around the small space, taking it in from the newly-curtained windows to the tiny kitchen to the beautiful chair from Mac I haven’t been able to bring myself to sit in yet. I decide to let him be the first to speak while I drop my things on the kitchen counter and reach into the fridge.
“You want some tea?” Dammit, I was supposed to let him talk first. I don’t want to make this too easy on him since he’s the one who traveled eight hundred miles to show up unannounced on my doorstep.
“Sure.”
I pull out the pitcher of liquid gold and set it on the counter while I forage for two glasses. I finally broke down the other night and made a batch of sweet tea myself. It’s not quite as good as Mama’s or Cookie’s but it’s a far sight better than the horrifying colored water they serve up here.
When he still doesn’t bring up the elephant in the room, I decide I’ve had enough and set the two glasses on my table with a thunk. “So, what brings you to town?”
He saunters over nice and slow, eyes never leaving me.
“Well, le
t’s see.” He brings a hand up to his chin like he’s thinking real hard on it. I try not to roll my eyes. “I was sitting in my office yesterday and I got to thinking about my daddy retiring this fall. We’re throwing him a big party, if you haven’t heard. Complete with a zydeco band and everything.” He winks at me and I can’t help the smile that curves my lips.
“Lord knows it wouldn’t be a Collinsworth party without accordions and fiddles.” His daddy is nuts.
“Anyway, it had me thinking, as these things do, about what a great life he’s had up to now and how I’m ready to follow in his footsteps.”
My heartburn kicks up a notch and I put a hand to my chest, as if that can somehow quell the pain.
I deliberately misunderstand his meaning. “Well, he couldn’t leave the firm in better hands, Bobby Lee. I know you’ll make him proud.”
He nods and keeps his eyes on me as he slowly sidesteps the table and begins his final approach.
Alert! Alert!
“I reckon you know there’s only one thing that would make him prouder.”
Where is a damn fire alarm pull when you need one? In the absence of that, I put my hand out in front of me.
“Bobby Lee, I thought we discussed this already.”
He stills his steps.
“I think I’ve been more than patient, Poppy.”
My lip curls. I can’t help it. The nerve of this guy!
“And I think I’ve been more than clear.”
He smiles at that and I want to punch him in his perfectly symmetrical face. On a scale of one to take-me-now, asking someone to marry you by telling them you’ve put in your quota of patience and your daddy wants you to wrap shit up, Bobby Lee is at a firm minus twelve.
“I do love your pluck, Poppy. I always have. But—”
He doesn’t get the rest out as a heavy knocking sounds at my door. I honestly don’t care if it’s a serial killer as long as it gets me out of this conversation. Needless to say I all but sprint for the door.
My stomach falls out of my torso and onto the floor when I fling the door open and see Mac on the other side wearing a sweaty t-shirt, dark athletic shorts, and a sheen of perspiration that tells me ran his tight ass here.
“Honestly, Poppy, it could be anyone. Aren’t you going to at least ask who it…” Bobby Lee’s words trail off as he simultaneously realizes they’re useless and gets his first view of Mac.
Now, Bobby Lee is not a slight man at all. He’s got the kind of muscles one gets from jogging and frequenting the gym, and he’s taller than the average man. But he has absolutely nothing on Angus McKinley, especially a tensed-up Angus McKinley like the one standing on the other side of my door letting his eyes ping-pong between me and Bobby Lee while he quickly assesses the situation.
I don’t even get a word in before Mac’s eyes hit mine and he sends me a short nod and a “Sorry” before turning on his heel.
But I’m in full-on crisis mode so my survival instincts kick in faster than Mac can lumber his big bod down the stairs. Both my hands dart out and grab onto a hard bicep with everything I’ve got.
“Hey, darlin’! What took you so long?” I infuse my words with all the pep and familiarity I can muster.
Mac turns his head to eye me over his shoulder and that single eyebrow pops. He does not know how dead sexy that look is on him. He can’t possibly or he’d have a whole warehouse full of free stuff women would foist on him every time he flashed them that look. Hell, I’m ready to hand over my panties right now and I’m in the middle of a damn crisis.
“Never mind. You’re here now,” I continue, pulling on his arm and silently begging him to play along. The reality that I have no idea of Mac’s purpose in knocking on my door does not matter one bit at this point. I can figure that out later. One emergency at a time is all I can handle. “Come on in.” I pull again and he finally turns and lets me guide him through the doorway, although not far enough that I can close the door just yet. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
Mac spares Bobby Lee another glance and then his eyes are back on me. I can feel my face threatening to burn but I tamp that shit down and turn back to Bobby Lee.
He looks… hurt. My stomach clenches. I don’t want to be the one to tell him Santa ain’t real, but come on, he’s a grown man and he refuses to listen to reason. He just thinks he can declare the way things are gonna be and they’ll magically be that way. Which is a bit ironic since that’s essentially how Mac appears to operate his entire world.
Despite the distress sitting behind his eyes, Bobby Lee musters a polite smile and steps forward, hand extended. Bunny would be proud. “Bobby Lee Collinsworth.”
“Angus McKinley.” Mac accepts his hand and they shake briefly. It doesn’t escape my attention that Bobby Lee flexes his hand after Mac releases it. Good gravy.
“Bobby Lee paid me a surprise visit all the way from Savannah. Isn’t that nice?” I stroke Mac’s arm just like I remember watching Elle do that first time I saw them together. I’m laying it on so thick it’ll take weeks to scrape all this bullshit off the floor.
Mac doesn’t respond, of course. I try and fail to pull him further into the apartment.
“Took the first flight up this morning to see my girl.”
I don’t miss his careful choice of words. He may be hurt, but he’s fighting back. My fingers constrict around Mac’s arm without me even realizing it and before I can blink he’s got my hand in his and he’s bringing it against his sweaty chest where Bobby Lee would have to be blind to miss it. I want to reach up and kiss the hell out of him.
Mac still doesn’t speak; our proximity and his thumb stroking the back of my hand say everything that needs to be said. I struggle to keep my smile stable as Bobby Lee takes it all in.
“Well, it’s always good to see my friends from home.” He’s not the only one good at choosing words.
Bobby Lee’s smile is stiff but it doesn’t waver. “Of course, I should have checked first to make sure you didn’t have plans, but then it wouldn’t have been a surprise, now would it?” He gestures our way. “How about we all go out for supper together?”
How about we all go watch an open-heart surgery? It’s liable to be more fun.
“Gonna have a word with Poppy,” Mac finally says as he pulls me out into the hallway and closes my apartment door behind us.
I have eleventy billion questions and even more explanations but not nearly enough time, so I prioritize. “I’m sorry. He just showed up out of the blue and I can’t exactly kick him out—you’d have to know our mamas to fully understand—but then you showed up like a freaking knight in shining armor or whatever and I think he bought it. Oh God, I hope he bought it.”
I put my free hand to the back of my neck and glance behind me to make sure Bobby Lee didn’t follow us out. “Not that it’s really a lie—I mean, we did make out a couple times, but I know we’re not, you know, a thing.” My eyes jump back to his face which I can’t read, per usual. “Actually, I have no idea what it is we’ve got going on, if anything, especially since you ghosted me and stopped returning my texts.”
I take a step back and narrow my eyes, but he’s still got ahold of my hand. “Speaking of which, I think you owe me an apology. If you don’t want to see me, you can just be a man and tell me so, not go slink off into your lair and pretend you don’t own a phone.”
I realize at this point that I’m not prioritizing at all, but instead just spewing out every damn thought in my head as it comes. Too late now.
“What are you doing here anyway?”
Mac’s tongue peeks out to wet the corner of his lips. “Yes, we are.”
I shake my head in a slow sway back and forth. “Yes, we are what?” I don’t speak beast.
“A thing.” The words come from chest deep.
My eyebrows jump. “We are?”
I get the slow nod this time and it does fantastic things to my entire body. But then I catch ahold of myself.
“Wait.
We don’t have time for this right now. Bobby Lee isn’t gonna just stand in there while we iron whatever this is out.”
“You want me to get rid of him?” Mac’s jaw goes tight while his grip on my hand firms.
I shake my head. “No, I wasn’t lying when I said he’s a friend—or about our mamas.”
Mac studies me for another second. “Right.” Then he steers me back to my door and opens it for me, allowing me to go in front of him. All the while, he keeps ahold of my hand.
Bobby Lee is right where we left him, an expectant look in place. I send him a nervous smile but Mac is the one to speak.
“Can’t make it for dinner, but I’ll pick Poppy up after.”
I try not to let my eyes pop out of my head. Which becomes even more difficult when Mac turns me to him and lays a hot wet kiss on my mouth before shooting Bobby Lee a casual man wave and walking out the door.
Holeeey crap.
Nineteen
“Patience is a virtue. Unless you’re dealing with a truly stupid man.”
– Cookie Rutledge
I consider inviting somebody I know to act as a buffer at dinner until I realize I hardly know anybody. Kate and Naveed aren’t options because Bobby Lee will surely use the opportunity to do reconnaissance on Mac and neither one of them know about our thing. So I’m left to fend for myself. One of these days, I need to fix my life.
I take Bobby Lee for Thai since it’s easy to find a place, and his mood picks up. Maybe he was just hungry. A girl can hope, right? We chat about the business and his parents and he tells me about Cookie’s latest run-in with the tourist board over Violette Inn’s listing in the new brochure. Before I know it, I’m laughing and having a great time, just like the old days. I remind him of the time he and my cousin got their hands on a batch of moonshine and Iris and I had to drag their drunk asses into the garage at the back of his parents’ property so they didn’t get a whoopin’ come morning. He has the decency to look sheepish at that one and assures me he hasn’t been able to even look at moonshine since.
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