by Marie Force
Slipping into contemplative silence, they looked out over the bustling pond, which had thinned out as it always did on Sunday afternoons.
"I love this time of day around here," Big Mac said. "Everyone who's coming is in, everyone who's leaving is gone. Most of the work is done for the day. People want to hang out, pass the bull. Hardly feels like work most days."
Mac knew they came back year after year to see his father, to catch up on the news, to hear the latest stories. He had a way of making each guest feel special, as if he'd been waiting all season just for them to arrive. It occurred to Mac that no one could ever replace him.
They watched Luke guide a latecomer into a spot next to another powerboat. The captain did a nice job of maneuvering the big boat into the tight space. After the boat was tied up, Luke and the captain exchanged a few words. The captain reached for his wallet, pressed a wad of cash into Luke's hand, and nodded at something Luke said to him. Luke pocketed the cash and made his way back up to the main dock.
Mac watched the exchange with growing dismay. "Tell me that money will make it into the till." He glanced over to find his father's face hard and unreadable.
"Eventually, I'm sure."
"But you don't know?"
"I hope."
"Dad! Is he ripping you off?"
"Nah, I pay him plenty. He doesn't need it."
Mac wanted to cause a scene but knew his father wouldn't appreciate it. You could bet that he'd be keeping an eye on Luke while he worked on the renovations.
"You know, son," Big Mac said tentatively, "if you have even the slightest interest in the place, all you have to do is say so. I'd never sell it if you wanted it."
Mac knew it, but hearing the words made it real. "I know that, Dad."
"Absolutely no pressure, though. I wouldn't want you to feel obligated. Island life isn't for everyone. Lord knows you and your brothers split the minute you were old enough."
"It looks a little different to me this time around, for some reason." The words were out of his mouth before Mac could ponder the consequences.
"That so?"
"Yeah."
"Why do you think that is?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe I stayed away too long. Maybe because things in Miami have been beyond insane lately. Or maybe it's because I met someone yesterday who has my head turned all around."
"Ahhh," Big Mac said with a satisfied grin. "Now we're getting to the heart of the matter."
Mac smiled. "Remember me asking you how I'd know when the right one came along? You said, 'You'll know, son. You'll just know.'"
"Sounds like something I'd say."
"Well…"
Mac watched the awareness dawn on his father's face. "No kidding?"
Mac shrugged.
His father's eyes went shiny. "It's about time," he said softly. "Wow, just like that?"
"I took one look at her, and that was that."
"And we're talking about Maddie who cleans up the hill?"
"Yeah," Mac said, still awed by the wonder of it all. Two days ago, he was in Miami. Two days ago, he didn't even know she existed. And now his every hope and dream was somehow mixed up in her and her son.
"I don't know her real well, but she seems like a sweetheart of a gal," Big Mac said. "Had some tough breaks, though."
"She sure has. And because of that, she's kind of … skittish."
"Can't really blame her. That father of hers… No one could believe it when he just walked away from his wife and kids. That's the thing about this place—you can jump on a ferry and run away from it all."
"I don't think she ever recovered from that."
"Who would?"
Mac decided to level with his father. "I'm kind of in uncharted territory here."
"How's that?"
"You're gonna laugh…"
His father did just that. "Spill it, boy!"
"It's just that usually when I like someone, they tend to…" Mac combed his fingers impatiently through his hair as he searched for the words. "How can I say this without sounding like a total jackass?"
This time Big Mac howled. "They tend to fall at your feet in gratitude that Mac McCarthy has chosen to give them the time of day?"
"That is not what I was going to say!"
His father continued to laugh at his own joke. "Am I warm?"
"Sort of," Mac said begrudgingly.
That set his father off again.
"I'm glad you're getting such a kick out of this."
Big Mac wiped the laughter tears from his eyes. "I'm very sorry, but I think it's a riot that you finally find one who makes your head spin and she could take or leave you."
"Well," Mac said, thinking of their passionate kisses, "I wouldn't say that, exactly. But she doesn't seem to be jumping for joy that she's attracted my interest."
Big Mac had the good grace to at least try to hide his smirk. "She's probably overwhelmed. A good-looking, self-assured guy like you would scare the pants off a gal who's been treated the way she has by other men."
"None of the stuff they say about her is true, Dad." He thought of his brother Evan and the conversation they needed to have—soon. "None of it."
"That so? Interesting."
"What do I do? If she had her way, she'd send me packing, and I'd never see her again."
Big Mac ran a hand over the white stubble on his jaw. "You gotta keep showing up, prove to her that you're different than all the others who've let her down."
"Make a nuisance out of myself?"
"If that's what it takes."
"I can do that," Mac said, settling into the idea. He'd done a pretty good job of it so far.
"'Course you can. But don't grovel, son. Any woman would be lucky to have you. You remember that."
Mac smiled. He could always count on his father to be on his side. "So would it be okay if, while I'm making a nuisance out of myself with her, I try this place on for size for a while? No promises or anything."
Big Mac squeezed his son's forearm. "That'd be more than okay with me."
"Don't say anything to Mom about what I said about Maddie. She's got something against her, for some reason."
"I won't say a word."
Mac downed the last of his beer. "Mind if I borrow your truck for the night? I'm bringing Maddie and her son over to the house for dinner."
Big Mac withdrew the keys from his shorts pocket. "Have at it."
Mac gave his father the key to the motorcycle. In an impulsive move, he leaned in and kissed his father's cheek. "Love you."
Big Mac hugged him for a long moment.
Mac realized he'd rendered his old man speechless. "Thanks for the beer. See you at dinner."
Mac parked the truck in Maddie's driveway and went up the stairs to the small deck where Libby was stretched out in a lounge chair, reading a book.
"Hey," she said. "Back already?"
"How's it going?"
"It's been great. They're both sacked out at the moment."
"Thank you so much for hanging out today. I really appreciate it."
"I enjoyed it. She's really very lovely. I'm sorry I haven't taken the time before now to get to know her better."
Mac glanced at the door. "She could use a few friends in this town."
Libby stashed her book in her tote bag and got up to give Mac a kiss on the cheek. "She doesn't know it yet, but she's damned lucky to have you in her life."
Hit with an unusual burst of insecurity, Mac rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. "If she had her way, she'd never see me again."
"I don't think it'll take all that much to change her mind. You know what you need to do."
"Yeah." He thought of what his father said about showing up and proving that he'd never let her down. "Thanks again, Lib." He gave her a hug and watched her walk down the driveway toward town where she lived in a suite of rooms at the Beachcomber with her husband and two children.
Taking a deep breath, Mac opened the screen door and stepped inside. Madd
ie lay on the bed with her uninjured arm hooked over her head and the sheet pulled up to her shoulders. It was the first time, he realized, that he'd seen her so unguarded. Moving carefully so as not to disturb her, he went to the bathroom, quickly showered off the grime from the long day and, wearing just his boxers, crawled into bed next to her, intending to sleep for at least an hour and a half of the two hours they had before they were due at his parents' house.
But then she turned toward him, slipped an arm around his waist and drew him in close to her.
Steeped in her scent and softness, Mac was suddenly wide awake and fully erect. He had no idea if she was awake or having yet another of her vivid dreams. Curious as to what she would do, he put an arm around her and brought her as close to him as he dared.
Her breath skittered across his chest, stirring him even more.
With his heart beating a rapid staccato, he couldn't move or breathe. This is love. Finally, he understood. This was what made sane men into fools. He smoothed his hand over her hair and down her back.
She released a contented sigh and burrowed in closer, until her lips were pressed to his bare chest.
Mac had never been happier in his life.
In her dream, Maddie was falling. From where or what she didn't know, but the falling sensation had her flailing for traction. She woke up suddenly to find her face pressed to a hard male chest. His now-familiar scent found its way through the sleepy fog in her brain.
Mac.
Where had he come from? She studied his strong, handsome face, slack with sleep, and wanted to kiss him all over. Had she ever felt that way about any man before? No. Never. He was so big and strong, and he held her just right. She couldn't even think about the pain radiating from her arm and leg when she was so wrapped up in his embrace. But then she remembered all the reasons why this was a bad idea and began to work her way free of him.
His arms tightened around her. "Stay," he muttered, his voice groggy and sexy with sleep.
"I can't."
"Shhh." He kept his eyes closed as he combed his fingers through her hair. God, she loved when he did that. "Stay with me. I need you."
All the fight went out of her when he said those words. No one had ever needed her before. Only Thomas, and as wonderful as that was, it wasn't the same as being needed by Mac McCarthy.
Maddie didn't exactly relax, but she stopped trying to get away from him.
After a long period of silence during which she reveled in the feel of his fingers spooling through her hair, she said, "How was it today?"
"Enlightening."
"What do you mean?"
"I see now why you think they're bastards."
Maddie winced. "Mac, when I said that, I didn't know—"
"S'okay, honey. They treat you like crap, but that's going to change."
"What's going to change?" she asked, nervous about what he'd done.
"You won't get the worst rooms anymore."
"What did you do?"
"Had a little talk with my mother. It's all taken care of."
"You're going to get me fired."
"They wouldn't dare. Don't worry about that."
"Libby mentioned a job today." Maddie hadn't even allowed herself to think about the possibility…
Mac drew back so he could see her face. "What kind of job?"
"Head of housekeeping at the Beachcomber."
"Really? That's awesome, honey!"
She wanted to remind him once again that she wasn't his honey, but as they were lying in a bed together, it didn't seem like the right time to mention it. "The woman who does the job now is retiring after this season. When Libby found out I'd worked at McCarthy's for eight years, she offered me the job. It's full-time, year-round with benefits."
"Wow. What did you say?"
"I told her I had to think about it."
"What's there to think about? It would take care of a lot of your worries."
"She only offered it to me because of you."
"No way. Libby's totally turned that place around. Remember how it was on the brink of bankruptcy ten or so years ago?"
Maddie nodded.
"Libby brought it back to life. In fact, not too many people know this, but the owners made her a partner two years ago."
"Good for her."
Mac linked his fingers through hers, careful as always not to touch her sore palm. "And good for you. If she offered you a job, it's because you're right for it."
"You really think so?"
"Of course I do. I got a good idea of how hard you work today. Wouldn't it be nice to make more money and not have to work that hard?"
"It'd be different, that's for sure."
"So you'll do it?"
"I have friends at McCarthy's. People I've worked with for years."
"Nothing says you couldn't hire them away to work at the Beachcomber."
Maddie smiled. "Then your mother would hate me even more."
"She doesn't hate you." He released her hand and looped a strand of her hair around his finger. "She just doesn't know you very well. Yet."
"You aren't really going to make me go there for dinner, are you?"
"It'll be fun."
"It'll be torture."
"I'll be right there with you the whole time."
"Promise?"
She couldn't get over the way he looked at her, as if she was everything he'd ever wanted. How was that possible? The warmth she saw in his cool blue eyes made her heart flutter with desire. If this was one of her crazy dreams, she hoped she never woke up.
"I promise." He caressed her face for a long moment before he leaned in to touch a tentative kiss to her lips.
Even knowing she could be making the biggest mistake of her life, Maddie reached for him. Even knowing if he left her the way the others had, she might never recover, she kissed him. Even knowing he had a power over her that she'd never given anyone before him, she caressed his tongue with hers and loved the groan that rumbled through him.
Mac rolled them so he was on top of her and then froze, tearing his lips free of hers. "Oh, man. I'm sorry. I got so carried away I forgot for a second about your cuts."
"It's okay." She sank her fingers into his hair and brought his mouth back to hers. Suddenly, she was starving for more of the way he made her feel. She slid her good leg free of the sheet and hooked it around his much longer leg.
"Maddie," he whispered, his lips hovering just above hers. "God, you make me so crazy." Rocking against her, he drew a gasp from her and recaptured her mouth for the most carnal, sensuous kiss of her life. He used everything in his arsenal—tongue, lips and teeth—to devour her. She clung to him, certain that if she let go she'd be hurtled into space. Just when she thought she couldn't bear the intensity of the desire he'd stirred in her for another second, he softened the kiss and destroyed her with tenderness.
His lips sank into hers before moving over her face, her nose, her eyelids and then down to her neck.
Maddie shuddered as sensation after sensation zipped through her, settling into a throb of desire between her legs. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her, but still the fear outweighed the desire.
"I could kiss you forever," he whispered, "and never get enough."
"You frighten me," she replied in the same soft tone.
His entire body tensed. The mouth that had been toying so deliciously with her ear went still. He raised his head to meet her eyes. "I do?"
As she stopped him from shifting off her, she realized he thought she meant physically. If only it was that simple. "You make me want things I decided a long time ago weren't in the cards for me."
Awareness dawned on him, and he relaxed a bit. "Maybe life has dealt you a new hand. A better hand. Isn't that possible?"
"I've learned not to gamble. It doesn't work out well for me."
"I wish there was something I could say or do to convince you that you can trust me."
"I wish there was, too."
"You're
making me pay for things other people did to you."
"I know that."
"It's not fair."
Unable to resist the urge to touch him, she brushed the hair off his forehead, delighting in the silky feel of it. "I know that, too."
"I'm going to show you." He shifted off her to lie on his back next to her but kept a firm grip on her hand.
Glancing down, she noticed his still-impressive erection and quickly brought her eyes back to his face. She had to acknowledge that unlike most men she'd known in the past, he didn't seem to be driven solely by the whims of his little brain. "Show me what?"
"That I'm different. That you can trust me."
"I don't want you to think I don't appreciate—"
"I have no interest in your appreciation." He turned his head so he could see her. "I want so much more than that from you."
She studied the face she'd grown so fond of so quickly. Already he was more familiar to her than people she'd known all her life. "Why me?"
His mouth quirked at the corners. "Because."
"That's all you've got?"
Shrugging, he said, "If I told you all the reasons, you'd run screaming for your life."
"Try me. Give me one good reason."
Mac rubbed at the stubble on his chin as he gave that some thought. Then he turned those formidable blue eyes on her, and the blood heated in her veins. "Promise you won't run screaming?"
Maddie gestured to the bandage on her leg. "I promise."
He brought their joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to her palm. "Being around you makes me breathless and needy and horny as hell, but that's only the start of it. You make me want to be a better man so I'll deserve you and Thomas."
Maddie stared at him. No one had ever said such things to her.
"How was that?" he asked after a long period of silence.
She wished she had words to match what he'd given her, but her brain had turned to mush along with the rest of her. Clearing her throat, she said, "Pretty good."
Mac winced. "Only pretty good? Well, at least you didn't run off screaming." He glanced at his watch and groaned. "We need to get going or we'll be late."
Maddie desperately wanted to convince him to stay right here where everything felt safe and a tad bit magical. She feared their bubble would burst the minute they let others inside. "You must be so tired."