by Natalie Ann
“But you only get two nights off a week,” he said, moving back down the stairs. The bedroom doors were all open upstairs and he saw her glancing in the doorways but wasn’t going to be that guy that made some sly remark about his bedroom on only the second night. He was pretty sure he’d win more points handling it the way he did.
“Yep and Bri is normally home those nights. But this time of year, yeah, a nice hot bath hits the spot.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you wanted to take one.”
“She wouldn’t, but she’s liable to make some crack about joining me in the water. I don’t swing that way.”
He laughed. “Does she? Not that it matters if she does.”
“Not that I’m aware of, but I really don’t know with Bri. She talks about her private life more than I want to know. She’s brought threesomes up before and Amanda and I left the room.”
He felt his face turn red. “She wants you guys to do a threesome?”
“God no,” she said, laughing. “Amanda might kick her out if she even asked. Bri just started to talk about someone she used to date and we cut her off.”
“She seems like a character. Totally not like you and Amanda.”
“Nor Kayla. I mean I’m not quiet like Kayla is. Amanda isn’t really quiet like you think. She’s pretty outspoken but in a motherly way.”
“And you don’t take shit from anyone,” he said.
“That about sums me up now,” she said.
He wanted to ask what that meant but figured if she wanted him to know she’d tell him. “So, what can I help you with for dinner?”
They were back in the kitchen now and she started to unload the bags. “Here’s the deal. I suggested this before I remembered I’m not much of a cook.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not either. Maybe we can get through this together.”
“I can cook,” she said. “Just nothing fancy. And I’m kind of spoiled with Amanda because she really likes to cook. But it’s Tuesday so...tacos.”
“What?”
“You’ve never heard of Taco Tuesday?”
“Maybe in passing. Is that really a thing?”
“I work in a bar. It’s kind of like a happy hour thing to bring people in on Tuesdays. Anyway, we’ve got ground beef and all the trimmings. I grabbed a package of rice pilaf as a side. It’s all I could think of.”
“It works.” He pulled a pan out for the beef and then another for the rice, picked up the package, read the directions on the back, and got it going.
While Sidney started to cook the meat, he grabbed a cutting board and the lettuce, working on that first. She started to dice the tomatoes once the beef was cooking in the pan.
“This is nice,” she said. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever cooked with a man before. Not sure why I thought that or was even stupid enough to voice it.”
“I’ve been in the kitchen prepping before with a woman, but I’m not sure I’d call it cooking.”
“Close enough,” she said. “So what’s crime like on Amore Island?”
He thought it was an odd question. “Slow at some times like any small town, wild during high tourist season. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you a lot of it is drunk and disorderly. Some breaking and entering. Domestic violence. A little bit of it all but nothing I can’t handle.”
She put her knife down and turned to lean on the counter and look at him. “I get the feeling you can handle just about anything that comes your way.”
That sounded like a challenge if he’d ever heard one. He set is own knife down and turned to look at her, waiting to see what she might do.
She did exactly what he wanted. Grabbed his shirt and yanked him forward, slapped her hands to his shoulders and put her lips to his.
She was about average height, maybe five foot six, still eight inches shorter than him, but she was up on her tiptoes and fitting to his mouth just fine.
He slid his hands behind her neck and then into her hair, holding her head in place and wishing she was going to be his dinner that he could carry upstairs and make a feast out of.
But they heard a sizzle and some snapping and she pulled back and grabbed the spatula. “And this is why I don’t consider myself much of a cook.”
“Because you’d rather make out in the kitchen?” he asked, picking the knife back up. “That’s the best kind of cook in my eyes.”
“Did you just crack a joke, Mac?”
“Not sure that was much of a joke. It was more of the truth, but I guess you found it funny.”
“No. I found it sweet. There is a lot about you I’m finding out.”
“Good or bad?” he asked.
“If it was bad, I wouldn’t be here right now cooking you an average dinner and hoping I don’t ruin it.”
“If you do I’ve got bread and peanut butter and jelly with chips. We won’t starve.”
“Good, because we might need those chips. It looks like the water is gone from the rice and that is going to burn next.”
He grabbed the spoon and pulled the pan off the stove and started to stir it. “Good eye. Caught it in time. It’s all good. I’ll just turn the heat down.”
When dinner was done they were sitting at his table with the hard shells that they’d forgotten about and threw in the oven last minute. They were making a mess but filling their bellies.
“So as you can tell, gourmet food is not quite my thing,” she said.
“Do I look like a foodie to you?”
“Well, I’m no Grace Stone. Just wanted to make sure you didn’t get any high expectations there.”
Grace was Hunter’s first cousin and the executive chef at the Bond Retreat. “Not many can cook like Grace.”
“Drew bought Amanda a private lesson with Grace at the auction a few months ago. I think that is how he won her over.”
Mac looked up from the taco he was trying to hold together. “Because he bought her something?”
The smile she’d had on her face dropped. “No. And I won’t take offense to that because I have a feeling you didn’t mean it that way. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt that the Bonds are used to women wanting them for their money.”
He snorted. “James and Edward’s side, sure, they’ve got lots of money. More than I’d ever see or will have. I’m from William’s side if you didn’t know. We aren’t known for having much.”
8
Hot Body
Sidney was hoping this date wasn’t going to take a turn for the worse and had to figure out a way to turn it back around.
That statement alone told her a lot about Mac though. Maybe some of it she could relate to too.
Hadn’t she felt like she didn’t or couldn’t measure up to Rod and his family and friends?
She often wondered why he had picked her out of the crowd and then she realized it was because she didn’t have money or power behind her name. That he thought he could control her and she’d have no one to come to her defense.
Rod hadn’t been a good enough judge of character that he thought she’d be weak enough to put up with his shit or be blind to his issues. Whatever they were. She was pretty sure he had some hidden mental issues or split personality but she wasn’t about to be stupid enough to say that to him.
She’d been biding her time because she had nowhere to go, but the minute he laid a hand on her, she didn’t care if she slept in the street. Thankfully it didn’t come to that.
“You know. I find it funny that people are so judgmental about that. If you didn’t live on Amore Island you’d just be a regular old chief of police with a hot body and broody temperament.”
He opened his mouth and then shut it. “Hot body?”
“Figures you’d pick up on that. What about the broody temperament? No comment there?”
“I came out of my mother scowling. She’d tell you that too.”
“See, you tried to tell another joke.”
“I’m not laughing. It’s the truth.”
Sh
e rolled her eyes and playfully punched his arm. “I’m not sure if you are joking or not. Either way, I’m not looking for a man with money. You’re just a guy to me. Sorry. I don’t care what your last name is.”
“Most men would be insulted over that, but not me.”
“Would most Bonds be insulted over hearing that?”
“Actually not any of the ones I’m close to. The ones with money say they are sick of being wanted for that. Me and my brothers and probably other cousins I don’t know about, they are sick of having a woman come on to them and then turn their nose up when they find out we don’t have what they are looking for.”
“You’ve got plenty of what I want.”
“You know the right things to say,” he said.
“Not always,” she said. “But I’m glad you think it. And to clear the air, I don’t care what your last name is. I don’t care about your family or history. Not like you mean. All I care about is if you’re a nice guy. If you treat me well, and if we can find some time to be together if this works out. I know my job makes it a little hard.”
“Treat you well? Like pamper you?”
She tilted her head. “What is going through your mind? Do I look like someone that needs to be pampered? Because I said I like to soak in the tub?”
“No. Sorry. I’m not very romantic. Or so I’ve been told. I’m single not because I don’t date. Or don’t want to. I do. I just have a job that takes a lot of my time too. Some women want to be put on a pedestal. They want to be spoiled and pampered. Those are my words. I’m just not that way. What you see is what you get. Simple.”
“Then I’d say we are both the same there. What you see is what you get. Simple. Hell, Mac. I’m at your house serving you almost burned beef on your tacos with really sticky rice that you overcooked.”
He leaned forward and put his lips to hers. “Okay. We got that out in the open. I guess it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be to know where we both stand.”
“See? We had a mature conversation right there and I still want you to kiss me.”
“Is that all you want me to do?” he asked.
“Oh, I want a lot more but it’s not happening tonight. I said I’m simple, but not easy.”
“I don’t think there is a damn thing that is easy about you.”
She was glad to know that he thought that when a lot of men hadn’t. “When you work in a bar that isn’t the impression many get.”
“You don’t give off any vibes that make a man think you are going to go home with them at night.”
“No. I like my job. I like talking to people. I think I’ve got a pretty good personality and many find it easy to talk to me. But that doesn’t mean I want to jump every man that comes in.”
“And you didn’t fall for Alex when many do.”
“Well, your brother...sorry, I knew or know what he is about. I could see it on him a mile away.”
“He is that way. He doesn’t take much seriously other than his job. Jarrett is a combination of Alex and me.”
“The perfect one?” she asked.
“I don’t think anyone from William’s side is perfect.”
“You hold that over your head more than others,” she said, a little shocked to realize that.
“I never thought much of it. I guess when you grow up on this island it’s hard not to.”
“I suppose you are right. Kayla said Hunter feels that way too. It’s like this cloud you can’t get out from under. Amanda said it’s the same with Drew. I wonder if you all feel that way?”
“More than we talk about,” he said.
“Then let’s not talk about it anymore.” She got up with her plate. She was done eating and figured it was time to clean up.
“What do you want to talk about then?” he asked.
“How about less talking and more kissing?”
He took her plate out of her hand and put it in the sink. “That I can do. Just leave the dishes. I’ll deal with them later. I’d rather spend the time with my lips on yours.”
“Now that is what a lot of women would call pampering. A man that wants to clean up dinner.”
He leaned back and looked in her eyes. “Joke or truth?”
“What do you think?” she asked with a big grin.
“Probably a little bit of both.”
She moved in and kissed him fast on the lips. “You know me well. And the offer was great, but I wouldn’t leave you with a mess. We’ll get it done faster if we do it together. Then a few more liplocks and I’ll take my leave. You’ve got to get up early for work.”
“I’d never kick a woman out for work.”
“A woman or me?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.
“You. I’m finding it’s a lot about you.”
9
Calm To The House
“I love having all my boys under one roof for dinner,” Mac’s mother said when he walked in the door a few days later for Sunday dinner. He was the last to show up. Figures.
“Sorry,” he said. “I lost track of time.”
“Sure it wasn’t kicking the hottie out of your house?” Alex asked, putting him on the spot. “Sidney, right? Or did you strike out after you ended things last week on that ‘until next time’ line?”
“Ass,” he said, knowing all eyes were on him. He should have figured his wiseass brother would bring this up.
“Are you seeing someone?” his mother asked.
He didn’t want to get into this right now but wouldn’t outright lie. “I don’t know what it is. It’s been a few dates.”
“Oh,” his mother said, rubbing her hands together. “Come in here and tell me all about her. Sidney, Alex said her name was? What’s she like? Does she live on the island? What does she do?”
“Sidney Hollister,” he said. “She’s a no bull type of girl. Turned Alex down flat when he hit on her months ago. Said she knew his type the minute he walked in the door.”
“Now who is being the ass,” Alex said. “If I wanted her bad enough I would have won her over and you know it.”
“Bullshit,” Mac said. He wasn’t going to let his brother get to him, but he’d put him in his place. “You know damn well she wanted no part of you and your player ways. That isn’t who she is or what she likes.”
Jarrett started to laugh. “I need to meet this girl.”
“No, it sounds like she likes men with no personality,” Alex said, grinning.
“Boys,” his mother said, trying to bring calm to the house like she always did when they were growing up. “First off, where did you meet her, Alex? And did she know you guys were brothers and went from one to the other? I’m not sure I like that.”
Mac started to scowl, but Jarrett jumped in fast. “I’m not sure where they met, but Mac said she turned Alex down. So that means one, she is a looker to catch Alex’s eye, and two, she has good taste to go for Mac over Alex. It has nothing to do with personalities and everything to do with preference.”
Alex stood up like he was going to shove Jarrett. The two of them fought the most, rolling around on the ground wrestling when they were kids. Being the oldest, Mac was always told he had to be the leader and a good role model.
When his mother wasn’t around though, he could wrestle just the same.
“Not now, boys,” his father said. “Your mother wanted a nice peaceful dinner and as always Alex has to jump in and start trouble.”
“Trouble is my middle name. Everyone said I should have been named William,” Alex said.
His father snorted. “It’s not a name that I liked having. I’m not sure why my mother did it. I think to spite my father at one point. Doesn’t matter, the two of them went at it like cats and dogs half the time. Either way, I wouldn’t do that to any of you boys.”
Mac knew that. They all had their own demons from being part of the William branch. His father was the first in law enforcement to prove the name could mean something. Not that his grandfather was a womanizer. Not that he knew of, bu
t Frank Bond never took much seriously in life. He’d had a lot of jobs in Boston until he finally settled down on the island working for his brother Joe as a mechanic. That’s where his father got his love for tinkering with cars...the one thing father and son shared.
“I know I appreciate it,” Mac said. His father had told him before that he named him Malcolm to prove this line could be on the straight and narrow too. Just like their ancestor who founded the island.
Malcolm didn’t come from money. Not like many of those in England where he was from.
He was an English captain who worked his ass off to get his business off the ground. Was there some money in his family? Sure, but Malcolm’s father gambled a lot of it away. He supposed that was the gene pool William was swimming in when the rest were all hard workers.
Either way, Malcolm made a name for himself in America doing trade routes and caught the eye of Victoria Rummer who had inherited her husband’s shipping empire when he died. Since she knew she’d struggle to get any respect running it, she’d set up a challenge and issued it to Malcolm. If he could find her family’s island with minimal directions, he could have their only child, Elizabeth’s hand in marriage and the business would be his.
He’d found the island on the very last of the three days he was given. Just by luck. Or as many said—fate. Because when his eyes landed on Elizabeth he’d fallen head over heels in love and the rest was history. Or so the story went.
Mac wasn’t so sure he believed it all, but much of it was documented as part of the lore and legend driving tourism to this island.
“Back to Sidney,” his mother said. “I want information on her. How does Alex know her?”
“I don’t know her,” Alex said. “She works at McKay’s and I was talking to her one night.”
“Hitting on her,” Mac said. “She wasn’t interested.”
“Is she a cook at McKay’s?” his mother asked.
“A bartender,” he said.
“Mac,” his mother said in that tone that was going to annoy him.