by Holly Jacobs
Mac realized what he’d said. “Sorry. Sounding way too sappy for even me to stand.”
“Not too sappy at all. It’s nice to get an occasional glimpse of what goes on inside you.”
She gave him a look.
It was a soft sort of look.
Mac had seen looks like that before, and they never boded well.
“Stop that,” he said.
“What?”
“Looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’d like to kiss me.” And as troubling as Mia wanting to kiss him might be, the fact that he wanted to kiss her was even more so.
“Kick you?” she asked. “Mac, I can’t help looking like I want to kick you. You’re so darned kickable.”
She was deliberately misunderstanding him. He knew it. She knew it.
“Not kick, kiss,” he said. “You want to kiss me.”
“No. I want to go home and relax.”
“You can’t relax here?”
“Relaxing around you is difficult, and occasionally impossible.”
“Now, why do you suppose that is?”
“Because you’re impossible?”
“No, I think the fact you can’t relax around me leads me right back to my assumption that you want to kiss me.”
“Mac—” she started to protest.
But Mac leaned over before she could get any further, and placed his lips on hers. She softened, leaning into him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she deepened the kiss.
Tasting, probing, teasing until Mac thought he’d go insane with desire.
He scooped her up and carried her into the living room. He sat on the couch, pulling her onto his lap.
“We should stop,” Mia whispered.
“Probably,” he agreed. But rather than stopping, he kissed her again.
His hands slipped under her blouse, caressing the soft skin on her abdomen, slowly moving upwards. Needing to explore every inch of Mia Gallagher.
Needing—
“Waaaa…”
They both jumped at the sound. Mia jumped off Mac’s lap. Mac jumped from the couch. “You’d better go get her, and I’d better get home,” she said.
“Mia, we should talk—”
“Later. We’ll talk later. Right now, I’ve got to go, and Katie needs you.”
Damn, Mac thought as Mia bolted from the house. He hurried upstairs to the baby’s room. She was sitting in her crib looking forlorn and alone.
Mac picked her up and cradled her.
He knew how she felt.
Every time Mia left he felt like Katie looked.
Lost and forlorn.
And he didn’t like it.
Chapter Eight
Aloud, incessant buzzing pulled Mia from one of the most erotic dreams she’d ever had. Mac had been running his hand lightly down…
There was another buzz. Longer.
Slowly she pried her eyes opened and looked at the clock.
Ten?
Ten o’clock on a Saturday morning and someone was at her door?
Mia groaned and put a pillow over her head. She’d hardly slept a wink last night. She’d tossed and turned, and when she did manage to fall asleep, she dreamed of Mac.
Kissing Mac.
And more.
Hands touching, exploring.
His hands.
Her hands.
And then…
If the kissing part was disturbing, the and-more and the and-then parts were even more so.
Disturbing.
Like the doorbell that was ringing again.
It nagged at her.
She couldn’t ignore the fact she’d kissed Mac.
Just like she couldn’t ignore the stupid bell.
Sighing, she got up and tossed on a robe, then shuffled to the front door of her small, first floor flat. She peeked out the door and groaned as she fumbled with the chain and the lock.
She opened the door and glared.
“Surprise,” Mac said.
He had Katie’s seat in one hand, and a white paper bag in the other as he walked into the apartment.
“So, are you ready?” he asked in a perky manner.
Perky wasn’t a word she’d ever used to describe Mac, but it only made sense he’d be perky if he thought it might annoy her.
And first thing on a Saturday morning perky was more than annoying. The only thing saving Mac was that he’d carried in the car seat and the mysterious white bag…a bag that looked as if it could contain something worth waking up for.
“Earth calling Mia…are you ready?” he repeated.
“Ready to go back to bed,” she grumbled, still eyeing the bag and trying to decide just what he brought.
“Ready to go out with Katie and me. We have a surprise for you. And it’s practically balmy today, at least balmy if you consider it’s winter in Erie. Mid-forties. The kind of day that makes you want to get outside and enjoy.”
“It’s the kind of day that makes me want to go back to bed.” With whatever was in that bag. It was something good and gooey, she’d bet.
“Mornings aren’t your best time of day, are they?” Mr. Chipper asked.
“No.” The bag swung in a merry little way from Mac’s hand. Taunting her.
Maybe bagels?
If he brought cream cheese and cinnamon spread she’d forgive him for waking her.
“Would it help if I said I brought donuts?”
Ah, donuts.
Mia felt a bit perkier herself. “It would depend on what kind.”
“Chocolate cream-filled from Mighty Fine.”
“Okay, that might tempt me into waking up early on my day off.”
“And we all know tempting you is what I do best,” he said, placing the bag on the table as he began to unbundle the baby.
“Annoying me, that’s what you do best,” Mia said as she opened the bag.
“Ambrosia,” she murmured as the sweet smell tickled her nose. She helped herself to a donut.
“The fact that I annoy you so easily makes the fact that I tempt you sort of a conundrum of sorts, doesn’t it?” he asked as he lifted Katie from her seat.
“Larry,” was all Mia said in response.
She couldn’t say more because she took a huge bite of the donut and groaned with the pleasure of the sweet chocolate taste.
She chuckled when she saw him wince.
“I thought you’d given up the Larrys and decided to call me Mac like the rest of the world,” he groused.
“I would never give up part of my arsenal. I just use Larry with a bit more discretion now.”
She took the rest of the donut and padded into the small efficiency kitchen to start the coffee while Mac bounced Katie on his knee.
The baby gurgled her happiness as Mia took another bite.
“Mmm” was her appreciative comment. “You might be annoying, but you do manage good surprises.”
“That’s not the surprise. That’s just breakfast.”
Mac looked altogether too pleased with himself.
“So where’s the surprise?” she asked, feeling cautious.
“Go get dressed and I’ll show you.”
“I don’t know, Larry,” she said. “You’ve got a certain gleam in your eye. It’s making me nervous.”
There was a lot about Mac that made her nervous. The fact that she’d like nothing more than to walk over and plant a big kiss on his cheek…that made her more nervous than the look in his eye.
“Go get your shower and you won’t be able to see my gleam.”
“Fine.” She took the last bite of her donut and headed back to the bathroom wondering just what Larry Mackenzie was up to.
And despite her best intentions, she hoped it might include a kiss or two. Maybe even some and-more and and-then.
“So just where are we going?” Mia asked for the umpteenth time as they cruised up Peach Street.
“Don’t you trust me?” Mac asked, doing his best to loo
k innocent.
“Once again, about as far as I can throw you, Larry,” she said.
He was pleased to note there was no spite in her voice, just a gentle teasing.
“Well, you don’t have to throw me anywhere. We’re almost there.”
It was still a bit too early for much traffic, even on Peach Street, which was affectionately—and frequently non-affectionately—known as Peach Jam.
Even if it had been wall-to-wall traffic, Mac would still be grinning. He felt like a kid at Christmas, sort of heady with anticipation.
“Close your eyes,” he instructed.
“Come on, Larry.” Exasperation tinged her voice.
“Close them.”
He glanced over and saw that she had complied.
Would wonders never cease?
Mia Gallagher had just listened to him.
“Just another minute,” he said as he pulled into the car lot, stopped the Explorer and put it into Park. “Keep them closed.”
“Mac,” she complained.
He was grinning as he got out of the car, walked around it and opened her door. “Come on.”
“What about the baby.”
“We’re not going anywhere. She’s fine.”
“But—”
“Open your eyes.”
Mia did, scanned the lot, then looked back at him, a question in her eyes.
“You said you were looking for a new car. How about this? Jeep Cherokee. Four-wheel drive. Leather seats. Seat-warmer. Automatic ignition. Two years old, so it’s not brand-new, but it’s new used. And my buddy says the owner trades in his car every two years like clockwork. They’re mint.”
“But…”
“I’m not saying you have to buy it. I’m just saying it sounded like what you were looking for, so I thought I’d bring you up to look at it before Frank puts it on the market.”
“If it’s not on the market yet, how did you find out about it?”
“After you mentioned you were looking for something new, and what you wanted, I gave him a call and told him to keep an eye out.”
She stood there staring at the Cherokee. “I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you try it.” He reached in his pocket. “Frank gave me the keys.”
“You went to a lot of trouble setting this up,” she said slowly, giving him an odd look.
“Not that much trouble,” Mac said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “I do some work for Frank and just mentioned it in passing.”
“Still. It was nice.” She shook her head. “Mac, you’re—” She stopped short. “I don’t suppose taking it for a little ride could hurt.”
Mac wished she’d finished her sentence. He was…what? He wanted to ask, but didn’t. Instead he said, “Great. Let me just move Katie’s car seat over. Here, press this button. The car will start and warm up.”
Mia did as directed and the car roared to life.
“And this one…it will heat the front seats.”
She pushed the other button.
She stood there staring at the car as Mac moved the baby’s seat into the back, and strapped it in.
“Mia,” he said. “Are you going to get in, or are you going to just stand there.”
“Getting in.”
She climbed into the driver’s seat and Mac got in on the passenger side.
He heard her give a little sigh of contentment as she settled into the well-warmed seat.
She turned to him and smiled.
That smile twisted something in his gut. It made him want to reach across the seat and pull her into his arms.
Watching her this morning in her ratty robe, with her bed-head hair, eating a donut made him want to kiss her.
Having her snipe at him, or laugh with him made him want to kiss her…and more.
The want was quickly turning to something stronger, something more like need.
He realized he’d taken her hand. It was happening more and more often, him reaching out and touching her without even thinking about it.
Quickly, he pulled his hand back and said, “Are you ready?”
“Where should we go?” she asked.
“Wherever you want. Frank won’t be in for about an hour. We’ve got it until then to decide if you like it.”
“Why?” she asked, looking confused.
“Why? Because if you don’t want it, Frank will try and sell it today. If you do want it, we’ll start the paperwork.”
“No.” She shook her head. “What I meant was, why did you go to all this trouble?”
Mac didn’t like the way she was looking at him. It was a sort of soft and warm look. He didn’t want her getting soft and warm feelings about him.
He didn’t want to exchange casual touches with her.
He didn’t want to dream about her. To want to call her all the time.
He didn’t want to need to be with her, to see her smile, to hear her laugh.
He didn’t want to want her, but here he was wanting and doing regardless.
He could try warning her off, but last time he’d tried that she’d broken into laughter. And the trouble with warning her off was there was no one warning him off.
He simply said, “It wasn’t any trouble. I was talking to Frank and mentioned that I had a friend looking for a car. I told him what you wanted and he called back last night with this.”
“But why do you care?” she asked, pushing.
“I don’t know. But don’t read too much into it,” he warned.
He waited half a beat for her to laugh, but she didn’t. She still sat in the driver’s seat, staring at him.
“Maybe I’d just like to see Frank make a nice commission off you?” There. That sounded good and snipey.
“I don’t think so,” she said softly.
“Fine. So, maybe the fact you were driving that jalopy was making me a nervous wreck. Erie’s not a place for bald tires in the winter. I’d feel better knowing you had reliable transportation.”
“But—”
“Why do you care why I did it? The baby’s in the back not crying and you’re sitting in a car with all the gizmos you wanted. So why don’t you stop questioning me and just drive?”
Mia shot him one more, odd, assessing look, then pulled out of the car lot.
Mac reached over and clicked on the radio.
“Just checking out the sound system,” he said.
In reality he needed some buffer to keep Mia from asking any more questions…questions he couldn’t answer.
“So, what did you think?” Mac’s friend Frank asked.
What did she think?
Mia glanced at Mac, holding Katie.
She thought it was actually very easy to learn to like Mac. But that had changed. Something more than liking was going on.
Something deeper.
Stronger.
Something like…love.
The word kept creeping into her thoughts.
Love?
Loving Mac?
She sighed, admitting the truth to herself.
She loved Mac.
It was a quiet feeling that had stolen into her heart somewhere in between the sniping and the liking.
Mia thought learning to love Mac wasn’t all that hard. As a matter of fact, loving him was quite easy.
She remembered him warning her not to fall in love with him. She’d laughed, but maybe the last laugh was on her. Because although loving Mac was easier than she’d ever imagined, getting him to allow her to love him…now that could be hard.
Was she up to the challenge?
“Mia,” Mac said. “What did you think?”
“I’ll take it.”
Take the car…and take a chance on loving a man who might never open up enough to love her back.
Chapter Nine
The following Friday morning Mac stood at Mia’s desk, looking oddly uncomfortable.
But he couldn’t be as uncomfortable as she felt.
It had been a long week.
; Katie had spent her days with Brigitta. Mia had driven to work each day in her new car. She’d gone back to Mac’s each night, helped with the baby, and shared a meal.
What she wanted to do was share her newfound feelings.
But she didn’t.
Just like at this moment she wanted nothing more than to reach up and stroke his cheek, to comfort him, but she wouldn’t.
Instead she said, “You wanted something?”
“Uh…”
“Yes,” she said, when he paused and didn’t continue.
“Listen, I’m heading down to Pittsburgh tomorrow morning.”
“And you want me to keep Katie?” A whole day with Katie…without the ever-present tension she felt around Mac.
She’d like that.
She’d missed spending her days with the baby now that Katie was staying at Brigitta’s. Oh, she’d still seen her every evening, but her new feelings for Mac made the evenings feel…awkward. It made it difficult to even enjoy Katie.
Yes, a whole day with just Katie and none of the strain she felt around Mac was great.
“No,” he said, quashing her plans. “I’d like you to come along. You could drive and test out the new ride on the highway.”
“Why Pittsburgh?”
“It’s just dinner at the Zumigalas’. It’s no big deal if you have other plans.”
But it was a big deal.
Mia could see that.
The invitation had nothing to do with test-driving her car.
Mac was taking her to meet the Zumigalas. There was something different about them, about the way his voice softened when he mentioned them, or Chet. There was a vulnerability there.
A connection.
Larry Mackenzie might seem like the life of the party, but she’d come to realize he didn’t have a lot of connections. He always kept himself a hand-span away. Giving himself distance.
But not with the Zumigalas.
And now he wanted her to meet them.
The thought warmed Mia and she felt a sudden surge of hope. Maybe if she met the Zumigalas she could discover how they’d reached Mac…maybe she could learn to reach him, as well.
“I’d love to come and meet them, if you’re sure it’s all right. It would be fun to test-drive the new car.”
“And knowing that Katie’s not the best traveler, I thought it might be wise to bring along reinforcements.”
