by Marie Force
Mac tightened his arm around her.
“I thought that was you, Maddie. How are you?”
Momentarily paralyzed, she couldn’t form a rational thought. “I’m. . . ah. . . I’m good.”
He glanced at Mac, and Maddie remembered her manners. “Tom Wilkinson, this is, um—”
Mac extended his right hand. “Mac McCarthy, Maddie’s husband.” He gestured to the stroller. “Our son Garrett. Nice to meet you.”
Twisting her head, Maddie stared at Mac, but he just gave her a bland look that said, “Roll with it.”
“You’re married,” Tom said with the charming smile that had convinced her to part with her virginity—not that he ever figured that out. “Well, that’s disappointing.”
“Excuse me?” Maddie asked in a strangled tone.
“I was on my way to see you.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, my bad,” he said with what seemed like genuine regret. “I guess I waited too long.”
“Maddie’s not the kind of girl you let get away,” Mac said.
Maddie’s breath got caught in her throat when Tom leaned over to peek in at Thomas.
“Beautiful baby.”
“Thanks,” Mac said. “We like him.”
Good answer, Maddie thought, grateful that he could speak, since she was incapable at the moment. Her heart beat so fast she wondered if it would explode in her chest.
“You’re a lucky man,” Tom said to Mac.
“Believe me, I know.”
“It’s good to see you, Maddie.”
She cleared her throat and stuck her shaking hands between her knees. “Yes, you, too.”
“Good luck to you both.”
“Same to you.”
Tom walked away, and Maddie sagged with relief. She’d imagined this moment a million times, expecting him to take one look at his son and just know. But he hadn’t. Because Mac had been so quick to say just the right thing, Tom had never even entertained the possibility.
Mac held her tight against him. “Breathe, baby,” he whispered in her ear, raising goose bumps on her suddenly sensitive skin. “It’s all over. Take a deep breath.”
Maddie did as he said, and it helped to slow her galloping heart.
“You gave him his father’s name.”
“I wanted him to have something. . .”
“I understand.”
She glanced at him, the contact with his beautiful eyes filling her with an overwhelming awareness of him, of what he seemed to feel for her, of what she was beginning to feel for him. “I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but thank you. What you did—”
He tilted her chin and laid a soft, wet kiss on her lips. “Was also my pleasure.”
After Mac got Thomas settled in his crib to finish his nap, he turned to Maddie, who had followed him into the bedroom. “Go out with me tonight.”
She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. “Like on a date?”
He took a step toward her. “Uh huh. A real date.”
“We were out all day, and I can’t leave Thomas.”
Another step. “My sister will watch him. She’ll love it.” To hell with giving her space. He wanted her in his arms. Right now. Mac took a final step to close the distance between them and rested his hands on her hips, drawing her in close to him. “I want to take you out. Buy you a nice dinner. Woo you.”
Maddie’s face flushed. “You’ve already done so much. . .”
“I haven’t done nearly enough.” He leaned in, brushed his lips over hers, and reveled in her sharp intake of breath. Encouraged, he went back for more. As he kissed her, his hands traveled down her back to her bottom. When her arms encircled his neck, Mac lifted her and groaned into her mouth as her legs curled around his hips. Worried about disturbing the baby, he walked them to the hallway where he pressed her against the wall and kissed her as if he’d been starving for her, which, of course, he had.
Her fingers fisted in his hair, keeping his mouth anchored to hers. Wiggling tight against him, she made his legs go weak and stars dance in his eyes.
Mac kissed her until he had no choice but to come up for air. He buried his face in her fragrant hair and breathed in the scent he would recognize anywhere as hers. “Now that we’ve gotten the good-night kiss out of the way, what do you say? Will you go out with me?”
She smiled. “Are you sure Janey won’t mind?”
“I’m positive.”
“Then yes, I’d like to go out with you.”
“Have I told you lately,” he said, skimming kisses over her neck and face, “how much I like being married to you?”
That earned him the genuine, lusty laugh he’d grown to adore, and it was all he could do not to say the words right then and there. I love you. I love you so much I ache with it.
She caressed his face. “What are you thinking? Right now?”
Caught off guard, Mac had no idea what to say. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
He kissed her lightly, fighting for control of his desire and emotions. “Because it would scare you.”
“Oh come on. Just tell me.”
“I’ll make you a deal: if you still want to know what I was thinking after our date, I’ll tell you.”
“You’ll tell me the truth?”
“Always.” He kissed her again before he reluctantly lowered her to her feet. “I have to go drop the wood and stuff at the marina and get my dad’s truck back to him. Will you be okay for a little while?”
“I’m fine. You don’t need to hover over us like a mother hen anymore.”
Kissing her nose and then her lips one last time, he said, “I love hovering over you. I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour.”
“And you’ll call Janey?”
“Already taken care of.”
“Awfully sure of yourself, weren’t you?”
“I was hopeful. That’s all.” Framing her face, he kissed her once more. “I’ll be back.”
Mac unloaded the lumber from the back of the truck into a pile in the parking lot. Sweating under the late afternoon sun, he pulled off his T-shirt and reached for another sheet of plywood. He was just about finished when a willowy blonde approached him from the direction of the Tiki Bar, wineglass in hand. She sported a dark tan and wore a white tube top over hot pink shorts.
“You must be Mac,” she purred in a voice that sounded like pure sex. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Mac used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage.”
She released a sultry laugh. “Where are my manners? I’m Doro Chase.”
He remembered the name from dinner the other night—the dinner he wanted to forget. “Ah, yes, you’re a friend of my mother’s. Good to meet you.”
Her gaze traveled up and down his torso in obvious approval. “The pleasure is all mine.”
God, she was so ridiculous! Had he ever seriously gone for this type? Well, yeah, but that was then, and this was now. He thought of the sweet, unassuming woman who waited for him in town, and all he wanted was to get back to her as fast as he could.
“Your mother says you’ll be here a while,” Doro said.
“That’s right.”
“We should get together sometime.”
“I’m going to be really busy.” As he put his shirt back on, he swore he saw disappointment in her blue eyes. He gestured to the sagging roof on the main building. “Lot of work to get done.”
Her lip rolled into that foolish pout women did so well, but it had no effect on him. “You can’t work all the time.”
“You’re absolutely right.” Glancing at his watch, he said, “In fact, I have somewhere I need to be. You have a good night now.”
As he got in the truck and drove away, Mac checked the rearview mirror to find her still standing where he’d left her, probably trying to figure out how she’d managed to let a live one slip away. He suspected that didn’t happen very often to good old Do
ro.
At the top of the hill, Mac pulled into his parents’ driveway where his motorcycle waited for him. He parked the truck and went into the garage to grab a helmet. Blowing the dust off, he strapped it to the back of the bike and gave the house a quick look. He’d love to say hello to his father but didn’t want to run into his mother and have to answer fifty questions. As he weighed the pros and cons, she appeared at the door. Mac suppressed a groan.
“Hello, stranger.”
“Hi, Mom. I was just dropping off the truck.”
“I see that.”
“Is Dad around?”
“In the shower.” She opened the screen door and stepped onto the porch. “Want to come in? Have a beer?”
“Got to be somewhere.”
“Of course you do.”
“Look, Mom—”
“I don’t know what kind of power that woman has over the men in this town, but it’s apparently quite formidable.”
Fighting to control his temper, Mac looked up to the heavens in search of patience. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, and once again I’ll remind you to be very careful.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll take her and her son and go back to Miami tomorrow. I’m far too old to be justifying myself to my mother.”
“Oh, Mac. You could do so much better!”
He released a bitter laugh. “Like your good friend Doro Chase?”
“For one.”
“I just had the pleasure, and she reminds me of a hundred other women I’ve known. Nothing about her interests me.”
“And you know that after what? Five minutes?”
“Actually, it only took thirty seconds.”
Before Linda could reply to that, Big Mac stepped onto the porch. “Hey, buddy. How was the mainland?”
Mac smiled, relieved to see his father. “It was a great day. I got everything I need to hit it hard on Monday.”
“Sounds good. I appreciate that.”
“Happy to help.” Mac walked up the sidewalk to hand his father the keys to the truck.
“Yours are in the bike.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
Big Mac slid his arm around his wife. “You have a good night, son.”
“You, too.”
Linda said nothing as Mac started the bike and drove off with a wave and a smile.
Still babying her injured hand, Maddie got Thomas fed, bathed and into his pajamas before she put him in his crib with some toys while she took a quick shower. Not that she was hoping anything would happen or anything, but she shaved her legs. Just in case. Oh, who was she kidding? She wanted something to happen!
When Mac pretended to be her husband and Thomas’s father, he’d won over the last reluctant corner of her heart. She was sunk. How could she resist a guy who was not only capable of that kind of quick thinking but who also had a protective streak a mile wide? That didn’t mean she wasn’t still worried about a lot of things. But tonight she wasn’t going to think about any of them. Tonight she was going to enjoy the first real date she’d had in years with a wonderful, sexy man who seemed to be wild about her.
Glancing down at the evil-looking scab and bruises on her leg, Maddie grimaced. Just what she needed on a night she was hoping for a little romance. She dried her hair until it fell thick and shiny to her shoulders. After smoothing fragrant lotion onto her entire body, she applied the barest bit of makeup and put on some of the new underwear she’d bought earlier. It was nice for once to wear a feminine bra, even if it didn’t offer the same level of support. Tonight she didn’t care. She cut the tags off a new white eyelet top cut lower than she normally wore and slid into a black miniskirt that came to mid-thigh. In the back of her closet, she found a pair of black high-heeled sandals.
She felt ready. She felt sexy. She felt nervous as hell. Placing a towel over her shoulder to protect her shirt, she lifted Thomas out of his crib and took him into the living room for a snuggle. If anything could calm her nerves, he could.
“We saw your father today, buddy.”
His face scrunched into his adorably serious expression. Sometimes Maddie thought he could understand her every word. She couldn’t wait to have a real conversation with him.
“I know you might think it’s wrong that I didn’t tell him about you, but he kept some important information from me, too. I don’t think he’s the kind of man we want in your life if he lies so easily, you know?”
Thomas reached for her hair and gave it a gentle tug.
“Does Mommy look pretty? I want to look pretty tonight. Let me ask you something—what do you think of Mac? Tell me the truth.”
The baby let loose a gurgle and flashed a gummy smile full of new teeth.
“Figures. You guys all stick together.” Maddie raised the baby so he could balance on his chubby legs. “He is pretty awesome, though, don’t you think? He likes you a lot, too.”
Thomas bounced up and down on his rubbery legs as a blob of drool ran down his chin.
Maddie blotted his face. “His sister Janey is coming over to play with you for a little while before bed. Will you be good for her so Mommy can have some fun tonight?”
More gurgling.
“Thanks, pal. I appreciate it.”
When she heard Mac’s motorcycle in the driveway, her heart skipped into overdrive. “Here he comes,” she whispered.
Thomas let out an excited squeal, and Maddie was sure he recognized the sound of the bike by now. Her son was getting attached to their new friend, which pleased and scared her at the same time.
Mac came bounding up the stairs as if he couldn’t wait to get to them. “Hey,” he said as he came in the door. “Y’all ready for bed, big guy?” He leaned in to kiss the bouncing baby’s wet cheek and then glanced at Maddie. His eyes widened. “Wow. You look gorgeous.”
“Thanks,” she said, her face heating.
He seemed to have trouble taking his eyes off her. “I just need to grab a quick shower. Janey will be here soon.”
“I’m ready when you are.” It was all so domestic, Maddie thought, as she watched him disappear into the bathroom. Her at home with the baby until Daddy gets home from work. A nice fantasy, that was for sure, and one she’d never pictured for herself until a sexy, thoughtful, decent guy knocked her off her bike. She wondered if that “accident” would turn out to be the best thing to ever happen to her.
“What do you think?” she asked Thomas.
“Does he talk back to you?” Janey asked from outside the screen door.
Maddie laughed and waved her in. “Not yet, but soon, I hope.”
“Hey, little man,” Janey said, reaching for the baby.
Thomas went to her but kept a wary eye on his mother.
“Look what I found on the way over.” Janey produced a soft lamb and held him up for Thomas to see.
He studied the toy in his usual serious way.
Then Janey took hold of a loop attached to the lamb, and the baby smiled at the “Mary Had a Little Lamb” tune.
“That’s adorable, Janey,” Maddie said. “Where did you get it?”
“My friend owns Abby’s Attic.”
“Oh, I love that store!”
Mac emerged from the bathroom wearing a towel around his waist. “Forgot clothes,” he said with a sheepish grin. “Hey, Janey.”
His sister shielded her eyes. “Eww, put something on, will you?” To Maddie, she said, “See what I grew up with? It was like living in a freaking locker room.”
Maddie’s gaze roamed over Mac’s muscular physique. “Mmm,” she said, licking her lips. “Must’ve been a terrible hardship.”
Gripping a handful of clean clothes, Mac flashed her that irrepressible grin and went back into the bathroom to get dressed.
“Damn,” Janey said, laughing. “You two have a bad case of it, huh?”
“So it seems.” Maddie sighed. “I’m probably cruising for disaster, but I can’t seem to help myself.”
“He’s the best, Maddie. And I’m not just saying that because he’s my big brother.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if we, you know. . .”
“I might’ve, before I got to know you, but now it seems you’re just what he needs.”
Touched, Maddie looked at Mac’s sister with new appreciation. “Too bad your mother doesn’t think so.”
“Don’t let her get to you. We just ignore her when she gets unreasonable.”
Maddie smiled. For the second time that week, she felt like she might be making a new girlfriend, and both of them were thanks to Mac.
“Are you ladies talking about me?” Mac asked when he emerged from the bathroom wearing a navy blue polo shirt and khaki cargo shorts.
“Get over yourself,” his sister said. “We have much better things to talk about than you.”
Mac stuck his tongue out at her and reached for the baby. “I need a minute with my little buddy before we go.” He swung him around in circles that had the baby squealing with delight.
“Don’t get him all fired up for Janey,” Maddie said. “While they’re playing, let me show you where everything is.”
“Sounds good.”
As they were leaving a few minutes later, Thomas began to cry.
Mac put his arm around Maddie on the way down the stairs. “He’ll be fine.”
“What if he isn’t? What if he gives her a hard time all night?”
“We’ll call and check in a little while. If it’s not going well, we’ll come home.”
Maddie looked up at him. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course not.” He kissed her softly. “Whatever it takes to make sure you have a good time.” He reached for the denim jacket he’d told her to bring and draped it around her shoulders. “You’ll need that.” Taking her hand, he led her to the bike and reached for the helmet.
“We’re going on that?”
“Is that okay?”
Maddie eyed it with trepidation, thinking of her healing wounds.
“You’ll be perfectly safe. I promise.”
“I’m wearing a skirt.”
“It’s dark. No one will see a thing—except for maybe me, and that’s more than fine with me.”
