The soft tap came on the door. “May I come in?” A female voice this time, but not the one he hoped for.
“Sure,” Mack grunted.
The woman came in and started asking him questions and working on him. Mack got through the questions before he started asking his own. “Do you know Sariah Udy?”
“Yes,” her voice became more cautious and Mack wondered if everyone in the universe was protective of his girl. Okay, not his girl, but maybe someday his girl.
“Could you get a message to her for me?”
“Maybe. What’s the message?”
“Tell her Mack Quinn is here and I’m going to keep getting massages until she is my therapist or school is over. If I don’t find her before school is over today can she please meet me out front at six?”
The girl worked a spot in his upper back with her elbow for a few seconds before replying, “I’ll give her the message. You play for the Patriots, right?”
“Yeah.”
The rest of the massage was spent talking football. Mack liked the massage and the talk, but he was too keyed up about finding Sariah to truly relax or focus on anything else.
The lady finished, thanked him, gave him the spiel about standing up slowly along with a water bottle. Mack stood, downed the water, grabbed his shirt, and hurried back to the reception desk.
Tight-bun reception lady took his credit card, he signed and added a tip then he asked her for a four o’clock appointment.
“Do you know how to give up?” she asked him tightly, letting her professional demeanor slip a little bit.
“No, ma’am.”
The lady’s lips curved in what might have been a smile, but Mack didn’t want to assume too much. Then she pushed out a sigh, tapped the computer some more and did her crisp, “Follow me,” and staccato down the hallway.
Third room, same smells, sound, and bed. Mack was getting tired from flying in this morning, all the runaround today, the massages, and the soothing smells and sounds. If this wasn’t Sariah, he wouldn’t talk, he’d take a nap instead. He peeled off his shirt, the scents of different oils they’d worked into his back probably overpowered his Taylor cologne that Navy had picked out for him. In his sister’s words, “You need this smell, little bro, manly and succulent.”
Laying down on the bed, he shut his eyes and prayed for Sariah to come in. If it wasn’t her, he might give up on the last hour and just rest in his rented Cherokee until six when she should be done with school, but what if he missed her?
The tap came at the door and a female voice, “May I come in?”
The disappointment that it wasn’t Sariah rushed over him. Maybe the stern bun lady was right and he needed to stop being so persistent. A worse thought nagged at him, maybe the woman he thought was his destiny really wasn’t.
* * *
Sariah loved her schooling and her classmates and teachers. They learned and practiced on each other in the mornings, then throughout the afternoon they practiced on real people, if people came in. If not, they practiced on each other some more. It was better to work on real people because they knew each other’s aches and pains too well, and sometimes they even got tips, which was really nice.
Friday afternoon she had a break with no client from four to five. Everybody else was busy so her instructor told her to take a break and read up on techniques. She headed back to the main classroom, drank some water, and checked her phone quick.
Her eyebrows rose when she saw she had seventeen texts and many missed calls. Fear rushed through her. Had something happened? Rather than check the texts, she pressed call back on the phone call from Caleb.
“What’s up?” she asked him, clinging to the phone. They’d had a horrid scare last spring when Josh and Caleb had been in a car accident where Josh ended up in a coma.
“Mack Quinn came here,” Caleb said.
“What?” She gripped the phone even more tightly. Nothing was wrong with her family, but this news still made her stomach tumble. Mack Quinn went to her house and she missed him?
“Yeah. He stopped by and Josh gushed all over him. Why would he come here, sis?”
“I don’t know. He and I have … talked a couple of times.” Mack had come for her! Did that mean he didn’t like Scarlett Lily? She’d watched social media and Google diligently but had seen nothing indicating they were dating. Scarlett was in California finishing up a movie, so maybe they just hadn’t had the time to be together.
“Hmm. He wanted your number but when I asked why he hadn’t gotten it from Hyde he admitted he’d tried. If Hyde shut him down, I didn’t want to give him anything, you know?” He paused. “Did you want me to give it to him, sis?”
“I … I’m as confused as a baseball player at a lacrosse game.” She pushed her hair back from the right side and touched the mottled skin on her neck. Mack Quinn. She’d love to see him again, talk to him, but the thought of going somewhere with him and having someone take pictures of her, maybe see her deformity and shout how she wasn’t worthy of the charming and handsome Mack Quinn … she couldn’t take that again.
“Josh told him you lived with Teresa. I wanted you to have a head’s up.”
“Thanks,” she murmured, her thoughts bouncing all over the place, but they were all centered on Mack.
“He seems like a nice guy,” Caleb said.
“Yeah, he does.”
“Talk to you later. Be careful, sis.”
“I will. Love you.”
“You too.” Caleb disconnected.
Sariah looked through her texts and saw a bunch from Caleb, Trudy, and Mary and a few from Aunt Allie. Teresa didn’t text but she’d called. Sariah hit the call back on her number.
“Sariah, girl!” Teresa screamed excitedly into the phone.
“I never have to doubt how much you like me,” Sariah said.
“Of course, I adore you.” Teresa laughed. “Mack Quinn came here for you.”
“H-he did?” Persistent, wasn’t he?
“He’s pretty hot, my girl, and he said he isn’t with Scarlett Lily. Do you like him?”
“What do you mean he isn’t with Scarlett Lily?” She ignored the question.
“That’s what he said when I questioned him about kissing her at the party. Said she wants his brother, Griff.”
“Oh.” Sariah’s brain felt like it was exploding. She sank into a chair, grateful no one else was in the room. “What else did he say?”
“He wanted your number but we didn’t know about that so he gave us his number. Oh, and Allie told him to go get a massage. Did he show up at your school?”
Sariah’s gaze darted around the classroom, as if he would appear suddenly. She wished he would. It seemed he was focused on finding her. Her heart fluttered at the thought.
Jane rushed into the room. “Sariah! You’ll never guess who I just did a massage on.”
“I’ve got to scatter, Teresa.”
“Okay, love. Let us know what happens.”
“I will, thanks.” She hung up the phone, stood on quivering legs, and faced Jane. “Mack Quinn?” she asked.
“Yes! How’d you know? He asked about you.”
“He did?”
Jane nodded, her blue eyes wide. “Oh, my goodness Sariah, he’s so tough. I’ve never worked on a body like that. Muscles upon muscles.”
Sariah was having a hard time breathing, imagining Mack with no shirt on. What would those muscles look and feel like?
“Joseph told me he worked on him the hour before me and he asked for you then. And get this, I just saw him walk into another room. Georgina’s with him, but I just know he’s trying to find you, getting massage after massage until he does. Do you want to go relieve her of her duties?” Jane giggled and squeezed her hand.
Sariah was having an out of body experience. Mack had traveled to Colorado and was obviously pursuing any lead to find her. She was hot and cold all over. Did she want to give him a massage? Yes!
“Sariah?” Jane’s eyes lost thei
r sparkle. “Don’t you want to see him? It might take the entire school to protect you from him, but you know we would.”
Sariah shook her head and then nodded. “No, I mean, yes, please, I definitely want to dance my fingers over muscles upon muscles.”
Jane grinned again, taking her hand and tugging her toward the hallway that led to the treatment rooms. Sariah increased her pace. She should go freshen her makeup, spritz on body splash, make sure she didn’t have spinach from her lunch salad in her teeth, but the pull of Mack was too much.
They reached treatment room seven and Jane tapped softly on the door.
“Yes?” Georgina asked.
Jane opened the door. “I need you,” Jane lied.
Sariah stared at Mack lying face down on the massage table. His body took up the bed and then some. He had on some fitted dark gray chinos, and she was grateful he wasn’t completely undressed like most clients would be. She didn’t know if she could’ve handled seeing more of him than she already could. Jane had understated how many muscles he had and how fabulous those muscles looked. She froze in the doorway, aware Jane and Georgina were having a quiet conversation, but not registering any of it. She wanted to touch Mack Quinn, but more than that she wanted him to sit up and look at her, talk to her, hold her. Okay, her wants were piling up too quick.
“You’ll share the tip with Georgina?” Jane whispered to her.
“You can have all the tip,” Sariah said.
At the sound of her voice, Mack pushed up and in one swift move was on his feet. “Sariah?”
Jane shoved her into the room and shut the door. Sariah would’ve fallen, but it was a small room and Mack reached out and steadied her with a hand on her elbow. His handsome face split in a grin. “Sariah. I’ve been looking for you.”
She stepped back and leaned against the counter that held their supplies. She wanted to hug him, savor each one of those beautifully-sculpted muscles, but she needed to keep her head on right now. “So I’ve heard.”
His smile grew, but his blue eyes looked uncertain, as if he worried she’d turn him away.
“Do you want to continue with your massage, Mr. Quinn?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, I want to talk to you.”
“Ah, so you aren’t interested in my expert massage techniques?”
“Oh, I’m interested, and I’ll talk you into a massage sometime soon, but right now all I want to do is look at your beautiful face and beg you to go to dinner tonight.”
Her heart was thumping quickly, but nerves also assaulted her. She pulled her hair tight to the right side of her neck, making sure her ear was covered. He wouldn’t think she was beautiful if he saw her scars, but he’d come all this way and he was so charming and appealing to her. He dwarfed her physically but she felt no fear around him, besides the fear of him seeing her burns. She felt a pull to stay close to him, let him protect her and smile at her like he was doing right now.
“Hmm, dinner,” she forced some sass into her tone. “I might be persuaded. Give me your top picks.”
He chuckled. “I couldn’t care less. I’d eat McDonald’s if it meant spending time with you.”
She wrinkled her nose, though her heart soared. He wanted to spend time with her. “Not a huge fan of McDonald’s but … okay.”
He laughed louder. “No, I meant, McDonald’s isn’t my top pick, but I’d eat anywhere to be with you.”
“Do you like Thai food?”
“Sure.” He lifted and lowered his broad shoulders.
Sariah’s mouth went dry as she glanced over his muscular upper body. She wished he’d let her massage him, but him saying that he wanted to look at her and talk to her meant a lot. “I know a good Thai place that’s close by.”
Mack took a step closer and she could hardly catch a breath. What she wouldn’t give to put her hand on one of his bulging pectoral muscles then slide her fingers up to his broad shoulders.
“Close by, across the ocean,” his voice was low and melodious. “I don’t care. I just want to be with you.”
“You are a lot more forward than I thought you were.”
“What do you mean?” He bent down closer to her.
“You spent months catching my gaze before and after games, not even mustering up the courage to talk to me. Then you throw propriety to the wind and travel across the country to find me. Why?”
He nodded. “I thought maybe I was just being silly, thinking there was this connection between us as I stared at you, but after talking to you at that party … I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. I had to find you and see if you’re who I think you are.”
She let herself rest her hand on his forearm. It was so big, tough, and manly she had to fight not to massage it under her fingertips. “And who do you think I am?”
He smiled softly. “My dream girl.”
Sariah had to swallow hard. “I guess we’ll see.”
“Yes, we will.” His smile grew. “Any chance severe bun-lady will let you leave early?”
“Severe bun …” Sariah laughed. “Miriam? Probably not.”
He reclined back against the side of the bed, wrapped both hands around her hips, and pulled her toward him. Sariah’s breath caught and her arms and legs trembled. Who knew being close to a giant of a man could be this exhilarating?
“Any chance you’ll give me a quick hug for making such an effort to find you?” Mack said so quietly she could barely hear him.
Sariah wanted to hug him until the appointment time ran out, but she had held herself in check around men for too long. She couldn’t simply change her M.O. and throw her arms around this perfect man, who was obviously chasing her.
She straightened away from him and retreated back to the counter, leaning against it to support herself. Mack’s face flashed disappointment but he didn’t move toward her. Thank heavens or she’d probably have yielded. Every part of her wanted to lay her cheek against that shredded chest and hang on.
“A flight across the country doesn’t give you those kinds of privileges,” she tried to be sassy but her heart was beating so fast the words came out all breathy and full of longing.
Mack nodded. “Is there any hope of me earning a hug?”
She arched her eyebrows. “Is a hug all you’re after, big boy?”
His lips curved into the most irresistible smirk. He stood up straight and the sheer glory of his build overwhelmed and thrilled her. “No.” He took a step closer. Sariah tilted her head back to maintain eye contact. “Any man who chases a woman across the country would be a fool to not beg for a kiss at some point.”
Sariah’s stomach swooped and then filled with heat. She hoped her face didn’t reveal that if he kept being so enticing, she’d kiss him before they went on a single date.
“Hmm,” she said. “I guess we’ll see how good your begging skills are.”
“They’re pretty good. I was the youngest after all.”
Sariah laughed thinking of Josh and how he almost always got his way. “You’ve got to watch out for those babies of the family.” Though there was nothing childlike about him.
“We’re pretty irresistible.” He leaned closer and Sariah lost all rational thought and the ability to breathe.
Mack reached up and tenderly touched her right cheek. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. His hand trailed back, pushing at the hair covering the right side of her face.
“Stop!” Sariah screamed, ducking out of his reach.
The door burst open and Joseph stood there. “Sariah? Did he hurt you?”
Mack was eight inches taller and at least a hundred pounds heavier than Joseph. It was nice but really stupid of Joseph to stand up for her.
“No,” she whispered. She glanced back at Mack. His face was full of confusion and regret.
“I’m sorry, Sariah. I didn’t mean to …” Mack’s voice trailed off as it was obvious he had no clue what he’d done.
Sariah felt horrible for the way she’d reacted … b
ut the thought of Mack seeing or touching her scars. Her stomach soured and she backed further away from him. Joseph put a reassuring arm around her.
Miriam appeared in the hallway. “What’s going on here?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” Sariah insisted. How could she explain why she’d screamed? She didn’t want anyone thinking Mack would hurt her. She wanted to erase the worried look from his eyes, rewind time to a few minutes ago when it was just them bantering, and somehow react differently yet still protect her secret.
“It’s time for you to go, Mr. Quinn.” Miriam folded her arms across her chest.
Mack stared at Sariah, ignoring everyone else.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I … overreacted.”
He nodded tightly, obviously still confused how she could react that extremely to him brushing her hair from her face. She never wanted him to see her scars. It was irrational and extreme but she wanted him to keep thinking she was beautiful.
She straightened her shoulders and tried to think how to salvage the situation. The best thing to do would be to get Mack out of here and talk to him later, but what would she say? “I’ll see you out front at six.”
“Sariah.” Joseph pulled her around to face him. “You don’t want to go out with a man who would hurt you.”
Sariah shook her head. “Mack would never hurt me. I … I can’t explain. This is on me.” She glanced back at Mack. He stood there looking so strong and appealing, but not threatening. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but what made her think she could date someone like him and not have her deformity be an issue? She’d never fit in that wives and girlfriends club of football players. She almost told him she couldn’t go to dinner, but that wasn’t fair to him.
Instead, she gave him a forced smile and pushed past Joseph and Miriam, hurrying to the women’s bathroom. She barely made it into a stall before hot tears pricked at her eyes. She couldn’t date Mack, and every part of her wanted to.
Chapter Nine
Mack watched Sariah leave, certain this wasn’t his moment to chase after her, though that was the only thing he wanted to do. He’d finally found her and she’d been as witty and beautiful as he’d imagined. He knew she was responding well to him, then as he went to brush her hair from her face, she’d come apart. There must be some reason she kept her thick hair over the right side of her face and neck. He couldn’t think of a time he hadn’t seen it down and swooping to the right. He’d be very careful not to try moving it again, but he wished she’d confide in him. What was he thinking? She barely knew him.
Cami’s Georgia Patriots Romance Collection Page 21
