The Day He Kissed Her (21 page)

Liam looked at him questioningly, and Mac pointed toward the dam, just past the old saw mill. “I used to jump off that thing.”

His nephew didn’t seem impressed. “Mom would kill me if I did something like that.”

Huh. The kid was right. And yet as young boys, Mac, the Edwards twins, and Cain would spend all day, every day down here, fishing, swimming, doing all sorts of stupid things that could have gotten them hurt.

They had disappeared inside the excitement and stupidity of their youth. How many nights had Jake and Jesse left for dinner, racing each other home on their bikes while Cain was good to linger until dark? Back then, his mom was always working and his father had been long gone.

How many nights had Mac spent out here waiting to go home until he knew his father would be passed out cold? Christ. Too many to count.

“Are we going to the site?” Liam asked, a funny look on his face.

Startled, he snapped out a “yep” and proceeded out to the site. Of course, his little detour cost him, and by the time he pulled into the dusty parking lot where the mobile office was set up, it was nearly ten. There were several vehicles parked haphazardly, and he ended up next to a beat-up and rusted Chevy.

He glanced at it in distaste. The thing was falling apart.

Jake was outside with O’Malley already and Mackenzie joined them. “Is that all you can afford, Edwards?”

Jake glanced back at the truck and grinned. “I’ll drive that thing until it dies.”

Mac snorted. “I think it’s already half-dead.”

He shook O’Malley’s hand and pointed to his nephew. “This is my sister’s son, Liam. He’s visiting for the summer and touring around with me this week.”

Liam offered his hand and stood a little straighter when the Irishman shook it vigorously.

“Do you like to golf, son?” His accent was thick but easy to understand.

Liam glanced at Mac and shrugged. “I’ve never tried it.”

“What?” O’Malley looked aghast, his eyes wide as he glanced at Mac.

“Hey, he’s not my kid.”

“That’s a sad thing to hear, son. A sad thing indeed. There’s nothing quite like getting out on a course first thing in the morning. Nothing. We’ll have to hit a driving range while I’m here, and I’ll show you how to hit a golf ball. Sound good?”

Liam dug his foot in the dirt. “I guess.”

Jesus. Could the kid be any less enthusiastic?

“We’re heading out to scout the best location for the course. You coming?” Jake asked.

Mac hadn’t talked to Jake since he’d shown up at the cottage and taken Lily home, and he was pretty sure that Jake hadn’t been too keen on finding her half-dressed.

Mac nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” O’Malley moved away, dragging Liam along with him, and he lowered his voice. “We good?”

Jake lifted his shoulders. “We’re good. It’s none of my business.”

Mac took a second. “Have you talked to her since yesterday morning?”

Jake shook his head. “Nope. You?”

“No.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t call her?”

“Of course I called her. Geez, I’m not an asshole.”
Wait.
“Her landline still works, right? I mean, I called Raine’s old number because I still have her cell in my truck.”

Jake nodded. “Yep. It works.”

At Jake’s raised eyebrows, Mac frowned. “Well, I called her over and over and got the goddamn voice mail every time.”

Jake clapped Mac on his shoulder a wide smile on his face. “Never thought I’d see the day when a woman had you all tied up.”

Before he could reply and tell Jake it wasn’t like that—he was just a little worried that he’d pissed her off—his cell buzzed and vibrated. Mac grabbed it from his pocket and damn if his heart didn’t speed up when he saw Raine’s name and number—except it was Lily. It had to be Lily.

“I need to take this,” he murmured.

“Sure. You’ve got five minutes,” Jake said before walking away.

Mac turned away from the men and took the call.

“Mackenzie?”

Just the sound of her voice was enough to wipe away the tension that stretched across his shoulders, and he found himself grinning like a goddamn idiot. Good thing Jake was behind him or he’d get the wrong idea.

“Boston.”

For a moment there was silence.

“I thought I might bring dinner over tonight.”

He thought of the casserole his mom was dropping by and hesitated. Shit.

“That’s if you want me to.” Her voice had that husky tone that shot right through him, and all those muscles that had been relaxed were suddenly tense and hard.

“Of course I want you to. I tried calling you yesterday, Lily, but you didn’t pick up.” He took a few steps, ran his free hand through his hair, and glanced over to where Jake was grinning at Mac as if he was a fucking idiot. So much for him not getting the wrong idea.

“I know, I was…I had stuff going on, and well, I didn’t mean to leave like that either.”

He stopped pacing. “So we’re good?”

“We’re good. I’ll be over around six?”

“Four.” Hell, if he could swing it he’d be home by three. He was heading toward Jake in strides. “I can’t wait until six. Let yourself in. The place is open.”

“You left your house unlocked?” She sounded shocked.

“It’s Crystal Lake, Boston.”

“Well, you locked your truck the other night.”

“That’s because my favorite CDs were inside.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I expect it doesn’t, but to any other guy it would.”

“Mackenzie?”

“Yeah?” He stopped walking, totally focused on her.

“Is Liam still with you?”

“He’s staying the week. Why?”

“Oh. I thought I’d bring my overnight bag but—”

“Bring it.”

“But—”

“Bring the damn bag, Lily, unless you want to go home in my boxers.”

There was a pause.

“Okay,” she said softly, and he could hear the grin through his phone.

Jesus Christ, it was going to be a long day.

Chapter 21

Lily picked up her sister’s dirty clothes from the bathroom floor and walked down the hall to the guest room at the back of the house. Maddison was flopped on the bed like a limp Raggedy Ann doll, wrapped in a towel as she flipped through a magazine. It was nearly three in the afternoon, but her sister had slept until two—not surprising, considering she’d been up tweaking until four in the morning, high on God knows what.

Lily had come back from Mac’s Sunday morning to find Maddison and a friend—some loser called Thorpe who’d flown in from New York—naked, high as kites, and eating their way through her kitchen. They’d pretty much trashed Lily’s living room, including three of her paintings as well as her easel.

It had been a mess, one that triggered something in Lily she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Maybe it was because she was already in a mood, confused about Mac and what had just happened, or maybe she just needed to let off steam. Or maybe it was because something had snapped inside her, and instead of pushing it away, she had let it take life and then ran with it.

She had grabbed Maddison by the hair and dragged her, kicking and clawing and hissing like an animal, all the way back to the guest room. She threw her inside, grabbed a chair, and shoved it under the doorknob so Maddison couldn’t escape.

Thorpe was so out of it he didn’t even notice, and he didn’t move until the police showed up and hauled his ass away.

It had been one stressful afternoon and the evening hadn’t been any better. Maddison coming down from a high wasn’t something Lily would wish on her worst enemy. She was bitchy, whiny, and mean-spirited, with a viper tongue and a right hook that you would do good to miss.

Lily had a big bruise on her arm to prove it.

Maddison glanced up from the bed as Lily leaned against the door frame. Her sister’s eyes were puffy because she’d spent a good portion of the early morning sobbing like a baby. Whatever. Lily was over the emotional blackmail. God, was she over it.

“I’m leaving,” Lily said, tossing Maddison’s clothes onto the edge of the bed. “You’ve got less than an hour.”

Maddison’s head jerked up, and she rolled over until she was on her knees. “You can’t be serious.” Gone were the big eyes and pouty mouth. Maddison was all business now.

“I am.”

Maddison glared at her. “What the hell is your problem anyway? It was one mistake, and I told you that I’d pay you back for any damages Thorpe caused.”

“You don’t have any money.”

Maddison’s eyes slide away. Score one for Lily.

“I’m sorry,” she said, eyes on the floor.

“I don’t care.”

Maddison glanced up sharply.

“I mean it.” Lily shrugged. She’d heard the same bullshit before. “This was a huge mistake, and I really don’t care anymore. I’m done cleaning up your messes. I’m done letting you walk all over me. I’m done letting you trash my life. I’m done with all of it.” Lily took a step back. “I was your last chance, Maddison. Your. Last. Chance.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maddison’s voice rose an octave.

“It means that you blew it. It means that I won’t let you stay here and ruin my life again.”

“I never ruined your life—”

“You slept with my fiancé, didn’t you?”

“But that was a mistake. I said I was sorry for that, and I meant it. I was drunk and high, and well, he was the one who started it, not me.”

Lily didn’t doubt that for a second, and yet, she didn’t care. The end result had been the same. Her sister had slept with the man Lily had been engaged to.

“What about the time you stole my PIN number along with most of the cash I had in my savings account?”

“But—”

“What about pretending to be me in that stupid sex tape? Did you really think people weren’t going to notice that your boobs are big and fake and mine aren’t?”

Silence was the answer and maybe Lily should have been surprised at how much nothing she felt for her sister, but she wasn’t going to dwell on it. Not now. Not ever.

“I want you gone when I get back.”

“But…Daddy said I had to stay here because if I didn’t…” Maddison’s eyes widened, shiny with tears. “He’ll make me go to that fucking rehab place, and there’s no way in hell I’ll do it.”

“That’s your problem, not mine.”

“Dad will freak.”

“I’m also done letting Dad tell me what to do. If he wants someone to clean up after you, he can damn well do it himself.”

Lily turned around.

“Lily! Where am I going to go?”

“Far away from here, I hope.” She headed toward the kitchen. “There’s five hundred in cash on the table. I’ve already called a cab, and it will be here in an hour. Don’t miss it, and don’t be here when I get back.”

“But that’s not even enough for a flight and…other stuff!” Maddison’s voice was shrill.

“Take the bus.”

Lily grabbed her overnight bag and closed the door behind her. She’d already packed a lasagna—the first she had ever attempted to make herself, and she had Maggie Black to thank for the recipe—along with greens for a salad and a loaf of garlic bread.

By the time she reached Mac’s place, she was nervous, anxious, scared, and feeling a lot like her fifteen-year-old self. It was ironic really. Most people she met had this perverted idea of what she was all about—fed, in fact, by the exploits from her youth. They thought she was a sophisticated, rich, trust-fund baby who went through men as if they were candy.

Her reality was about as far away from that as she was from the moon.

Lily’s heart started to pound when she spied his truck in the driveway, and it hadn’t calmed down one bit by the time she parked behind him. She smoothed her shorts, a pair of faded jean cutoffs, and glanced in the mirror quickly.

Her makeup was minimal—a bit of mascara, some pale silvery shadow, and gloss on her lips. She’d left her hair down, and it fell across her bare back—bare because she’d chosen a royal-blue silk halter top. It was a bit of class paired with the casual shorts.

She took a deep breath, opened the door, and was about to reach into the backseat for her food when the hair on the back of her neck stood up. A soft crunch along the ground told her that she wasn’t alone anymore, and then his scent—that clean, masculine scent—washed over her.

“Now that’s a sight I’d like to see more often. A beautiful woman bent over wearing shorts that my mama just might find a little obscene.” Strong arms slid around her waist, and she was pulled back against Mac’s hard and—her heart skipped a beat—bare chest. He was warm and felt so good that for a moment Lily basked in the simple pleasure she felt in his arms. Honestly, she could stay like this all day.

His mouth nuzzled her neck, and she shuddered as his arms tightened. “Jesus, Lily you taste so damn good, how the hell am I going to get through the next few hours without throwing you over my shoulders and locking us in my bedroom?”

“I guess you’ll have to—”

Sweet Jesus, his mouth should be patented.

“What was that?” he asked, pushing her hair out of the way so he could get to her earlobe.

“Mackenzie, if you keep—”

Holy. Mother. Of. God.

His warm tongue slid just inside her ear, and his other hand dug into her hip so that she felt his erection pressing into her butt.

“You were saying?” he whispered, blowing hot air on her now-wet earlobe. Red-hot desire forked down her body, and of course, her nipples were saying hello. Hell, they were as hard as rocks, begging for his attention. And she didn’t want to think about what was going on between her legs, because the urge to squirm and press the palm of her hand into her crotch—or anything for that matter—was so strong she was sure that she whimpered.

Lily blew out a hot breath. Was it always going to be like this? Was she always going to be a slave to his delicious mouth and wonderful hands?

Or would it pass?

“Mackenzie, please stop.” She pushed him, and with a chuckle, he let her go, though he sidled alongside her and reached into the car for the box of food.

“This smells great, Boston.”

She smiled, a shaky sort of thing, but she’d never cooked for anyone before, and his praise made her feel…special. Special was warm and full and intimate. God, if she could bottle special, she’d be rich, wouldn’t she?