Stumbling into Love
Page 19
Libby takes Katie’s hand and begins to drag her into the room. She closes the door behind them, leaving Mackenzie in the hall with me.
“She is.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Why do you have the look on your face that you always get when you’re about to run away?”
“I don’t.”
“You do—I have that look memorized,” I say.
She looks away, takes a deep breath, and then looks at me once more.
“Do you want me to meet her?” she asks.
I know she’s nervous by the way she wrings her hands together.
“Yeah, I’d like you to meet her. I know she’s going to want to meet you, too.”
“But I’m a tomboy!” she blurts with wide eyes. I frown, confused.
“Pardon?”
“I’m a tomboy. How will your mom feel about you dating a tomboy?”
“Who the hell told you that you’re a tomboy?”
“I’ve always been a tomboy. I like wearing jeans and sneakers. I don’t like makeup. I love sports, beer, and hanging out with the guys.”
“I already know all this about you. I know that you’re a woman who likes to be comfortable, who looks amazing without makeup, who enjoys sports and beer and has male friends. Who the fuck cares about any of that? You’re beautiful, and my mom will think so, too.”
“But I’m not like most women.”
“Thank fuck for that, gorgeous. If you were like most women, I wouldn’t want you like I do.” I uncross my arms and step toward her. “Now stop stressing about this. If you can handle your mom, I guarantee you can handle mine. She’ll adore you.”
“If you say so,” she huffs as I drag her against me and plant a kiss on her lips.
“I know so.” I kiss her again as she winds her arms around my neck.
“Is it weird that I missed you today?” The question is barely audible, but I hear it. Relief fills me—she’s feeling exactly what I am.
“Probably, but I don’t give a fuck about that, either.” I kiss her again and she smiles.
“I kinda like you, Wesley Jameson.”
“I just straight-up like you, Mackenzie Reed,” I say.
She smiles, dancing her fingers across my neck. Her eyes watch them move across my skin.
“Why don’t you call me Mac, like everyone else?”
“Because I don’t want to be like everyone else to you,” I say.
She looks up at me, and her lips part.
“Are you two going to stand out there all day, or are you going to come in?” Levi breaks into the moment.
Mackenzie blinks, then shakes her head before looking at him.
“Glad to see you up and about, man.” I shake his hand and he gives me a one-arm hug.
“Thanks, man.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask when he steps back and runs his good hand through his hair.
“All right. Ready to get out of this place. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
“Oh, stop being an angry bear,” Fawn says as she comes toward us down the hall.
I see how he turns to look at her, his gaze turning soft.
“I’m not angry.”
“You’ve been growling at everyone since we woke up,” she tells him, tucking herself into his good side and resting her hand on his stomach.
“I woke up with both of our moms hovering over us. That’s not exactly my favorite way to start the day,” he huffs.
Mackenzie and Fawn laugh.
“I know, but they are just trying to help. What are you doing up anyway? You are supposed to be in bed.”
“I needed to get out of the room for a minute. Plus, you were gone a long time. I thought that you were just going to the gift shop,” he tells her.
She shakes her head.
“I was gone ten minutes tops. Now come on. It’s time to go back to bed. The doctor said to take it easy.”
She ushers him back around and through the door toward the bed. The moms are in there at a small table, playing cards with Libby.
After saying a quick hello to everyone, I head to the bed. Fawn is helping Levi get back in.
“I can’t stay long. Someone needs to do a shit ton of paperwork, and since my partner decided he’d take a paid vacation, I got stuck with it,” I joke.
Levi grins. “Thanks for that, man.”
“No problem.” I pat his good shoulder lightly. “If you need anything, just send a text.”
“I might need you to help me escape,” he says quietly.
Fawn narrows her eyes at him, and he shrugs while giving her a smile.
“Like I said, just send a text.” I look at Mackenzie. “Walk me out?”
“Sure.”
When we reach my truck, I make out with her for ten minutes before I head back to the station.
Feeling Mackenzie’s warm breath brush across my neck, I tighten my fingers around her hip with one hand and sift my fingers through her soft hair with the other. She fell asleep twenty minutes ago, sprawled out on top of me on the couch wearing one of my T-shirts and a pair of my boxers. We had just eaten half a pizza and watched Die Hard and Die Hard 2.
When I had asked her what she wanted to watch, she told me she loves action movies. I honestly expected her to tell me that she loved romantic comedies or dramas—the types of movies that make me fall asleep halfway through. Once again, she surprised me.
Just like she surprised me on our first date by not wanting to eat at the restaurant I had chosen for us. Most women I’ve dated would rather pick at a forty-dollar salad than eat a twenty-dollar pizza covered in meat and cheese. Then again, I’m learning quickly that she isn’t like most women I’ve known—she’s better. She’s exactly what I didn’t know I was looking for. I love that she has no problem devouring a pizza without apology and looking sexy doing it, and that in bed she gives as good as she gets. I like that she’s comfortable in her own skin. That she doesn’t feel a need to hide herself under makeup. I appreciate that she’s strong and independent, but that she can be vulnerable at times.
I know without a doubt she was made just for me. Now I just need to convince her that I was made for her, too.
Chapter 7
GIRL CODE
MAC
Lifting my head and seeing Edward walk through my office door, I smile and push my chair away from my desk. “Hey, you.” I stand and walk around my desk to greet him with a hug. “What are you doing here?” I let him go and take a step back.
“I came to check on you. I haven’t seen you in a while. What’s been going on?”
“Work. You know how it is.” I shrug and take a seat on the edge of my desk while he sits in one of the chairs across from me.
“Just work?” he asks curiously.
“Well . . . when I’m not working, I’m spending time with Wesley,” I say.
He tips his head to the side. “Is Wesley the big guy I saw the last time I was here?” He raises his arms away from his body like he has too many muscles.
“Yeah.” I smile.
He rubs his hand down his jaw. “He seemed a little intense,” he says.
My stomach tingles as I remember the way his intensity feels whenever it’s directed at me.
“He’s a cop.” I use that as explanation, and he nods. “So did you just come by to check on me?”
“Actually, I wanted to see if you had time to give me a massage. Bonnie and I are heading to her parents’ for Christmas, and I’ve been stressed.”
“Why? I thought you got along with her family.”
“I do get along with them, but . . .” He pulls a box out of his pocket and flips the top open. “Carrying this thing around is making me anxious.”
“You’re asking Bonnie to marry you!”
“That’s the plan.” He snaps the box closed and shoves it back in his pocket.
“I’m happy for you. The ring is beautiful. She’s going to freak when she sees it.” I stand and give him another hug. “I wish I had time to help you out today, but I have clients back-to-back. Everyone wants to come in before they go away for Christmas. You should have called me,” I tell him as the buzzer next to my door goes off, letting me know that my next client has already arrived.
“She is.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Why do you have the look on your face that you always get when you’re about to run away?”
“I don’t.”
“You do—I have that look memorized,” I say.
She looks away, takes a deep breath, and then looks at me once more.
“Do you want me to meet her?” she asks.
I know she’s nervous by the way she wrings her hands together.
“Yeah, I’d like you to meet her. I know she’s going to want to meet you, too.”
“But I’m a tomboy!” she blurts with wide eyes. I frown, confused.
“Pardon?”
“I’m a tomboy. How will your mom feel about you dating a tomboy?”
“Who the hell told you that you’re a tomboy?”
“I’ve always been a tomboy. I like wearing jeans and sneakers. I don’t like makeup. I love sports, beer, and hanging out with the guys.”
“I already know all this about you. I know that you’re a woman who likes to be comfortable, who looks amazing without makeup, who enjoys sports and beer and has male friends. Who the fuck cares about any of that? You’re beautiful, and my mom will think so, too.”
“But I’m not like most women.”
“Thank fuck for that, gorgeous. If you were like most women, I wouldn’t want you like I do.” I uncross my arms and step toward her. “Now stop stressing about this. If you can handle your mom, I guarantee you can handle mine. She’ll adore you.”
“If you say so,” she huffs as I drag her against me and plant a kiss on her lips.
“I know so.” I kiss her again as she winds her arms around my neck.
“Is it weird that I missed you today?” The question is barely audible, but I hear it. Relief fills me—she’s feeling exactly what I am.
“Probably, but I don’t give a fuck about that, either.” I kiss her again and she smiles.
“I kinda like you, Wesley Jameson.”
“I just straight-up like you, Mackenzie Reed,” I say.
She smiles, dancing her fingers across my neck. Her eyes watch them move across my skin.
“Why don’t you call me Mac, like everyone else?”
“Because I don’t want to be like everyone else to you,” I say.
She looks up at me, and her lips part.
“Are you two going to stand out there all day, or are you going to come in?” Levi breaks into the moment.
Mackenzie blinks, then shakes her head before looking at him.
“Glad to see you up and about, man.” I shake his hand and he gives me a one-arm hug.
“Thanks, man.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask when he steps back and runs his good hand through his hair.
“All right. Ready to get out of this place. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
“Oh, stop being an angry bear,” Fawn says as she comes toward us down the hall.
I see how he turns to look at her, his gaze turning soft.
“I’m not angry.”
“You’ve been growling at everyone since we woke up,” she tells him, tucking herself into his good side and resting her hand on his stomach.
“I woke up with both of our moms hovering over us. That’s not exactly my favorite way to start the day,” he huffs.
Mackenzie and Fawn laugh.
“I know, but they are just trying to help. What are you doing up anyway? You are supposed to be in bed.”
“I needed to get out of the room for a minute. Plus, you were gone a long time. I thought that you were just going to the gift shop,” he tells her.
She shakes her head.
“I was gone ten minutes tops. Now come on. It’s time to go back to bed. The doctor said to take it easy.”
She ushers him back around and through the door toward the bed. The moms are in there at a small table, playing cards with Libby.
After saying a quick hello to everyone, I head to the bed. Fawn is helping Levi get back in.
“I can’t stay long. Someone needs to do a shit ton of paperwork, and since my partner decided he’d take a paid vacation, I got stuck with it,” I joke.
Levi grins. “Thanks for that, man.”
“No problem.” I pat his good shoulder lightly. “If you need anything, just send a text.”
“I might need you to help me escape,” he says quietly.
Fawn narrows her eyes at him, and he shrugs while giving her a smile.
“Like I said, just send a text.” I look at Mackenzie. “Walk me out?”
“Sure.”
When we reach my truck, I make out with her for ten minutes before I head back to the station.
Feeling Mackenzie’s warm breath brush across my neck, I tighten my fingers around her hip with one hand and sift my fingers through her soft hair with the other. She fell asleep twenty minutes ago, sprawled out on top of me on the couch wearing one of my T-shirts and a pair of my boxers. We had just eaten half a pizza and watched Die Hard and Die Hard 2.
When I had asked her what she wanted to watch, she told me she loves action movies. I honestly expected her to tell me that she loved romantic comedies or dramas—the types of movies that make me fall asleep halfway through. Once again, she surprised me.
Just like she surprised me on our first date by not wanting to eat at the restaurant I had chosen for us. Most women I’ve dated would rather pick at a forty-dollar salad than eat a twenty-dollar pizza covered in meat and cheese. Then again, I’m learning quickly that she isn’t like most women I’ve known—she’s better. She’s exactly what I didn’t know I was looking for. I love that she has no problem devouring a pizza without apology and looking sexy doing it, and that in bed she gives as good as she gets. I like that she’s comfortable in her own skin. That she doesn’t feel a need to hide herself under makeup. I appreciate that she’s strong and independent, but that she can be vulnerable at times.
I know without a doubt she was made just for me. Now I just need to convince her that I was made for her, too.
Chapter 7
GIRL CODE
MAC
Lifting my head and seeing Edward walk through my office door, I smile and push my chair away from my desk. “Hey, you.” I stand and walk around my desk to greet him with a hug. “What are you doing here?” I let him go and take a step back.
“I came to check on you. I haven’t seen you in a while. What’s been going on?”
“Work. You know how it is.” I shrug and take a seat on the edge of my desk while he sits in one of the chairs across from me.
“Just work?” he asks curiously.
“Well . . . when I’m not working, I’m spending time with Wesley,” I say.
He tips his head to the side. “Is Wesley the big guy I saw the last time I was here?” He raises his arms away from his body like he has too many muscles.
“Yeah.” I smile.
He rubs his hand down his jaw. “He seemed a little intense,” he says.
My stomach tingles as I remember the way his intensity feels whenever it’s directed at me.
“He’s a cop.” I use that as explanation, and he nods. “So did you just come by to check on me?”
“Actually, I wanted to see if you had time to give me a massage. Bonnie and I are heading to her parents’ for Christmas, and I’ve been stressed.”
“Why? I thought you got along with her family.”
“I do get along with them, but . . .” He pulls a box out of his pocket and flips the top open. “Carrying this thing around is making me anxious.”
“You’re asking Bonnie to marry you!”
“That’s the plan.” He snaps the box closed and shoves it back in his pocket.
“I’m happy for you. The ring is beautiful. She’s going to freak when she sees it.” I stand and give him another hug. “I wish I had time to help you out today, but I have clients back-to-back. Everyone wants to come in before they go away for Christmas. You should have called me,” I tell him as the buzzer next to my door goes off, letting me know that my next client has already arrived.
