Mack Daddy(27)
“Sorry about that,” he said.
“No, it’s fine. Clearly she’s eager for a playdate.”
He’d picked up on my sarcasm. “I won’t be playing in the sandbox with Clarissa, Frankie.”
“I’m sure she’d love for you to play in her box.”
He seemed amused by my apparent jealousy. “Yeah, well, I won’t be.”
“Thanks for coming in.”
I shivered when he leaned in and whispered in my ear, “When can I spend some time with you again?”
“I don’t know, Mack.”
We just stood there staring at each other for a bit. The look in his eyes this time was different from the other times we had silently connected recently. His eyes were telling me he had a lot of fight left in him. In fact, they were telling me that he hadn’t even begun to fight. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he just turned away, grabbed his coat, and left.
For some reason that night, I just couldn’t stop thinking about him. Well, more so than usual.
While Victor wrapped his arm around me as he drifted off to sleep, something in my bones told me that things in my life were about to get very complicated.
PAST
Mack was leaning against my bureau as I was putting on my earrings. He had his arms crossed and looked preoccupied.
“So, what do you really know about this Emmett?”
“He’s a car dealer now, but he used to be in a Boston-based boy band when he was younger.”
“Are you kidding me? He sounds shady. And cheesy.”
“You don’t even know him. Don’t judge him based on something he used to do. That’s like me judging you for ever thinking about going into politics.”
“I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you did. Politicians are the shadiest—my father included.” Mack let out a deep breath. “Well, at least you’ll be with Moses.”
“Even if I wasn’t, I can take care of myself.”
I didn’t really understand what was happening between Mack and me. All I knew was that with each week that passed, I felt more physically ill each time he’d go home to D.C. to be with Torrie. The jealousy monster had fully overtaken me. Yet, sometimes it was even harder having him around on the weekends, because it would give us more time together. My feelings for him had torpedoed into something that was seriously dangerous for my well-being.
The whole purpose of this date was to break the cycle—a cycle which mostly consisted of obsessing over Mack, fantasizing about Mack, longing for someone I couldn’t have.
At the same time, I cherished his friendship. That made the situation complicated, because I couldn’t seem to give him up.
I truly didn’t know how he really felt about me, but I suspected based on how he was acting tonight, that he was a little jealous. That gave me a thrill and confused me at the same time.
Moses walked in. He looked at Mack and then at me. There was an awkward silence. He knew about my true feelings for Mack. That was one of the reasons he was pushing me to go on this date.
“They should be here any minute,” Moses said before turning to Mack. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Nope.”
Moses glared at him. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Both guys then left the room.
What was that all about?
Before I knew it, the doorbell rang. With Moses and Mack still talking in private, I went to let our guests in.
Emmett had red hair like me, blue eyes, and a nice smile. In any other world, he might have even seemed handsome. But in my world, no one compared to Mack Morrison.
“You must be Francesca.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too. Moses has told me so much about you.”
“Likewise.” I then turned to his brother, Moses’s boyfriend. “Nice to see you again, Brad. Where are we headed tonight?”
Moses entered the room and answered my question. “I was thinking we’d go to Dick’s Last Resort.”
Dick’s was a gimmicky restaurant in the city known for its whacky décor and intentionally obnoxious staff.
“Speaking of dicks…” Moses said, looking over at Mack, who’d just emerged from his bedroom.
Mack headed straight for my date. “Emmett! What’s up, bro? How ya doin’?” He spun around in a Justin Bieber-like dance move then extended his hand.
Oh, God.
In an apparent attempt to mock Emmett’s former boy band stint, Mack had changed into low-slung jeans that were hanging halfway down his ass. His boxers were pretty much on full display. He’d also put on a white, wife beater tank and was wearing a baseball cap sideways. Despite my embarrassment, I couldn’t help but notice how good his muscles looked in that shirt. Damn.