Mack Daddy(8)

Wow.

Mack turned the page. “Frankie walked over to the man and gave him back her nightstick. She wasn’t mad. She just didn’t need it anymore. If anything, she was grateful. He’d given her a gift: the realization that she needed nothing but her own inner strength to be the person she wanted to be. Frankie now understood the power her own thoughts had over her. The magic wasn’t in the nightstick. It was inside of her all along. The End.”

In a way, I wanted to smack him, but honestly, it was brilliant. He’d completely morphed tidbits of our history in with Jonah’s situation. And the kids, who were clapping, loved the story and the funny illustrations that he’d drawn in crayon. They weren’t half-bad, although he’d made me look sort of like Peg from that PBS show, Peg and Cat.

Mack spent the next several minutes answering some questions and interacting with the kids about the meaning behind the story. Jonah remained quiet the entire time but seemed calm overall.

When his time was up, Mack closed the book and walked over to me.

“That was really interesting,” I said. “I have to give you credit. Nightstick? Pretty clever.”

“You liked that, huh? He smiled mischievously. “Well, I figured I might as well have a little fun with you while I’m here. The kids don’t know the difference anyway. They enjoyed the story. At least, I think they did.”

“They did. How long did it take you to come up with it?”

“Practically the entire week.” He laughed.

“Don’t you work?” I joked.

“I do, but I make time for things that are important to me.”

“Taunting me in cryptic ways is important to you?”

“The overall message was a positive one. No one knows you’re my Frankie.”

His Frankie.

“Your son knows you call me that.”

“I guess that’s true, but he doesn’t know the story. He’s never asked about it.”

Mack was giving me an intense look. I needed to get him out of here before he could see the effect he was having on me. He looked so sexy in jeans and a fitted, cable-knit sweater that hugged his chest. He smelled so effing good, too. I think it was exactly the same mix of cologne and body wash I remembered. Whatever it was, it emitted the same pheromones that always managed to drive me absolutely crazy. It had been a long time since I’d felt this kind of physical attraction toward someone.

“Well, thank you for coming in.”

Seeming to ignore my hint that he should leave, he continued staring into my eyes with that determined look and said, “Have coffee with me some afternoon this week.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Mack.”

“What’s your hesitation?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I know you’re with someone. This isn’t a date I’m asking you for. I just want to talk to you face to face...without children around.”

I wanted to say yes, but the words just wouldn’t come out. There were too many reasons why going out with him even just for coffee would have been a bad idea.

“I don’t know. It just somehow seems inappropriate.”

“You’re making it out to seem like that, yes. It would only be coffee. Maybe a cookie if you’re nice.” He winked.

There it was again. That stupid shiver that ran through me anytime he winked.

I flinched when he reached out to move a stray hair out of my eyes. Just that simple grazing of his fingertip across my forehead made my pulse react.

“Just coffee, Frankie. We got off to a weird start, and I feel like I owe you more of an explanation of how we got to this place.”

As much as it felt wrong to be meeting him, a part of me couldn’t resist.

“When?”

“You tell me.”

“Thursday at four. The Gourmet Bean in Chestnut Hill,” I quickly said before I could change my mind.

He was beaming. “I’ll be there.”

After I agreed, Mack walked over to Jonah and mussed his son’s hair before saying goodbye. Jonah didn’t look amused, although he’d handled Mack’s storytelling without needing to flee the room; I was really proud of him for that.

Later that afternoon, once the students cleared out, Lorelai snuck up on me as I was getting my things ready to leave.

She crossed her arms. “You need to spill. Right now.”

“What?”

“What’s going on between you and Mack Daddy? I was watching you two interact. I nearly had an orgasm.”

“What did you say? Mack Daddy?”

“Yes. Mack Daddy. It’s what everyone calls him around here. You didn’t know that?”

“I guess it fits.”