Priceless(54)
“Are you serious? She was behind those?”
“Oh, yes, and proud of it,” Mack said. “You know the expression ‘All’s fair in love and war’? Well, Destiny thinks she’s fighting a war for romance. Believe me, Forsythe’s column is just one of her weapons of choice.”
“Are you going over there?”
“The instant we hang up.”
“Pick me up on your way,” she said. “I want a piece of this. I have more at stake than you do.”
Mack laughed at her out-for-blood tone. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be out front,” she said, then hung up.
“Oh, Destiny,” Mack murmured, not even bothering to hide his anticipation. “You have really gone and stepped in it this time.”
For once, he wasn’t going to have to say a single word to his aunt about her meddling. He could sit back and let Beth do all the dirty work. Damn, this was going to be more fun than watching a couple of sexy women get down and dirty in the mud.
Unfortunately, Destiny Carlton was nowhere to be found. Beth’s frustration grew with every call Mack made on his cell phone only to be told that he’d just missed his aunt.
“She’s lying low,” he finally concluded.
“Smart woman,” Beth said with a trace of admiration. Destiny was clearly a worthy adversary. No doubt that was why her nephews hadn’t succeeded in foiling her meddling yet.
“Want to have lunch?” Mack asked.
“In public?” she responded, not even attempting to hide her horror at the prospect.
He chuckled. “Oh, I think I can pull it off so that we don’t get caught by the paparazzi.”
“How?”
“Watch a master at work,” he said, making a few calls, then heading through Washington’s crowded roads at a pace few race-car drivers would have attempted. He turned into a back alley, pulled up beside an unmarked door and told her to sit tight. “I’ll be right back.”
Beth looked around warily. “Are you sure it’s safe here?”
“From everything except rats, most likely,” he said,
She shuddered. “Hurry.”
“Five minutes,” he promised.
The entire time he was gone—which seemed like an eternity—Beth’s gaze darted in every direction, on the lookout for lurking dangers. To her relief he was back before she’d spotted so much as a rodent of any kind. The aromas drifting from the cooler he was carrying were worth all the moments of anxiety she’d suffered.
“Garlic,” she whispered happily. “Tomatoes. Oh, my God, what did you get? There was no sign over that door you slipped through.”
“The best pasta you will ever put in your mouth,” he told her. “Your place?”
She sniffed greedily even as she nodded. “And step on it,” she told him. “My mouth is watering.”
Mack gave her a sideways glance. “I gather Italian food ranks right up there with chocolate on your personal aphrodisiac scale.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Does this mean I’m going to get lucky this afternoon?” he inquired, his expression hopeful.
Beth considered the proposition for about fifteen seconds. “If there’s time,” she said conscientiously. “I do have to get back to work, you know. Peyton and Jason are covering for me now, but at some point people might start to wonder why I’m not on duty.”
Mack took the corner on two wheels and was parked behind her town house in three minutes flat.
“Ever consider trying out for NASCAR?” she asked as she got out, still clutching the cooler.
“Nah, too tame,” he teased. “I like the challenge of maneuvering through rush hour.”
“You just like a challenge, period,” she guessed.
“That, too.”
Even as she put the food on the kitchen table, she studied him closely. “Is that what I am, Mack? A challenge?”
Rather than the flip response she’d anticipated, he seemed to take the question seriously. “Not the way you mean,” he said eventually.
“How, then?”
“I’m not sure I can explain.”
Because his serious expression and tone told her this could be really important, she met his gaze. “Try,” she said.
His expression turned thoughtful, and he took his time answering. “Okay, here’s what I think. It’s never been about winning your heart or getting you into bed just to prove I could,” he told her. His gaze met hers. “In some weird way it’s been about seeing just how involved I dared to get before the panic set in.”
Beth wasn’t sure how to take that, wasn’t even sure she fully understood it. “And?”