She eased her weight off the bed and stood, freezing as she glanced back at him to see if she’d made it out without disturbing him. He stirred a bit, rolled over, and then went back to breathing deep and steady.
Figuring she’d made it through the hard part, Lydia tiptoed in her stocking feet across the dim room.
The early morning light filtered through the curtains. Amazingly enough, she’d slept fairly well—when she’d finally gotten to sleep. She’d had to initiate the physical encounter with Mack last night, but once she’d started it, he didn’t hesitate to keep going—twice.
Warming from the inside out from the memories, she turned the doorknob slowly and then eased the bedroom door open. She slipped through the narrow opening and closed the door softly behind her.
Once out in the living room, she allowed herself to move more quickly across the room, still trying to walk quietly so he wouldn’t wake.
In the kitchen, she turned on the light and reached for the coffee pot. Likely the smell of coffee was going to wake Mack but she felt the need for the hot rich brew.
She’d been so quiet and so careful, she was surprised when Marissa’s door opened.
Lydia pressed a finger to her lips to signal to her roommate to remain quiet.
Marissa walked silently across the room but the moment she reached the kitchen and Lydia, her eyes widened.
“Oh my God! He’s so freaking hot.”
“Shh.” Lydia laughed as she tried to shush her friend. “He’s sleeping.”
“He should be. He must be tired after what I heard last night.” Marissa’s devilish expression had Lydia laughing even as her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
She cringed that her roommate had heard what had turned out to be pretty boisterous, in spite of her efforts to remain quiet. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be. And in exchange you have to fix me up with one of his single friends.”
Lydia didn’t know any of Mack’s friends. Did he even have them? The man seemed like such a loner, she wasn’t sure.
While spooning coffee grinds into the filter, Lydia let out a huff. “We’re definitely not up to that stage in our—whatever this thing is with him.”
“Well you need to get there.” Marissa crossed her arms over her chest as she issued the command.
“I’ll do my best.” Lydia hit the brew button and cocked one brow high. “So, did you stay at the hospital all that time last night?”
Marissa nodded, wrapping her arms closer around herself. “Yeah. There was still a crowd when I left.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t stay with you.”
Her friend waved off her concern. “Don’t worry about it. Half of my English class was there with me. I was fine.”
“Any news on the injured?”
Marissa nodded. “They’d upgraded the janitor’s condition from critical to stable. And they released a couple of the students with lesser injuries.”
“That’s good news, I guess.”
“Yeah. It is.” Marissa drew in a breath as her eyes met Lydia’s. “They released the ID of the shooter. He was a student.”
Lydia felt sick to her stomach that a fellow student could do such a thing. “Do they have a motive?”
The guy had been killed in a shootout with the two police officers who’d arrived first on the scene, so they might never know what made him do it.
“Not yet. But the news reports said they seized his computer and cell phone. The FBI is going through it all now, along with his social media accounts and travel history. They’re trying to determine if it’s terrorist related.”
“The FBI. Wow.”
Lydia stared blindly at the dripping coffee filling the carafe, not really seeing it as she tried to absorb the enormity of the situation.
“Good morning.”
Lydia had been so distracted by her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed Mack was in the room until she heard his voice.
“Well, good morning.” Marissa’s flirty greeting put Lydia on edge.
Her friend couldn’t help it. Flirting came as second nature to the willowy blonde, but that didn’t mean it was any easier for Lydia to swallow when it was directed at the man she’d spent the night with.
At least he was dressed. Barefooted, but wearing jeans and a T-shirt, it was far better than the underwear he’d been wearing when he’d met Marissa last night.
Lydia grit her teeth thinking of that. She loved Marissa but that green-eyed monster called jealousy was strong.
Mack came around the counter, passed Marissa without a second glance and walked directly to Lydia.
Groaning, he pulled her to him and planted a kiss on her before eying the counter. “I smelled coffee.”
“Sorry. I was trying not to wake you but . . . ”
“You can always wake me for coffee . . . or sex.” He’d said that last part close to her ear before pressing another quick kiss to her mouth.
Moving away, he went to the glass fronted cabinet. As he opened the door and took down three coffee mugs, as comfortable as if he lived here too, Lydia glanced at Marissa.
Her roommate’s eyes widened as she mouthed, “OMG, so hot.”
Lydia rolled her eyes at her friend but couldn’t stop the smile that bowed her lips. Marissa was right. He was hot.
Mack pulled the pot from beneath the stream, splashed some coffee into his mug and then replaced the carafe so the machine could continue filling the glass pot.
He took a long sip and swallowed.
“Ah. I needed that.” Cradling the coffee in both hands, he leaned against the counter and eyed Lydia. “So I figure we’ll drive to my Dad’s right after breakfast.”
“That soon?” she asked, surprised.
“Yes. Your mother is anxious to see you after yesterday. And I haven’t seen my father since the brunch. Besides, we have some confessing to do.”
“Ooo. That sounds interesting. What kind of confessing?” Marissa jumped into the conversation, looking more than interested in the answer.
Mack shot her a glance before focusing back on Lydia. “I think it’s time we tell them we’re together.”
Her heart kicked into overtime. She swallowed hard. “Are we? Together?”
A frown drew the dark brows over his bright blue eyes low. “As far as I’m concerned we are. You don’t agree?”
She rushed to say, “No, I do. I agree.”
He let out a snort. “Well, good.”
Lydia caught a glimpse of Marissa’s glee over their discussion. She had to smile at how her friend looked ready to break into a cheer with happiness on Lydia’s behalf.
She wrestled her attention back to his suggestion. “I can throw some clothes in a bag and be ready to go.”
“Make sure you pack enough for the whole weekend,” Mack ordered, turning to reach for the coffee carafe again. As he filled all three of the mugs lined up on the counter, Lydia had to ponder where she’d be spending the weekend. Their parents’ house or Mack’s apartment?
Actually, it didn’t matter. Either way he’d be there with her. As protective as he’d been the past twelve hours, she had no doubt of that and she couldn’t be happier about the prospect.
He handed her one of the cups of coffee, delivered with a kiss to her lips before he said, “I don’t know how you take it. But I’ll learn. I promise.”
That promise felt as if it encompassed so much more than his learning how she took her coffee.
Heart fluttering with all the possibilities for the future, Lydia nodded. “Thank you.”
Mack donned a devilish grin. “Anytime, sis.”
Lydia cocked a brow at what was a very bad joke on his part. “Keep that up and I’ll start calling you James and I’ll continue until the day I die.”
His expression softened. “Coming from you, I think I could live with that just fine until the day I die.”
There it was again, a promise in his words. A pledge that made the day seem even brighter as she looked toward their future together.
“So, how do we think Mommy and Daddy are going to take the news?” Marissa asked, grabbing the third cup Mack had filled off the counter.
Lydia groaned. “I have no idea but I’m a little worried.”
Mack leveled a gaze on Lydia. “Well, stop. Whatever they feel, they’re going to have to get used to it because this—us—is not going away. Got it?”
He was pushy and bossy and Lydia’s heart swelled a little more with love at every word in his demand. “Yeah, I got it.”
“Good.” He nodded and she couldn’t argue because it was all just as he’d said—very good.
EPILOGUE
“You ready?” he asked.
“No.” Lydia shook her head and stayed sitting in the passenger seat not moving.
With one arm draped over the VW’s steering wheel, Mack turned in the driver’s seat to raise one brow at her. “Too bad. We have to.”
“But I don’t want to.” She knew she was acting like a brat. She didn’t care.
“Okay.” He turned back forward and reached for the key in the ignition.
“Wait? What are you doing?”
“Leaving. You don’t want to go inside so . . .” He shrugged as he started the engine.
“Wait. We can’t leave.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Because they’re expecting us.”