He shook his head. “No, although I’m dying to spend some time with her without talking shop.”
“Go for it, cuz. It would be nice to see you with someone.” Parker began rummaging around in his fridge, then pulled out an ice cold root beer.
“Right back ‘atcha.”
“I always have someone,” Parker said with a confident tilt of his head.
“Several someones,” Mac teased. Parker had been known to have a certain flirtatious nature and enjoyed playing the field.
“Someday you’re going to meet a woman who is going to turn your whole world upside down,” Mac said. “And I hope I have a bird’s eye view as it all plays out.”
Parker winced. “That already happened once. Can’t say as I look forward to it happening again.”
“Hey, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to bring you down,” Mac apologized.
“No worries,” Parker said, jutting his chin up. “That was a lifetime ago.”
Mac had seen the glint of pain in Parker’s eyes and he felt awful for dredging up a painful topic. Five years ago Parker had been blindsided when his girlfriend, Ariel, had left him for another man. Parker had been devastated. Ever since then he had treated relationships like the plague. He wasn’t fooling Mac though. Despite his cavalier attitude, Mac knew Ariel’s betrayal still gave him a great deal of pain.
Even if it was a lifetime ago, Parker wasn’t over it. All of a sudden something clicked in his brain. He didn’t want to waste another moment circling around Delilah without taking a step forward with her. What kind of man allowed an opportunity of a lifetime to pass him by? He didn’t want to be that kind of man.
“You know what, Parker? I gotta go.”
Parker threw his hands in the air. “Hey! Where are you going? I thought we were going to hang out?”
“Give Remy or Nick a call. I have to take care of something.” He tossed the words over his shoulder.
Before Parker could say another word, Mac had grabbed his keys and beat a fast path out the door. As he walked down his pebbled walkway he paused for a moment to pluck a bunch of wild flowers from his front yard. He brushed off the dirt from the roots and tied the bunch with a long piece of grass. After he jumped into his truck he gently placed the bouquet on the seat next to him. As he started the engine and took off down the road, excitement roared through him.
He was going to throw caution to the wind and act on pure desire and impulse. He was going to ask Delilah Dalton out on a date. And he prayed with all his might that her answer would be yes.
**
Delilah turned the volume button way up on the radio that sat by her kitchen sink. She had just finished washing a sink full of dishes after an afternoon of baking zucchini bread and blackberry cobbler. Once Mac had left she had felt the need to occupy herself with something other than his handsome face. She let out a giggle as one of her favorite songs came on. The beat was fast and up tempo. She waved her arms around and shook her hips. Even though she’d never been the best dancer, she considered herself a pro in the privacy of her own home.
A noise from the front of the house caused her to turn down the volume on the radio. Cocking her head to the side, she listened for any further sounds. There it was again. The peal of her doorbell. With a quick turn of the knob, Delilah turned off the radio and padded down the hall. She moved to the window and discreetly looked outside to see who was out there.
Mac’s red truck was parked in her driveway. Had he forgotten something during his earlier visit? She looked down at her shirt. It was filthy from her cooking session. Ugh. Oh well. This would be the ultimate test of her appeal. If Mac was able to deal with her, warts and all, he might just be the something wonderful she needed in her life. Delilah opened the door and greeted Mac with a friendly smile. It was impossible to deny the pleasurable feeling that rose up inside her at the sight of Mac Donahue.
“Mac!” She greeted him in a breathless voice. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon. What’s up?”
“I’m not very good at this.”
“This?” she asked, confused by his statement. “Do you want to come in?” She motioned him inside. He shook his head and didn’t budge an inch.
Confusion swirled around her. “Is something wrong?”
“I came here to ask you out. On a date,” he blurted out.
“You did?” she asked. Her voice sounded incredulous to her own ears.
He pushed the bouquet of flowers toward her. “Would you like to go out with me? Maybe catch dinner and a movie or we could have a picnic on the beach. I’m not a big person for crowds.” He shifted from one foot to the other. A frown settled over his face. “Of course you might not want to go out with me, which is perfectly fine. I mean…I’ll be totally honest, it wouldn’t be perfectly fine because I’d be really disappointed, but I would understand. So…yes or no. Do you want to go out with me?”