Page 59 of Festive Faking
I made a mental note to check the bathroom and see if Mama’s “restock” had extended to the medicine cabinet.
He parked Daddy’s truck next to the cabin and hopped out. I waited inside, knowing he preferred to open the door for me. The gentlemanly gesture had me secretly swooning. Never would I have guessed Mac Blaze had a chivalrous streak.
When he stopped dead while rounding the hood, concern gripped me. I half expected him to double over and get sick in the grass, but instead, his head dropped back, face tilted toward the sky.
Pulling the door handle, I jumped down from the truck and headed to where he stood. “Are you okay?”
Slowly, his gaze lowered to meet mine, a single eyebrow raised. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
Oh, I don’t know, because you’ve been acting strange for the last hour?
I rephrased my question, hoping to get a straight answer this time. “Then what are you doing?” Gesturing toward the open door of the truck, I added, “Kinda left me hanging.”
“Shit, sorry.” He gripped the back of his neck. “Didn’t even realize.”
“Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
When he extended a hand, I took it without question. Mac pulled me against him, my back to his front.
Breath hot in my ear, he used his free hand to tilt my face upward. “Look at all those stars.”
His voice was so full of wonder that I found myself smiling.
Deciding to tease the city boy, I joked, “Crazy thing about these stars. They put on a show like this every night.”
The resulting chuckle warmed my insides. “Might need a disclaimer on your marketing pitch: Stars not included.”
Turning in his embrace, I looped my arms around his neck and hummed. “Might need to hire you out as a consultant.”
Mac smirked down at me before teasing the side of my nose with his. “Sounds like a smart business decision to me. We’ve aced every project we’ve worked on together.”
“This is true.” I melted into him when he ghosted his lips over mine without claiming them. “I’ll be the brains, and you can be the beauty.”
His head tipped back as a bark of laughter rolled up his throat and into the night sky.
“Fuck, you’re something else,” he breathed out in amusement.
Turning his dark gaze upon me once again, he cupped my cheeks, voice growing sincere. “Say the word, and I’m there, Aspen. That dream of yours is so special that I’d be a fool not to want to be a part of it.”
My lungs seized, and my mouth dropped open.
God, I wanted to believe him. To know that I could call him up one day in the future and he wouldn’t hesitate to offer his help.
Maybe that’s what I could cling to when we parted ways. That our tie wasn’t completely severed. That it was goodbye for now and not forever. That, someday, we would join forces and create something beautiful. Together.
Hope filled my chest like a balloon, and suddenly, I could breathe again.
Pushing thoughts of what lay past this week aside, I made up my mind to enjoy these final few days on the ranch. Mac had shown me a side of himself he kept hidden from the world, and that was special—it mademefeel special. So, no matter what happened, I would look back fondly on this moment in time we shared and allow it to tide me over until our paths crossed again.
“Should we go inside?” I suggested.
Mac’s hand slid from my face to anchor on my hips. A tiny pout graced his lips. “But it’s so beautiful out here.”
An idea struck, and I stepped out of his hold to tug him toward the cabin. “Come on.”
He stomped like a petulant toddler who hadn’t gotten their way, and I fought the urge to laugh. His ridiculousness used to drive me up the wall, but now, I found it kind of endearing.
“Stop sulking. Once we bundle up, we’ll come back out.”
