Page 55 of Coming Home Country
My grin was automatic. “Yup.”
“Know anything about that?”
I shrugged. “I might.”
Though he was generally a happy-go-lucky guy, Mac hated being left out of the loop.
Huffing, he moved until he was standing directly in front of me. “Um, excuse me?”
“Problem, Mac?”
He let out a disbelieving scoff. “You know damn well there’s a problem. I should have been your first call when you received this information from—I can only assume—an anonymous source since you’re being vague as fuck right now. That’s how this friendship works. We tell each other all major developments,especiallyconcerning this whole Bex situation.”
Folding both arms over my chest, I challenged, “Oh, like that time you warned me that her boyfriend-later-to-be-discovered-fiancé was due to show up any day?”
Mac cringed when he realized he didn’t have a leg to stand on. “Never gonna let me live that one down, are ya?”
“Not a chance.”
“Fair.” He nodded. “So, what’s the plan?”
I leveled him with a glare. “Think you can keep your big mouth shut if I tell you?”
He gestured to himself. “Look who you’re talking to. I’m practically a human vault.”
“More like a puppy about to piss on itself whenever it gets too excited,” I muttered.
“Heard that.”
“Meant for you to,”I shot back.
His sigh was so dramatic that I had to bite back a smile. “You gonna tell me the plan or not? I’m extremely invested at this point.”
“Fine, I’ll tell you, but only because if I don’t, you’ll hound me for the rest of the night instead of focusing on this event foryourwedding.”
Mac’s grin grew so wide it nearly split his face. “You know me so well. That’s why we’re besties.”
“I’ve only got tonight and tomorrow before she goes back to Chicago, right?” Mac nodded with so much enthusiasm that he could have easily passed for a bobblehead figurine. “With a tight window, I’m gonna have to pull out the big guns. I may be your best man, but I’m her escort. That means, when I’m not needed by your side, I’ll be at hers, working my damnedest to remind her that I’m still the man she fell in love with.”
“It’s got good bones. And that means a lot coming from an almost architect who’s about to marry one. But what happens after tomorrow? You’re just gonna let her leave?”
That was the part I hadn’t quite figured out yet. “I can’t really demand she stay. She’s built a life for herself.”
Eyes widening, Mac let out a loud gasp. “Oh my god. Does that mean you’re going to leave with her?”
“It’s not that easy with me being the senior doctor at the practice. I can’t leave Felicity hanging.” I sighed as the uphill battle I faced became clear. “I don’t know. We’ve done the long-distance thing once before. Maybe we can do it again while we sort it all out.”
He snorted. “Yeah, because that worked outrealwell for you two the last time you tried it.”
My jaw clenched at the reminder ofwhyit hadn’t worked out. “This time, it’ll be different.”
“You’re probably right. The odds of getting roofied and led to believe you’re an imaginary baby’s daddy twice have to be lower than being struck by lightning.”
“You might be a vault, but you really suck at pep talks,” I remarked as I stepped past him.
“I’ll keep practicing!” Mac called to my back.
My eyes lifted to the sky, but only for a split second. I couldn’t waste any more time focusing on anything else but Bex.
