Page 51 of Not So Happily Ever After (British Bad Boys)
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she confides as we reach the foot of the stairs. The only light spills from the kitchen, left on for security purposes, and her open bedroom door. Shadows are everywhere. I turn and take her in my arms. Doesn’t matter that I’ve just left her bed. I have an insatiable need to touch her whenever she’s near.
Before I get the chance to say anything, the unmistakable sound of a door opening upstairs paralyzes me.Her dad did come back.
“Mackenzie, is that you?” His voice sounds unnaturally loud in the dark, and she makes a strangled noise in her throat.
“Uh, yes,” she calls. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you up.”
I exhale a relieved breath and grin at her.That was close.
The upstairs light flicks on, and my grin freezes. In about two seconds her dad’s going to see us. I trawl through my brain for a plausible reason why I’d be here, at this hour, but there isn’t one. It’s bloody obvious why I’m here. He’ll kill me.
Serves you right.
Mac shoves me in the chest, and I end up with my back against the curve of the staircase, out of sight from the upstairs landing. I grab her hand, and it’s like she reads my mind as she presses her lips together and shakes her head before pulling free.Don’t you dare confess to my dad.
All right, then. Hiding in the shadows it is.
The stairs creak as he comes down them, luckily pausing halfway. “Can’t you sleep, sweetheart? Shall I make us a cup of tea?”
Fuck. They’ll have to walk right by me to get to the kitchen. I scan the hall for an escape route, but my options are limited.
Make that nonexistent.
“God, no.” She sounds horrified. Her dad’s definitely going to guess something’s up, and I brace myself for discovery. “I mean, it’s late. I’m really tired. I could make you a drink and bring it up if you like?”
“No, that’s fine.” He sounds bemused. “As long as you’re okay.”
“Yes, I’m great. Good night. See you in the morning.”
Her dad’s footsteps retreat up the stairs, and a few seconds later Mac joins me. She takes my hand, and we wait until his bedroom door closes. She lets out a long breath before pressing her mouth against my ear.
“We should’ve had a Plan B. You know, like knotted sheets out of my window.”
“Helpful, seeing as we were already downstairs.”
“I can’t believe we didn’t hear him when he arrived home.”
I don’t want to think about it. “Tomorrow night, you stay over at my place. Okay?”
“Okay. I think we’ve proved that option’s a lot safer.”
I kiss her, and it’s a bloody hard wrench to pull back. But we’ve had one lucky escape tonight. Don’t want to push our luck.
It’d be so much easier if we were living together.
When I’m back in my car, I drop my forehead onto the steering wheel. I’m seriously losing it. The reason we’re keeping everything on the down low is that we don’t want her family finding out about us. It’d blow our cover right out of the water if she moved in with me for the rest of the week. Why did I even think that?
The long day at work ahead looms like a specter, but for once the familiar suffocation doesn’t swamp me. Because at the end of it, I’ll see Mac.
Yeah, man. You’ve totally lost it.
I work late on Tuesday, since I’ve done the unthinkable and booked a personal day tomorrow. We’ve nothing special planned—Mac and I are just going to hang out, and I’ve never looked forward to having a day off so much.
It’s almost nine before I get home, and she’s already there. Oh yeah, I might’ve given her a key. Why not? Makes sense.
“Something smells good.” She wraps her arms around me, and her kiss was worth waiting fourteen hours for. “And so do you,” she adds with her wicked grin.
“Funny.” We make our way into the kitchen, and I place the Indian takeaway onto the workbench. We’re halfway through eating when her phone rings. She picks it up and pulls a face.
