Page 29 of Not So Happily Ever After (British Bad Boys)
Will
What the fuck?
I straighten so fast, I get whiplash. What just went down here?
Nothing.But I can’t shift the feeling that whatever we said, we meant something else entirely.
You’re losing it.Like Mac pointed out, if we cross that line it’d be a disaster.
There’s no time to figure out if I made a prat of myself. Luce is standing by the door, a big grin on her face as she glances between Mac and me. I run my hand over my head and drop my rucksack onto the sofa.
“Hey,” I respond. I sound rat-arsed, despite not having had anything to drink since Tuesday night. It’s an effort to focus when all my blood has migrated south. “Mac, this is Lucinda, one of the partners of Oakland. Luce, meet Mackenzie.”
“Hi.” Is it my imagination or is Mac’s voice unnaturally loud?It’s your guilty conscience.
“Hey, Mackenzie. I just dropped by to make sure everything’s okay. And invite you to a barbecue tonight.”
“Oh,” Mac says. “That sounds great. Thanks.”
Luce transfers her gaze to me. It’s hard to tell, but I think she’s smirking behind her smile. Why the fuck did I think it was a good idea to bring Mac here? My Uni mates can be real dicks at times. “See you about seven, then? Bring beer.”
She saunters off, and I exhale a long breath. It’s almost four, and I didn’t bring any beer with me. I turn to Mac, who’s retreated to the other side of the pod. Not that it makes much difference. One false move and we’ll collide with each other.
In your dreams, mate.
“The grand tour will have to wait. Want to come with me to the village?”
“Sure.” She checks her phone before sliding it into her back pocket. As I shut the door behind us, I catch sight of my rucksack on the sofa. There’s no way I can resist her in close quarters like this.
Where the hell am I sleeping tonight?
It doesn’t take long to drive to the village, and I park behind the tourist center. There’s one main street, with numerous inns and B&Bs, and we walk along the cobbled pavement toward the supermarket.
“I love this place.” Mac’s gazing at the medieval church that sits by the edge of the river. “If you could just get rid of the traffic, it’s like stepping back in time.”
I glance at the array of shops that sell everything from mountaineering and climbing equipment to Welsh tapestry gifts. “You’ve a great imagination.”
“Not to be rude,” she says, and I brace myself for exactly that, “but I’m surprised your best mates from Uni set up this kind of thing. I would’ve thought they’d all be into insurance and finance in the city.”
“Nah. I always hung out with the adrenaline junkies.”
“I know you’ve always loved sport.” She gives me a sideways glance. “I remember you were on crutches for half of Year Eleven.”
I’m chuffed she remembers that, considering how long ago it was. “Yeah. Fun times.” Fun for me. For my parents, not so much. Although I was never in the same league as Lucas when it came to football, I played just about every sport going, and made a couple of local youth teams. And while I suffered plenty of injuries, it was the sprained ankle from rugby that was the most conspicuous. “I would’ve done anything to take Harry’s place when you three did that summer mountaineering course.”
“Is that why you come here so often? So you can do rock climbing and stuff?”
“Partly.” I push open the door to the supermarket for her. “But nothing beats being here, seeing how it’s working out. Emailed reports only go so far.”
“Reports?” she echoes as she picks up a basket. “What, you mean you have a personal stake in the company?”
I take the basket from her. “I’m one of the partners.” Funny, for some reason I thought she already knew that. Although, since I hadn’t told her, that doesn’t make any sense. “Another few years, and I’ll be joining them full time.”
She gazes at me in obvious amazement. “Wow. That’s…” She hesitates, as though words fail her. And considering this is Mackenzie, that’s really saying something. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
“Unbelievable?” I give her a grin, so she doesn’t guess it matters to me what she thinks. At leastunbelievableisn’t as bad asirresponsible,which is the word my parents used in connection with my ambitions.
“No. Just surprising. I mean, you’ve always worked in the city. I thought that’s what you wanted.” An odd expression flashes over her face, gone in a second.What’s that about?It was almost as if sheunderstood. “You’re really going to do it?”
