“She’s thirty-two years old. Gimme a break.”
“That’s what I wanted to say but didn’t.”
“I’m impressed.”
“Me too because I wasreallyclose to calling her on all her drama. Then the twins came in covered in permanent marker from a fight that got out of hand.” He cleared his throat. “The word ‘idiot’—spelled I D J I T— is faded but still visible on my son’s forehead.”
She did her best not to laugh.
“Sam has the word ‘pig-face’ on her cheek, but Shannon managed to erase enough of the G that it looks like ‘pie-face,’ and I’m not sure that’s any better.” He paused. “After we saw the kids, we both had a long, cleansing laugh and decided not to have any more children because we love our own so much. We really need to appreciate the ones we have.”
“Smart move.”
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath.
“I’m happy you guys worked that out.”
“Me too, Cass. Me too.”
Chapter Twenty
Mack hated the fact he and Cass had fought. And he hated that he felt so uncomfortable unburdening himself to his friends because he used to feel like he could tell them anything. He’d made another excuse to avoid everyone until shift on Sunday. He’d somehow figure out how to bypass them next week too, though he could do nothing about the soccer game next week, when he’d have to face Cass again.
Mack didn’t do drama. He didn’t not talk to people. So he had no idea when he’d become this huge dickwad who couldn’t apologize to the woman he unfortunately loved.
God. Thinking about how he’d fallen for a police officer galled him. Because he had to learn how to deal with his own issues if he and Cass could make a go of being together. And that was taking a lot for granted because one, the woman hadn’t called to talk to him at all, and two, she’d never said she wanted more than a friendship. He might be expecting a lot more than he deserved.
But, hell, being without her, without even the opportunity to talk to her with his head out of his ass, was killing him.
Mack liked her, damn it. All that sass and grit and in-your-face honesty.
Genuinely sad because they hadn’t talked for a whole two days, he mustered up the courage and drove to her house Saturday afternoon. He texted,Do you have time to talk?
She didn’t make him wait, which he appreciated. He’d intentionally timed it so that she should be up and moving, though he knew she worked later in the evening.
Yeah.
Face to face?
Sure. When?
Now.He left his car, locked up, and walked to her door.
She opened it and stepped back before he had a chance to knock. “Come in.”
He entered and stood, feeling awkward, his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry.”
She sighed. “Me too.”
He paused. “Oh?”
“You first.” She closed the door behind him and moved to her couch, where she plopped down, waiting.
Mack followed after getting rid of his shoes and jacket, prepared to stay as long as he had to in order to convince her to take him back. Hell, he didn’t even know if they were dating, so could they have actually broken up?
He took a fortified breath and admitted, “I took out my anger with my family on you, and you didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t fair. You have nothing to do with how they act, and you were nothing but nice to everyone. I really am sorry.”
She sighed. “I am too. I could tell there was something off whenever you mentioned them.” She paused. “Xavier is a dick.”
