While the kids took their meal in the playroom upstairs, treated to “kid beer” and some superhero movie she wouldn’t have minded watching with them, Mack acted perfectly charming. He had Jed and Shannon laughing. He asked real questions of Jed and Cass about being on the job, relating the discussion to his siblings. He seemed genuinely interested in Shannon’s career; she worked from home doing medical transcriptions. He spoke about the horror of what being on the posters for the new station had been like.
“Yeah, so these older women kept coming up to me and asking me out. It was weird.”
“When you say older, you mean…?” Shannon asked.
“Like, thirty-four or thirty-five.” At her glare, he laughingly amended, “Eighty or ninety, at least. On walkers. And they’re hitting on me, and my friends are there. It was a nightmare. We play a lot of pranks on each other at the station. For a while, I was that old guy from that cartoon movieUp.And I had granny dolls doing bad, bad things to me all over the place.”
Cass hadn’t been able to stop laughing.
He’d complimented Shannon over every dish, though Cass had to admit her friend had done herself proud. Cass had never had a better meal.
“Geez, Shannon. How come you never cook like this when it’s just me over?”
Jed frowned. “How do you think I feel? I live with her and never get this kind of service.”
“I’ll give you some service,” Shannon told her husband while smiling sweetly at Mack. “Maybe it’s the appreciative company.”
“Nah.” Mack shook his head. “It’s the wine. It pairs incredibly well with a roast cooked to perfection.”
Shannon sighed with pleasure, and Cass smothered a chuckle seeing Jed roll his eyes once more at something Mack said.
She pretended to be jealous. “Hey, Mack, you’re here with me, remember.”
“Of course I am, darling.” He kissed her cheek, which had Shannon smiling openly at the pair. “But you don’t cook for me like Shannon does.”
Shannon tittered.
“But on another note, Jed, what exactly did you say to my buddy, Tex? Because he was complaining a ton about you and your ideas about the Cowboys.”
Which had Jed going off about the loathsome team, with Mack interjecting here and there about his thoughts.
Dinner wound down. The kids brought their empty plates down and grabbed a second helping of kid beer then left for a second movie. The guys continued to bandy attitude about their favorite football teams, and Cass and Shannon headed to the living room to relax while the men cleared the table.
Shannon glanced around and, seeing them alone, whispered, “Oh my gosh, Cass, he’samazing.”
Cass flushed, having thought the same thing despite being annoyed at how over-the-top complimentary Mack had been to Shannon all night. She’d told him to be nice, but maybe notthatnice. “He’s okay.”
“He’s hot as hell, those eyes are killing me, and he’s so polite and charming. How do you stand it?”
“It’s tough, but I make do.” She gave a put-upon sigh. “The sad part is that he’s so big and lasts forever. I mean, I like sex, but come on. Three times a day? I need sleep, you know.”
Shannon just stared, her mouth open wide.
So satisfying.Cass wanted badly to laugh.
Before Shannon could say anything, the guys returned.
“I brought Pictionary,” Jed said with a grim smile. “No crying when you weak asses lose.”
Mack guffawed, looking from Jed to Cass. “No wonder you two make such great partners. You’re both competitors.”
“Hey, I saw you at the bar.” Jed sat next to Shannon. “You’re no lightweight. I mean, you were at soccer, but you weren’t half bad at the pool table.”
Mack sneered. “Maybe ifCass-an-dra”—he just had to draw out her name —“hadn’t tried to cut my knees out from under me, you’d have seen a lot more of me on the field.”
Cass stood in a huff. “Who are you calling Cassandra?” Had she told him she hated being called by her full name? Because she usually did… Except when he said it, she got all hot and bothered.
“You, dumbass.” Mack opened his mouth to add to that stellar comment when he suddenly stopped.
