“I do not.”
“See?”
She gave him the finger, which made him laugh. “Anyway, the longer we were together, the more Sean tried to mold me into his perfect girlfriend. I met his parents. I met his work friends. He met my folks, who weren’t as impressed as I’d thought they’d be. I thought he was the kind of guy my dad would love, but my dad gave me a lame ‘if you’re happy, we’re happy’ spiel. I should have known better.”
“Your dad sounds like he just wants you to be happy.”
“Yeah, but he’s not the expert on what makes me happy. I am.”
“Good point.” Mack paused. “So you liked Sean because he was handsome, rich, and great at sex?”
“Kind of. That attracted me to him, sure. Not the rich part though. I just wanted a guy who wouldn’t expect me to pay for all the bills. I’m fine with going Dutch, but I once dated a guy who forgot his wallet on three consecutive dates. We never had a fourth.”
“Ouch. I usually offer to pay for my dates. I had one woman who called me old-fashioned, but she didn’t object to my paying.”
“Who would? You want to buy me dinner? Fine. But if I offer to pay, don’t call me names for it later.”
“Right.” He nodded. “Handsome and sexy. That’s what you like.” He looked down at himself and gave her a thumbs-up. “Got it.”
“Oh stop.” Yet he wasn’t wrong. “I also like a good personality and a man who knows boundaries.”
“Sounds like a dog. You want a guy to sit on command?”
Was he teasing her? She frowned. “Not at all. I want a man who doesn’t get in a snit because I tell him no. If I don’t want sex or I don’t want to go out, that doesn’t mean I’m frigid or I’m an introvert.”
“True. And just because I might be too tired for hours of foreplay and just want a quickie, or if I feel the need to hang with the guys instead of yet another chick flick on TV, that doesn’t mean I’m not a caring lover or hate the woman I’m with. It just means I’m tired and need to decompress off a tough shift. Sometimes I don’t want my girlfriend to deal with my issues. She shouldn’t have to.”
“Good point. But if she wants to share your life, you’ll have to let her see some of the ugly.”
“Yeah, I know. But so many women think a firefighter would make a sexy partner without understanding the lifestyle. It’s dangerous and something I have to devote a lot of my energy to. My crew is tight because we need to be. One slipup could mean we don’t all go home.”
“Right?” She took a big sip of coffee and grimaced at the cold liquid. She reached for Mack’s glass and finished the rest of his juice.
“Please, help yourself.”
“I did.” She laughed at him. “Well, now are you happy we shared our uglies?”
“If you’re referring to this face, know I’ll be back to normal in a week or so.”
“Does it hurt?”
He nodded solemnly. “It really does.” A pause. “A kiss would make it better.”
“Is that right?” Butterflies gathered in her belly, and she was glad she’d been too nervous to eat a lot. Sitting near Mack made her think of all kinds of things they could have been doing.
In her bedroom.
“Yep. How about you take care of this ugly for me?” He pointed to his bruise and gave her a sad face she didn’t buy for a second.
“Well, if it would make you feel better.”
His gaze lingered on her mouth. “Oh, it really would.”
Chapter Sixteen
Mack had been steadily dying, sitting so close to Cass but having to hold himself back. He’d wanted nothing more than to kiss and hug her, feeling so close as he unveiled his neediness, his selfishness, and still found acceptance.
He never could have told the guys how he felt because they’d have gone out of their way to make him feel better about himself. He didn’t need that. He knew what he felt was legitimate. And negative. Not something he liked about himself right now.
