“We’re having an early Thanksgiving since James and Alec are working during the holiday.” Yeah, and so was Mack, but that didn’t seem to be a consideration. He swallowed a sigh. “I told you everyone’s coming. Dean, Ashley, and Sasha.” Sasha—Xavier’s girlfriend. His mom paused. “If you’d like to bring anyone, you’re more than welcome.”
“Actually, I do have someone I’d like to bring.” And since she had tomorrow night with her parents, he didn’t think Wednesday with his folks would be a problem. “I have to check to make sure she can get the time off. If she can, I might bring her.”
“Oh, that would be terrific! I mean, well, if she can come, that’s fine. I’ll leave a spot for her until you tell me otherwise.” His mom sounded thrilled. She chatted about his father and a new car he’d been looking into buying. After telling her, for the third time, that he was fine and the guys were fine andhis carwas fine, Mack hung up.
He played with the kittens for a little bit, winding down from the call. Had he done the right thing, inviting Cass to a family meal? Withallthe family?
His brothers could be a major pain. But maybe this holiday they’d start to realize they were no longer immature little boys ganging up on the youngest. That the time for coming together as a family was past due and they’d enjoy each other as adults.
Yeah, that could happen. James had already mellowed thanks to Ashley, and Alec was fun, especially with Dean around. Xavier… Well, Xavier had potential to be much more than the jackass he normally was.
But all that didn’t matter. Because Mack had to get through a dinner with Cass’s parents and convince her to join him for dinner with the Revere clan.
He brightened. On the positive side, if his family didn’t scare her away, nothing would.
He settled Copo and Impala with a few goodnight pets then tucked into his bed, missing the strong, tender woman who should have been there with him and dreaming about her all night long.
Chapter Seventeen
Tuesday night, sitting in the car in front of her parents’ house, Cass didn’t think she’d ever been so nervous. She felt like a major doofus for letting anxiety about the night affect her.
“Relax. I’m telling you. Parents love me.” Mack patted her on the shoulder.
“Easy there, Captain Ego. I’m not nervous.”
“Sure you aren’t.” He glanced at her fists clenched around the steering wheel. “You’re super chill.” He got out of her car and headed up the walkway, not waiting for her, carrying two bottles of wine.
Who knew the firefighter was an oenophile? And, yeah, she’d looked the word up after losing at Scrabble earlier in the day. Mack liked to play games, and he hadn’t pulled any punches at his favorite game while she’d been distracted by furry busybodies crawling all over her.
The afternoon spent at his house, making love and playing together, had been the highlight of her week so far. And that was including the lovefest on Sunday. She had no idea when their time together had gone from “having sex” to “making love.” Maybe because Mack stared into her eyes when they were together or because she couldn’t separate her affection for his smiles and cheery personality from the stud-muffin proportions of his perfect, naked body.
She only knew she had totally become the clingy, possessive, obsessed woman she hadn’t wanted to be. But she didn’t know how to stop what she was feeling.
Or if she should.
Mack paused with his finger at the doorbell and turned to wait for her. “Well? Shall I?”
She yanked his arm down and pounded on the door. “Be good, Revere, or you’ll pay later.”
“I’m properly terrified.”
She snickered.
Her father opened the door, looked them both over, and smiled. “Well, you are a real boy. I had no idea my daughter hadn’t been lying about bringing one over.”
“Dad.”
Mack laughed. “Hello. I’m Mack Revere.”
Her father took the bag Mack handed him, studied the bruise on his face, and shook with his free hand. “Aaron. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Come on in.”
Mack passed him, but Cass had to wait to pay the toll to enter with a kiss on her dad’s cheek.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Cass. I’m so glad you guys could come over. Your mom made her famous lemon chicken.”
“Oh, nice.” Cass’s favorite dish. They normally had something exotic and different on Thanksgiving, none of them needing a typical turkey. But lemon chicken definitely counted as the perfect meal. “With the couscous salad?”
