“I was, for other reasons. Being around you is easy, Mackenzie, and it made me realize I haven’t… I never really dated seriously or been committed to anyone before. It’s weird, yet I feel so comfortable with you.”
She gave me a shy smile and intertwined our fingers on her lap. “I feel the same with you.”
“You’ve dated though. You’ve had boyfriends. You know what this should be.”
“Sure, but being comfortable with someone is a sign of trust. It’s not easy to have, Dean. It can take months or years to trust someone, and I think because of Lo, we have a foundation of it already.”
Trust.I nodded. “That must be it. Plus, since we know this is just for summer, I’m not worried about football, which also helps.”
“Yeah,” she said, softer. She stopped tracing my knuckle with her pointer finger, glancing out the window with a serious look on her face.
I wanted to know what was going on in her head, so badly. My gut tightened, concerned I’d said the wrong thing.Reminding us this was temporary was essential.Wefelt too real, and with the timeline, the reminder made things easier. She had to understand that.
“Mack—”
“What’s our plan tonight? Bride or groom? Second cousin, you or me?” Her smile returned, eyes bright, and there wasn’t the trace of unease that was there a few seconds ago.
I followed her lead. “Team bride, for sure.”
“Great. Online says their reception starts at seven and dinner is done at eight, so we can’t sneak in until after dinner. Just dancing and drinks. Figured we could scope out the hotel bar first.”
“And grab some food. We get our date after all, Mack.” I winked, loving how her cheeks pinkened whenever I complimented her. “Because tonight, you look gorgeous, and I’d be honored to take you on a date.”
“Alright, enough with the lines, Romano. I’m already here.” She rolled her eyes, but she gripped my hand tighter.
The pang in my chest retuned, only it was warm and fuzzy this time, like my heart wanted me to hold Mack close and never let go.
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Mack
Inever thought much about the wedding I wanted, but walking into this reception made me realize what I didn’t want. There were at least three hundred people here. So many decorations, and yes, they were beautiful, but this had to cost the price of a small house. “Holy shit.”
“It’s a buffet.” Dean kept his hand on the base of my spine, guiding us into the reception. His breath hit my neck, causing an explosion of goose bumps all along my body. Lines had blurred between us. That was clear. With the chat in the car and how he always had to touch me, thissummer flingmight be temporary, but the feelings were real for me.
“What do you need, Mack? You should eat. If we’re going to drink, I want to make sure you have some food.”
“Taking care of me, huh?”
“Yes.” He shook his head, like the idea of questioning it was crazy. “Of course I want you to be okay. Now, they have chicken. Want a plate?”
“Where will we sit though?”
“I have an idea,” he whispered, dropping a kiss under my ear. “I say we go look at the welcome table and see who hasn’t picked up their card with the table assignment.”
“Oh my god, Dean, that’s… a great idea.”
He laughed, the sound hitting me in the feels. I loved his laugh. It was deep and sexy and fuck. Why did we agree to do this? Panic caused my heart to flutter. It was like it knew it was going to experience a ton of pain in a few weeks, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
“Ah, look at this? Mr. and Mrs. Ross aren’t here while everyone else is sitting. Would you care to join me, Mrs. Ross?” he asked, grin wide and eyes sparkling at me.
“I’d be honored!”
We looped arms, the cards in our hands as we found our way to table forty. Forty. There were at least sixty tables in this room. It waswild.My pulse raced with the notion of getting caught, but with so many people here, who would even know?
“I would never want this number of people at a wedding,” I said, not really putting stock into wedding talk. Getting married wasn’t for years for me. I had goals, and those would come first.That’s why you need to end this fling.“You thought about it at all?”
