“I didn’t know, Mackenzie, but…” Watching his Adam’s apple bob, the words came slowly. “I didn’t ask either. Shoot first, ask questions later, that’s what my siblings say about me, but… I’m sorry.”
With a blink, I just stared. The words made sense academically, but their meaning? My brain refused to process it.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you, shouldn’t have tried to fob you off onto a winery.”
“Shouldn’t have come rushing into my bedroom when I was half naked?” I prompted.
“Well, that…” His sly smile glowed in the darkness. “I can’t find it in myself to be sorry for. But the rest?” Serious again, he gazed down at me. “I’m sorry I was such a prick, Mackenzie. I had no idea what was going on with you and…” A long sigh. “I didn’t stop to ask. Trust me when I say I’ll try to make that up to you.”
“By making me breakfast in bed every morning?” I was joking, but it felt good to go along with whatever this was. “No, breakfast in bed and not making me get up at four AM every morning. No! Breakfast in bed, not making me get up at four AM, and coming by to shovel kangaroo shit every day so I can spend more time cuddling joeys.”
“We’ll see.” The car was locked up and his arm was a warm weight as he steered me towards the darkened house. “How about I just check your bedroom walls to make sure Bruce hasn’t snuck back in?”
“If that spider is in my room, he’s gonna get the business end of my boot,” I growled, then shuddered. “After I’ve taken them off, because urgh…”
“Wait here.”
He made a show of stopping me beside my bedroom door, then opened it with a theatrical air. My teeth clamped together as I scowled at him, right before he disappeared inside.
“Bruce!” His muffled voice filtered through the wall. “We talked about this…”
“Insect spray!” I barked when Troy reappeared, my focus shifting abruptly to his hands, expecting the massive arachnid to be nestled there like other people might carry a puppy or kitten. “A flamethrower or?—”
“Just teasing.” His hand landed above my head and right then, he leaned closer. Oh, I thought, my brain stuttering and unable to form any other thoughts. “Bruce seems to have gotten the hint that he’s an outside spider now, so…”
What the hell was happening? I’d gone out on a date with one guy, sure in the knowledge that nothing would happen, so why was my heart pounding so fast? Perhaps because Troy, my boss, my mind shrieked, was leaning closer, his focus entirely trained on me.
And some part of me didn’t want to push him away.
“Sleep well, Mackenzie.” I sucked in a breath noisily as a kiss was pressed to my forehead. There and gone again, I barely noticed him turning to walk into his room, only coming back to the hallway when I heard his door click.
“What the…?”
With shaking hands, my fingers touched the spot that still burned on my forehead. I scanned the walls, looking for Bruce, because when I fell into bed, all I could think about was what might’ve happened if that kiss had landed a little lower.
Chapter 13
Troy
If getting up at four in the morning sucked, getting up an hour earlier was even worse. As I stumbled into the kitchen and put the kettle on, I worked hard to convince my body this was worth it. One, two, shit, make it three heaped spoons of instant coffee, then I was pouring the hot water over it and taking a long sip. Black as pitch coffee tore through me, maybe adding an extra heartbeat here or there, but as I came abruptly awake, I remembered why I was up so early.
I had to make amends for the shitty way I’d treated Mackenzie.
If I’d talked it over with Charlie or one of my brothers, they’d say I was a bit late to the party, but better now than never, right? I turned on the hotplates, then started filling frypans with bacon, sausages, and fried eggs. A glance at my phone told me that a traditional American breakfast also included pancakes and maple syrup. We had eggs, milk and flour, but maple syrup? I dragged out some golden syrup and looked it over, wondering if that would do the job. Whisking up some pancake batter, Iwhistled to myself as I turned sausages, flipped bacon, until a rusty voice interrupted me.
“What’re you doing?”
God, Mackenzie looked cute right now. Dressed in some kind of flannel pyjamas, she stood in the kitchen doorway, rubbing at her eyes.
“Back to bed for you,” I said, turning the heat down, then trying to steer her back down the hall.
“What? No. Gotta feed the cattle.”
“I have to feed the cattle,” I replied, thankful for that heart starter of a coffee. It meant I could direct her calmly without biting her head off. “You said breakfast in bed, remember?”
“What…?” That owlish look had me smiling. A blink, then another blink, before she stood up taller. “Is that?—?”
“Your breakfast?” I replied. “Yep, so toddle off down the hall and…”
