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She stopped herself from making a complete and utter ass of herself just in time and grabbed her wineglass instead of spilling more words.
“But…” Mackenzie prompted.
She swallowed her wine and took a moment, hoping the breathless thing she had going on earlier was gone. “You should probably order the wings.”
“The wings.”
She nodded. “Yes. They’re half-price, but Sal usually runs out by ten so…”
Mac grabbed the jug and smiled. “Good to know. I’ll get the extra spicy.” He winked and lowered his voice. “And by the way, I’m totally up for coffee tomorrow morning.”
“Oh,” she said softly. “I’m leaving for Boston before the sun comes up. It’s a family thing, and I only found out today, and I can’t get out of it because my father is, he’s being difficult about it, and well, I just can’t not go and…” She was rambling and needed to stop. Like now.
Something stirred in his eyes, something heavy and fierce, and it touched her. Whatever it was touched her deeply. Lily’s chest tightened and she felt as if she was on the verge of tears and that was crazy.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“Is everything alright?” His voice was gentle.
No.
Shit. She was going to lose it if she didn’t pull herself together. Lily counted to ten before she spoke. “It’s just some stuff. You know. Family stuff.”
He studied her for a few seconds, the jug of beer in one hand, his other shoved into the front pocket of his jeans.
“When are you back?”
“Saturday.”
“Saturday,” he said with a slow, sexy grin.
“You can be my date,” she replied, holding her breath as she waited for him to answer.
“Date?”
Lily nodded. “For the mayor’s gala.”
Wow. She sounded like a desperate fifteen-year-old.
Mac’s eyes moved from Lily to Blair. “Sounds good. See you then, Boston.”
He turned and she watched him ease through the crowd, noticing that she wasn’t the only one to do that either. Several women were focused on his fine butt, long legs, wide shoulders, and thick, blond hair. The woman Lily had seen rubbing herself all over Mackenzie earlier looked as if she wanted to eat every singl
e inch of him.
Lily finished her wine. The woman could look all she liked because Mac wanted Lily, and when she returned from Boston, Lily planned on letting Mac have all the spice he wanted.
Too bad she had Boston and four days to get through before any spice would be had.
It was going to be a long, long week.
Chapter 14
Mackenzie spent the majority of the week out at the development site with Jake. The plans for the project dubbed Crystal Lake View Estates were intensive—condos, single-family homes, and an eighteen-hole golf course that overlooked the water. The idea was to service both middle-income families and those on the higher end of the spectrum, to marry them together in a development that could meet both of their needs.
It was win-win and would bring a substantial tax base to the community, though keeping the small-town charm of Crystal Lake was a bit of a challenge and had been a bone of contention with some of the townsfolk. But Jake and his father had managed to convince them all that they’d do whatever it took to keep the integrity and simplicity of Crystal Lake intact.
They were in talks with several designers for the golf course; both Jake and Mac liked a guy from Dublin, Ian O’Reilly. O’Reilly was flying in the following week, and Mac was hoping they’d be able to tie up that bit of business sooner than later, so he could move forward with his designs for the clubhouse and the condos that would surround the golf course. He had an idea of what he wanted—to keep the beauty of the lake and woods and bring them right into the homes they were building.
