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“I see you’ve met Maddison,” Lily said, her hands against his chest, the tips of her fingers pushing into him. He didn’t move at first, and when she applied a bit more pressure, Mac reluctantly let her go.
“She’s staying with me.” Lily’s eyes moved behind him, settling o
n her sister. “For the next little while.”
He could tell there was stuff going on—saw it in Lily’s eyes. Maddison St. Clare was a mess, and it looked as if her sister was on cleanup duty.
“We should go,” Lily said. She grabbed her purse off the counter and pulled out two cream-colored tickets, embossed with heavy gold script. “Can you hold on to these?”
Mac tucked the tickets into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, and then pointed to the overnight bag that was set on the chair. He raised his eyebrows in question, and when she gave him a small nod, he grabbed it.
“So you’re really not coming back?” Maddison asked, her expression sullen.
Lily shook her head and started for the front door. “No. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I doubt I’ll be here,” Maddison shot back.
Lily paused and the look she shot her sister was somewhere north of frosty. “The closest house is nearly three miles away, and I’ve got the keys to the car. So, unless you’re feeling energetic or stupid, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Whatever,” Maddison muttered.
“And no smoking in the house. I mean it, Maddison. If I so much as smell a wisp of cigarette—”
“Who says I’d be smoking cigarettes?”
“—or anything illegal, you are done. And don’t for one second think that I’ll do anything to stop Dad from sending you away for six months if you don’t behave and follow my rules. Not this time.”
She took a deep breath and glanced at Mac. “Let’s go.”
He tossed her bag into the backseat and helped her up into the truck. He supposed her BMW was more in line with his tux and her dress, but Lily didn’t seem to mind.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
Mac shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to family drama.” He nodded out into the night. “So we’re really going to go to this thing?” he asked. “Go to the gala?”
“We’re really going to go to this thing,” she repeated softly. “A lot of people will be disappointed if I don’t show. I can’t do that to them.”
“You mean, Hubber.”
“He’s just a friend, Mackenzie, and I promised him I’d be there.”
He didn’t like it, but he sure as hell respected the fact that she needed to see this thing out to the end. He reversed out of the driveway and headed toward town.
Mac shot a quick glance her way and swallowed hard when he found her eyes on him. They were soft and glittery, as if a fever lit her up from inside. Her mouth was parted and damn if her nipples weren’t visible through the thin material of her dress.
He stifled a groan and tore his gaze away because it would be real inconvenient for them to get into an accident.
“How long?” he asked roughly, maneuvering the truck onto the main highway that led back toward town. The mayor’s gala was being held in one of the banquet rooms at the new sports complex on the outskirts of town.
“Dinner runs until around eight, and before the band hits the stage, there’s a live auction I need to help out with.”
Mackenzie didn’t know if he could wait that long to get her alone.
“How long?” he asked again, fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly. He tossed her a dark look.
“Midnight? Maybe?”
No. Fucking. Way.
