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Lily didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until she heard the front door open and then close. She exhaled in a swoosh and grabbed a tall glass which she filled with cold water from the fridge, before leaning against the counter and staring out the window.
Her heart was beating a little crazily and she felt the heat in her cheeks. She didn’t have to look in the mirror to know that she looked flushed and it wasn’t from the sun either.
“This thing with me and Lily St. Clare has an expiration date.”
She winced and froze when she heard Mackenzie clear his throat behind her. What he had said was true. She knew that. Of course she knew that.
But it was the other things those words had dug out of her—feelings, thoughts, and maybe a dream or two—that had torn at her all day. It was those things that had made her realize that somehow, over the last few weeks, something had changed.
She had changed.
There were things that she wanted—things that she’d never dreamed of having—and they were suddenly very clear.
The only problem was that Lily had no idea what to do about them. She had no idea how to move forward knowing that she wanted more than a casual, sexual relationship. She wanted more than the exclusive dating thing they’d first discussed.
She wanted Mackenzie in a way that she knew was going to bite her in the ass because it was obvious that he was still on the other road—the road called sex with no strings. The road that was only a single lane.
Lily had passed him and was riding fast and hard toward a two-lane highway, and if she wasn’t careful, she was going to crash and burn.
So now the question was, what was she going to do about it? Did she break things off with Mackenzie now? Before there was the chance she’d be hurt? Did she wait for another man like him to walk into her life?
Or did she take a leap of faith…did she take a chance that maybe things would work out between them? Did she choose to believe that the connection they had was a hell of a lot stronger than what they’d originally envisioned?
Did she even have a choice?
She cleared her throat and turned around. “Can I get you anything?”
Mac shook his head. “No.” He took a few steps into the kitchen and then stopped, rubbing the stubble along his jaw. She knew him well enough now to know that it was a nervous gesture, and while she supposed it should make her feel better to know that he was nervous too, it didn’t.
It just meant that they were at a crossroads, and after the morning they’d had—that hot encounter in the shower—it was one she hadn’t seen coming.
“Lily, we should talk.”
“Yes, we probably should.”
Good. They were going to be civil about this. Adult even.
Suddenly hot, she moved past him and headed for the deck out back. The air was cooler outside, and she inhaled a great big gulp of it as she eyed the forest that lined the property.
She’d been thinking of buying it from Raine, thinking of setting down roots in Crystal Lake.
Seems as if she’d been thinking of a lot of things.
Mackenzie stopped beside her and followed her gaze. “I’m sorry if I ruined your day. I didn’t mean…I didn’t mean to get into it with Becca. Sometimes…” He paused, swung out his arms, and rolled his shoulders. “Hell, most of the time, when things heat up, I lose my temper and I always say something stupid.”
“It’s alright, Mackenzie. You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. It just would have been nice if half of Crystal Lake hadn’t heard it. That’s all. I’m sure I’m not the only woman on the planet who would hate to be referred to as nothing more than
an expiration date.”
He stared down at her and then moved a little closer. He still had on his Detroit Tigers ball cap and his long, blond hair waved over his ears in a way that made him look younger.
“That’s not what I meant. Jesus, Lily. You have to know that.”
She bit her bottom lip. “I know.”
“I’m going to be honest, Lily. I don’t know where we’re at exactly, but I do know it’s a place I never thought I would be.” He attempted a smile. “It’s a nice place, you know. But I’m pretty sure, at some point, we’re going to be looking at change. I’m not staying here in Crystal Lake. I have a life in New York City.”
“I know,” she replied. “I knew that when we started this.”
