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Chapter 24
“Last chance to change your mind, Boston.” Mac gazed at the woman beside him and felt that familiar wash of warmth roll through his body. It was something he was still getting used to—and something that still surprised the crap out of him.
He was living a chick flick, and he didn’t give a damn.
It was two weeks after that afternoon out on Lily’s deck.
Two weeks into this new phase of whatever the hell it was he and Lily were doing together. They were smart enough not to label it and happy enough to let it be. They were together 24/7, and for the first time in his life, Mackenzie had met a woman who was more than worthy of that elusive drawer in the bathroom, the one that seemed to be so goddamn important to every single woman he’d ever been with, but the one that he’d never offered up once.
Until now.
Hell, he even had his own space back at Lily’s place and damned if he wasn’t fine with that too. These days it seemed he was damn fine with most everything.
Yep. Mackenzie Draper was what most people would call happy. Go figure.
Mac grabbed Lily’s hand and kissed the back of it before cutting the engine of his truck. It was Wednesday, which meant that it was meatloaf night in the Draper household, and on this particular Wednesday, Mackenzie Draper was bringing a girl home for dinner.
Jesus, Jake had nearly choked on his coffee when Mac had told him earlier in the day. He’d slapped Mackenzie on shoulder. “Who are you and what have you done to my buddy, Mac?”
It was a bit over the top. Seriously. It wasn’t as if he’d been abducted by aliens or committed some sort of crime.
“Ready?” he asked.
Lily nodded and slid from the truck, waiting for him to exit and join her, a bottle of wine in one hand and a fresh bouquet of flowers from her garden in the other. He grabbed the bottle and nudged her forward, following her up the path and onto the porch. He opened the door, admiring the view of her backside as he waited for her to enter the house.
She was wearing simple white pants that hugged her curves like no one’s business, a sleeveless, blood-red silk blouse, and her hair was loose and wavy—just the way he liked it.
“Mackenzie, is that you?” His mother appeared from down the hall, her hands enveloped in a large tea towel.
Mac glanced up and smiled, his hand on the small of Lily’s back.
“Well, come on, don’t be shy. I’ve set the table, and we’re about ready to start. Liam mentioned you have ball practice, so we didn’t want to run too late.”
Mac and Lily followed his mother into the kitchen, and Lily smiled at her warmly. “So nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Draper.”
“Please, call me Lila,” his mother said, accepting the flowers with a broad smile. “These are beautiful, but you shouldn’t have. Mrs. Avery’s prices are a bit extravagant if you ask me.”
“Oh,” Lily said, darting a look at Mac. “These are actually from my back garden.”
His mother looked surprised. And touched. “Oh, honey, that was real sweet of you.”
Mac could tell that his mother was more than just touched, and he thought that maybe it wouldn’t have hurt him to bring her flowers now and again. It wasn’t as if his bastard of a father was around to do it.
“I think this one is a keeper,” his mother said with a wink. “There’s a vase in the dining room cabinet. Can you grab it for me?”
“Sure thing.”
He left the two women chatting about irises and flax and headed to the dining room to find the vase. He wasn’t gone long, and when he returned to the kitchen, he handed over the vase and leaned against the counter while Lily went about arranging the flowers while his mother pulled out the meatloaf.
Once Lily was done, she placed the vase on the table and stood back. His mom was busy at the sink, rinsing something out, and impulsively, he slipped his hands around Lily’s waist. He drew her up for a kiss, a slow, thorough kind of kiss that was probably inappropriate and had his mother clearing her throat.
Liam rounded the corner from his bedroom and slid to a stop.
“Oh God. Don’t you guys ever get sick of sucking face?” he said, his face screwed up. “It’s all you ever do.”
Mac chuckled. “I’m not that good at it, kid. I need the practice.”
Lily squeezed his hand and murmured, “I’ll let you practice later.”
