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“Always, I hope that’s not a problem, you look amazing,” he said, abandoning the bar and pressing a kiss to her cheek, one hand finding its way to the small of her back. I had been trying to convince myself that it couldn’t be true, but it was time to face facts.
Chase brought a date. Chase brought a date to Thanksgiving.
What. The. Fuck.
9
CHASE
I may have takenmychange-is-a-good-thingkick a step too far. Brady seemed like a nice guy from our brief stair encounters over the last week. He was also hot in that broad, preppy, all-American kind of way, which meant I didn’t think he was a serial killer. There was probably a lesson in that, but it wasn’t one I was going to examine right at the moment.
When I saw him yesterday and spontaneously asked if he had Thanksgiving plans, I honestly thought he’d say yes. Most people had plans when it was the day before Thanksgiving. But he’d gone and said no because his family was in Ohio and, with his recent move and starting a new job, he couldn’t get back. So, naturally the next words out of Change-Is-Good-Chase’s mouth had been, “why don’t you come to ours?” Of course, he’d gone and said yes.
I forced my smile a little wider and side stepped out of Brady’s grip. “I’m so glad you made it.” Had I said that already? What the hell was the matter with me? My brain was a hornets’ nest. It wasn’t so much Brady as it was Mack and the unreadable expression on his face. I had pretty much written the dictionary on all of his facial expressions and yet this one had me stumped.
I’d practically tripped over my own tongue when he walked in. He was sex on a stick, yes, but it was more than that, the way he looked at me did something to my chest. As did the way his jeans hugged his butt. It was all quite disconcerting.
“Of course I made it.” My attention snapped back to Brady. “This place is great, I can’t believe I’ve not been before.”
“Chase’s brainchild,” Mack said, his face still weird, but the note of pride in his voice made my whole body warm.
“Our brainchild,” I corrected, because as much as he tried to downplay his role in getting Rudi off the ground, I knew that there was no way it would be anything without him.
“Can I get the grand tour?” Brady asked with an easy smile.
“Oh yes, absolutely. Let me just—”
“I can facilitate a tour,” Jeremy purred as he appeared from nowhere, eyes glued to Brady.
“Brady this is Jeremy, Jeremy, Brady.” The two men shook hands and, with barely a second glance at me, Jeremy escorted Brady away. I watched them go, feeling intensely grateful for Jeremy.
“You brought a date. To Thanksgiving,” Mack said, yanking me out of my perusal. It took me a second to recognise what he said.
“No.” I gaped at him. “No, I did not.” This was not a date. Brady and I were not on a date. Who has a first date on Thanksgiving? That was absurd.
“You sure about that?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Yes, I’m sure about that—he’s my neighbor. I barely know him.” And I was happy for it to stay that way.
“Isn’t that the whole point of dating? To get to know the other person?”
“It’s not a date,” I snapped and fidgeted with the skirt of my dress.
He raised his hands in surrender, which only annoyed me more. Did he want me to be on a date with Brady? His questions didn’t seem to come from a place of jealousy, he seemed genuinely curious. Did I want him to be jealous? It would be messed up if the answer was yes, and yet … No. No, I didn't want him to be jealous. Why would I want Mack to be jealous of Brady? I needed a distraction.
As if my thoughts had summoned her, the door swung open and Harley exploded inside. “Happy Thanksgiving, beautiful people!”
For a solid fifteen seconds I wondered what on Earth I was looking at. Her breasts were barely contained in a black corset, which was actually more of a bra. Her skirt was cinched tight at her waist and went from black at the top, to brown, then orange and finally white at the hem. And it looked like—
“Are you a turkey?” Mack asked with a chuckle.
Harley beamed. “Asexyturkey, yes I am, Mackenzie.” She turned and wiggled her feathered butt at us and I couldn't have stopped my bark of laughter if I tried. OfcourseHarley had turned up to Thanksgiving dressed as a sexy turkey. Of course she had.
“You look amazing.” To set off the whole look her dark curls had smoothed up the sides of her head and were allowed to explode free in a mohawk of sorts. I didn’t think turkeys had a crest but she was making it work nonetheless.
Harley's whiskey-colored eyes darted between Mack and I, a flicker of secret knowledge burning behind them. "Hmmm… I might have to start a round of spin the bottle later on. The air in here is sizzling"—she fanned herself, her gaze landing on Mack as he groaned—"don't think I won't, Mackenzie."
“I underestimate you at my own peril, Harley,” he shot back and she grinned.
