AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Definitely.”
“Have you always?”
She picked at the edge of the paper tablecloth. “My family doesn’t have a lot of … money. So, our diet growing up was pretty simple.” She forced a smile and met his eyes. “Usually fish or deer for our meat that my dad had caught or hunted, potatoes and carrots for our veggies, and my mom made loaves and loaves of bread and raspberry jam to keep everybody filled up.”
Mack swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
“No.” She waved a hand. “I had a great childhood and I love my family. I was just explaining. Last year I started working for Hyde, taking care of Teresa. For the first time in my life I had extra money and I was here in Denver so I tried out different foods and I found I loved them.”
“I like that you’re adventurous.”
She couldn’t meet his gaze now. The only adventurous things she ever did were try out new foods and go on hikes in the mountains, or maybe swim in the lake in the summer. Her life was so boring. What made her think she could keep a man like Mack Quinn interested in her? She quickly changed the subject, “So tell me more about your family. Your sister, Navy, is the oldest? She’s so tough, like my sister, Lily. I love that.”
He smiled. “She is tough, and not just fitness wise. She can put any of us in our place, even Griff.”
“Griff’s the Navy SEAL, right?” Like she’d forget Griff. He was the reason Scarlett Lily had kissed Mack, but she didn’t want to look like a stalker.
He nodded. “You know a lot about my family.”
“I do have WiFi and Google. Does that bother you that so many people know about you?”
He shrugged. “Comes with the territory playing professional football and everybody in my family seems to have found their way to a visible career, except for Griff and Colt. Griff saves the world quietly. Colt’s visible because he’s always dating somebody famous.”
“I did notice that. You all look a lot alike too.”
He stared at her for a beat. “What would you do if I Googled you?”
Sariah’s throat tightened and she tugged at the hair covering her neck. Mack’s gaze became more tender. He knew something was wrong with her. He was too kind to come out and ask her about it though. “You haven’t?”
His gaze was clear and steady. “No, I haven’t.”
“Please don’t,” she murmured.
He studied her before nodding. “I won’t.”
“Thank you.” The relief was strong but could she trust him? She didn’t know Mack that well and already she had to trust that the person he’d said “love you” to was his sister and that he wouldn’t Google her. She hadn’t Googled herself for a long time, but could only imagine the horrific pictures and accusations would still be there.
Luckily the waitress brought their spring rolls right then. The food was delicious, but they never regained the carefree conversation.
* * *
Mack walked Sariah to her car after dinner, not sure how to restore the easiness that had been between them, before he asked her if he could Google her. Dumb, dumb, dumb. He knew she was sensitive about something. So, whatever was going on with her, there was a record, probably pictures, of it online. That made him crazy with interest, but he’d told her he wouldn’t look, so he wouldn’t.
He swung open her door. She smiled up at him. “Thank you for dinner.”
“Sure.”
She bit at her lip and then asked, “Will I see you again?”
“Do you want to?” He shouldn’t have asked it like that, but he wasn’t sure how to proceed with her and not hit a sensitive button again.
She looked so beautiful as she blinked up at him. “Mack … I haven’t dated anyone in four years.”
The confusion must’ve been evident on his face, because she smiled and looked away. “I haven’t.”
“But why?” Obviously, it had something to do with whatever she was hiding, or what she’d been through, but he couldn’t imagine men didn’t hit on her nonstop. “You’re gorgeous and funny and smart and … do you just tell every man no?”
She focused back on him and nodded. “Yes, I do.”
