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Then, he turns and walks away.
26
KATE
Butter and Grace is bustling. I’m not surprised. It’s six o’clock on a Saturday evening. Thankfully, I haven’t spilled any trays, and Wes hasn’t made an appearance, so I’m counting my blessings as I drop off table six’s order.
Hazel’s busy chatting with one of the customers. She looks on edge and almost frustrated, which isn’t like her. The customer’s a woman with long blonde hair, massive boobs, a tiny waist, and looks like a CrossFit junkie with a side of girl next door. She’s gorgeous. Beside her is a cute teenager who seems weirdly familiar. I squint my eyes, assessing her closer.
Soft brown waves. Baby blue eyes.
It’s the other girl from the photograph on Mack’s mantle. His second daughter.
Miley, I believe?
I stop short and look over my shoulder, my heart galloping in my chest. I need to get out of here like yesterday.
A frustrated Hazel grabs two menus from the hostess area and walks them toward my section, pausing when she catches me staring.
“Hey, Kate,” she mutters, her expression surly.
Snapping myself out of my daze, I rush out, “Uh, hey! What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Yeah. My dad’s being a dumbass.” She rolls her eyes while I flinch at the harshness in her voice. “By the way, this is my mom, Summer, and my sister, Miley. You okay if I put them in your section?”
“Uh, sure.” A sheen of sweat breaks out along the back of my neck, but I wave at them awkwardly. “And, hi. Nice to meet you both.”
“Hi,” Summer greets me. She slides into the booth before turning her attention back to her oldest daughter. “I’m serious. Rachel said she saw him with some girl at Rowdy’s last night. Some girl who’s apparently half his age, by the way. I still can’t believe he invested so much cash into that money pit.”
“Mom,” Miley warns, but Summer waves her off.
“Rachel said they were…” Her lips purse, and she glances at Miley. “Well, they were rubbing against each other like a couple of teenagers on the mechanical bull.” She shivers. “Like seriously. How inappropriate.” With a shake of her head, she grabs her napkin, setting it in her lap while looking less than amicable.
Nope. The woman looks like she’s sucking on a lemon.
“Are you sure?” Miley asks with a frown. “It doesn’t really sound like Dad.”
“Don’t defend him, Miley,” Hazel warns. “It’s a waste of breath.” She heads back to the hostess stand.
Yikes.
Poor girl.
If only I knew whether or not her anger is warranted or if it’s because her mother warped her view of Mack. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the latter.
“Honey, your father and I sheltered you from a lot of things,” Summer continues, “but now you’re getting older, and I’m not going to keep you in the dark. Clearly, the man needs therapy if he’s dating a girl half his age.” Her nose wrinkles, and she looks around the restaurant like she wants to keep the conversation private despite me standing two feet away from her. “Can you imagine? Like, what is your father thinking? He has two daughters who are probably close to her age. It’s sickening.” Summer scowls and flips her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’ll tell you this much. It shouldn’t surprise me.”
As if barely realizing I’m still standing here, Summer hesitates and glances up at me again, her eyes glazed with unshed tears. “Hi. Sorry.” Clearing her throat, she wipes at the corner of her eyes, giving me a sad smile. “Ex drama. I’m sure you know how it is. I’ll have a Diet Coke, please.” She turns to her younger daughter. “What do you want, Miley?”
“Um…” Miley opens her menu, closes it quickly, and looks up at me with a smile matching her father’s. “I’ll have one too. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be right back.”
Throttling my notepad, I leave the table, trying to slow my breathing and racing heart as my mind catches up with what the hell just happened.
They were talking about me. Me and Macklin. But who in the world is Rachel? How did she see us at Rowdy’s? And how dare she say we were making out in public. All we did was ride the bull––which, okay, was a little sensual––but it’s not like we were making out or anything. We didn’t even dance, for Pete’s sake. Either the woman’s delusional, or she’s fabricating lies to make Mack––and me––look bad. Maybe Summer is just jealous of the fact Mack is finally moving on. She seems genuinely flustered at the prospect of Mack dating again, but I guess it’s normal when you’ve been with someone for as long as they were together.
Regardless, her accusations are a bunch of bullshit. We didn’t even kiss until he brought me home. And even then, he was a complete gentleman. He could’ve gotten into my pants if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to rush anything or make me feel pressured.
