AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He turns his head and kisses my palm, then speaks against it. “I’m glad you did,” he says, turning back to face me while I run my palm over his jaw. “It made me realize how much I care about you. If you hadn’t pushed me away, I probably would have sabotaged what we had and hated myself for it. I think I needed the time apart to reflect.”
I blink back tears. “Me too,” I whisper.
Mac smiles, then produces a brand-new, robin’s-egg-blue helmet from one of the bike’s saddle bags.
I let out a happy little squeal. “I love this color. I have pants exactly this shade.”
“I know,” Mac says, slinging his leg over the seat and lifting the kickstand. “You wore them the first day of school.”
I meet his gaze, heart thumping. “You remember what I wore that day?”
“You looked beautiful. The moment I saw you in my doorway, deep down, I knew I loved you.” He says it matter-of-factly, as if telling me he loves me for the second time ever isn’t completely earth-shattering.
Then I glance down at the helmet. “You must have been awful sure that I’d come back to you when you bought this.”
Mac gives me a half grin, eyes glimmering. “A man can dream, can’t he?” When I plant my hands on my hips, helmet still in hand, Mac jerks his head. “Woman, strap your helmet on, get behind me, and wrap those arms around my waist. I’m taking you home.”
So, lips twitching, I strap my helmet on, get behind him, wrap my arms around his waist, and I let him take me home.
Epilogue
TRINA
That evening, Mac and I make up for lost time. We’re barely through the door and clawing at each other, frantic. We have sex right there on the living room floor. Then again in his bed. Then a third time in the shower.
I’m going to be sore tomorrow.
When I’m sprawled on top of Mac’s chest, my mind flits back to those gorgeous vases. After I ask Mac about his inspiration, he hums, fingers sifting through my hair. “Originally, I was only going to do the night sky.”
“Like the one I broke,” I cut in.
Mac chuckles. “Like the one you broke.” His fingers keep moving through my hair as he inhales. “But the evening after I dropped you off at your place when you needed a tow, I started thinking about our time together. The sunset we watched when we had ice cream. The daylight streaming through the windows when we—you know.”
“Hooked up?”
“Yeah.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
“You were inspired by…me?” The question comes out small.
Mac’s arms tighten around me. He curls a finger under my chin to tilt my head up, his eyes soft. “Every damn day, Trina.”
I didn’t think I had it in me, but we end up going for round four.
As much as I want to stay the night, when I get out of the shower and wrap a towel around myself, I let out a long sigh. “I need to go home to my kids. My mother is there, but I have to be there when they wake up.”
I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, and Mac sits next to me. He places a kiss on my neck. “I’ll get dressed; we can take the truck.”
We decide to take things slow for the next six months. He’s still Katie’s teacher, and we still need to be discreet. I need to make sure my kids won’t freak out about me dating anyone, and the last thing I want to do is have men in and out of their lives.
But when we pull up outside the house and Mac gives me a sweet, lingering kiss, I know in my heart he’s here to stay.
“We’ll have one weekend a month to ourselves,” I tell him. “Is that enough?”
“Every single night with you wouldn’t be enough, Trina, but I’ll take what I can get.”
I put a hand to my chest, because my heart just exploded. Then we kiss some more, until I tear myself away and sneak back into my own house, a big smile painted across my face.
Kevin does, in fact, complain to the school, but since there’s no rules against Mac and me dating, and we agree to keep things discreet until the end of the year, there’s nothing that can be done. I have a feeling that if it came down to it, Mac would quit before breaking up with me, and that is truly an amazing feeling.
