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Mack laughed and the conversation shifted to talking about Kaleb and Jasmine and then everyone wanted him to recount the story of being kidnapped last spring. The dinner and afternoon were pleasant and Mack felt accepted and comfortable with her family. But he really wanted to get Sariah alone again.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Sariah thought dinner and hanging out after dinner went well. Hyde seemed to calm down and Josh and the rest of her siblings made the conversation fun and interesting. The time went too fast before Mack was saying, “I have to make a five o’clock flight.”
Sariah’s stomach and neck tightened. He was leaving. Would he want to come back? He’d said last night that he liked her and wanted to date her but the fact remained that he lived across the nation and she wasn’t going to be flying to Atlanta anytime soon with her school schedule and job of being with Teresa. She had more money than she’d ever had with Hyde paying her much too generously for being his mom’s companion and she didn’t want to mess that up. She knew Hyde had also paid off her parents’ home and set up education funds for each of them, but her dad wouldn’t allow any more generosity than that.
She stood and watched as Mack said goodbye to everyone then she started toward the door with him.
“Why don’t I walk Mack out?” Hyde said suddenly.
Sariah whirled and glared at him. “Over my incapacitated body.”
Everyone started laughing and Lily tugged Hyde back onto the couch by her. “She’s okay,” Lily said quietly.
Sariah’s dad was giving Hyde odd looks, probably wondering why he was taking over his role.
“Thank you for dinner,” Mack said again to her mom. “It was delicious.”
“Thank you for being here,” her mom said.
Her dad walked with them to the door, shook Mack’s hand and said goodbye. Sariah wondered if he was bugged by Hyde trying to act like he was the father figure.
Finally, they were outside and alone. It was a chilly spring day. She hugged herself for warmth. Mack’s arm came around her and with his large body sheltering her from the wind, she was much warmer. He escorted her around his Jeep where it might be possible her family couldn’t see them. She wouldn’t put anything past her family though. Brandon had probably rigged a drone to video them from the sky. She glanced around but didn’t see anything.
Mack stopped and wrapped both arms around her, simply holding her close. Awareness shot through her. He was so tough and appealing to her.
“Thank you for letting me be with you this weekend,” Mack said.
Sariah tilted her head up to look into his blue eyes. “Thanks for tracking me to the ends of the earth.”
He chuckled. “I would’ve, you know?”
She bit at her lip. “So now that you’ve found me, and gotten to know me a little bit, was it worth it to be more persistent than Colonel Sanders?”
“Colonel Sanders?” His brow wrinkled.
“He was rejected by 1009 restaurants before one agreed to his ideas.”
Mack’s throaty chuckle made her silliness all worth it, but then his gaze deepened. “You could reject me 1009 times and I’d keep coming back.”
Sariah’s heart leapt. The man for her would have to be persistent, but would Mack truly be that persistent? “So all your effort to find me was worth it?” she asked again.
“I don’t know yet.” There was a teasing glint in his blue eyes.
“Aw!” Sariah tried to pull back out of his arms but he held her tight. “So, when are you going to know?”
“After you kiss me.”
The words were said bravely but Sariah could tell they hadn’t rolled off his tongue. “How long have you been planning that line?” she asked.
“Since the first time I saw you.”
His blue gaze seared through her as he pulled her onto her tiptoes and bent down close. Sariah’s breath was coming in short pants and the cool spring air was suddenly blazing hot. She wrapped her hands around his broad shoulders, reveling in the muscle underneath her fingertips.
“What are you waiting for then?” she asked, her voice shaky.
Mack grinned slightly. “Our audience to disappear.” He tilted his head toward the front of her house. Through the Jeep’s windows her siblings pressed against the living room window were quite a sight.
