“Alright then, Boo.” Mack stands and heads for the door.
“Wait.” I scramble from my seat and trail him into the hallway. “Did you call me Boo?”
“Yup.”
“Why?”
He pivots. “Kasper.”
He says my last name as if that’s the answer to everything.
I can feel my nose scrunching up. “You think I haven’t heard that before?”
He pauses in his stride. We’re almost to the front of the P&R building. He shrugs. “You probably have. It’s a perfect nickname.”
I put my hands on my hips. “What if I hate it?”
“Nicknames aren’t chosen by the named. They’re bestowed.”
I flinch back, both because that’s the longest single sentence he’s ever said to me, and because of his monotone delivery. It’s like he’s speaking gospel truth on the subject of naming rights. “So you’re going to call me Boo?”
“Plan on it, yep.”
“Well then, I’llbestowa nickname on you.”
Mack grunts. “I’ve heard them all.”
“Mack Attack?” I study him. “No, that’s not it. Hmm.” I mull over my options. “Mack truck?” I let that one sit on my tongue for a bit. “Good, not great. Mack Daddy!” I frown. “No, that sounds somewhat risqué.”
He’s stopped in his quest to flee the building, and he’s staring at me now. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say his charcoal eyes are glistening with a hint of humor, like maybe I’m amusing him with this little exercise.
Good. I can work with that.
I hold up my finger and look all the way up to meet his gaze. A surge of triumph courses through my veins when the perfect play on words comes to me. “Big Mack! Except if you’re going to call me Boo, then I’m going to call you Big.”
“Big?”
“Yeah. It suits you.”
We stare at each other for a beat, and I’m pleased to say I’m holding my ground. No cowering here. Maybe Gran was on to something with the cute-underwear trick. I did spend some extra time picking out a perfect pair this morning.
Mack blinks first. “Let me give you my number. Call if you need anything.”
I’m slightly embarrassed to admit how relieved I am at his offer. I almost drop my tablet in my attempt to grab my phone from my pocket, but I manage to save it at the last minute. We exchange information, and he turns to leave.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” I fight off a cringe at how nosy my question sounds, but I can’t help it. This is a brand-new town with brand-new people. Like Heather said, it’s sink or swim time, and I’m sort of hoping Mack will help to keep me afloat.
“Work.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m an electrician.”
“Ah.” I nod. “You’re working on those multi-unit complexes the next town over.”
Mack quirks his brow. “How’d you guess?”
“The logo on your hat from this morning. I remember seeing signs on our way into town that matched it. I’m guessing the M-E stands for Mack Electric?”
