“Don’t you think he’s a sweetheart? He’s so good with Bridger.”
Lacey nodded, humming in agreement. “He sure is.”
The rest of the morning went off without a hitch. Bridger wasn’t aware of how much Mack seemed to be interested in his mother and didn’t have anything to add fuel to the fire when his aunt interrogated him on the evening he’d had with her crush.
“I’m soglad you could get the day off to come check on the shop with me. You always had an eye for this stuff,” Angela murmured as they strode along the sidewalk. Bridger was feeling well enough to go to school, and while Lacey didn’t want to lose out on a shift of tips, she couldn’t deny that her relationship with her sister was only getting better.
Lacey offered her sister a wide smile. “I’m so excited for you. This is such an accomplishment. I knew you were going to be great—even when we were kids. You always made the best decisions.”
Angela didn’t miss the underlying comment—the pointed way Lacey didn’t mention how much of a disgrace she’d been to her parents. The two sisters couldn’t have been more different.Angela was successful and had her feet planted firmly in a successful future while Lacey did everything she could to maintain a happy life for her and Bridger.
It was fine. Lacey didn’t need to get a degree or a high paying job to find happiness. She just needed to make sure Bridger had everything he could want.
Angela looped her arm through Lacey’s and leaned her cheek against her shoulder. “We’re just about done with the renovations. I want you to tell me if there’s anything missing.” She gasped, and Lacey jumped, finding Angela staring at a display to their right. She spun until she faced Lacey. “That would be perfect to hang up in the shop.” It was a rustic wooden sign that read, ‘This is my happy place.’
Lacey grinned. It screamed Angela and her aesthetic. She nodded. “You should check it out. I’m going to head over to the bookstore across the street. Bridger is begging for another book.”
“Meet me at the shop. It’s just up there.”
Nodding in agreement, Lacey made a move to cross the street. She made it to the curb when a familiar figure stepped from between two trucks.
Lacey’s heart stopped in her chest, and her eyes immediately darted across the street to the home décor shop where Angela had just disappeared.
“Hey, beautiful,” Mack drawled.
A gasp ripped from her throat, and she yanked on Mack’s arm to drag him out of eyesight of the shop. If Angela got to the front window and even glanced in their direction, she would seethem talking. It wouldn’t take much for her to put two and two together. That was all Lacey needed—to be caught with the guy that Angela wanted to date.
“What are you doing here?” Lacey hissed. “Are you following me?” She practically threw him down and out of the way.
He chuckled, his eyes flashing with pure amusement. “I wouldn’tdreamof it.”
Lacey popped her head over the edge of the truck but didn’t see any sign of her sister. She turned an irritated scowl at him. “Then what are you doing here?”
He lifted a bag from the bookstore. “Happy accident. I’m assuming that you were on your way to the bookstore yourself?”
She pursed her lips, not sure if she wanted to believe him.
Once again, he chuckled. The deep, throaty sound of it doing things to her that she wasn’t proud of. “Are you worried about something?” He moved to take a look as well, but she placed two hands on his shoulders and shoved him down again.
“My sister is over there.”
His brows lifted. “You don’t want her to see me?”
The cogs were practically whirring in his head. Clearly, he was connecting the dots about something. Then he confirmed her assumptions when he tilted his head. “You’re worried that she’s going to be upset with you if you start to date me.”
She grimaced, which drew another chuckle from his lips.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Lacey’s eyes flew wide. “How would you know? I know you were friends with her, but she hasn’t stopped talking about you since you showed up that day at my apartment.” She couldn’t keep the accusation out of her tone. “This is all your fault.”
His head reared back, but the amusement never left his face. “My fault?”
“Yes, your fault. None of this would be happening if you didn’t come over like a blast from the past with all your charm and intrigue.”
“You think I’m charming?”
She groaned. “Angelathinks you’re charming.” It didn’t matter what she said or how she phrased it. Mack still grinned at her like she’d hung the moon just for him.
