Her eyes darted from Bridger to Mack and back again. A small laugh trickled from her lips. “I’m sure Mack has better things to do?—”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t prepared to follow through,” he pointed out. If his brother weren’t watching with an above average amount of interest, Mack might have leaned closer to her like he had when they were huddled between the trucks in front of the bookstore. As it was, he needed to hold back so he didn’t draw even more unwanted attention.
Lacey shifted, then she adjusted her purse strap over her shoulder. She chewed on her lower lip, then shifted her weight again. “My shift is from four until midnight.” She said it in such a way that almost sounded like she wanted to convince him that this wasn’t a good idea.
Mack shrugged. “I’m sure we can come up with something fun to do until bedtime. I don’t mind putting the kid to bed if you can give me a key.”
She frowned, her eyes dropping to Bridger, who wore the epitome of what could be described as puppy dog eyes. His lower lip had been pushed out, and he held up his hands clasped together. “Please?” he begged.
Noah snorted, but it was more out of amusement than anything else.
Mack tilted his head, his smile growing. “Yeah… please?”
Lacey mumbled something under her breath, but it sounded more like a groan. “Fine.”
He couldn’t be sure, but he could have sworn he heard an audible gasp from both Bridger and Noah. The kid jumped up and down. Noah muttered something Mack couldn’t understand.
She held up one finger. “Just this once. Is that clear?”
Mack grinned down at Bridger then nudged them. “Ya hear that, kid? You get to hang out with me today.”
“I know I’m going to regret this.” Lacey pressed her fingers to her temples. She lifted her gaze to meet his.
He lowered his voice so only she could hear. “It’s going to be fine. I promise.”
The phone buzzedin Mack’s pocket. Without looking at it, he knew who had messaged him. He shook his head, chuckling as he did, and held the phone up so Bridger could see it. “I think your mom is still worried about you.”
The kid smiled around his bite of ice cream. White dribbled from the corner of his mouth, and he wiped at it with the back of his hand. “We should send her a picture. Maybe she’d like that.”
Mack nodded. “You’re a smart kid, you know that?”
His compliment got another grin from Bridger. Mack held up his phone and pointed it at the boy. With a click, the flash went off. He turned his attention to the screen and opened the messagehe’d just gotten from Lacey. With a couple more taps on the screen, he had the image attached and sent off.
He placed his phone on the table. They’d set up shop outside of Sweet Everything Bakery. Bridger had requested his favorite brownie along with the ice cream, and that was all he’d needed to be a happy camper.
The kid kept watching him with a curious stare. He was looking a little too smart for his own good—only confirmed when he swallowed his bite of ice cream and asked, “Do you like my mom?”
Mack nearly choked on his brownie. “Wow, kid. That’s… definitely a question.” He chuckled and raked a hand over his face.
“You do, right?”
“Yeah, bud. I do.”
Bridger nodded. “I knew it.” He said it with such a matter of fact tone that Mack couldn’t help but laugh.
Leaning forward, Mack murmured, “But I like you, too.”
That statement earned him another smile. They finished up their sweets before Mack had Bridger gather up his things so they could head to the apartment.
“What are we going to eat for dinner?” Mack asked as he unlocked the door. “I’m not a great cook, but I’m sure I can make you something you’d like.”
“Can you make macaroni and cheese?”
Mack wrinkled his nose in a grimace. “I was thinking more like a sandwich or a frozen pizza. Something like that.”
“It’s not hard,” Bridger insisted. “I know you can do it.”
Mack went stiff, staring down at the kid. Bridger couldn’t have known what his words did. Over the years, Mack had gotten used to being the person people had little faith in. His parents weren’t impressed with his life decisions as of late. In fact, he got the distinct impression that his parents didn’t expect anything from him at this point.
