Lacey leaned into Mack, reveling in his closeness. It was during moments like this one where it became painfully obvious just how much it had hurt to keep him at arm’s length, and she never wanted it to happen again. She bit down on the inside of her cheek as she continued watching her parents warily. This was it. This was the turning point in her life. She’d come here to stand up to her mother and tell her that she couldn’t control her decisions any longer.
Instead of coming away from here with a battle won, she’d be getting so much more. Her heart thrummed a happy tune. Even if her parents chose to weasel themselves into her life after this—even if her mother made good on her threat to bring Child Protective Services down on their heads—she knew she’d be able to get through it with Mack at her side.
He was everything she wanted and didn’t know she needed.
Her mother reacted first, a heavy sigh bursting from pursed lips. Lacey’s shoulders slumped with relief. Her mother was the harder one to convince. While her father didn’t instigate much when it came to this sort of thing, he’d always been severely supportive of his wife. All it took was a request from her lips, and he’d do what it took to make her happy. From the looks of it, he was pleased with what he was seeing.
Did he notice the same sort of fierce love in Mack’s eyes that he held for his wife?
Lacey looked up, drinking Mack in until her whole body warmed once more. All at once, she could see her future laid out before her. Mack was already a wonderful role model for Bridger. He would make a good father, and that knowledge had her stomach flipping all over itself.
He caught her eye and grinned as he pulled her into him, his arm wrapped around her waist almost protectively. She could see it in his eyes—that determination that had continued to burn in him despite everything that had happened between them. Mack tugged her close enough to brush a kiss to her brow, and she leaned into it with a contented sigh.
Her father moved toward them, and she had to give Mack props. He didn’t even flinch as her father drew closer. She eyed her father, wondering what he was going to do just before he held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mack. I can tell you care deeply for my daughter. And that’s all I could have hoped for when it comes to my family.”
At that moment, the door burst open, and Bridger entered with an ice cream cone in hand. Angela offered an apologetic smile to the group. “He insisted on bringing home milkshakes for everyone.” She held up a cup carrier with both hands.
“No,” Bridger argued. “I wanted to get ice cream for everyone.”
Angela rolled her eyes, a hand on her hip. “And what did I say to that?”
“You said the ice cream would melt all over your car, and you weren’t going to clean up that kind of mess,” Bridger sighed.
“Exactly,” Angela stated with a no-nonsense sort of tone. Then her eyes swept through the room, landing briefly on everyone before locking with Lacey. “We good?”
Lacey looked up at Mack, who stared down at her with what could only be described as adoration. She nodded. “We’re good.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Several monthslater
“Today is the day,” Mack stated, sweeping into the kitchen with a small velvet box in his hand. He unceremoniously plopped it on the table and stepped back with a smile of glee on his face.
His mother gasped and lunged for the ring box, her eyes alight as she glanced at Mack. “You’reproposing?”
After the dust had settled, Mack had insisted that Lacey get to know the rest of his family as well as she knew Sammie and Caleb. It didn’t take long for his mother to fall all over herself about Bridger and welcome Lacey into the fold with open arms.
Her concerns over him falling in love with a woman who already had a child had quickly evaporated.
Lacey fit in with his family far more easily than he could have hoped for. She already had a rapport with Sammie, so connecting with the others in his family was a piece of cake.
Tears brimmed in his mother’s eyes as she gazed up at him. “It’s beautiful, dear. She’s going to love it.”
His father leaned forward to get a look at the ring, and the expression of pride on his face only added to Mack’s excitement. “Where are you going to take her?”
Mack pulled a set of tickets from his back pocket and grinned. “We’re going to the zoo.”
Noah spat his water as he coughed from where he sat on the other side of the table. “You’re going to propose to the love of your life at thezoo?” He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “Please tell me you’re joking. After everything the two of you have been through?—”
“Bridger loves the zoo, and Lacey loves Bridger. I do too. And he’s just as much a part of this decision as the two of us.” Mack hadn’t even needed to think about it twice. He wanted Bridger to know that he was loved, wanted, and that Mack would do anything to be part of his life.
His mother had that look on her face. One he’d been seeing more and more frequently—and it matched the one on his father’s. Mack didn’t think he’d ever get sick of seeing the look of satisfaction they were giving him. He’d finally found his place in the world, and while he didn’t need to put all his efforts into impressing his parents, it was nice that they appreciated all the changes that had occurred in his life.
He reached for the ring box and slipped it into his pocket before heading for the door, but his brother’s voice stopped him.
“Hey, this came in the mail for you yesterday.”
Mack turned and glanced toward Noah, who held out a long white envelope, a smile on his face.
