She scoffed. “You don’t know me.”
“But I want to.” Mack shifted his focus to his drink and picked it up, watching the liquid as he swirled it. “I know enough about you to know that you intrigue me. A woman with a child—not a baby—working as a waitress in a small town.” His eyes flitted up to meet hers, and her heart stilled. “Don’t you find it interesting? There’s a story there.”
Lacey swallowed and forced herself to look away. “It’s nothing any different than most single mothers out there.”
“Perhaps.”
The rest of their date shifted to something lighter after that. Thankfully, Mack had eased the tension by asking about her job and interests—steering clear of her family and Bridger.
Once home, he walked her up to her apartment.
She leaned against the door and stared up into his face.
The man was infuriating in so many different ways. And yet there was something about him that made her wonder if her one date rule was necessary.
He pressed a palm beside her head against the door as he gazed down at her. His eyes smoldered, heated her like a laser from the inside out. Mack wasn’t the first cowboy she’d been on a date with, but he was the first one who made her stomach flip when he shifted his focus to her mouth for that brief moment.
Lacey swallowed. “Thanks for dinner.”
“My pleasure,” he murmured.
He nodded to the door. “Mind if I come in?”
“Not gonna happen,” she whispered, though she didn’t sound convinced even to herself.
His crooked grin didn’t hint at a lick of disappointment. “Not even to let me say goodnight to the kid?”
Her eyes narrowed, and he chuckled.
“Ease up. I’m just teasing.” He moved closer, dipping his face closer to her. For a brief moment, she considered letting him steal a kiss. She hadn’t been kissed in years.
Years.
Not since she’d finally gotten her life on track and prioritized getting Bridger back. Unbidden, her hand came up, and she pressed her fingertips against his chest. Only the slightest pressure was needed for her to get him to stop his progress.
“Goodnight, Mack,” she whispered.
“Goodnight,” he murmured, taking a step back to allow her to turn to her door with her keys in hand. “I’m gonna wear you down,” he added.
She smiled, her back turned to him, hating that he was already getting to her. “Good luck with that.”
“Lace! I have the best news!”
Lacey pulled her phone away from her ear as her sister all but squealed into the phone.
“I’m coming to Rocky Ridge for a few weeks!”
Blinking, Lacey looked at her phone. There was no way she’d heard that right. “What?”
“I’m expanding! Can you believe it? I just found the cutest storefront to lease, and I signed the paperwork yesterday. I’m going to come down there and get things going so we can open at the end of the month.”
“That’s incredible!” Lacey smiled. “Congratulations!”
“Isn’t it? Now I have more excuses to come visit! You won’t have to come up to Billings to see me and try to avoid seeing Mom and Dad.”
Lacey grimaced. They all knew she avoided seeing them as much as possible. It was for the best, really. She couldn’t trust them, and they still harbored resentment with everything that had happened since she was a teenager.
“So…” Angela drawled. “You gonna let me stay with you?”
