Myrespect for her has grown asImarvel at how she took something that caused her a lot of pain, stepped back, evaluated, and took action to make changes going forward.Biglife changes are not easy to make.
“Weare having a club activity onFriday.”Shelooks into my eyes, hers full of… hope,Ithink.Maybea bit of uncertainty or cautiousness. “Wouldyou like to come?”
Ismile for so many reasons.Forone,Inow have an opening to protect her onFriday.Two, becauseIreally want to go.Iwant to see her in her element, doing something she’s so passionate about.Andthree, because it gives me an opportunity to ask her aboutSaturday.
“I’llcome onFridayif you’ll be my date onSaturdayfor a black tie galaIhave to go to for work.”
Asmile spreads across her face and she says, “I’vealready got the perfect shoes for it.”
Asthe rain pours down all around us,Mackenzie’sstill looking into my eyes.Betweenthat string connecting us and the fact thatIswear she can now see into my soul,I’mfeeling rather vulnerable myself.Myfirst instinct is to pull away from that vulnerability.Torun from it.ButMackenzieis facing it head-on, like a champ, and it makes me stay.
AndthenMackenzieglances at my lips and that single minuscule shift of her eyes makes me not only glance at her lips but start thinking about how it would be to press my lips against hers.Tofeel that physical connection as strongly asIam feeling the emotional connection.
Maybeit isn’t so bad ifIkiss her.IfIstart a real relationship with her.Iglance at her lips again.Onlyabout five inches separate us.I’mjust starting to move my face closer toMackenziewhen lightning cracks somewhere overhead and everything is blindingly bright for a moment.
Roxyyelps and tries pushing her body into the space betweenMackenzieand my legs. “Shh,”Isay, removing one hand fromMackenzie’sback to rubRoxy’shead. “It’sokay, girl.Nothingto be afraid of.”
Theabsence of my hand onMackenzie’sback must make her colder because she involuntarily shivers.Theaction immediately makes me think ofFadila, an asset inRiyadhthatIhad developed.Thelast timeIsaw her, she’d been shivering, too, but from fear, not cold.She’dbeen feeding us some valuable intel.Thepeople she worked for found out, andIcouldn’t protect her.
“Youneed to get her indoors or she’s going to get hypothermia,”Charliesays.
Imanage not to flinch, even thoughIforgot again that she is in my ear.
HearingCharlie’svoice and seeingFadilainMackenzieso close together is a wake-up call.IfIneeded a reminder of why this is a dangerous business for anyone close to me,Ijust got two.
Mackenzieis wearing leggings and a tank top.Idon’t need the goosebumps on her arms to tell me that she has to be freezing cold.Irun my hands down her arms quickly to create some friction and hopefully warm her enough to stop the shivering. “Weneed to get you home.”Iglance in the direction ofMackenzie’sapartment. “We’reonly about two blocks away, right?”
Shenods and then grins. “Wantto make a run for it?”
Ichuckle because her enthusiasm is punctuated by chattering teeth.
Then, withRoxy’sleash in my left hand andMackenzie’shand in my right, we take off running.
CHAPTER17
ABS, GLITTER, FLAGS, AND FEAR
MACKENZIE
“Brruuuugggghhhhuuuhhh.”Thesound of my full-body shiver isn’t even human to my own ears.ButIcan’t help it asIgrab my spare key from the space between the two bricks and fumble with it asIget to my door.
Sebastian, the cat that sometimes claims me, sees me and runs across the backyard, probably just as anxious asIam to get indoors.Butthen he spotsRoxyand just as quickly bolts away.Hehas a hard enough time being around humans he knows, let alone a new human and a dog.
Iget the door open andJace,Roxy, andIstep inside to the warmth, shutting the door behind us.Weboth stand there, frozen, because a) we’re cold, b)IknowJacewanted to kiss me under that tree, c)I’mexperiencing a bit of a vulnerability hangover from revealing so much about myself under said tree, and d)I’venever had a date step foot into this place.Mostlybecause let’s face it: that’s not usually a first date thing andI’mnot a second date and beyond kind of girl.
Ishake myself out of my stupor.Thisis my home, after all.Ineed to summon my inner hostess.
“Weneed to get these wet clothes off,”Isay and then immediately cringe.I’mnot that kind of girl, either. “Andwe need to getRoxydried off.Hercoat isn’t very thick.”
Ikick my shoes off just inside my bedroom doorway before going into my bathroom to grab some towels.Jaceuses one to dry offRoxy— and the walls and floor around her because we weren’t fast enough to avoid her shake-off— whileIgo get a throw blanket for her from my room.Ican seeJacefrom my room, soIpause a moment to just watch the man take care of this dog that obviously loves him while trying not to become the moth to his very distracting flame.
Ishiver.Aflame sounds so good right now.
Iemerge with the blanket, and the two of us make a soft little nest of a bed forRoxyto rest and warm up in.Sheimmediately curls up in it, andJacearranges the blanket over and around her.ThenIgo to the kitchen to get her a bowl of water, hoping that my shivering doesn’t make me spill it.AsI’msetting it down,Jaceasks, “Doyou have a clothes dryer?”
Istand and turn just as he is pulling his shirt over his head andI’mfrozen, staring at a real, live six-pack, questioning for a second my “not that kind of girl” convictions.
“Um, yeah,”Isay as soon as his face is visible again andIcan focus on his eyes instead of imagining what those muscles might look like when, say, he is chopping wood with an ax.Shirtless, of course. “Iuse my sister’s, just past that door.”Igesture vaguely toward the door leading to the house as he uses the other towel to dry his hair and torso. “Hangon a minute, andI’llgrab some of my brother-in-law’s clothes for you to wear while yours dry.”
