Page 22 of Tempting

“No boyfriend,” I lament. “Not since the tenth grade.”

It only takes him a minute to realize exactly who I’m talking about before he groans. “Come on, Mac. You haven’t had a boyfriend since Allen Dyson? The fucking vacuum? Seriously?”

“Shut up, Nix.” I push back against his chest with a laugh. This is the problem with small towns. Everyone is related to everyone, me included, and everyone knows everything. There’s no hiding. “It was a few weeks before homecoming, and Everly was dating his older brother. In my defense, once I found out why they called him the vacuum, we broke up.” My smile grows as I remember in vivid detail the hickey Becket found me trying to hide before he threatened to have Allen’s entire family erased from existence.

Becks was always more dramatic than Juliette.

“Wait...” Nix draws out the words, and I know what he’s putting together. This man was never a dumb jock. “No boyfriend and no hookups...” The tick in his jaw reappears. That jaw is chiseled out of the same granite his chest seems to be carved from. “Not since tenth grade?”

“There may have been a hookup or two in college...” I may also be stretching the definition of hooking up.

Am I actually going to have this conversation on the dance floor of one of Kroydon Hills biggest events of the whole damn year?

I drag my hand down his chest... his incredibly hard, beautifully muscled chest, and an idea begins to take shape. Probably a very, very, bad idea. One I’m not ready to give voice to just yet. No... Instead, I decide on a different approach. “Listen, we can’t all have beautiful women warming our bed whenever we want.”

“Do you want a beautiful woman warming your bed, Mackenzie? Because I’ve got to tell you, I’d give my left testicle to see that.”

I shake my head slowly, enjoying the way his eyes darken as he licks his lips like he’s the big bad wolf, and he’s hungry.

“The left one?” I tease slowly.

That cocky grin reappears. “Hangs lower than the right.”

“Makes sense then. Sadly though, you’re not going to find me in bed with any woman. Beautiful or otherwise. Vagina is my day job. Not my night one.”

The song ends, and the DJ announces the first course is being served as Annabelle takes the stage and the mic. The hunger lingering in Nixon’s eyes isn’t going anywhere, but instead of saying a word, he offers me his arm and walks me back to the table.

Guess I was saved from diving into that discussion.

But maybe jumping headfirst wouldn’t have been so bad for a change.

Nixon

My brain can’t stop working through all the different possibilities.

Can’t, not won’t.

Because there is no possible world where the gorgeous woman at my side, who has charmed everyone she’s spoken to tonight, hasn’t had a hookup since college. I mean, she’s spent four years in her residency and another... what, three maybe, in med school?

Then in a whirling flash of chaos, I try to wrap my brain around the possibility that Mackenzie Hayes has a different definition of hookup than the rest of the world. Because there’s no fucking way this goddess hasn’t had sex in almost ten years. Is there?

Fuck . . .

After dinner, I stand at the bar with a Jack and Coke in my hand, watching her dance with her brother, when my father stops next to me.

“Maccallan, neat,” he tells the bartender, then follows my line of sight and smiles. “Your sisters told me this was just one friend going with another friend. But I’ve been watching you, Nixon. And you’re not looking at Kenzie the way you look at a friend.”

I lean back against the bar and sip my drink. “We can’t all be you and Mom.”

“None of you should be your mother and me. Be yourselves. Find your own way, kid. It’s all we’ve ever wanted for any of you.”

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t think my way includes anyone else. Not right now.” Mac catches my attention when she lights up, laughing at something Easton said from across the room. Fucking beautiful. “Hockey takes everything I’ve got.”

“Don’t give it so much that you’ve got nothing when it all ends, Nix. Because, and take it from me, it all ends. If it weren’t for your mother, I’m not sure who the hell I would have been without football.”

“You retired as the most successful quarterback of all time. The whole world knows who you are,” I goad him.

“Nah. The whole world knew who I was on a football field. Your mom and you kids know me. Our family is the reason I never lost who I was. Hell... who I am. Don’t pass up a chance at that, Nixon.” He looks back over at Kenzie and Easton. “And don’t fuck her around. Kenzie’s a good girl who your sisters and mother love. Understand?”

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