Page 24 of Forgotten Romance

Maybe Luke does deserve him? Or if not Luke, someone else who can be here all the time for Mack to fuss over? Who’ll appreciate everything that incredible man does.

“Hey …”

I jump at his voice and turn to find him sliding the door closed behind him.

“Thought you’d be out here,” he says.

“Not a hard guess though.”

He takes a minute to look around. “I love this room.”

“Right.” It makes me laugh. “You said LEGO is—and I quote—more painful to build than to step on.”

“I didn’t say I liked building it,” he defends, crossing his arms. “It’s peaceful out here.”

“Thanks for looking after everything.”

“Of course.” He rounds the table to come closer. “What are you building?”

“Not sure yet.” I duck down to look at the small sets I have sitting ready under the table for when I want to build something quickly.

Mack crouches next to me. “The car?”

“Hmm …” I shift it aside to see what else there is. None of it looks overly interesting. “You’re back sooner than I thought,” I say.

“Just had to duck to the shops. I said that.”

“Yeah, but I had the car.”

“I know. Ford picked me up. He said I could borrow Orson’s car while you’re back since they usually drive to and from work together anyway.”

“That was nice of him.”

Mack nods. “Ford’s a nice guy.”

“He is.” The thought of him and Orson together still makes me laugh. “I have no clue where their relationship came from, but they work well together, don’t they?”

“Yeah. They’re happy.”

“Total opposites though.”

Mack snorts. “Like we can talk.”

“Us?” I turn to him curiously. I’ve never considered me and Mack to be opposites at all. We’re both family oriented; we both love Kilborough and our home here. We both prefer quiet nights in than partying, even when we first met. A lot of our values align, and sure, the superficial stuff—like his love of fantasy and my love of Sci-Fi—exists, but when it comes to the real things, we’ve always been on the same page.

Hell, even work.

It’s not something we talk about a lot, but Mack works just as hard as I do, and his position is only part-time.

He’s lucky enough to not need to travel for it though.

His sweet, pale blue eyes meet mine.

“We have a lot in common,” I tell him.

He taps the box in front of him. “Like what? It’s definitely not LEGO.”

“No, but … the big things. The ones that count. We both believe in marriage. We both wanted kids. We’re both kind to people and believe in second chances. We both put our friends first—” I catch the hollow meaning behind those words in a way Mack probably doesn’t. Sure, I put my friends first, but did I do the same with my family? I’d like to think it’s a yes, but walking away from Mack will be something I’m torn over for the rest of my life.

---