Page 108 of Calling the Shots

“What?” His face falls, a deep furrow in his brow.

“We. Need. To. Break. Up.” I say each word slowly, carefully, making sure he hears and understands the simple language.

“No.” He shakes his head, sandy waves flopping onto his forehead. “No, we don’t.”

“Yes.” I nod, wrapping my arms around my body to keep from reaching out and touching him. “Yes, we do. I’m not the right girl for you, Mack. That was pretty damn obvious this week.”

“No.” His lips press into a tight, thin line.

“Yes. Your family hated me, Mack. The way I look, how I act, where I come from and what I do. I’m not good enough for them.” My voice cracks and I drop my gaze to the ground, tears filling my eyes. “Or for you.”

“Stop, Gracelyn. Don’t even talk like that.” He steps forward, trying to wrap his arms around me, but I move out of reach. I don’t trust myself to touch him and not fall right back to where we were. Being this close to him physically hurts, and I’m not sure how long I can endure the pain.

“It’s true, Mack. You know it. Don’t deny the facts.”

“Gracelyn, I need you to hear me right now.” He inches forward and tips my chin up with his finger, forcing me to look him in the eyes. “You’re more than good enough for them. You’re better than them. In every way that matters. Your pure heart, the way you treat others, how much you love your family and friends. How much you love me. That’s what matters. All the other stuff is superficial bullshit.”

My lip quivers and the tears spill over, splashing onto my cheeks. I love Mack, more than anything, but I’ll never fit in with his family.

Swiping away the tears, I straighten my shoulders and stand tall. “I love you, too. But I’ll never fit in there, Mack. The family stuff is always going to be there. They hate me. I don’t want them to hate you too. For choosing me.” My voice drops to a whisper and Mack sighs.

“Gracelyn…”

He brushes his thumb across my wet cheek, and this time I let him wrap his strong arms around me. Bringing me close, I press my face to his chest and sob. Chest heaving, I let out all the disappointment and sorrow I have left.

This is goodbye and I want to savor every last second I have with Mack. His arms around me, holding me to him.

“Shh, baby. Don’t cry. Fuck them.” He kisses the top of my head, stroking my hair lightly.

“I can’t not care, Mack. Your parents, your sister. They matter. They’ll never accept me.”

“So what? I’m a grown-ass man. I don’t need Mommy and Daddy’s approval anymore. We can go to the courthouse on Monday and get married and no one could stop us.”

I tense in his arms.

Married?

“Or if you want to have a wedding, that’s fine too. We can have one right here in Thunder Creek. We don’t have to invite them. I. Don’t. Care.” He punctuates each word, his voice firm.

“Mack…” I lift my head, staring up at him. “You should care. They’re your family.”

“Maybe I should. But I don’t. If that’s how they’re going to treat the woman I love, I’d rather not be associated with them.”

Woman he loves.

I’m that woman. The woman Mack loves.

We’ve said those three little words before—lots of times now—but hearing him say it like that hits me deep in my soul.

“But what about holidays? When we have kids? Are you going to keep them away from their grandparents? I would love to believe life is as simple as you’re saying, but it’s not. I wouldn’t feel right cutting them off. From you or our future children.”

He frowns, lips pressed together so hard the flesh turns white. “We never need to see them on the holidays. And if we’re blessed with children, maybe they’ll come around and stop acting like assholes.”

I raise my brow. “Wouldn’t count on it.”

He scrubs a hand over his neck. “Yeah, you may be right about that. But we can cross that bridge when we get to it. All that matters right now is you and me and being together.”

I sigh, wanting to believe him. Buy into the fantasy he’s creating. Us against them, where we win every time.

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