Page 106 of The Gingerbread Bakery
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Annie collapsed onto Mac’s chest, her breath sawing in and out of her. She could feel his racing heart beneath her cheek.
He was running his hands up and down her sides and murmuring sweet words against the top of her head. If this was supposed to have been hate-sex, they had done something very wrong. But who was she kidding? Of course she didn’t hate him. That had been the problem all along, hadn’t it?
Mac rolled them so he was on top of her, and she realized he was still hard inside of her. He kissed her gently on her lips and cheeks, down the side of her neck.
‘You okay?’ he murmured.
The best Annie could do was a contented little humming sound. She could feel Mac’s grin on her neck.
He thrust his hips, and a spark of pleasure shot through her, aftershocks from that earthquake of an orgasm.
‘You know that shady little motel the kids used to party at outside of town?’ he asked, still kissing her, her collar bones, her shoulders.
‘Yeah?’ Why on earth would he be bringing that place up now?
‘That’s where I spent most of that year away.’
‘Mac, what are you talking about?’
He looked up, meeting her eyes. ‘I only traveled for the first couple of months, and then I got overwhelmed and sort of freaked out and I spent the rest of the time in that motel. Too afraid to come home and too afraid to go anywhere else.’
Annie stared at him speechless, her legs still wrapped around his waist, her fingers still trailing along the muscles of his back.
‘You weren’t wrong about me, Annie. Iwasin love with you. I wanted to come home to you, but I felt like too big of a loser to do it.’
‘Mac.’ She breathed his name, feelings she’d kept at bay for years threatening to tumble out of her.
‘After that, I did travel for real, and it was amazing, andgoodfor me. I wasn’t lying about that. But three years ago, I was in town visiting my parents and I saw you through the window of the café and that’s when I decided to move home for good.’
Annie shook her head, her hair brushing along the pillow. What was he telling her? ‘No, no, you moved home so your parents could retire.’
‘No, I convinced my parents to retire once I did move home, but I came back foryou. I saw you through that window and I knew I would never find everything I was looking for out there. Annie, I came back on the off chance that I could convince you to give us another try. I never stopped loving you. I still haven’t.’
He came back forher. Helovedher. He still did. Hearing those words did exactly what she was afraid they would. They cracked Annie wide open. She took his face in her hands and kissed him with everything she had until he was moving again, thrusting into her. She clung to him as another orgasm tore through her. Crying, she whispered that she loved him too, that she always had.
Mac’s movements became faster, more erratic until he came, groaning her name. He pressed his forehead against her shoulder, his breath cooling the sweat on her chest.
She ran her hands over his shoulders.
‘I love you, Mac Sullivan,’ she said and when he looked at her his smile lit up the room.
ChapterThirty-Nine
Now
‘So, this is it now?’ Annie asked. ‘We’re together or something?’
They were still in bed, and it was well past midnight, but Annie was starving, so they'd raided his fridge for leftovers from the pub. She was wearing another one of his old T-shirts and a pair of sweats, wrapped up in one of his blankets with a plate of cold fried chicken in front of her. She’d never looked more beautiful.
Mac smiled at her question. ‘I could formally ask you, if you think that would help.’
Annie tipped her head, considering it.
‘It might,’ she said with a teasing grin. ‘It just seems like an abrupt change, like I'm supposed to be nice to you now? It’s weird.’
Mac laughed. ‘You don’t have to be nice to me all of the time, but I'll takesomeof the time.’
