Page 85 of The Gingerbread Bakery
Not that Noah knew they were competing.
But Mac was totally winning best groomsman.
‘Do you want to tell me where they are in New Hampshire? And why exactly did Logan's grandmother and Jeanie’s aunt take off to another state the day before their wedding?’
Annie blinked, coming back to the present moment and out of whatever memories of last night she'd been playing in her head.
‘They're not that far, about an hour from here. Apparently, they went up there to visit some distant cousin of Estelle’s or something like that. She said they needed something for the wedding and then they got stuck in the snow.’
Mac glanced out the window. ‘It’s not snowing now,’ he observed, still hoping for a last-minute reprieve from this errand. Annie looked so tempting sitting at his kitchen island, cradling her mug. He wanted her here every morning, just like this, talking over coffee as the sun came up outside.
He wondered how she’d react if he said so.
She’d probably tip right off the stool.
Annie blew out a long sigh and took a sip of her coffee. ‘They left their headlights on last night and now the car battery is dead, and frankly, I don’t trust those two to make it back in time for the wedding, not at this rate. They’ve proven to be entirely unreliable.’
‘Well, that settles it. We're taking a road trip to New Hampshire. Do you want a travel mug for that coffee because we should probably get a move on. We want to make it back in time.’
Annie was staring at him again like she was waiting for the real Mac to come back. Like she was waiting for the irresponsible kid he was to walk through the door. Or maybe she was waiting for the guy she’d painted in her head all these years as the asshole that left her.
But he wasn't either of those guys and he had a new plan. He was determined to show Annie the man he was now, and she could decide for herself if she wanted to be with this Mac.
Because he’d already made up his mind.
He’d loved Annie then and he loved her now.
She was it for him.
* * *
Back at Annie's apartment, she was in the shower and Mac was sprawled out on her bed doing his best not to think about her in the shower. He’d suggested they shower together at his place to save time, but Annie had laughed in his face.
So here he was in Annie’s tiny apartment, forced to listen to the sounds of the water and try not to imagine Annie naked and soaking wet. So far, he wasn't doing a great job of it. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. Maybe he could get a few more minutes of sleep before they embarked on this ridiculous journey. The shower turned off and a few seconds later the bathroom door opened.
‘Keep your eyes closed.’ Annie’s voice washed over him.
‘Please tell me you’re kidding.’
‘I’m not kidding. I accidentally left my clothes out there. Keep your eyes closed.’
He heard her padding across the floor toward him, and he groaned. Clearly, he was being tested, by Annie or by God he wasn’t sure, but his resolve to be a gentleman was rapidly weakening.
He could hear Annie rifling through her clothes in the dresser right next to his head.
‘How about I open one eye?’ he teased.
‘Don’t you dare.’
‘Or…’ he said, ‘I could keep my eyes closed and just use my hands.’
Annie snorted. ‘Yeah, that’s not happening, either.’
He was going to go on teasing her but something about the fact that she trusted him to keep his eyes closed was more important.
Progress.
If Annie could trust him not to peek, then someday she could trust him with everything else.
