Page 60 of Save the Last Dance
He said nothing. Eight years ago, that would have devastated her. Now, she saw it for what it was. He never talked about his emotions and he stuffed everything deep down to take care of others. So when those emotions came out, he didn’t have a clue how to handle them.
“Mack Finley. I’m calling a cab. I am leaving. But before I do, you’re going to apologize for that piece of nastiness because you know it’s not true.” She picked up her clothes and marched toward his bathroom to try and pull herself together, knowing it wouldn’t be as easy to resurrect her heart as it would be her outfit.
“Wait.” Mack didn’t move at first, then he executed a sprint that put him between her and the bathroom door just before she reached it. “I’m sorry.”
She shook from the force of all she’d been feeling—the guilt, the anger and, yes, the heartbreak. Because she understood that this fight wasn’t just about the past. It was about their inability to find their way toward a future.
“Me, too.” Her voice cracked. “I was hopeful today, Mack. I almost believed we could turn things around and…I don’t know. Figure out a way to build something together.”
Even now, every cell inside her seemed to strain toward him, craving his touch. Maybe even his love. But she smothered that thought as soon as it flickered in her consciousness. It wasn’t too late to salvage some pride and sense of self.
“That’s what I wanted, too, Nina.” His hands reached toward her and then stopped in midair. They stayed there for a second before falling uselessly at his sides. “But I didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle to make that call. I didn’t know?—”
“What?” she prodded when he didn’t seem inclined to finish the sentence. “That you weren’t the only one with secrets from that summer? That I hid things from you too?””
His jaw flexed. “I didn’t know that I’d failed to keep you safe from the family drama. All these years, I thought I’d at least done that much right.”
She instantly regretted needling him. He’d been thinking of her and she’d been too busy being defensive to realize it. Nina was still struggling with how to respond when he turned on his heel.
“No need to call a cab. I’ll bring you home when you’re ready.” He was almost out of the bedroom when his cell phone rang.
It vibrated on a table near where Nina stood, so she picked it up and brought it to him, her heart an absolute mess. She wanted to fix something, anything. Smooth over the rough edges all around them. But Mack seemed so distant now.
Flipping over the device, he looked at the screen as the phone chimed again. They could both read the name of the caller.
Mom.
“I’ll call her when we get back.” Mack jammed the phone in his pocket. “I’ll be in here when you’re ready to go.”
He disappeared into the other room, leaving Nina to dress in privacy. She moved slowly, though, knowing when she left here today, she wouldn’t ever be coming back. Mack didn’t trust her anymore, for one thing. She’d kept one too many secrets and crossed a boundary with his mom.
Never mind that he’d said damn hurtful things, too. Sometimes romance couldn’t be repaired. Her mother had told her as much during her parents’ divorce, but she’d refused to believe it. She’d even opened Cupcake Romance thinking she could help others toward the happy-ever-afters she wanted desperately to believe in. Too bad she had no clue how to forge one of her own.
Chapter Fourteen
In a newrecord for incredible highs and plummeting lows, Mack had recaptured a dream for exactly one afternoon.
Got it. Lost it.
He took the long way home from Spencer Farm, figuring he’d better avoid the entrance ramp to the interstate or he’d find himself racing back to Nashville where his world made sense. Work always made sense. Family, relationships and this town, on the other hand…
Taking a winding road past the local quarry, Mack drove the El Dorado with the top down despite the chill in the air, trying to get his head on straight. His time with Nina had been incredible. Amazing. Better than he remembered, imagined or hoped. They’d been so completely in synch.
Then came the revelation that she’d spoken to his mom the night of her breakdown and he’d been just about gutted. He’d been a jackass to accuse her of pushing his mother over the edge, obviously. But he’d been shocked—both that she’d faced his mother alone that night and that she’d kept itquiet for so long. That told him how much the confrontation must have hurt her. Nina never kept anything quiet. It was part of her charm. To a guy who thought through every move and always took the cautious path, Nina’s gutsy, bold way of speaking her mind was refreshing.
Pounding a fist on the steering wheel, he ground his teeth to avoid feeling the fresh ache in his chest.
He could just imagine the kinds of things his mother might have said. She’d always told him that Nina wasn’t right for him, but Mack had ignored her because he’d finally found some happiness outside his claustrophobic family. Still…Mack was used to the kind of hurtful things that could come out of his mom’s mouth when she was in a state. That night especially, after thinking Mack was dead, she’d been a wreck and climbing the walls.
Nina would have been utterly unprepared for that kind of firestorm. It explained a lot about her desperation to leave Heartache after that night. Sure she’d escaped to deal with the grief of Vince’s death on her own. But his mother had played a role in chasing Nina away.
Nearing the top of the quarry hill, he noticed a sign was down. He remembered the sign because he’d driven the route plenty of times as a teen when he’d worked for the family’s construction business. He’d made trips up here for building materials and there was usually a sign for an S curve down a tricky bit of incline. He’d had to navigate it carefully when he was pulling a trailer full of gravel.
Maybe he’d inherited more of his old man’s civic-mindedness than he’d realized, because Mack found himself pulling over. He’d call the town garage tomorrow to ask them about the sign, but he was curious if it was in the weeds of if a kid had stolen it for his bedroom wall. Parking the El Dorado on the side of the road, he left the enginerunning as he stepped out of the vehicle. Traffic was almost nonexistent on this road at night, but he left his headlights on just in case.
A strangle feeling crawled up his spine. Like someone was watching him. Or?—
Someone was calling out?
