Page 61 of The Fun Part
“Mackenzie, are you okay?” Mom asks.
“I’m fine. Sounds fun. Text me the dates, and I’ll see if I can make it work.”
Cal opens the door to Happy Endings for all of us, earning him many smiles and thank yous from the other women. I sigh. It’s maddening how he can be both sweet and distressing at the same time.
A few guys at the dark cherrywood bar watch basketball on the big-screen TV. They glance back at the din of women talking and laughing as they filter in and shift to the end of the bar. I hang back with Cal.
“Are you into romance novels now?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I was curious. I didn’t come to stalk you or anything. Do you want me to leave?”
“No, you don’t have to leave.”
“I was invited to your parents’ vow-renewal ceremony. Is that going to be a problem?”
I bite my lower lip. It’s not going to be easy to avoid Cal, though I’m starting to wonder why I want to. “No problem here.”
He leans close to whisper, “Your mom and friends think we’re still together from our fake dating. How do you want to play this?”
I look to the ceiling, considering. I’ve been miserable all week.
On the other hand, how am I ever going to move on if I keep pretending we’re a couple? I turn to him, my shoe somehow scuffing on the floor, sending me off balance. He reaches out to steady me. We’re close, the heat spiking between us.
I swallow hard. “You don’t have to play my boyfriend anymore.”
He brushes a lock of hair behind my ear, his dark eyes warm on mine. My heart thumps harder. “What if I like it?” He tips my chin up and kisses me. A tender kiss that’s over before I can blink. It shakes the foundation of all my firm principles meant to protect my heart.
I’m in trouble.
“I love when you look at me like that,” he says, his lips curving up in a smile that can only be described as sexy beyond belief, tender, and affectionate all rolled into one.
I look away, taking a breath. Sex is what got me into this mess. I need to slow it down.
The women get louder. I turn to find Aunt Mad high-fiving her friends. Harper’s in the middle of it all. She waves me over. I walk over with Cal just as Rowan comes up behind me. Was Harper calling Rowan over and not me? Why do I feel left behind again?
“Hey, ladies!” Rowan says, giving Harper and then me a hug. “Are we all joining the Happy Endings Book Club? Mackenzie, you in?”
“You read romance now?” I ask.
“Not yet, but I do read historical fiction, and Harper told me the next book is historical.”
“Scottish Highlander romance,” Harper says. “You should see the cover. The kilt on this guy.”
Rowan laughs. I glance sideways at Cal to see how he’s taking all this talk about guys. He kisses my temple. It’s so easy to fall for him.
“Want anything to drink?” he asks.
“I’ll take a mojito,” I say. He looks to my friends.
“Sparkling water, please,” Rowan says.
“Merlot for me, thanks,” Harper says.
Cal makes his way to bartender Cooper while Harper, Rowan, and I shift over to a high-top table. “So…” I say, unsure how to proceed.Is everyone having romance fun without me?
“Are you pregnant?” Harper asks Rowan at the same time as Rowan asks me, “Are you and Cal a couple?”
“What?” Rowan and I say at the same time.
