Page 4 of The Suspicious Mate

"No, Mac and I are good. He knows me and wouldn't end a friendship over this, but he probably will keep his cousin away from me. He's protective by nature, and I got the impression that Kallan means a lot to him. I wish I'd handled this differently." He could have just offered to take Kallan for coffee, and at least he may have gotten another friend out of the deal, but no, he had to be all cocky and arrogant.

“Is it repairable?”

"I can't image that it is. I said some pretty horrid things I doubt Kallan would be of a mind to forgive and forget." He noticed Parc nodding his head in agreement.

"It seems to be affecting you, so finding Kallan and apologizing, even if he doesn't accept it, will go far in allowing you to move on." He knew Parc was right, but putting himself out there like that was not an attractive prospect.

"I know that is the right thing to do, but it is not my preference." Noa gave him a crooked smile and then looked away.

“If Kallan is anything like Mac, it won’t be that hard.” Parc conjectured. That was a nice thought, but Noa doubted it would be easy.

Kallan was up and ready when Mac knocked on his door. “Come on in.” He said and ushered Mac into the living room of his small yet adequate apartment. Mac smiled as he took a quick look around.

“Nice little place.” He said and gave his cousin a one-armed hug. "It's good to see you again, Kallan."

“It’s good to see you to Mac.” Kallan suggested the coffee shop he noticed next door for their breakfast, and they were soon on their way.

Once seated with coffee and a small variety of donuts, Mac began again with apologies for last night. "I really thought the two of you might hit it off. You're both independent and hard-working and easy to be around.” He rattled off things that made Noa sound less the asshole of last night and more simply misunderstood. Kallan nodded silently as he let his cousin rid himself of the guilt that he was feeling for having set Kallan up for such a painful encounter.

Then Mac made the request that had Kallan stopping and staring because it was outrageous. Kallan started shaking his head before Mac even finished his pitch. "Not going to happen, Mac. No way, no way, forget it."

"He called me last night after he got off work, and he is really sorry, Kallan." Mac kept pressing, always seeing the best in people and assuming that everyone had good intentions, but that was not how Kallan was seeing it. "Like I told you last night, Noa had a really bad day, and it just got the best of him. He's not a bad guy; he just lets his mouth get away from him sometimes." Mac paused to take a sip of his coffee and a bite of his donut. "He isn't cruel for no reason and doesn't deliberately hurt people. Last night was unfortunate, and I'm so sorry I had you on speaker."

"He doesn't need to apologize. I don't know the man, and your apology was enough." Kallan did not want to meet Noa face to face, and he saw no need to.

"He feels really bad and wants the chance to make it right with you." Mac continued with his plea. Kallan kept shaking his head even though he knew Mac would win in the end; he always did because he had those puppy dog eyes that made it impossible to deny him the small favor of listening to his friend's apology.

"Okay, but I still think the guy is an asshole, regardless of his need to apologize." Mac was about to respond, but Kallan stopped him and continued. "I've met a lot of assholes working in the Dakota oil fields, so I know an asshole when I hear one, and your friend Noa is bonafide, died-in-the-wool asshole."

Mac smiled, confident that he'd won and not at all offended by Kallan calling out the character of his friend. "He's a good and loyal friend." That was all he had to say. He did not refute that Noa was an asshole.

"So how are we going to make this apology?" Kallan asked.

"You and I are going to the Club tonight. Noa is a bouncer and works the main door, so he will let us in. You don't have to stay long, but who knows, you might like it." Mac finished his donut and took another sip of his coffee. They talked, and Mac prepared him for his interview and, before parting, let Kallan know he would pick him up at eight and drive him to the Club.

Kallan wasn't exactly keen on going to the Club, but he wanted to get the apology over with. "I probably won't stay long. I hear it's some sort of leather club, and I'm not into fetishes."

"Don't knock it till you tried it," Mac said with a chuckle.

CHAPTER THREE

Noa waited impatiently at the door, anxious for Mac and his cousin to arrive. The desire to apologize to Kallan came on him with such urgency that it confused him, but his bear seemed to understand. His bear, who usually cared very little about Noa's social life, was demanding he make an apology and ask for forgiveness regarding the voice on the phone.

He kept watching for Mac, not knowing what Kallan looked like, although he apparently looked a little like Mac. Finally, he saw him about halfway down the line but couldn’t decern which of the men standing near him could be Kallan. No one looked particularly similar to Mac. The man on his right was the same coloring and about the same size; it was probably him.

With that thought, Noa began to feel justified in his rather harsh judgment of Kallan sight unseen. That guy was not Club Zephyr material nothing interesting or new there. His entire look was tired and common. Mac at least had a sparkle in his eyes that always set him apart from the common, even if his look was more corner pub. Mac's cousin was definitely nothing to write home about, but he did deserve an apology regardless.

"You've rejected a lot of people tonight." Ames, who was manning the door with him, commented. "Why so strict it's still early, and a couple of those people looked like they could have been fun."

"We have a standard to maintain." He shot back, knowing that Ames was speaking the truth. Noa was feeling particularly unpleasant tonight and was taking it out on the patrons, but he would never admit that to anyone.

“Why are you in such a mood?” Ames snapped at him and allowed the next three people inside without Noa’s approval.

"Mac and his cousin Kallan are here." He indicated down the line, Ames glanced over and saw Mac. Ames grinned and nodded.

“Time to say you’re sorry.” He teased.

"I have to for Mac, but if that's his cousin next to him, I think my original call as to the desirability of that man was spot on." Ames glanced over again and noticed the average-looking gentleman standing next to him.

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