Page 14 of Sustain

She wakes in earnest then and holds her hands out in a grabby motion. Taking the mug from me, she wraps her fingers around it and breathes in the steam. “This smells amazing.”

“I’ll pass on your compliments to my mother. It’s her recipe,” I smile, still a little nostalgic for my carefree childhood.

Her mug halts halfway to her lips, and her eyes widen. “Wait, this isn’t packaged hot chocolate?”

I shake my head. “Nope. Made with my own two hands.”

“Holy shit. Marry me.” She clamps a hand over her mouth as I raise an eyebrow at her. “I didn’t...I mean--”

“Did you just propose to me, Mackenzie?” I ask, pretending to be serious. “Don’t you think it’s just a tad premature? I mean, I’ve known you for a while, but...”

Her face has gone beet red, and it’s extremely difficult for me to hold in my laughter. “I didn’t mean that, for real. Obviously. It was just a saying.”

I crease my brows in mock confusion. “Hmm. As you’ve so kindly pointed out, I’m not originally from here, so is that an “American” saying? You just go around asking people to marry you? Odd tradition.” I make sure to use air quotes to rile her up even more.

She finally catches on that I’m messing with her, but she’s still embarrassed.

“Oh my god, fuck off,” she says, blowing on her cocoa. A grin finds its way and breaks through. It’s beautiful.

Actually, in the warm firelight of the room, everything about her is beautiful. She seems to glow, despite everything she’s been through today. Before, I thought it was just her kinetic energysince she’s always on the go, always getting things done. I never stopped to reallylookat her.

And she’s stunning.

Between her long amethyst hair, wide violet eyes, and that damn sharp sense of humor and intelligence, it’s impossible not to notice her beauty. I feel as if I’ve caught some sort of mystical being from the fae wild, and am the first person to see her true nature.

“Earth to Ian,” I hear her call my name, and it snaps me out of my reverie, but I’m still staring at her.

I quickly avert my gaze to the fire and clear my throat. “Sorry, I zoned out for a minute there. Did you say something?”

She eyes me curiously for a second. “I said to definitely give my compliments to your mother. This is amazing.”

“Oh, of course,” I say and shift a bit uncomfortably. “I’ll tell her.” What I don’t say is that my mother and I haven’t exactly gotten along since my divorce from Brianna. But then, my mother hasn’t understood many of my life choices; the band, moving to America, any of it. I’m an enigma to her. Always have been.

My awkward response earns me another odd look from Mackenzie, but she doesn’t press me on it, and I’m grateful. The last thing I want to do right now is discuss my mother. Though, to be fair, I did mention her first.

“So, how did you snag this winter palace while the rest of us had to book the no-tell motel by the airport?” She sounds annoyed, and rightfully so. It does appear as though I’ve gotten special treatment with my lodging.

“Well, as mentioned, I was a last-minute addition to the entourage, and Ron’s room was already given away. So, I offered to get my own accommodation. And, well,” I hold a sweeping arm out, “who wouldn’t choose this if they could?”

She arches an eyebrow at me, and I have to look away before I get lost staring at her again.

“But, mi casa es tu casa, as it were,” I say, glancing out the windows at the snowstorm raging outside. “It looks like you’re stuck roughing it here with me for tonight at least.”

Something charged stirs in the air between us, and neither of us says anything else about her having to stay the night with me.

And now, it’s all I can think about.

Fuck.

nine

. . .

Toothpick

Mackenzie

I really wish the awkwardness that just landed between us wasn’t there. Things were going so well before I went and made it weird by asking him to marry me.

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