Summer Love by Piper Rayne
Chapter Six
One week later…
Mack did his best to avoid Zoey after their almost-kiss. Well, he avoided her physically. He didn’t, however, manage to avoid her in his head. That moment played on loop night after night—details etched into his brain as though carved into stone, never to be erased. He lost himself in the memory of her sweet floral scent and the silkiness of her skin and the warm pressure of her body against his, reaching for himself under the cloak of darkness in a desperate attempt to absolve his frustration.
But the sad fact of it was, his own hand was a poor match for a woman’s touch. For her touch.
Still, he was doing what he did best—taking the safe route. He sent her calls to voicemail and responded to her texts with short responses, claiming he was swamped with work. Did he feel bad about it? Sure. But was it the right thing for his sanity? Absolutely. He figured Zoey would get the hint, eventually. If she needed his help with the food truck, then he would be there. But for everything else… no can do.
The last thing he needed in his life was to be tempted by someone who had the power to upset the careful balance he prided himself on maintaining.
But it appeared Zoey had other plans.
He saw the dust being kicked up by the motorcycle before he heard the rumble of the engine, thanks to the jackhammer going off and the sound-deadening earmuffs clipped to his hard hat. It wasn’t the cloud that clued him in to the identity of his unwanted visitor, however. It was the ripple of awareness that ran through the construction crew, distracting the men from their work as they watched a woman ride up to the front of the site.
Shit.
Zoey was not going to take a hint, like he’d hoped. A few workers wandered to the front of the site—a small complex of units aimed at creating affordable housing for first home buyers—and watched the woman dismount from her bike. At least Zoey had a pair of jeans on today, because those bare legs could very well be his undoing.
He took his hard hat and earmuffs off in time to hear a wolf whistle cutting through the air. Seeing red, he stalked across the site ready to grab the guy who’d dared whistle. Nick had strong feelings about his men not doing that kind of disrespectful shit, but some of the old dogs were struggling to learn that particular trick.
“Hey Mack.” Zoey had her helmet tucked under one arm, and she smiled slyly at him as he approached.
“Don’t tell me you’re here to see that stuffy bloke,” scoffed one of the workers, who was grimy from a windy morning working the excavator. “Come on now. A pretty lady like you needs a bit more excitement than that.”
“And you’re the one to show it to her, are you Greg? How’s the missus feel about that?” Mack shot the guy a hard look and it got the intended result. Greg muttered something under his breath and headed back to work, the other guys trailing behind him, equally pissed off that their fun had been spoiled.
“You show ’em who’s boss,” Zoey said, an amused smirk hovering at the edge of her lips. She’d shrugged out of her leather jacket and slung it over one arm, leaving her under-layer—a black sleeveless top so tight it looked spray-painted on—to capture his attention. “I do like the big bad wolf side of you, Mack.”
“What are you doing here?” He shook his head, drawing a steadying breath. “How did you even know what site I was working on today?”
“I called the office and spoke with Nick.” She smiled sweetly. “Said I wanted to deliver you some lunch.”
“You know that’s going to get tongues wagging.”
“Is it?” She cocked her head in feigned innocence.
“What’s your game, Zoey? It feels a lot like you’re trying to force my hand at something, but I don’t know why.”
“You’ve been avoiding me.” She tucked a strand of mermaid-coloured hair behind her ear as she reached into the compartment on her bike and produced a container which appeared to contain some sandwiches, fresh fruit and mini muffins. “And I really did want to bring you lunch.”
He sighed. Zoey was sweet, but he knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. Literally or figuratively. She wanted something from him, and his greatest concern was that she wanted something he’d be very happy to give.
“Let’s walk down to the park,” he said. “One, it’s dusty here and two, I don’t want the guys gawking at us.”
“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?” She said it in a teasing manner, but he caught the flicker of doubt in her eyes.
“No. But I’m worried that one of those vultures will come in and steal my food.”
She laughed and they headed away from the construction site, down the quiet tree-lined street. This area of Patterson’s Bluff wasn’t very built up and the “park” he’d mentioned was little more than a patch of bush leading through to the ocean. There was a railing to sit on, and endless blue water to admire. The breeze kicked up the lengths of Zoey’s hair and he tried not to think about how beautiful she was.
When they settled, she opened the box and handed him a neatly wrapped sandwich. Ham, cheese and tomato—his favourite.
“I know you’re attempting to get your way by feeding me,” he said, taking a bite.
“Don’t they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?” she said, stifling a laugh as she unwrapped one for herself. “I felt like we should… talk. About what happened, I mean.”
“Disagree.” He took another bite.
“Why?”
How could he tell her the truth without putting any ideas in her head? “Because it’s bad news.”
She let out a huff. “I’m sick of you looking at me like I’m a kid, Mack. I’m twenty-five. I’m not that scared little girl you used to check on anymore.”
“You don’t think I know that?” Was she really so blind? “You don’t think I’m fully aware of much you are not a kid anymore?”
She sucked in a breath. “Then why—”
“We’re not compatible.” He chanced a look over at her. She was staring out at the ocean, a crease between her brows and her silvery blue eyes fixed on something in the distance. “Trust me, it’s nothing to do with me thinking you’re a kid or anything like that. We want different things, that’s all.”
“You don’t know what I want,” she replied stubbornly.
Yes, he did. Because when he’d asked her that question, she’d shown him what she wanted. The way she’d pressed her body against his, holding him and looking up at him in a way that would haunt him for the rest of his days… that’s what she wanted.
And part of him wanted it, too. But that didn’t mean it was the right path for either one of them.
“You want a fun-time guy who’ll do crazy, spontaneous stuff with you like going sky-diving on a whim. The kind of guy who doesn’t worry about things like saving for the future and five-year plans and other boring crap like that.”
“You’re wrong. I like those things about you.”
“Why?”
Mack wasn’t even sure he liked those things about himself, in truth. But it wasn’t worth fighting against it. Humanity needed both types of folks—the wild ones and the steady ones. The wild ones created art and made people smile and added colour to things, and the steady ones made sure there was safety and security and order. It was all about balance. His desire not to be with a woman like Zoey had nothing to do with him being unable to see her value. Nothing at all.
It was more that he feared they were too far apart on the wild-to-steady spectrum.
“You… make me feel grounded,” she said.
“I’ll make you feel six feet under in the long run,” he quipped.
She frowned. “You really think we’re that incompatible?”
“I do.” He toyed with whether or not to add further to his statement, but he felt the hurt simmering around her. “It’s…”
Shit.
He raked a hand through his hair and tried to think of the best way to phrase it. “It’s got nothing to do with a lack of attraction, okay? I find you very attractive, but you know I’m not the dating around type. I want to have a family and I would never ruin our relationship by sleeping with you purely based on the physical aspect.”
There, that was the truth of it out in the open.
“I honestly don’t know if you just complimented me or insulted me.” She wrinkled her nose and took another bite of her lunch. “You basically said I’m hot but not family material.”
“That’s not what I said.”
She lifted one shoulder into a shrug. “Well, I think you’re wrong. We’re compatible because we’re different. We balance each other out.”
He laughed. The girl was certainly selling it—but every time he even thought about indulging, an image of his parents popped into his head. After he figured out all the money they’d invested in his sister’s business was gone, he’d found his mother sitting on her kitchen floor, sobbing. He’d never seen her so broken like that. So… helpless.
He’d dug way into his own savings to make sure they didn’t lose the house. So how could he then date a woman who ate risk for breakfast? Who bought a broken-down hunk of scrap on a hope and a prayer? Who could never seem to find the line between dipping a toe in and flying headfirst off a cliff into the things she wanted to do?
“You’ll get bored of me,” he countered. His ex certainly had—she’d said all his plans and precautions and fallbacks were stifling.
You don’t know how to live in the moment, she’d said as she left. You wouldn’t even know what happiness looked like if it slapped you in the face because you’re too focused on what could go wrong.
As angry as he’d been, he didn’t exactly blame her for saying those things. He was focused on what could go wrong. He was busy making plans for the future. And what was the big fuss about the present moment anyway? If you only ever worried about that, you’d end up walking straight into a hole in the ground.
“I’ve known you for a long time, Mack. If boredom was an issue, then I wouldn’t be here now, would I?” Zoey’s eyes sparkled with sincerity. He loved the almost colourless nature of them. It reminded him of the early part of the morning after dawn broke, when the world was quiet and peaceful.
“And what if we dated and then broke up, huh?” He shook his head. “That would put your brother in a position to choose, and if he didn’t choose you then I’d be pissed at him. I’d lose you both.”
“Typical Mack, always jumping to the worst-case scenario.” She rolled her eyes.
“Someone has to think about those things.”
She hopped down from the railing and dusted her hands down her thighs. “Well, you think about the worst-case scenario and I’ll do my best to show you why the best-case scenario is worth the risk.”
He didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“By the way, Sean will be calling you later to ask for a hand. We’re having a working bee to get the food truck cleaned up.” She tossed him a look over her shoulder that said she thought she had the upper hand. “You’ll help us, right?”
Damn her. She knew he could never refuse a friend in need. “Sure.”
“See you then.”
He watched as she left him sitting on the railing, her long hair swishing above her backside with each spring-filled step. The woman had something up her sleeve, he knew it.
