“Fine. What about a favor, huh? Friends do favors for each other all the
time, don’t they?” Mack volleyed smoothly, studying her. “How about you do me this favor, Millicent? You won’t
deny me that, will you? Especially since
you’re the one that got me into this predicament.”
“No,
I suppose not. I’d be happy to spend the
holidays with you and your family.”
“Same
here,” he admitted softly. “Now, how do
you feel about you and Paisley helping me decorate my place tomorrow? It’s Saturday. We both have the day off unless one of my
patients decides to go into labor, and since nobody is that close to delivery
yet, I think we’re pretty clear there.
My family expects to fly into Paradise and find my home a completely
undecorated mess. I’d love to knock my
sister down a peg or two and surprise her with a perfectly designed Winter
Wonderland. Really, this is the least
you could do,” he grumbled when Millie didn’t make a peep. “Let me remind you once more that this shit
is all your fault.”
“Such
a sweet talker.” Millie sighed
dramatically and batted her eyelashes demurely.
“You sure know how to charm a girl.”
“My
ex-wife used to say the same thing,” he reminisced.
“You were married? For real? To a woman?”
Millie gaped in stunned disbelief, unable to imagine this male as a part
of a couple. Sure, she’d had her
fantasies about her sexy boss. Of course
she had! He was hot. Lean and muscular in all the right places. And
she’d bet her right pinky toe that he was hung like a horse. But that’s where the fantasy ended. Because in addition to all she fantasized
about, Mackenzie Daniels was also surly, stubborn and an all-around Gloomy Gus
on most all the days that ended in Y.
“For
your sake, lady, I’m going to choose not to be offended here,” Mack returned
mockingly as he fought a grin. “You
don’t need to look quite so astonished; I’m not exactly an ogre, Mills.”
Staring
up at him, Millie took stock of the Doc’s high, chiseled cheekbones, his
dimpled chin, his square jaw and his perfectly sculpted, extremely kissable
lips and she had to agree. “No,
definitely not an ogre,” she whispered, as her tongue darted out to lick her
suddenly dry lips. “What I meant to say
is that I just never imagined anyone that valued his solitude and privacy as
much as you do married to anyone.”
“I
do enjoy my solitude and privacy, but I’m also a guy, Millie. I do
like to fuck.”
Millie
nearly choked on her tongue. “Women,
right?”
“Yes,
women! Did you assume I was
asexual? Or did you think I was
gay? Do I strike you as a latent
homosexual, Millie?” he asked as his steady gaze connected with her nervous
one.
“N-no,
but if you did swing that way, you should know that Paradise has this lovely
florist that’s been looking for love in all the wrong places,” she managed to
impart through her mostly frozen lips.
“He’ll
have to keep lookin’ then because I’m straight as an arrow, woman,” Mack
growled, his eyes skating hungrily over her pretty face.
“Doc,
why are you tellin’ me this stuff?” Millie asked, trying desperately to
understand where and when this new and open Mackenzie had emerged. Would she find the ‘Old Mackenzie’ collapsed
at his desk in the office? Was she
hallucinating? What exactly had been in
her sandwich from the diner?
“That’s
what friends do, right? Share and shit
like that?” he asked with a careless shrug.
“I
reckon,” Millie mumbled. “But maybe we
should think about getting back to the office.
It’s almost two and you’ve got a 2:30 with Sandy Bingham.” Honestly, she was more than a little nervous
standing here with him because suddenly Mack was eyeing her like she was a
steak and he was a very hungry animal.
And crazily enough, she found herself not minding in the least the idea
of being his meal.
Ignoring
her reminder of his afternoon appointment, he kept staring at her. “So, is that a yes to spending tomorrow with
me?”
“I…
uh…. I guess, if that’s really what you want,” she agreed, her cheeks blushing
as she tried to make herself stop fidgeting like a teenage girl being asked on
her first date.
“What
about tonight? Are you busy tonight?” he
asked.
“I
don’t think so. Why?”
“Because,
you haven’t seen my place. I want to
show it to you so that you can get an idea of what we’ll need. I’ll even feed you if you’ll agree to help me
out,” he offered calmly.
“I…you’re
sure about this?” she asked, not quite able to believe that this man was
volunteering to spend time with her. Or
hell, with anybody really. Mack was a
loner. Everyone, including her, knew
it. He’d already knocked her off her
axis with the news that he’d once had a wife.
Now, he was acting like -- dare she even imagine it – like he was
actually interested in her?
“I’m
positive. And maybe tonight could be an
adults-only evening since tomorrow will be kid-friendly,” he suggested
smoothly.
“Uhmmm
– okay,” she agreed slowly, nodding.
“I’m sure my mom and dad won’t mind watching Paisley for a few hours.”
“Good,”
Mack declared with a satisfied nod as he reached around Millie to open the
vehicle’s door for her. “Then I’ll pick
you up at your place around six. Is that
enough time to get off work and get Paisley to your parents’ house?”
Millie
nodded as she began to climb into the cab of the truck, her mind reeling as she
tried to keep up with their conversation.
Things were happening so quickly that she felt like she’d somehow fallen
into an alternate universe – one where sexy-as-sin doctors wanted to spend time
with her outside of work. “Yeah, that’ll
be…great,” she acknowledged, her voice a little shaky. Offering him a dazed look, she shook her
head.
“What?”
he growled in that surly voice she knew so well.
“I
don’t understand what’s happening here, Doc,” she said truthfully. “Have you just asked me out on a date?” she asked, her eyes twinkling
with enthusiasm as her heart pounded in her chest.
Mack’s
face flushed and he shrugged. “Why is it
so important to women to label everything?
We’re gonna share a meal tonight.
If you wanna call it a date, I can’t stop you,” he declared before
slamming the door on her reply.
“I’ll
be damned,” Millie muttered to herself as she watched him slowly circle the SUV
to reach the driver’s side. “It’s an
honest-to-God Christmas miracle.”
