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“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Get the fuck over yourself, man.”
“You get the fuck over yourself. You’re melting down because Em needs space—”
“I’m freaking out because I’m meeting my parents in an hour and I told them to expect something. And when I can’t deliver—”
I rubbed my temples and hoped I wasn’t about to make a huge mistake. But I heard Em when she said we weren’t working well together. This was an olive branch I could extend. A small step forward that would show her we could coexist and be happy about it.
At one time, I would have been thrilled to have dinner with Mac Savage’s parents. It would have been a dream come true to walk into a restaurant as his date. I could summon up those feelings again.
Especially since he needed someone.
And I was feeling like an asshole in need of groveling. Nothing I wanted to say was coming out correctly and I had to stop making things worse. If I fucked this up and Em chose Mac, I wasn’t sure I could survive the heartbreak of losing her.
Part of me knew I would be devastated to lose him, too.
Taking a steadying breath—followed by another two breaths—I spoke slowly and didn’t let my emotions overpower me.
“Did you tell them you were bringing your new girlfriend?”
“No, just that it was someone special to me.”
I didn’t push my luck by asking him if I was special to him. I wasn’t sure what I would do if he said yes.
I was even less sure what I do if he said no.
“Would a coworker work?”
He rolled his eyes, but his face broke into a small smile. If it wasn’t Mac, I would have described it as a shy smile. “I think we’re more than coworkers.”
“So, is it a date?” I balled my fist to hide my stupid nerves from him.
“It is. But you need to change.”
I glanced at my black t-shirt and eyeballed him. “What’s wrong with this?”
“My parents only go to fancy restaurants.”
I groaned, but got up, Mac hot on my heels, to pick out a new outfit. He stayed permanently affixed to my personal bubble as we dug through my closet.
“This one.” He held up a sweater I typically wore to family dinners.
It was actually pretty perfect. Dressy without being too formal or uncomfortable.
“Okay, go so I can change.”
“We just saw each other naked—”
“That was different.”
I shooed him out of the room and breathed a sigh of relief when he listened. I wasn’t sure why it mattered. Watching him penetrate Em was way more intimate than him in the room with me as I changed.
But it was different.
The tension between us was crackling. It was confusing, and I wasn’t sure if I could trust him to be all in. Not after the way he treated me the last time I let myself be vulnerable with him.
Slipping into the sweater and some nicer pants, I met him in the front room and held up two pairs of shoes. He chose the sleeker black ones, and I slipped them on.
