AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without conversation flowing from our side of the table, his parents changed the topic to something their neighbor’s daughter had said that they found hilarious. None of it really seemed that funny and the two of them laughed at inside jokes that I was happy to not understand.
During their gabfest, Mac drew into himself. I squeezed his hand again, trying to check in to see if he was doing okay. It was obvious he wasn’t, and I ended up ordering for him when the server got to our table. I cooked for him often enough to know that he hated raw tomatoes and preferred his onions grilled.
These details didn’t escape his scrutinizing parents.
They exchanged a look, and Joanie raised her pencil-thin brows. “How long have the two of you been together?”
My mouth went parchment dry. I didn’t know if Mac was out to his parents. And everything with Em really threw a wrench in trying to simplify an answer to her question.
Helplessly, I looked at Mac. He gave me a weak smile, and I was ready to throw down. It wasn’t actually any of their business. I normally kept my thoughts to myself, but I couldn’t sit back and watch him become this shell of himself.
He was Mac Savage.
He wasn’t Mac Meek.
“Are you out to them?” I whispered.
He nodded and gulped.
I grasped his hand and faced his built-in bullies. “Our relationship is still new—”
“Of course it is. Michael can never stick with anything longer than a weekend.” Richard laughed, but Joanie was the only one joining him.
Mac shrank further into his seat. Here was this colossal hockey player with a body that could have been chiseled out of marble for how damn perfect it was, a smile that did things to my heart, and a personality that frustrated me to the point I couldn’t think straight, and his parents were hellbent on destroying him.
Rage simmered beneath my surface. Did I think Mac was flaky? Yes. Did I have my doubts about his commitment to Emily? To me? Sure. Did I try to convince Emily to forget about him? Not my proudest moment, but yes.
Did that mean I was willing to sit back and listen to his parents lay into him?
Absolutely not.
“We have known each other for a while and—” I didn’t fight the tug at the corner of my mouth. “I’m glad it’s turned into something more.”
A flash of something flickered behind Mac’s eyes. It was only gratitude. Surely he didn’t care about the contents of my words, just that someone was speaking up for him in front of his parents.
I could let myself speak freely. All the words I wanted to say to him after the night we spent together last year. All the words that bubbled to the surface after our night in Cincinnati. They could finally come out.
“Mac’s an incredible person. He’s caring and considerate and—despite what you think—he’s a damn fine hockey player, too. The Evergreens are lucky to have him, but I’m even luckier.” My voice cracked on the last word, and I closed my mouth, afraid of saying anything more.
My speech, although briefer than I would have liked, had its intended effect. Joanie and Richard looked at me. Then at each other. Then at Mac. And back at each other.
I sat on the edge of my seat, Mac’s leg trembling against mine. Scooting closer, I pressed my thigh to his to reassure him it would all be fine.
This was it.
This was their opportunity to be happy for their son.
Joanie laughed. “Oh, that’s cute.”
“Everyone falls for Michael, but don’t get your hopes up. He disappoints everybody in the end.”
I saw red. Sure, they were his parents, but they had no right to talk to him like that. They didn’t actually know him. And they were so fucking hard on him for no reason.
He was quiet, and I didn’t like seeing him quiet. Not at all.
Mac didn’t even stand up to them. He looked down at the napkin on his lap. Like a little kid who couldn’t look their parents in the eye.
Suddenly, Mac made more sense to me. All the times he just wanted to have fun. All the times he lifted others up and saw the best in them. He would never be perfect to his parents, and some part of him wanted their approval. It was easy to see he’d never get it, but I couldn’t fault him for trying.
