Page 34 of Just for Tonight

I won’t care.

I can’t care. I didn’t make this mess and I didn’t ask to be given the job of cleaning it up. I know my legal responsibilities, but duty is not the same as emotional investment. If I think about it – and I have, a lot, these past couple of days – my father blew everything on ensuring that his second family saw all their dreams come true. If there’s no more money, they’ve all had a lifetime of presents from the old man, which is more than any of us did.

I will not feel guilty, just because I’m the bearer of bad news.

I take a deep breath as I walk down the winding lane. Tonight, there will be Mackenzie. That’s almost enough to make this unplanned visit to Empire worthwhile. There are clouds gathering overhead and a slight wind as I pause to lock my car and give it a pat. It was just waxed so the rain will bead up and roll off it. It will be fine outside for a couple of hours. I’ll tuck it in back at the townhouse later.

I stroll down to the gates guarded by gold lions, feeling a lot better than I should. A burgundy SUV pulls to a halt just outside the gates and I quicken my step, smiling at the Rhodes Vineyard logo on the side.

Mackenzie. My heart goes thump.

My fingers cross.

Her hair is still down, but it looks sleeker now, glossy and thick. I don’t know how women do that. Their hair can change with their mood, like magic. Actually, I don’t care how they do it. I just want to run my fingers through hers. Even in the shadows inside the car, I can see that she’s wearing a little bit of make-up, a pink lipstick that does shiny magic with her mouth. She’s wearing perfume too, that elusive scent that I wish hadn’t vanished from my sheets as quickly as it did. I take a deep breath as I settle in, loving that I read her response correctly.

We both have expectations.

I will deliver.

“You don’t mind if I drive?”

“No, why should I?”

“Some men do.”

“Maybe I’m different.”

She almost laughs. “Maybe you are. I thought you were hesitant to accept earlier.”

“That wasn’t about driving. That was about leaving my car alone.”

“Your one true love?”

“Something like that.” I look at her as she drives. “I owe you an apology.”

“You do not.” She pauses, firing me a glance as she turns toward Empire. “Although maybe I shouldn’t dismiss that idea too quickly.”

We laugh together. It’s easy, but with that tingle of electricity. I can’t help stealing glances at her hands, at her legs, at the curve of her chin or her profile.

I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I’m getting a second chance to get it right – a third, if you’re counting, and I am – and this isn’t an opportunity to be missed.

“There’s something we need to talk about,” Mackenzie says, so serious that it seems like a warning. Have I read her wrong? “We need to agree on it now.”

“Okay.” I’m wary but listening.

She takes a deep breath and exhales hard. “Long story short, I don’t date in Empire. I don’t date at all, actually. Around here, I’m officially celibate.”

With those few words, I get it. “You go to the big city and have a hook-up when you need a little something, far away from gossip and speculation.”

“Yes! Exactly.”

I nod. “So, this can’t be a date.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be anyway. Would it?”

“No. A second indulgence is not the same as launching a relationship.”

I have no time to regret being so blunt before her smile flashes. “Yes!” She shakes her head. “I was worried you were going to get some kind of romantic notion.” Her tone tells me everything I need to know about her view of that.