Page 25 of Rescuing Macie

“Pack,” he said, running the back of a hand over her cheek before stepping away. “I’ll change and meet you downstairs. We’ll hit the road at soon as you’re ready.”

She nodded. Suddenly the weekend seemed even more exciting than before. She’d been to Austin, but seeing it with Colt somehow seemed more special.

Macie headed for the door. Even though she’d been staying in his bed each night, her things were in the guest room, where’d he’d put her suitcases the first day he’d brought her here.

She looked back right before she exited his room to see him running a finger over her note on the nightstand.

He looked up and caught her staring. “Things work out the way I hope they do, I’m going to get this framed so it never gets misplaced again.”

Macie’s throat closed up with happiness and she couldn’t say a word. She simply smiled at him and turned to go pack.

Chapter Seven

Colt held the hotel door open for Macie and followed her inside. He’d reserved a suite on the river side so they could watch the bats. The day had been fun. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so much. As the commander for two Delta Force teams, he wasn’t known for being the most jovial man, but spending time with Macie made him loosen up and simply live in the moment.

They’d arrived Friday night and had ordered room service like they’d planned. Then they’d relaxed and watched a movie on pay-per-view. Macie had fallen asleep halfway through and woke up briefly when he’d gathered her in his arms to sleep.

“I missed the movie,” she mumbled.

“Yup. Shhhh, go to sleep,” Colt ordered, and she’d immediately closed her eyes and relaxed into him once more.

They’d gotten up early and gone for a walk around the lake. Then they’d had brunch, gone to the antiques store she’d wanted to see and spent several hours there. She’d bought an envelope full of old photos and several more knickknacks. They’d found an eclectic place to eat lunch, then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon wandering around Sixth Street. Colt loved watching her eyes light up when she saw something that interested her. She didn’t buy a lot of things, simply enjoyed taking in the ambiance of the quirky stores and shop owners.

They’d arrived back at the hotel in time to watch the bats emerge from under the bridge in search of their nightly meals. Colt laughed at the way Macie squealed and proclaimed she was glad they were inside behind a window, because there was no way she would enjoy being anywhere near the animals as they flew off.

Dinner was in the hotel’s restaurant, and they were now back in the room. They’d been holding hands and touching each other all day. Colt had even been able to sneak in a few kisses here and there.

The entire day had been building up to this moment, at least in Colt’s eyes. It felt like hours of foreplay, which was exciting rather than frustrating. He hadn’t been this eager to be with a woman for as long as he could remember. He’d dated, but after the incident overseas, he’d lost the desire for any kind of relationship. He concentrated on being the best commander he could be to protect the men who served under him.

Until now.

Until Macie.

“Today was awesome,” Macie said softly. They were sitting on the couch in the spacious suite, each drinking a glass of wine.

“Yes it was,” Colt agreed. Her hand was resting on his thigh and he covered it with his own.

She stared at him for a long moment before leaning forward and putting her glass on the coffee table in front of them. Then she took his glass from his hand and placed it next to hers. Colt watched her take a deep breath before she spoke.

“I haven’t been this relaxed in a long time, and it’s because of you. Usually when I’m in a strange city, I stress about directions, who’s around me, and what my plans are for the entire day. But I didn’t have to do any of that with you. I trusted you to know where you were going and that you would figure out what we would do all day. It felt good. I like being with you, Colt. I have a question, and I hope you’ll be honest with me.”

“Of course I will,” Colt answered immediately.

“Does the difference in our ages bother you? Or the fact that I’m Ford’s sister? I know he gave you a hard time about the night of his wedding. I hadn’t told him about it because I thought you saw me as just a friend or something. But now that things are…better between us, I got to thinking about the fact that I’m a decade younger than you are.”

“It doesn’t bother me in the slightest,” Colt told her. “In fact, I hadn’t even thought about it until you brought it up. Does it bother you?”

“No,” she said immediately. “But I don’t want you to get in trouble or have anyone at work say anything because I’m only thirty-three and you’re forty-three.”

“Listen,” Colt said earnestly. “We’re both adults. I like you, and you like me. I don’t give a flying fuck what other people say about us. And, if you do care, I’ll do my best to shut that shit down if I hear it. What goes on between us is only between us. It’s no one else’s business. And Truck and I talked. He loves you, Mace. Even though you weren’t communicating, he still thought about you and worried about you all these years. I’ll admit that he wasn’t happy with me, but he’s not going to be thrilled about anyone being with you, simply because you’re his little sister.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”