He shook his head, squared his shoulders, and gave Shelli a polite smile.
“What’s going on, Shelli?”
He looked over the top of her head, toward the back corner where he knew Jake was.
“I texted you, like, five times.” She moved closer and the hand on his forearm crept higher.
“Yeah. I’ve been busy.”
She pouted—what was with women and pouts? Did they honestly think they worked?
“Why don’t you buy me a drink and then maybe we can get out of here?”
A flash of silky blond hair caught his attention, and everything inside Mac kind of froze. His heart sped up a bit, and he cranked his neck in an effort to see around Shelli, but she was in the way.
“Can you ah…move a bit?” he said, taking a step to the side as his irritated meter began to rise.
“Sure, babe.” Shelli’s fingers slid to his chest, and she pressed her hard body up against him, grinding her hip into him suggestively. “Anything.”
“What?” He looked down at her with a frown.
Surprise flickered across her face. “Do you want to leave now? ’Cause I’m fine with that. I just kinda wanted a shot of tequila first.”
“Look, Shells. Maybe some other time, but I’m seeing someone right now, and well, I’m not looking to hook up with anyone else.”
The surprise in Shelli’s eyes turned dark. “Seeing someone?”
He nodded, still trying to catch a glimpse of that blond head.
“Since when does the fact that you’re dating someone else matter to you?”
Okay. He didn’t like the tone Gouthro was taking. He opened his mouth, intending to tell her that exactly, but she beat him to the punch.
“Last fall when you were home for a few days, we got together, and I know for a fact that you were seeing some stuck-up bitch from the city because she called when you were in the shower, and she and I had a nice chat.”
“Huh,” Mac said with a frown. So that’s why Christy had been in such a pissy mood and had canceled their plans to have Thanksgiving dinner together.
“It’s okay, Mac. I know what you’re all about. Every woman in Crystal Lake does. I know you’re not into relationships or anything.”
His frown deepened.
“I get that about you, and I’m totally fine with it. So why can’t we have some fun?” Her arm was on him again. “Honestly, you’re the best fu—”
“It’s not gonna happen,” he snapped.
Mackenzie pushed his way past Shelli and strode through the crowd, head turning in all directions. Where the hell was Lily?
He reached the booth, the one in the corner that he and the guys always sat in, and spied Jake pouring out three glasses of cold draft from the large jug in the middle of the table.
“Hey,” Jake said glancing up. “Cain’s not here yet.”
> “I know.”
But Mac’s eyes were no longer on the table. He turned in a circle, his gaze moving over the entire bar. “Why the hell is it so goddamn busy in here? I can’t see shit.”
“Half-priced wings.”
“Whatever,” he muttered.