The Day He Kissed Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake 3)

Funny enough, she was okay with that.

Chapter 22

Mac had always thought that he was content with his lot in life. Sure, he knew that he was never going to conform to the whole Hollywood chick-flick idea of happy. But all in all, things were good.

He had a job that he loved and one that he was damn good at. He had a nice brownstone in New York City, and a car that gave him a lot of pleasure to drive. He enjoyed season tickets to both the Yankees and the Rangers, and had more women than he knew what to do with.

There’d been a time when an ideal night for him was either dinner at some fancy restaurant with a beautiful woman and sex back at her place—always her place—or drinks after work with some of the guys from the firm, which could get out of hand, but what did that matter? It’s not like he had anyone to answer to.

If he felt like playing a game of hockey in the men’s league he’d joined or heading out of town to ski, he did it. If he wanted to do nothing but chill in his house and work on the renovations he’d started, he did that. But no matter what, the one thing that was constant in his life was that in the morning, he was alone.

That was it. All she wrote.

It was the life he’d built—the life he’d wanted—which was why he found it a little weird that having Liam around all the time kinda fit. His sister Becca had returned a well over a week ago, a little more sad, a little more broken, but at least she was officially separated from her bastard husband. And though he hadn’t suggested it or thought about it really, he’d started swinging by his mom’s every morning to pick up Liam and bring him to work with him.

The kid was bright, and he liked to learn. And funny enough, Liam liked math and he liked to draw.

Even funnier? Mac liked to teach him.

But Boston, well hell, Lily St. Clare had to be the most perfect woman on the planet. Hands down. He’d never met anyone like her.

Aside from the fact that her intense blue eyes, long, blond hair, and amazing ass would make any man happy, she had a great sense of humor and was quick to laugh. Her trucker mouth came out occasionally, and damn if he didn’t like that too. She was independent and had her own money, so she wasn’t always whining for him to buy her something.

And the sex was mind-blowing. Christ, just this morning he’d joined her in the shower and things had quickly gotten out of hand.

Mackenzie had lost control—they both had—and by the time he realized it, there was barely enough time to pull out. He’d come hard, there against the wet tiles—like a fucking teenager without any control—but Christ, she’d felt good.

Too damn good.

And for the first time since he’d come back to Crystal Lake and Lily, he was starting to think of things he probably shouldn’t think about, because there was no way any of that shit would ever work out.

It was nothing permanent that he was thinking about, Christ no, but it was something more than what they had. Like maybe Lily should be spending all of her time at the cottage. The lighting was good for her painting, and he liked the thought of her there, dressed in one of his old T-shirts, when he was at work.

The problem was he didn’t know how to proceed with that train of thought. This was uncharted territory for Mac, and considering the state of bliss his buddies were living in, it’s not as if they’d be good for any kind of advice.

Shit, they’d have him married before the end of the year.

“Like that will ever happen,” he muttered.

Yet here he was, three weeks after he’d started up with Boston, getting ready to take part in a canoe race around the lake with Lily and Liam. The Race Of A Thousand Canoes was an annual charity event put on by the church. It was a loud, bustling family event from what he could tell, which was totally different than the memories in his head.

When he was a teenager, he and Cain used to race the Edwards twins around the lake, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes once they were out of sight of Pastor Lancaster. And now, Cain was set to race with Michael because Maggie was so pregnant she was as big as a house—still gorgeous, but shit, Mac was convinced there were at least three kids in there.

And joining them in another canoe was Raine and Jake, with their hyper retriever, Gibson.

When the hell had everything changed?

“I gave Liam a cooler with snacks and stuff.” Becca stood beside him, shading her eyes as she watched Liam and Lily discuss the merits of placement. Liam was sure that he should be in the front because he was the smallest, while Lily was pretty sure he should be in the middle to even things out.

“Thanks,” Mac said. “Where’s Mom?”

Becca shook her head. “I don’t know. She got a phone call this morning and left a note saying she had to go meet up with someone.” She chuckled. “It’s not like her to be so mysterious. Maybe she’s got a boyfriend.”

“Yeah. Because she’s finally ready to move on with her life,” Mac said dryly.

“Hmm,” Becca replied softly.

His sister looked tired. “Are things alright with you?” They hadn’t really talked since she came back from Iowa, but he knew she was looking for a job and that she’d be staying in Crystal Lake for the immediate future.