Playful Hearts (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 4) Read online

  “Dear God, don’t start now,” Luke’s voice said from behind.

  Mackenzie sat up, bumping heads with Blake, and unwrapped her legs from his back. She tried to wiggle out of his hold, but he held her still as he glared at his brother over her shoulder.

  “Ever hear of knocking?”

  “On the barn door? Didn’t think it was necessary.”

  “Could’ve fooled me. I remember walking in on you and that brunette back in high school. Your jeans were at your ankles and she was—”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

  Thankfully they hadn’t gotten to the ripping off of each other’s clothes stage yet so Mackenzie could show her face with a trace of dignity.

  “Mom won’t let me have seconds until you and Mackenzie have had firsts. I care more about my appetite than your sex life, so get your ass out here so I can have another round of food.” Luke slammed the door with a laugh, leaving Blake and Mackenzie to a moment of privacy.

  “That was embarrassing.” She ran her hand through her hair, hoping there weren’t any grease stains from the four-wheeler.

  “It was five seconds away from being more embarrassing. I’m sorry I put you in that position. Although…” Blake smirked, lifting his eyebrow in a playful gesture.

  “That position wouldn’t have lasted long—”

  “Definitely not.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Mackenzie swatted at his chest, trying to hide her laughter. “I’m hungry and dying to check out that chicken made by the infamous grill master.”

  “Steak is my specialty, not that my chicken is half-bad.”

  “And so humble. That’s why I lo—” Mackenzie stopped herself and changed directions. “If your chicken isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, you owe me.”

  “Not that I’m worried, but in the never-gonna-happen event that it does, what would you like, cupcake?” Blake swung his leg over the ATV and offered his hand to Mackenzie.

  “Hm.” She peeked around back for another glimpse of his cheeks. “I’d like a strip tease.”

  Blake barked out a laugh that did funny things to Mackenzie’s insides. “Deal. Now, in the event that you swoon over my chicken—”

  “Swoon?”

  “Totally.”

  “Uh-huh.” Mackenzie put on her best tough girl face. “In the event that I swoon over your chicken…?”

  “You’ll have to do a strip tease.”

  “Not fair. I came up with that idea first.”

  “Deal’s a deal.” Blake wound his fingers in her belt loops and dragged her into his body.

  “We didn’t make a deal yet.”

  “Yeah, we did.” He kissed her slowly, her toes curling into her flip-flops until she thought her legs would give out from under her. “And sealed it with a kiss,” he said when he broke away.

  “Bastard,” she snipped at him with a smile.

  They held hands as they walked up the short path to the patio, not because they were romantic, she lied to herself. Mackenzie kept her hand in his to show support.

  Country music played from the Bluetooth speakers and the Riley clan sat around the picnic table and in the patio chairs eating, talking, and laughing as if thirty minutes earlier there hadn’t been tension in the air among them.

  When they reached the food table, Mackenzie slipped her hand from Blake’s and filled her plate. Not wanting to be the clingy not-exactly-a-girlfriend, she ditched Blake and parked herself at the picnic table next to Rachael and Lucy. CJ, Jake and Natalie sat on the other side.

  “What did you make for dessert?” Mackenzie asked Rachael in an attempt to keep the mood light.

  “Already? You haven’t even had dinner yet.”

  “I want to know how much room to save.”

  “Aunt Rachael made chocolate peanut butter cheesecake just for me.”

  “Dang. You gonna share, CJ? Chocolate and peanut butter are one of my favorites,” Lucy said, spooning a mound of potato salad in her mouth.

  “And that strawberry trifle thing. With whipped cream and pudding.” Jake grinned. “Rach knows how much I love her strawberries.”

  “Gah. You two. There are kids here.”

  Mackenzie loved watching her friends fall in love and find their perfect match. It was like reading a romance novel a day the way her friends’ lives changed so quickly before her eyes. In the meantime, Mackenzie was living in the Twilight Zone.

  Although when she was with Blake she forgot about the craziness from her own life.

  “Did you bring your brownies?” Lucy stacked the empty paper plates and made a pile in the center of the table.

  “I made them and left them on the counter.”

  “See. That’s what this love garbage does to you girls. Let me guess. Blake showed up.” Lucy covered CJ’s ears. “You did the nasty,” she whispered, then uncovered his ears. “And forgot them.”

  Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “Wrong. I got up at three to make the brownies, set them on my counter to cool, and worked all day. By the time Blake showed up I was exhausted and running late.”

  “Hm. Late night?”

  “Seriously.” Mackenzie rolled her eyes again and caught a tiny smirk coming from Natalie.

  “Come on, kid. Let’s cut ourselves a hunk of cheesecake.” Lucy and CJ left the table and Blake came over, taking their seat.

  “How’s the chicken?”

  “It’s okay.” Mackenzie shrugged and Blake’s face dropped.

  Jake laughed. “Ouch. Big insult on this guy’s ego.”

  “And you’re one to talk.” Rachael elbowed Jake, who pinned her hands behind her back and leaned in before remembering where he was.

  “I guess I’ll grab my dessert too. You coming, Rach?” Jake held out a hand for her.

  Rachael looked at Mackenzie as if asking if it was okay to leave them alone. Mackenzie nodded and they left.

  When it was just the three of them, Mackenzie wondered if she should get up too, if she should let Blake and Natalie have time alone. She shifted her body to get up and he placed a hand on her thigh, stopping her.

  “About what I said earlier,” Blake started. Natalie’s head shot up and for an instant Mackenzie thought she saw a trace of guilt flash across the girl’s face. “I don’t take back anything I said, but I’m sorry our first meeting started out on the wrong foot. I’m not going to force myself into your life. You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want, but I’m going to be around. So you’ll have to get used to that.”

  Blake squeezed Mackenzie’s leg one more time before getting up and bending down to whisper in her ear. “You liked the chicken. I won. Be ready.”

  He walked away with ease, and yeah, she couldn’t help it if her eyes zeroed in on his ass.

  “So, are you two like married or something? No one really said.”

  “Married?” Mackenzie laughed. “No. Hardly. We’re…kind of dating, I guess.”

  Natalie snorted. “Okay.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Mackenzie didn’t want to get into it with the girl, but she’d hired her share of snarky teens—and fired nearly as many—over the years and could handle it.

  “All of you…you’re all so…annoying.”

  “Oh. No offense. That’s cool.”

  Natalie puffed out an annoyed sigh and shook her head. “It’s like…you’re all pretending to be happy and lovey and shit.”

  “Don’t let Doreen hear you swear. She won’t let you have dessert.”

  “And shit like that. You’re living in some Disney special or something.”

  “Hardly. But I get what you’re saying. Sitting here, looking out across the field at Colton playing baseball with his son and the other couples that can’t keep their hands off each other, you’d think everyone has their shit together.”

  “Dessert,” Natalie warned.

  Mackenzie smiled inwardly. “We all have a story. Not a pretty one. I’m not saying one story is worse than another, or that your story may n
ot be the toughest. What you’re looking at are individuals who worked their asses off to overcome whatever shit was handed to them.” Mackenzie brushed off the warning that started to come out of Natalie’s mouth. “I have a plate of brownies at home, remember? So I can afford to miss dessert.” Not that she’d have time to dive into the brownies. She had a striptease to plan out. “If you want to know someone’s story, just ask. They might not want to tell, you have to respect a Riley’s choice to privacy.”

  “You seem to know a lot about the Rileys for only sort of dating one.”

  “Ah, you’re smarter than you look.” Natalie glared at the insult and Mackenzie smiled back. “Maggie’s been my best friend since elementary school. And I’m pretty tight with Rachael and Ellie. Lucy is growing on me. I kinda wormed my way into the family.”

  Not wanting to push too hard, Mackenzie swiveled her legs from under the picnic table. “And for the record, everyone will respect your privacy as well. No one will ask about your story, your past. When and if you want to talk about it, you’ve got your pick of Rileys…or friends of Rileys…who will listen.”

  Her good deed done for the day, Mackenzie went in search of Blake and planned out her striptease.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mackenzie

  After another long day of making sixteen different kinds of coffee, cleaning up after people, and then spending four hours with her mother, who chastised her for wearing too much makeup, Mackenzie lugged her tired self up her stairs and collapsed on her couch.

  It didn’t matter that she only wore mascara today, her mother still thought she looked like a whore. Well, she didn’t use that exact word, but the disapproving headshake and the warm washcloth thrown at her spoke loud and clear.

  Truth of the matter was, she wore more makeup when she was in high school than she did now. She’d hated her freckles and used three different shades of foundation to cover her skin. Now she couldn’t care less what she looked like.

  Yeah. Well. Sort of. It was only recently that she started caring and added an extra coat of mascara and a touch of eyeliner when she knew she’d be seeing Blake. Other than that, Mackenzie was as simple as they come.

  Knowing she’d never get up if she sat on the couch for another minute, Mackenzie forced herself to stand and took a long, hot shower. Once dry and in her usual old, ratty T-shirt, she climbed into bed and reread Blake’s message from earlier in the evening for the hundredth time.

  Biting her lip and patting the butterflies in her belly the thought of Blake always seemed to stir, she returned his call.

  “I was hoping I’d hear from you tonight.”

  The warm and fuzzies spread from her toes to her earlobes. “Sorry I didn’t call earlier. I was at my mom’s.”

  “No need to apologize. How is she?”

  For a man who didn’t like to get involved and said he wanted to keep their relationship purely sexual, he had a vested interest in her family. And it didn’t scare her anymore.

  “Eh.”

  “Did you get grounded for hiding your peas in your napkin again?”

  “Nope.” Mackenzie laughed and she warmed at his teasing. So he’d listened and remembered her stupid stories she’d told him about her childhood. She didn’t think Chad ever paid attention when she’d rambled.

  “You and Maggie get in trouble for sneaking boys in your bedroom? Because I’d ground you for that one as well. Maybe lock you in my bedroom for a week.”

  “Hm. That does sound tempting, but nothing as scandalous as that. Well, actually…”

  “Uh oh. What did your mom remember tonight?”

  “She told me I’d attract the wrong kind of man with the paint I had all over my face.”

  “Why did you paint your face?”

  Mackenzie slid deeper under her covers and cuddled with her pillow, smiling into her phone. “It’s an expression. Makeup. Basically she said I look like a floozy.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear makeup before.”

  Once again Blake’s words warmed her heart. She wasn’t the least bit offended if he didn’t notice a couple coats of mascara. Him being oblivious to her subtle makeup meant he wasn’t into the dolled up look. Not that he’d seen her like that, other than Maggie’s wedding. “That’s because I don’t wear much. Not since I was seventeen.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  “Do you?”

  “Mm. Something else I can see, or at least picture, is you laying naked in bed.”

  “Quite the active imagination.”

  “Tell me I’m right.”

  “Maybe.” The groan coming from the phone had her biting her lip and giggling.

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

  If it was phone sex, she was all for it. “What’s that?” she purred.

  “Your tattoo. Tell me about it.”

  Stunned by his question, Mackenzie wiggled her foot from under the covers and studied the spray of purple flowers on the top.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Is there a story behind it? A drunken night out with your girlfriends? Maybe a naked pillow fight after?”

  Hardly. More like a wall of tears and a lonely night at home as she mourned the loss of her mother’s memory. “It was my Christmas present to myself. The holidays were…hard.” Mackenzie swallowed, uncomfortable with revealing a piece of her personal life when she and Blake had agreed to an uncomplicated sexual relationship. “They’re forget-me-nots.”

  “For your mom.” Blake was silent for a minute, then continued. “She might forget the year or the day, but inside your mom’s heart, she’ll never forget you.”

  Damn Blake and his sensitive side. She couldn’t afford to lose herself to another man, not after she’d finally healed.

  Thankfully he changed the subject and talked about random, silly, and stupid little things, making her laugh for another hour. When she couldn’t stop yawning, Blake said goodnight and promised to make time for her soon.

  With their early morning schedules it was hard to do anything wild and crazy at night, other than play in his or her bed. Which was totally fine with Mackenzie. And it seemed like Blake had no problem with it as well.

  Their lives were busy between work and family obligations, as it should be. She liked that he was devoted to his family, and that he cared about her family as well. Whether she wanted to or not, she was falling in love with Blake Riley. Trust, something that came so hard to her for years and years, had been earned and freely given.

  She only hoped Blake felt the same way about her. He’d made it clear that he wasn’t into relationships either, but maybe he too had changed his mind. Only time would tell.

  Mackenzie scrolled through the pictures on her phone, warming at the memories of their hike up Mount Washington, before setting it on her bedside table and going to sleep with a smile in her heart.

  ***

  “You have got to be kidding me.” Mackenzie kicked her flat tire the following evening and checked her phone for the fourth time. Her mother had been adamant that she be at the house by five to help with dinner.

  Mark and Logan were coming down with their families and Renee wanted a special Saturday night dinner. Mackenzie had to cancel her sex date with Blake, which he was extremely disappointed about, but said he’d been invited to Luke and Sage’s anyway. They’d agreed to meet up after their prospective dinners. Whoever got home first would host the sleepover.

  It had been a few years since she’d changed a flat, but Mackenzie remembered the drill. She called her mom first, warning her she’d be late, then rolled up her sleeves and opened her hatchback to find the spare.

  Anything that could go wrong did. She lost one of the bolts to the hubcap, broke a nail—not that hers were that great to begin with—got a grease stain on her light blue capris, and listened to her mom’s scolding for fifty-two minutes until Mark and Logan showed up.

  The roast was overcooked—which was blamed on Mackenzie—the c
arrots undercooked, which was also her fault, and once again Mackenzie forgot dessert. After a barrage of insults—which was extremely out of character for her mom—Renee finally settled in, as if noticing Mark and Logan for the first time.

  Despite it all, their visit did wonders for their mom. Renee often oscillated between the present and their teen years, but her brothers took it in stride. Simon offered comforting one-armed hugs and grateful smiles throughout the night before calling an end to the evening and ushering their mom to bed when she started showing signs of fatigue.

  It was nearly nine when she hugged her brothers, nephew, and parents goodbye and got in her car. She checked her messages and grinned like a schoolgirl when she saw Blake’s name.

  I win. I’ll be in my bed waiting. Leave your clothes at the door.

  She contemplated replying, but instead she tucked her phone away, opting for the element of surprise. In less than twenty minutes she turned on to his road and pulled into his driveway, parking behind his truck.

  The three mints she popped in her mouth earlier had dissolved and hopefully disguised the four pieces of garlic bread she’d inhaled at dinner. There was a faint light coming from the living room window and the rest of his apartment looked dark.

  Dropping her keys in her purse, Mackenzie practically skipped to the front door and let herself in. The place was quiet, so she slipped out of her shoes and padded up the steps to the main level. The light above the sink glowed, revealing an empty kitchen and living room.

  Remembering Blake’s text, she shimmied out of her clothes, dropping them at the top of the stairs. Without saying a word she crept to his bedroom. She’d have tripped over his laundry basket if she hadn’t been there before, remembering he wasn’t much of a neat freak.

  Toeing it out of her way, Mackenzie tiptoed to the bed, barely able to make out Blake’s form. The half-moon didn’t do much to illuminate his room. Just enough to see Blake’s eyes closed, his mouth partially open, and his chest beautifully bare, the sheet stopping at his waist.

  The red glow from the clock on his dresser read 10:03. Not late for normal people, yet it seemed like the middle of the night for Blake. And truth be told, for Mackenzie as well.