“I do. For my own good, I need to end it.”
“Why? Why can’t we stay together?”
“As what?”
“Well, the guys had that one idea.”
“To get custody of Elliot, not because you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me.” Mac rubbed her hands over her face and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.
When she opened her eyes, Bruiser met her gaze, his jaw tight and his eyes hard. “Maybe I do. Maybe I want that. Did you think I’d marry you and then screw around?”
Mac shrugged and looked away, unable to hold his gaze. She picked up a small vase and pretended to study it.
“Well, I’m not wired like that, despite what you might think.”
“I don’t know what to think. Why would you be willing to spend the rest of your life with a woman you didn’t love?” Mac held her breath, praying he might throw her a bone, give her a reason to hope, to believe they might actually have something.
His expression was unreadable. “You’re a friend. We like a lot of the same things. We have a lot in common.”
“But do you love me?”
Bruiser frowned and stared at his feet. “I don’t know. Love is one of those things I’ve never been good at defining.”
But he hadn’t said no, and Mac wanted to say yes to this crazy idea. How could she swallow her pride and agree to an arrangement based on practicality and not love? “It won’t work.”
“Mac, I married once because I thought I was in love. We had nothing in common outside of the bedroom, and obviously that wasn’t enough for her. So, as I see it, we have a better chance than CeCe and I did.”
Mac shook her head. “I can’t do it. Even for Elliot.”
“I’ll pay for your college.”
“Now you’re bribing me again.” She managed a smile.
He gave her one of those sexy Bruiser grins. “Damn right. Anything it takes.”
“Just not this. I’m so sorry. I really want you to get custody of Elliot. Really, I do. But not this way.”
“Think about it. Don’t close your mind to the possibilities. We’re damn good in bed, you know.”
“That’s not enough.” Mac shook her head. “I’m going to leave now.”
Bruiser didn’t protest.
Mac, her mind churning, drove back to her lonely house and the company of her cat.
Chapter 21—Baggage Claim
A few days later, Mac sat with Kelsie in Eugenio’s, a small Italian restaurant near the Kirkland waterfront. Eugenio’s boasted the best lasagna in the area, but it might as well have been sawdust for as much interest as Mac had in her food.
Kelsie gushed about her life with Zach, and Mac felt a twinge of jealousy. She wanted what Kelsie had, yet she knew Zach and Kelsie’s relationship hadn’t started out that way. Mac, who wasn’t prone to nervousness, couldn’t quite broach the reason she’d invited Kelsie here. As dinner wound down, and Kelsie kept glancing at her watch, Mac knew she’d better get a set of balls soon or miss her opportunity. She’d never been good with girl talk and spilling her guts.
Kelsie paused, took a deep breath, and studied Mac. “I’m sorry, I must be boring you. It’s too bad the other girls couldn’t make it.”
“Actually, I didn’t invite them.”
“Oh, really?” Kelsie, ever the lady, folded her hands in her lap and waited. A slight smile graced her beautiful, flawless face.
Mac would never look that good if she spent millions on a makeover and plastic surgery. “I thought we could spend a little time getting to know each other.”
“Well, that’s nice.” Kelsie’s tone might have been polite, but her expression was shrewd. “What would you like to know, specifically, that the other girls can’t hear?”
Leave it to Kelsie to manage to nicely cut through the bullshit.
“I wanted to talk to you in confidence about the circumstances of your marriage.”
“Okay.” Mac could almost see Kelsie’s guard going up. “Why are you interested?”
Mac needed to give Kelsie more if she was going to get any useful answers. “This has to do with Bruiser. He wants me to marry him.”
“Oh, Mac, that’s wonderful. Do you need help planning the wedding?” Kelsie smiled like the beauty queen she’d been, genuinely happy for Mac.
“Not exactly. This would be a marriage based on need, not love.”
Kelsie’s face puckered in confusion.
“He needs a wife in order to get guardianship of Elliot. And I need his money for a college education.”
“Ah.” Kelsie nodded and smiled, relaxing back into her chair. “I get it now. A marriage of convenience. That’s why you came to me.”
“Uh, yeah. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, it’s common knowledge among our friends that my marriage started as a business proposition that was mutually beneficial to both of us.”
“Business partners with benefits.”
“Exactly.” Kelsie laughed. Even her laugh was classy and feminine. If she wasn’t so nice, Mac would be totally insecure around her. “So, what are the parameters? Is there a time frame? Does it include benefits?”
“I’m sure it would since we’re utilizing those benefits right now. And no time frame that I’m aware of. In fact, he made it sound permanent.”
“So what’s the issue?”
“What about love?”
“Ah, love. Do you love him?”
Mac opened her mouth to answer but Kelsie held up a hand to stop her. “Give me the truth of what’s in your heart, not some rehearsed garbage.”
Mac gave Kelsie the truth. “I’ve had a crush on Bruiser ever since he joined the Steelheads, even before I started working there. We got to be friends, and even though I wanted more, he didn’t see me that way.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m sure he sees me as a friend and a sex partner.”
“That’s a good start. Zach and I didn’t even have that, and now we’re madly in love with each other.” Kelsie’s eyes sparkled just mentioning Zach’s name.
“We’re the reverse of you and Zach. Bruiser is the beautiful one in the relationship.”
“Now, Mac, don’t sell yourself short. You look fantastic. You have that girl-next-door beauty and that inner glow.”
“Thanks.” Mac ducked her
