Macie bristled beside him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I just meant that you’ve put a lot of work into this,” he said, quickly backtracking to figure out how he could have offended her so damn fast. Zac motioned at the planner. “This isn’t just the wedding. It’s the shower, the bachelorette party, flight plans for both sides of the family. You’ve got everything here.”
A buzzer sounded in the kitchen. Macie stared at Zac for a moment before getting up. She moved like a ballerina as she put something in the oven and set the timer. Zac watched, waiting for the Macie explosion. She strolled back into the living room and settled back onto the couch, albeit farther away than she had before. “The biscuits will be ready in ten minutes.”
“Look, Chomper, I’m —” He froze when he realized what had come out of his mouth. They’d made a deal and he just blew it. Calling her Chomper was an automatic defense when he knew he’d set her off.
“Do you know why I hate it when you call me that?” she asked in a soft voice. Her head was down and she picked at her cuticles. Zac wanted to take her hand and comfort her somehow, but how was more difficult than he realized. She lifted her head, tears rimming her eyes. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid.” He swallowed hard. If they were going to be friends, this was one hurdle they needed to get over. “I ... I only call you that when I know it’ll piss you off or distract you from something I said.”
Macie snorted. “Figures.”
“Excuse me?” Zac sat back and stared at her. He should’ve known. The tears were gone. She’d pulled him in only to knock him down. Typical Macie. She was like a black widow waiting to bite his head off.
“I just...” Macie clenched then unclenched her hands. “Whenever you call me that, it reminds me of my most embarrassing moment. I’d seen these two hot guys across the room and I strolled up to them to prove to my new roomie that I wasn’t afraid of anything. Then I tripped. I fucking bit you.” Her cheeks reddened. “And you remind of it every time we see each other, every time you call me that.”
Zac laughed.
“Oh, fuck you, Zac. I don’t need this —”
“Slow down, Mace.” He held up his hands to stop the verbal onslaught. “I’m not laughing at you. Really. I’m laughing at the situation. We’re both idiots.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure one of us is.” She crossed her arms and wrinkled her eyebrows.
“Fine. I’m an idiot.” He shook his head. This could’ve been cleared up years ago if they’d only opened their mouths for good instead of evil. If they’d actually talked to one another instead of jumping to conclusions. “Tell me it’s not a little bit funny.”
Macie’s glare softened, then she cracked a smile. “Maybe a bit.”
“Ford and Lauren really want us to get along until the wedding.” Zac held out his hand. “Truce? Like a real truce and not the bull we fed them earlier.”
“I have a better idea.” Macie took his hand and met his gaze. “Hi, I’m Macie Regan. I’m overly organized and a verbal tyrant. I also cuss like a sailor and give zero fucks who I offend. But I’m very loyal to my friends. Nice to met you.”
“Ah, I see,” Zac said with a laugh. He could play this game. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Zac Sparks, former heir apparent to Sparks Investments. I love music, play guitar when I can, and am easily offended. I also have this thing about clichés.”
“Wait, roll back there, buddy.” Macie raised an artfully crafted eyebrow. “Former heir apparent?”
Zac shrugged. “It’s a long story.”
“Fair enough. But you play guitar?” Her eyes widened.
“I dabble.”
“Dabble?” Macie crossed her legs and leaned an elbow against her knee. “Care to elaborate?”
Zac turned toward her easel, his ears heating. Why did he even bother to say anything? All Macie had said was the obvious. “Maybe some other time. I doubt you’d like it anyway.”
“How do you know? It might be right up my alley.”
Zac still couldn’t look at her. The last thing he needed was to give her more ammunition for the moment the truce was over.
“Okay, fair enough.” She stood and walked toward the easel, just out of his sight. “You know why I painted this? It was because I was going down a rabbit hole at work and I wasn’t sure I’d make it out alive. It felt like my life was spiraling out of control.” She motioned to the overall black, gray, and white spiral that covered the entire canvas. “Then I started to think about all the other times I felt like that. Like when Darren dumped me on Halloween. Or when my mom ...” Macie’s shoulders dropped. “When my mom told me who my father was. Or when I didn’t get asked to prom. Those,” she pointed to the smaller spirals, “are represented here. It’s a never ending problem. My life always has moments like this.”
“What about the moments when you’re not spiraling?” Zac asked softly. He didn’t want to break the spell she’d fallen under. “Where are those?”
“That’s just it, Zac. We’re always spiraling toward the end. We’re never in control.” She turned toward him as the buzzer in the kitchen went off again. “Anyway, we should eat and get to work. There’s a lot to go through.”
Zac nodded, but he couldn’t stop replaying her words. Was he spiraling? His entire life he’d been in control of everything. At least, he never felt like he wasn’t. What would it feel like to let go? To just see what happened? Macie seemed to have a grasp of it. He stared at her as she explained what she’d already planned, but he didn’t hear anything. How could she just accept that she had no control? How could she be so nonchalant
