Freakin’ Maggie Doran.
He was doomed.
Chapter Two
Maggie spent the next week doing her best to avoid Mac. For the past four and a half months, she’d been on a no-man diet. Though celibacy wasn’t fun, it also wasn’t as annoying as the many losers she seemed to attract. Except her boss had been keeping her awake at night. Fantasies about the man tempted her to cave in to her desires and try him on for size. Talk about a colossal mistake.
In an effort to stop thinking about him and return to her fun-loving self, she’d arranged a date with her best friend. Tonight, she finally had Shelby to herself again. Though Maggie loved that her friend was finally dating a decent guy, she missed their Friday night movies.
She smiled at Shelby over Shelby’s kitchen counter, bemused to see her friend so carefree and happy. “Shane is good for you.”
Shelby’s brown eyes glowed with humor. “I thought we were doing a girls’ night. No boys or boy-talk allowed.”
“Right.”
“Yet you bring up he-who-must-not-be-named.” Shelby’s grin turned sly. “Oh wait, that’s not Shane. That’s studly Mac Jameson, your secret crush.”
Maggie made a face.
“Oh yeah. I’ve seen the way you look at him. The same way he looks at you. You like him.”
“Girls’ night. Quit breaking the rules.” Maggie reached for her margarita and took a sip. “Oh man, I needed that.”
“You need more than a drink, I’m thinking. You poor born-again virgin. Go out and get laid, isn’t that what you told me before? You know, when I was all pathetic and sad?”
“Don’t pity me. We had a deal to be cat ladies together. The pain of your betrayal wounds. Truly.”
Shelby laughed. “Dream on. Before Shane, I was going to be happily alone forever. No cats, dogs, kids, men, nothing but my mother and Ron to nag me into an early grave.”
“At least you would have had Mimi and Ron. I just have Trevor, and I can’t keep track of him.” Maggie’s brother spent as much time abroad as he did stateside. Like she really believed his bull about working for a shipping company when the government signed his paychecks.
“And speaking of Trevor, is he coming home for Christmas? Because I thought you were spending the day with us.” Us meant Shelby, Shane, Shelby’s mother and Ron. Shelby’s mother put the E in eccentricity, but she had a heart made of gold. Mimi and Shelby’s surrogate father, Ron, made an unstoppable team. The odd pair had pseudo-adopted Maggie years ago, for which she’d always be grateful.
Maggie sighed. “The last time I spoke to big brother, he planned to come home by mid-March. Nope. You’re stuck with me for Christmas.” Maggie glanced past her and gaped in horror at the calendar on the wall. “Hell. That’s in just three more weeks.”
“Yeah. Better get moving, slacker.” Shelby smirked. “I’m already done my shopping.”
“That’s because you’re anal retentive. And your boyfriend is as big a planner as you are. You two are so annoying together, it’s sickening.”
Shelby sighed. “It is, isn’t it?”
Maggie guzzled her margarita. “We need little umbrellas to be more festive. And we’re done talking about men.”
“Fine by me. Oh, here are the mozzarella sticks.” Shelby turned off the oven and took the tray out. She stared from them to Maggie and frowned. “I’ll have to run an extra mile or two this weekend because of tonight. Sometimes I hate that you’re blond, gorgeous, and eat like a horse. You should be as big as a house but look like a perpetual size two.”
“I work out or I would be a house.” Maggie popped a nearby chip and sighed with pleasure. “These are so bad for me.” She turned to grab a mozzarella stick and bobbled the hot treat onto her plate.
“Chips and deep fried cheese. That rung on the food pyramid no one wants to talk about. Between this crap and the sugar content in our margaritas, we’re batting a thousand.” Shelby groaned. “But it all tastes so good. Now let’s go watch Avatar.”
“For the sixth time,” Maggie complained under her breath.
“I heard that. And it’s the fifth time.”
“I thought we were back on horror movies.”
“Nope. Sci-Fi. So shut up, sit back, and be enthralled by blue people with tails.”
Maggie tried, but halfway through the film she found her thoughts continually straying toward to Mac and staying there. She’d been so turned on been when he’d mauled Wilson last week. He’d been so forceful and sexy while protecting her. Of course she’d gotten a rush seeing him in action. Any woman would, and Maggie happened to like muscles on a man.
The practical side of Maggie reared its head, reminding her that she courted stupidity to work for a man like Mac when she didn’t actually need to. She had her fulltime job at the gallery. On top of that, her old gym missed her and continually asked when she might return. They had better hours and were closer to her home. So why didn’t she stop working her temporary job for Mac and focus more on her real career? How had she gotten in so deep with the aggravating man she wanted to punch as much as she wanted to kiss?
She glanced at Shelby.
Four months ago, she’d tried to help her idiotic best friend. Out to protect Shelby from making another mistake when it came to men, Maggie had taken a job at Mac’s gym. While trying to spy on Shane, she and Mac had conspired to get Shelby and Shane together.
Over the course of Maggie’s time spent plotting, she’d started to actually like the man that put the word testosterone to shame. Mac stood a few inches over six feet, making him a giant next to her. He swore like the Marine he’d once been, yet he’d also charmed the ugly out of the nastiest woman at the gym with little effort. He had his share of fan-girls in leotards and short shorts. Big-breasted, slutty Megan thought Mac could do no wrong. And according to gossip, Mac definitely knew what to do between the sheets.
Apparently he couldn’t hold down a relationship though, much to the chagrin of several female gym-goers who liked to stare at Mac and speculate. As much as she wanted to, Maggie couldn’t blame their interest. Mac fit every one of her ideal physical traits in a male. Tall, broad shouldered and thickly muscled, he had looks and charm—when he chose to use it. His square jaw framed an even grin that made her heart race whenever he flashed it. Bright blue eyes against tan skin contrasted with his thick black hair. He kept it short, and she had a constant urge to brush his bangs off his forehead, to touch him and see if—
“I love this part.” Shelby knocked her in the arm, and Maggie watched as the end fight broke out in earnest.
Oh, hell. I have to stop mooning over Mac Jameson. She got up to pour herself another drink as the credits rolled. Shelby joined her, and they argued the finer points of science fiction versus horror movies.
Before she knew it, she and Shelby had finished off the pitcher of margaritas and started talking about men. Again.
“And when I wanted to do something different, he met me halfway.” Shelby nodded happily and under her shirt, muscled out of her bra. “Sorry. But it’s been a long day, and I’ve earned it. I’m free-boobing.”
A good idea. Maggie wanted to take hers off as well, except Shane would at some point return. Despite her supposed appeal to the opposite sex, Maggie had a hard time bearing her assets to the world.
Shelby tossed her bra and sighed. “Much better. Oh man, Maggie, I am so gone for him. I have to remind myself to play hard to get, because I don’t want him to get bored. Sometimes I have a hard time believing I’m in a real relationship. We’re actually dating. I mean, I love him. Isn’t that weird?”