The Gingerbread Bakery (Dream Harbor, #5)(14)

Annie sighed. ‘Fine. Wait here.’

‘You’re not going to invite me in?’

She rarely invited anyone in. Her place was too small, and her bed took up most of it. It was awkward to have people over and then expect them to perch on your bed. But she also couldn’t remember where she’d stashed Logan’s stuff, and it would be weird to leave Mac standing outside on the tiny landing by her door. Even though her instincts told her to slam the door in his face.

But she was still on her best behavior.

‘Fine,’ she huffed. ‘Come in. But don’t touch anything.’

He chuckled a little as he followed her inside. ‘God, Annie. You act like I’m going to come in and start rifling through your underwear drawer.’

‘I wouldn’t put it past you.’

‘I typically like it to be consensual when I see a woman’s underwear.’

‘Hmm.’

‘Like the last time I saw yours.’

She flung a pillow at his head, and he chuckled as he caught it. ‘The last and only time,’ she reminded him.

‘Oh, I’m well aware of that, darling.’

She flipped him off as she knelt down next to her bed. Having such a tiny apartment made her get creative with her storage. She started pulling out the bins she kept under there.

‘I don’t have time for your crap today, Mac,’ she said as she rifled through the first bin.

‘Busy day of manicures and secret bridesmaid stuff?’ he asked, kneeling down beside her.

‘Yes, lots of secret bridesmaid stuff.’ She nudged him aside with her shoulder. ‘I don’t need your help.’ She didn’t need him looking through her things. This particular bin was filled with summer clothes she didn’t have space for in her only closet, a few books she’d meant to loan to her mom, a box of blank Christmas cards she’d had every intention of sending out two years ago but never got around to it, and multiple bottles of her favorite face cream.

‘Stocking up?’ Mac asked, lifting one of the bottles.

Annie snatched it back and laid it next to the others. ‘They were discontinuing it. And that’s my favorite one.’

Mac made a small sound like he was adding this piece of information to everything else he knew about her.

‘I feel like I’m getting a sneak peek into your inner workings here, Annie,’ he said, peering deeper under the bed to look at the other bins.

‘I’d rather you see my underwear,’ she muttered, closing this bin and pulling out another one. The last thing she needed was Mac peering into her inner workings. In fact, she needed Mac far away from her inner workings. She’d let him get way too close last night, let him hold her. Which was really stupid.

Was it too late to find a date to this wedding? Maybe on her way to track down Estelle, she’d find an eligible bachelor walking down the street. She needed a buffer between her and this man who kept pulling her back in, despite her best efforts to push him away.

Mac sat back on the rug and let Annie sort through the next bin.

‘Afraid of what you’ll see in this one?’ she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

His lips tipped into a smile. ‘A little. I don’t really want to know that there’s a hit list and I’m the first on it.’

‘You’re the only one on it.’

‘That’s sweet.’

She shook her head, trying and failing to not be amused by this conversation.

‘Aha! Here it is!’ She pulled out the small paper bag that contained Logan’s tie and cufflinks. ‘Found them.’ She handed them to Mac, and she didn’t miss the disappointed look on his face, like he was upset the search ended so quickly.

‘Let me help you,’ he said, getting up from his spot on the floor and offering a hand to Annie.

‘Help me with what?’ She stood without taking the offered hand. No more touching. It was safer that way.

Mac sighed, tucking the rejected hand into his pocket. ‘With whatever you have to do today. You clearly have a lot on your list, and this was the only task Logan gave me. Put me to work.’

Annie contemplated telling Mac to go to hell, but she did have a lot on her list today. Not that he could help with most of it.

‘Fine,’ she said, begrudgingly. ‘You can pick up Estelle.’

‘Great. From where?’

‘I don’t know,’ Annie said, moving toward the door. She flipped off the lights, including the twinkle lights she’d strung up for Christmas. Mac followed along, still looking around at her apartment like he was taking mental notes about the fact that she had unfolded laundry in a basket and dirty dishes in the sink. She couldn’t be perfect all the time.

‘What do you mean, you don’t know?’

‘She’s missing.’

The shocked look on Mac’s face as he stood frozen in her doorway was almost entertaining enough to distract Annie from the fact that a missing grandmother was not funny at all.

And that she’d just recruited Mac to help her search.











Chapter Eight





Then


Mac had spent most of his teenage years confusing lust with love. When he’d made out with Lauren Pepprell at the movies in ninth grade, he had been pretty convinced he was in love with her. And when Sadie Bates let him feel her up that time her parents were out of town, he was positive he loved her. And surely, when he lost his virginity to Parker Moore last year, he was in love with her, right?