Girls of Summer(76)
As it turned out, Juliet texted Lisa that she was going to be out for the evening. Theo didn’t bother to text, but neither did he barge in after work. It was kind of a miracle.
Mack arrived a little after seven. Clearly he had showered and cleaned up.
“Wow, something smells delicious,” he said when he followed her into the kitchen.
“That’s lasagna,” Lisa said, walking to the stove.
Mack came up behind her, put his hands on her waist, and pulled her against him. “That’s you,” he murmured into her hair.
A rush of desire swept through her. She leaned against him, closing her eyes, relishing the feel of his body against hers.
Mack kissed the top of her head and stepped back. “Where are Juliet and Theo?”
“I’m not sure. I think they’re both out for the evening.”
Lisa bent to take out the lasagna to let it set before cutting. She was aware of Mack behind her as she bent over, and she was glad she’d worn a dress with a full skirt. Would she ever stop worrying about the size of her bottom? Did any woman ever stop worrying about that?
She tossed a salad with wine vinegar and oil as Mack poured the wine.
“Good day?” she asked.
Mack talked about the summer house they were building and how glad he was that Theo had joined his crew. As they ate dinner, the conversation turned to the shark and all the concern its presence and its death caused.
“Beth talks about Ocean Matters all the time,” Mack told Lisa. “Or she did, before she moved out to Ryder’s place.”
Lisa almost choked on her salad. “Beth is living with Ryder?”
“No, she’s living in a garage on his property.” Mack put down his fork. “Beth is…concerned about you and me.”
“She doesn’t like me,” Lisa said.
“No. She doesn’t like me with you. And it’s not about our age difference. Beth is—” Mack cleared his throat. “Beth likes Theo a lot. She thinks she can’t be with him if I’m with you.”
Lisa also put down her fork and poured them each more wine. “It is an odd situation.” Looking down into her glass, as if reading the future, she said, “I’m sure that Theo likes Beth a lot, too. No, more than that.” Raising her head, Lisa took a deep breath and said, “I think Theo has been in love with Beth since high school. And the way the two of them looked together when they were holding hands, walking in the rain—they were glowing. They were so happy. Oh, Mack, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to get in their way.”
“But I don’t want to lose the chance to be with you.”
Lisa nodded. She felt her cheeks flame. “I want to be with you, Mack. But I don’t really know what that means.”
“It means we see each other exclusively and get to know one another better and maybe we’ll get married someday.”
Lisa was speechless.
“That’s what I want,” Mack said, “and I think that’s what you want, too. I want us to live together for the rest of our lives.”
“But, Mack,” Lisa said, her face crimson, “we don’t even know if we are compatible…in bed.”
Mack smiled. “Yes, we do. I’m more aroused by you in the kitchen with a pan of lasagna than I have been in any other situation, with any other woman, for years. We’re magnetic, you and I. And we’ll do very nicely in bed.”
Lisa flushed, her heart racing. After a minute, she asked, “Would you like more lasagna?”
“Yes, but not now,” Mack said.
She looked at him, puzzled.
“Right now I’d like to drive you out to see a house we just signed on to renovate.”
“Okay…”
“It’s got a great view. No one is living there. I’m subcontracting it from the Redford Corporation. It has some furniture, and running water, but I think the electricity has been cut.” He added softly, “It’s an interesting house. An empty house, with no one coming or going.”
“Oh,” Lisa said, breathing out the word. Here it was, the decision, to be with Mack without interruptions by anyone. She met his eyes across the table and felt his desire as if it were a flame. “Yes, I’d like to…see that.”
They stood up. She glanced around the kitchen. “I should put the lasagna away…”
“We can do it later,” Mack told her, and held out his hand.
Lisa followed him to his truck and sat on the long bench seat in the cab. The air was sultry. A wind was beginning to rise. The sun hadn’t set but the sky was dark with clouds.
Mack drove them out of town, onto the Madaket Road, and on out west before turning right on a narrow dirt road. An elegant modern house cast a low silhouette on the horizon. Bushes and scrub oak covered the surrounding land in green.
Mack handed Lisa down from the truck and led her to the front door.
“There’s an alarm,” he said. “I know the code.”
Once they were inside the house with the door safely shut against intruders, Lisa felt herself relax. The house itself was spare and sparse, the interior minimalist, the floors and walls in shades of gray and taupe.
“Let me show you around,” Mack said, taking Lisa’s hand. He led her upstairs, to the empty bedrooms and baths. The master bedroom had a balcony overlooking the lawn and the swimming pool. Back downstairs, she saw the open plan living and dining room and the enormous kitchen.