Always Loving You (Danvers #6)(67)
“Well, you look all kinds of pissy today,” Dominic remarked as he dropped into a chair in Mac’s office.
“Yeah, whatever,” Mac snapped. He raised an irritated brow as Dom propped his feet on the corner of Mac’s desk, seeming to settle in for the long haul. “Was there something you needed?”
“Nope.” Dominic smirked. “But it looks like you need something. Who shit in your cornflakes today? I’d go with the usual guess and say Gage, but he’s off somewhere crying about his unrequited love for the tramp stamp girl. So I’m gonna just take a wild guess here and go with Ava? I thought you two finally had your shit together?”
Mac gnashed his teeth, wanting to make some crude comment about Dominic’s lack of success with the object of his affection, but out of respect for Gwen, he just couldn’t do it. Instead he took a calming breath and completely unloaded all his problems on one of his closest friends, finishing up with “So you can see why I’m not up skipping through the office like a happy ray of f*cking sunshine, yeah?”
Dominic inclined his head in a nod, saying matter-of-factly, “Sexual frustration will sure do that to you. It’s even worse when you actually get it, then get it pulled right back out from under you, pun intended, of course.”
“You’re an *,” Mac deadpanned, wondering what he had really expected from another guy.
Dominic laughed before scrubbing his hands over his face. “Okay, seriously, I feel you, man. And I get where Ava is coming from. No one wants to live their life being a fixer-upper project. At some point, the renovation needs to end.”
“She’s not my project,” Mac grumbled, unsure if he was trying to convince Dominic or himself of that fact.
“But that’s just it, buddy. You don’t even realize it. I’ve known you for a long time now, and while you’ve had your fair share of female company, mostly all the one-night-only variety, it’s always been Ava who’s kept you walking the floors or pacing the f*cking desert in Afghanistan. You’re the most focused, intense person I’ve ever known. From the stories Declan has told of the two of you guys growing up, I don’t think that’s always been who you were.” Smirking, he added, “No doubt you were born an anal perfectionist, but the rest I believe you picked up after Ava’s attack.” Dominic plowed on when Mac would have protested. “If you really think about it, you two never got to just be young and crazy. From the moment that happened, the course of your lives was altered. You both grew up the hard way and you’ve spent years being weighed down by a guilt for something none of you could have foreseen happening.”
Kicking his desk in anger, Mac growled, “I should have f*cking known it! If I hadn’t been so busy trying to stay away from her for a few more years, until she was old enough for us to consider dating, I would have been with her that night. She was so young, though, and I wanted her to enjoy high school before overwhelming her with my feelings.”
“Well, guess what, man? You’re human. You can’t predict the future and neither of you had a f*cking clue what would happen that night. Saying it’s your fault that you didn’t go with her is like saying it’s her fault for going without you. It’s over. It was a shitty, f*cked-up twist of fate that no one had any clue would happen. Now if you want a life with the woman who has kept you tied in knots for years, then it’s time you trust that fate won’t screw you over again and stop being her protector and start just being her man. Show her that you can check your OCD where she’s concerned at the door and just be the guy she originally fell in love with all those years ago. I mean, he’s there, right? Buried deep . . . deep, really deep . . .”
“All right! Shit, please stop.” Glaring in annoyance, Mac said, “I don’t think Ava’s idea of a fun guy is one in prison because he strangled his smart-ass coworker. Christ, when did you and Gage become so insufferable? I hope he’s not coming in next for his part of the come-to-Jesus intervention that you’ve got going on.”
“Nope, Gage needs help almost as much as you do. I mean come on, all that whoring that he does has got to be hiding deeper problems. I’m betting that he was a bed wetter. His mama probably hung his pissed-on sheets out front for the other neighborhood kids to see. Since that early embarrassment, he’s been unable to form attachments with women for fear of it happening again.”
Mac threw his head back, howling with laughter. He had no idea where Dominic came up with this shit, but he was pretty sure that even Gage would be amused by the other man’s assessment . . . well, unless there was some truth to it. “Dr. Phil’s got nothing on you, bro. I feel like I should warn Gwen or something. She might not be as amused by your deep insight as I am.” At the look of dejection on Dominic’s face, Mac found himself whistling. Apparently, he wasn’t having any luck wooing his woman either. Getting to his feet, he clapped his friend on the shoulder. “I need you to hold down the fort for a few days. Think you can handle that?”
Dominic shrugged a shoulder, saying, “Of course. Where ya going?”
Mac grinned before throwing an imaginary three-point hoop shot. “I’m going to go be young, crazy, and reckless for once in my life. Isn’t that what you just suggested?”
Cocking his finger, Dominic said, “Yep, that’s about the gist of it. Wear a condom, though, son. I’m not ready to be an uncle.” Mac nudged his chair in answer, laughing when Dom tumbled out on the floor shouting obscenities. God, would he and Gage never learn to keep their feet firmly planted on the floor?