Macey
Two years ago…
I STOOD AT the fourth-floor nurse’s station and grinned into the phone. Due to the fact I didn’t carry my cell phone on the floor; Dallas Stone had called me on the hospital mainline instead. “Yes, I’ll be ready.”
Dallas was arguably my closest friend outside of Payton Williams and he’d recently become much, much more. “Mace, that means six, babe. Not six-fifteen,” he said with a chuckle.
“I’ll be ready,” I promised.
“It’s our first official date. I want it to be perfect.”
After a ridiculously hot and frustrating make-out session two nights ago, Dallas invited me out. He refused to seal the deal, so to speak, until we’d had a proper date, and as much as I’d wanted to rip his clothes off and tie him to the bed, I decided to allow him the chance to be romantic. Grateful I had a busy nursing shift to keep my thoughts occupied, I was now anxious to get off work and focus on Dallas.
“Dal, I trust you. Even if it all goes to shit, I’ll love whatever we do.”
“Nice, Mace.”
I giggled. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”
“Are you on with Alec today?”
Alec was Dallas’s brother and a gifted ER doctor who I had trained under.
“Yep. He’s here. But, when isn’t he?” I said.
“Very true,” Dallas agreed. “You’re off at four, right?”
“Yep. Same as I said yesterday.”
“Smart ass.”
“Don’t you forget it,” I retorted.
“Best band ever?” he said.
“U2.”
“Nope, Metallica,” he countered.
We’d played the “best ever” game for as long as I could remember and, for the most part, our answers were close in agreement, but sometimes the game would incite an enthusiastic debate.
“You’re a weirdo,” I quipped.
“A weirdo with way better taste in music than you.”
“Says the man who listens to Mirage.”
“Okay, you got me there,” he said. “But you have to admit, they’re great musicians.”
“I don’t have to admit a darn thing,” I quipped.
Dallas laughed. “I’ll see you at six.”
“I’ll be ready.”
I hung up and bit my lip, my heart racing in anticipation. Although I wanted to leave immediately for home, I managed to sit down for about an hour to work on charts before the grind of the automatic doors interrupted me.
“Okay, lady, dish.”
I looked up to see Ada Morris walking towards me. Ada had started at the hospital three months ago, and she and I had become quick friends.
“About?” I asked.
“Nice try,” Ada said, sitting at the empty desk chair. “This morning you mentioned plans for tonight without elaborating, but with that goofy look on your face, I can tell it’s gonna be hot.”
“Oh, really?”
“Absolutely. Tell me about this boy. How long have you known him? Is he hot? What does he do?”
“How do you know there’s a boy?”
Ada giggled. “You’re sitting there working on charts… we all hate charts, you most of all… but you’re here, smiling and humming, so that’s a neon sign saying, ‘there’s a boy.’”
I sighed. “There’s most definitely a boy.”
“I knew it. Who?”
“Dallas.”
“Dr. Stone’s brother? The hottie who works with the other hottie… what’s his name? Brock?”
I giggled. “One in the same. I’ve known him forever. At least for as long as I’ve known Brock and Payton.”
Ada and a few of the other nurses had joined Payton and me for girls’ night out a few weeks ago. Brock had been on hand as designated driver and we’d taken full advantage of him. My drink of choice had been the classic whiskey sour and I enjoyed at least five, earning me not only a fabulous buzz, but the hangover from hell the next morning.
“Payton’s your BFF, right?”
“Yes,” I said. “And Dallas is Brock’s BFF, although, if he ever heard me refer to Brock that way, he’d probably shoot me. He could, since he’s FBI as well.”
Ada giggled. “Somehow, that makes him sexier.”
“I know.” I smiled.
“How long is forever?”
“High school. Brock and Dallas were one year ahead of me and Payton and I’ve always adored Dallas. I actually thought I’d fallen in love with Brock first, but then I met Dallas, and I was done. I have watched him date every bimbo who threw themselves at him… and believe me, there have been a lot… but he and I have always had a really great friendship.”
“So, you two never hooked up?”
“Nope. Don’t get me wrong, Dallas tried. Most of high school, actually. He used every line to cajole me into bed, but I just couldn’t do it. Be another conquest. I always wanted more, and I knew he wasn’t there yet. Some days I’d totally kick myself for not giving in, but by then he’d gone off to college with a football scholarship, and then onto the police academy. My nursing program kept me too busy to pine after him. I did date a few guys while I was in college, but not seriously. I just knew Dallas and I would find our way back to each other.”
If not, I was resolved to drugging and kidnapping him and keeping him as my own personal sex slave, but that was a last resort. That part, I kept to myself.
“So, what changed?” Ada asked.
“Honestly? I don’t know.” I shrugged. “He kind of made a move a couple nights ago and now it’s full steam ahead.”
That was an understatement, particularly because I was determined tonight was the night. I’d let him wine and dine me, but then I would insist on something a little more satisfying, which would happen in my bed in a matter of hours.
“I love a man who takes what he wants.”
“That he does.”
Ada smiled. “What about Brock? Is he single?”
“Very,” I said. “But he hates to be set up.”
“I’m sure you can find a way around that.”
I chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.” Ada pushed away from the desk. “I have to check on the mommy in four-twelve. Aren’t you out of here?”
I checked my watch. “Crap. Yes. I should have left ten minutes ago.”
“Have a good one,” Ada said, and I dropped my charts off in the file room and headed for my locker.
* * *
My phone rang as I arrived home, and I saw Payton’s name on the screen. “Hey, Pay.”
“Ohmigod, it’s official.”
“I know it’s official,” I said, pushing open my front door.
“No, I mean, it’s oh-fish-all. Dallas told Mom and Dad.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Um, yeah,” Payton said. “Dad took him out on the deck and grilled him for like an hour last night.”
I bit my lip. Ever since my parents had died, Payton’s had stepped in, saving me from eating holiday dinners alone and putting up with stalkers. Chuck always seemed to know when to show up and clean his rifle on my front porch, usually while wearing a wife beater and talking like a hick.
“I love your dad.”
“Yeah, you’re weird that way,” Payton said. “Only you would think it was cool to have Dad grill your boyfriend for hours, asking his intentions and crap.”
I giggled. “Maybe you have a point. But as much as your parents adore him, I love that they’re protective enough to make sure he does right by me… which he will.”
“Yeah, he’d be an idiot not to. Outside of the fact he’s a little afraid of you, there’s a line of men who’d maim him if he hurt you.”
“Well, there is that,” I agreed.
“He told Dad he loved you.”
My heart stopped for a second. “He did?”
“Yeah, he did.”
“Wait.” I narrowed my eyes. “How do you know all this?”
“Um…”
“Payton Abigail Williams, were you eavesdropping?”
Payton’s bedroom window opened directly above the deck and she often used it to spy on her siblings. Apparently, she still did.
“What? No. I would never,” she droned sarcastically.
“Oh my god, Pay. You are the worst.”
“I know,” Payton said with a sigh.
“Okay, what else did he say?”
Payton laughed. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“Only because you pushed me from the Empire State Building.”
“Fair enough. Honestly, he didn’t say much else that I could hear. I kind of got the impression he might have known I was listening.”
“Which means, he only let you hear what he wanted to get back to me.” I giggled. “Which is why he’s so good at his job.”
“So true. I’m really excited for you Mace,” Payton said on a more serious note. “You’re perfect for each other and it’s taken a freakin’ long time for you to get here. You deserve to be blissfully in love.”
“You do too, Pay.”
“Oh, I know. It’s why I won’t settle.”
“Good.” I looked at my watch. “Hey, I need to jump in the shower or I’ll be late.”
“Okay, have fun. I want details tomorrow.”
“You got it.”
I hung up and headed to the bathroom. Once out of the shower, I slid on my favorite emerald-green lace panties and matching bra, over which I pulled on a maxi skirt, black with tiny white daisies embroidered on the fabric, and a white lace camisole with a black, button up shirt I tied off at the waist. My favorite black wedges finished the ensemble, along with a thick black leather cuff with a watch-face in the center.
I left my long, auburn hair to fall in soft curls down my back, but shoved a hair band in my purse in case I needed to control it at any point in the night. Dallas hadn’t divulged what we were doing, and I had to admit I was a little nervous. If he planned some huge gesture and long romantic night, I wasn’t sure how I’d fake being excited. I hated both fuss and romance, but if he wanted fuss and romance, then I’d try to deal with fuss and romance.
I made sure my room and bathroom were spotless before heading downstairs to chill some wine and make any last-minute tidy-ups. As promised, Dallas arrived at six p.m. on the dot, and I opened the door to a dozen yellow roses, my favorite, and the hottest man I’d ever known holding them. Six-foot-two, green eyes, dark hair with a tinge of red, built like Charlie Hunnam, Dallas Stone was what most women dreamed about. And I was definitely most women.
“Hi,” I said, my voice breathy.
“Hi yourself,” he replied, and handed me the roses.
“Thank you.” I opened the door wider. “Come on in.”
He stepped inside and smiled. “You look beautiful.”
“You do too.” He wore dark jeans, boots, and a black button-up rolled to his elbows. I licked my lips. “Is this okay? Since you didn’t tell me what we were doing, I had to guess.”
He chuckled, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “Your OCD’s working double-time, huh?”
“What? I don’t have OCD.”
Dallas laughed. “My mistake.”
“I’ll just put these in water,” I said, and moved toward the kitchen.
Dallas closed the door and followed me, leaning over the counter with a grin. “Are you dying to know what we’re doing?”
“A little,” I admitted.
“I thought we’d start with a walk through the Pearl, then dinner, maybe a stop at a bar before we head to the Doug Fir to see Mirage, and then back here around midnight. What do you think?”
I forced a smile, my feet already screaming at me not to walk the Pearl. I’d need to change shoes. Then there was the problem with Mirage. I hated that band. With a passion. But Dallas loved them. They were hipster to the core, which was so outside of Dallas’s normal taste in music, I was surprised he even gave them a chance to begin with.
“That all sounds… ah, great, Dal,” I said. “I’ll just change my shoes.” He chuckled, and I looked at him. He wore a shit-eating grin and I sighed. “You’re joking.”
“Babe.” Dallas laughed then. “I’m totally joking. You hate Mirage. We’re going to Serratto and then coming back here.”
I moved from behind the counter and threw myself into his arms. “Thank God.”
He gave me a gentle squeeze. “I can’t believe, one, you’d forget I know you, and, two, you’d actually go along with it. Who are you and what have you done with Macey Gilbert?”
I smacked his shoulder. “I was trying to be nice.”
Dallas kissed me. “Which is also unlike you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Hey, I’m nice… just maybe less so to you.”
He grinned. “True. Okay, we better go, or I’m going to bend you over your sofa right now.”
“I’m okay with that.”
“Mace,” he said with a groan. “Let me wine and dine you first.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
He chuckled and led me out to his truck. Opening the door, he helped me climb into the seat, then closed me in.