Marriage On The Cards. Susan Carlisle

and make Dylan feel all weirded out because he thinks that I think that this evening is something more than it is. Which it’s not.”

      “It’s a date.” Rayna sat down on the bed next to Max. “Friday night. And he’s cooking you dinner at his place? It’s a date.”

      Refusing to indulge in Rayna’s fantasy, Mackenzie stepped into the bathroom to slip into the Padres shirt and a pair of jeans. Mackenzie sighed. The jeans were tighter around the waist than they used to be. Why did it always have to be such a battle? If she didn’t watch every bite, consider every carb or exercise several times a week, the scale would turn against her.

      Whatever.

      “Trust me, Ray...I’m not Dylan’s type.” Mackenzie grabbed her comb and began the chore of untangling her thick, wavy hair. “And he’s not really mine.”

      “You actually have to date to have a type...and besides, you guys have a daughter...you must’ve been attracted to each other at some point. Right?”

      “That was—” Mackenzie stopped combing her hair for a second to think. “I don’t know what that was.”

      “A night of unforgettable passion?” Rayna raised her eyebrows suggestively several times.

      Mackenzie scrunched up her face. “Uh-uh. Honestly...it was...really, really awkward.”

      “Oh...” Rayna wilted. “See...judging from pictures, I would’ve thought Dylan would be good in bed. For a man. He’s got that sexy, squinty-eye thing going on.”

      “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mackenzie had never noticed Dylan having a sexy, squinty anything. It was Dylan. Annoying, mooning, bug-throwing Dylan.

      Rayna held up her pinkie and wiggled it. “Is he really...you know? Tiny?”

      “What?” Mackenzie looked perplexed at Rayna’s bouncing pinkie for a minute before she caught Rayna’s meaning. “No...no. He’s fine in that department. It’s just that we had way too much to drink...”

      “Which never works in a guy’s favor...”

      “And I didn’t want him to touch me anywhere because I was bulgy all over....”

      Rayna’s brows lifted. “Now I’m actually kind of surprised the two of you managed to procreate.”

      “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Mackenzie twisted her hair up into a bun and secured it with a clip. “I can guarantee you that neither one of us wants a repeat of that night.”

      Deflated, Rayna said, “So...not a date.”

      “No. Definitely not a date.”

      * * *

      Dylan met her at the door, stylish, freshly showered and shaved. Not a surprise; he even managed to make sweaty and dirty at the barn look good. What was a surprise was the table setting. Dylan had obviously put some thought into setting the table for two. There were two lit candles on the table that caught, and held, her attention.

      “Now that you’re here, I’m going to throw the salmon on the grill. You said you liked salmon, right?”

      Mackenzie slipped her tote off her shoulder. “Yes...”

      “Make yourself at home and I’ll be right back. Unless you want to keep me company...?”

      “No.” Instead of putting the tote down, Mackenzie clutched it to her body. “I’ll wait here.”

       I’m on a date.

      Panic. Sheer unadulterated panic. Mackenzie quickly texted Ray: I’m on a DATE!

      Ray shot a text back: Told U so! Yippee!

      “Yippee? That’s the sage advice I get?” Mackenzie turned the phone on Vibrate and tucked it into her pocket.

       Now what?

      Should she leave or should she stay...that was the ultimate question.

      “All right...” Dylan reappeared and headed for the fridge. “I hope you like sweet red wine...?”

      Mackenzie nodded. She was still trying to figure out how to back out of this situation gracefully. Could she fake a stomachache? Menstrual cramps? It’s not that she didn’t want to be on a date with Dylan per se...she didn’t want to be on a date with anyone. Relationships took time and energy and she had very little of both of those resources to spare.

      Dylan poured the wine, handed her a glass and then held his glass up for a toast. “To Hope’s continued health...”

      Mackenzie touched her glass to his. “To Hope’s continued health...”

      “And to new beginnings,” Dylan added.

      Mackenzie hesitated before she took a sip of the sweet wine. She put her glass down on the counter. Dylan quickly pulled out a coaster and put it under her glass.

      “How’s the wine?” Dylan asked.

      “Good...” Mackenzie stared at the coaster for a moment. “Good. Um...”

      “I’m glad that you showed, Mackenzie...I was actually pretty sure you were going to cancel on me...”

      Mackenzie blurted out, “I almost did.”

      “See...” Dylan laughed. “That’s one of the things I really like about you...you’re honest. Why don’t we go sit down, get comfortable.”

      “No,” Mackenzie said tentatively, then more strongly, “No.”

      “That’s okay. We don’t have to sit. I read somewhere that standing is actually better than sitting. Better for the circulation, I think.”

      “I need to clear something up between us, I think...”

      “What’s that?”

      “I mean...there’s the table and the wine and the candles...it’s Friday night.” Mackenzie had one hand resting on her tote. “This feels kind of like a...date.”

      Dylan put his glass down slowly on a coaster. “That’s because I thought it was a date.”

      “Oh...”

      “But you didn’t.” Dylan stared at her for a moment before he blew out the candles.

      Crap! She had hurt him. And now Mackenzie was at a rare loss for words as she watched the two twin ribbons of smoke rise from the extinguished candles.

      “This is embarrassing.” Dylan gulped down his wine and put his glass in the sink.

      Both hands clutching the tote, Mackenzie said, “If I’d known that you thought this was a...date...I would never have said yes.”

      This wasn’t the first time he’d embarrassed himself in front of a pretty woman he liked, but in this case, with Mackenzie, it stung just a little bit more than usual.

      “I need to check on the salmon,” Dylan said.

      How she had managed to land on the defensive in this scenario, Mackenzie couldn’t figure out...but on the defensive, she was. She followed Dylan to the outdoor kitchen. She sat down on the very edge of a built-in bench; Dylan pushed open the lid of the grill a bit harder than he normally would.

      “The salmon looks good,” Mackenzie said for lack of anything more helpful to say.

      Dylan flipped the salmon steaks over, seasoned them and then shut the lid tightly. Mackenzie felt like a grade-A heel; all she wanted to do now was to smooth things over with Dylan and to get the heck out of Dodge.

      “Why would you think this was a date, Dylan?” Guilty, Mackenzie switched from contrite to accusatory.

      “Just forget it, Mackenzie.” Dylan