Free MacKenzie's Lady by Dallas Schulze Page A

the back of Maryann's dress again and began to zip it. "All I know is that I had to threaten you with dismemberment to get you to agree to a simple double date. What's the big deal? Nobody's asking you to fall in love with Ken, just to go out with him. He's nice, he's fun, he's attractive. What more could you ask for on a casual date?"
    "The whole thing is ridiculous. Everybody knows that people always hate each other when their friends force them into blind dates. Blind dates—even the term is ghastly. It's going to be a disaster. I can feel it."
    "Now who's being stupid? Of course it's not going to be a disaster. We're going to have a lot of fun and you'll be sorry you made such a production out of the whole thing."
    Perhaps it was inevitable that everything would go wrong. If Maryann's pessimistic attitude wasn't a clue, then the weather should have been. During the afternoon clouds had gathered and by evening it was raining, not a light drizzle, but a heavy downpour that looked as if it was settling in for a long stay.
    Holly's umbrella was not to be found and Maryann's had developed a hole that allowed the rain to trickle icily down the neck of whoever was lucky enough to be standing under it. Mac and Ken were late, and when they showed up, Mac presented them with the news that his car refused to run, so they had used Ken's. That wouldn't have been a problem except that the manufacturer's idea of a back seat did not allow for passengers with legs.
    Maryann rolled her eyes before climbing into the back seat. The short drive to the restaurant was easily filled with idle chatter about the weather, but the atmosphere between Ken and his "date" could not have been any cooler if he had been the wolf who had just eaten her grandmother.
    As Mac helped her out of the car, Holly wondered if she should come down with an attack of acute appendicitis. Something told her that the evening had already reached its high point and it was only going to get worse. After all Holly's talk about what a wonderful, warm person Maryann was, what a great sense of humor she had, Mac had to wonder if this was an android sent to take the real Maryann's place.
    Maryann and Ken walked ahead of them, their icy silence doing little to dispel Holly's already chilled mood. She glanced at Mac, almost afraid to see his expression. He caught her look and grinned, rolling his eyes comically.
    "I should have warned you that Ken hates blind dates. He met his ex-wife on a blind date and he's never quite gotten over it."
    "Maryann isn't exactly being a model of sweetness and light," Holly admitted.
    Mac looked at the couple ahead of them and then glanced around the parking garage. His fingers tightened around Holly's and he gave her a conspiratorial look. "If we hurry, we could lose ourselves in here. They'd never find us. I can hot-wire a car and we can make our escape."
    Holly sighed. "Too late. They've seen us. Besides, if we let them get into the elevator alone, they'd probably be like the gingham dog and the calico cat and tear each other to pieces. We'd never be able to come back here."
    Both Maryann and Ken turned to look in the direction of the laughter, their expressions making it clear that they didn't find anything amusing. With a sigh Holly released Mac's hand and tucked her arm through Ken's, pulling him into the elevator.
    "Tell me what Mac's really like. All I ever get to see is his good side."
    Ken grinned, the look in his hazel eyes telling her that he was well aware of her motives. "The problem is, Lady, that Mac doesn't have any interesting vices. He's disgustingly wholesome. I've been trying to corrupt him for years."
    The rest of the evening could not be called a success, but it was not the disaster it could have been. Holly made it a point to keep the conversation under control, changing the subject whenever it looked as if Ken and Maryann were going to lunge for each other's throats. Mac for the most part sat back and watched, his eyes dark