Free Stay With Me (The Montgomery Brothers) by Samantha Chase

window as he was about to pull away.  “I’ll meet you there in about thirty minutes.  Don’t move anything without me.”
    And then he was gone.
    ****
    When Gina arrived back at the guest house she did not unload the car.  Much.  She carried one box with her as she went inside and then screamed at her own reflection.  No wonder the man didn’t kiss her; she looked like some sort of deranged lunatic with raccoon eyes!  “What man in his right mind would want to kiss that?” she said with disgust.  She washed her face and brushed her teeth and grabbed a clip for her hair.  Knowing that her chances with Mac were growing dimmer by the second, Gina decided that maybe luck just wasn’t on her side and that this was never meant to be.  She was used to disappointments; this would just be one more to add to the list.
    Walking into the bedroom, she changed into a pair of yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt.  Her feet were bare and all she decided to do was to put on a little bit of lip gloss.  The night was a total loss so she might as well be comfortable.
    It wasn’t long before she heard the knock on the French doors and she yelled out for him to come in.  Her first thought had been to set them up to eat outside as they had the previous evening but that seemed like too much of an effort and she was physically and emotionally wrung out for the second night in a row.  Simplicity was better. 
    “I hope that you don’t mind eating in here,” she said as she set up paper plates and napkins on a coffee table in the small living room area.   Then, reaching into the small box she had carried in, she fished around until she found what she was looking for and then popped a disc in the DVD player.
    Mac watched in fascination as Gina moved around the place.  She had changed her clothes and clipped up her hair and seemed to be doing everything possible to downplay her beauty.  It wasn’t something she could disguise.  The fact that they were eating inside didn’t bother him, the fact that she clearly didn’t seem to want him there did.
    “Are you all right?” he finally asked as he placed their bag of food down on the table.  “I mean, I know I kind of invited myself over but if you’d rather be alone, I can take my share of the food and go.”  He wasn’t being mean; he was simply offering her an out if she truly didn’t want him there.
    “What?  No, why would you even think that?”
    Mac reached for the remote and shut off the television.  “We don’t need to have the TV on while we eat, for starters.  I don’t know about you but I kind of enjoy talking with you.  You asked me a question before we left your father’s place and I thought we were going to talk about it when I got here.”
    Gina’s shoulders dropped from their stiff and defensive position and she visibly relaxed.  “I enjoy talking with you, too.  I just feel bad about monopolizing your time.”
    “Ah,” he said with a chuckle as he began to dole out their food.  “I believe that was where we left off.” 
    They sat on the floor and feasted on cheeseburgers and fries and milkshakes.  Gina was in junk food heaven!  If they kept up this pace, she’d gain ten pounds before going back home!  She wasn’t going to focus on that tonight, however.  Tonight was about relaxing with a friend; a friend who she wanted to be much more with, but clearly that wasn’t on the agenda.
    “So how am I saving you from yourself?” she asked before indulging in her chocolate milkshake.
    Mac shared with her how his father was concerned about his work habits and how his brothers had all been like him at one point and now had wives to go home to.  “I used to pick on Jason for being such a workaholic but my dad swears that I put him to shame with my hours.”
    Gina nodded in understanding.  “I work a lot, too.  Do you like what you do?”
    Now Mac nodded.  “I love what I do and working with my father and brothers really isn’t a