Page 20 of Protecting Addison
“I know someone who could track him down in a heartbeat…if that’s what you want.”
“No. I mean, we’re doing okay. And why would I want someone who turned his back on us without a second thought?”
MacGyver was proud of this woman. When she struggled with money, with Ellory’s health scares, she could’ve hired a private detective to find her deadbeat ex and at least make him help monetarily. But she hadn’t. “Well, for the record, she’s an amazing young woman. You’ve done an exceptional job raising her on your own to be kind, smart, and friendly.”
“Thanks,” Addison said with a shy smile. Then her smile slowly faded as she looked up at him.
“What? What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I just…you’re so good with her. We’re so lucky to have you in our lives. I don’t know how it happened, but I’m grateful.”
“I don’t want your gratitude,” MacGyver growled.
She blinked in surprise at his harsh tone and took a step back.
MacGyver snatched up the shop towel he’d grabbed in the garage before changing the tire and quickly wiped his hands clean. Then, without pause, he wrapped an arm around Addison, pressing his hand to the small of her back and pulling her close. He buried his other hand in her hair, holding her against him with a firm grip. If she made the slightest move to step away from him, or if she struggled in the smallest way, he would’ve let go. But instead, she seemed to melt into him. Her hands clutched his shirt at his waist and she licked her lips as she stared into his eyes.
It was all MacGyver could do not to kiss the hell out of her right then and there. They were standing face-to-face, and he wanted to bend her backward and take her lips with his own. But he forced himself to stand still.
“I know this marriage wasn’t what you wanted,” he told her. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you and your daughter. That I don’t want what’s best for you both. Someone bullying Ellory is as much my problem as it is yours and hers. I’ll bend over backward to make things right for her, and for you. And it’s not because I’m grateful you helped me out of a tight spot with the kids. It’s because I care about you, Addy. I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t. And because this is what people who are married do. They look after their spouse and kids. They help with the shopping and chores. They wipe runny noses, clean up puke, and talk to the kids when they’re struggling. The last thing I want for any of it is your gratitude. All right?”
“All right. But can I say something?” Addison asked.
“Of course.”
“You might not want my gratitude, but you have it anyway. You have no idea how many nights I sat up worrying about how in the world I was going to be able to give Ellory the medical assistance she needed. How I was going to afford her medications. The tests she needed. I would’ve given up anything, done just about anything, to give my daughter what she needed to thrive. Then I met you. And you became my friend. You were supportive even before you met Artem, Borysko, and Yana. Just being around you made me feel more positive. Hopeful that things would work out. And I didn’t marry you just because of Ellory. I would’ve figured something out. Somehow.
“But it wasn’t a hard decision to say yes to you. I saw the kind of man you were—the kind of man I want around my daughter. Teaching her. Volunteering to go to her school to talk to a bunch of preteens about your job, not because you think they want to know, but because you want to show her bullies that she has some of the baddest Navy SEALs at her back. That’s priceless to me. You don’t want my gratitude? Tough. You’re getting it.”
MacGyver’s hand tightened in her hair, and he had to consciously force himself to relax.
“Okay.”
Addison grinned. “Just like that? No other comments?”
“Nope.”
“You’re a pushover,” she said, still smiling.
“Just with you,” he said, not lying in the least.
“I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“My car’s gonna be all right to drive in the morning, right?”
MacGyver chuckled. “Of course.”
“Okay. Then I should get back in and check on the kids.”
“Right.” But MacGyver was having a hard time letting go.
They stared at each other for a beat, then his heart sped up as she leaned in. She kissed him, brushing her lips against his. When she pulled back, her cheeks pink, she smiled.
“Don’t be too long out here, because I made some cookies today and we’re going to have them with frozen yogurt when the kids’ show is over.”
“I’ll be in soon,” MacGyver said as he forced himself to let go of her.
