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Mac declined and Jake popped open his can, taking a good long drink

The water lapped gently along the edge of the beach, sh the night was star-heavy, Mac smelled rain

“How is she?” he asked, feeling that dahten as he sank lower into his chair and closed his eyes

“Not good”

No He didn’t think she would be Christ When had everything gone to shit? Was he cursed to go through life in a pit of s that he should have done differently?

Take Boston for instance He knew that he was no good for her and still he went after her He pursued her relentlessly He took advantage of the undeniable attraction they felt for each other, and now things were as bad as he should have known they’d get

He thought of the freckles on her nose and the way the right side of hershe smelled and how soft she was to touch

He thought of what it felt like to wake up with her in his bed and how he looked forward

to arguing with her over sports orher worked up He loved listening to her voice

He loved listening to her breathe, and he loved watching her sleep

“I love her,” he said, voice barely above a whisper

Jake crumpled his can and tossed it into the cooler “I know that too”

He looked at his friend in surprise and Jake shrugged “It’s pretty damn hard not to, and, buddy, you’ve had it bad for her ever since you saw her on Me his long legs out as he did so “I hate to tell you this, Mac, but you didn’t have a chance where Lily was concerned I’ve never uys do I gotta say I didn’t see it at first, but I do now and it would be wrong for you to throw it away”

Mac didn’t answer right away because he wasn’t sure that he could convey what he was feeling He listened to the water He let it lull him into a place of peace, or at the very least, as close to peace as he was going to get

“I’ood for her, Jake, and I sure as hell can’t raise a kid”