Page 115 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

“I have a woman who lives here.” Awareness broke over her features, and she smiled. “And her partner hates commuting to her job in Wild Wolff Village. I bet they’d love the opportunity to make more money and take on twelve cabins.” She gently poked him in the belly. “You’ve got an answer for everything.”

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks.” Impulsively, he grabbed her finger and brought it to his mouth for a kiss. Fuck, he liked this woman. Liked her smile and her sparkly eyes. Liked her strength and creativity. Her spirit. A yearning welled up so fast and strong, he nearly grabbed hold of her.

He wanted to show her with his mouth and his hands what she meant to him. Because he’d liked her a lot in the cabin, too, but this? Now? It was so much more.

So, when she abruptly pulled away, it jarred him. Ripped him out of the fantasy he was building.

Reminded him she didn’t feel the same way. Or even if she did, she wasn’t going to get involved with a man who ran away when his feelings started to overwhelm him.

A man who lived in New York and worked eighteen-hour days.

She headed for the counter. “Okay, let’s talk about the plans.”

When the microwave beeped, he pulled out the glass container of steaming lasagna. He lingered for a moment, keeping his back to her. She didn’t need to see his disappointment.

Mostly, in himself.

“The cabins are done, and I ordered all the supplies—overnighted them—so it should all come tomorrow. Since we don’t want anyone from the outside coming in, we can’t hire masseuses for the spa day, but I bought a ton of products for us all to try. Hair, skin, nails, stuff like that. It’ll be fun. Uh, what else?” Her pen skimmed the page of notes, stopping with a tap. “Right. The chef and his staff will be here in the morning. They’re going to make a cold lunch that’ll be available all day long as guests show up.”

“You’ve done a lot.”

“Yeah, I think we’re in good shape. The cabins look fantastic. It’s amazing what new duvets and towels can do.” She turned back to her notes.

He moved across the room and set his container down. This woman needed transparency, so he’d give it to her. “This morning, my partner texted to tell me about some chatter from our former colleagues at Elite. It sounds like the reason my prospect stopped talking to me is because my old boss is going after him, and it pissed me off. Not only because of the time and money I’ve invested, but because I viewed Marcus as a mentor. I couldn’t believe he’d try and screw me over.”

“That’s awful.”

“Yeah. But not as bad as bailing on you.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head slowly. “I just reacted. I headed to the airport before I’d even booked a flight. It was only during my seven hours of flying that I calmed down enough to realize how self-centered I am. I’m sorry. I’ll try—” He stopped himself. “No.Tryis a cop-out. I’ve only ever had myself to worry about. Now that I have you and Stevie, I’m going to reconsider my priorities and pay closer attention to my reactions.”

“Are you for real?” She pinched the back of his hand.

Had he fucked up again? He thought back over what he’d said, looking for where he’d gone wrong. “What did I say?”

“First, you apologized. But second? You actually came up with a plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Who even are you?”

“I’m a flawed man who wants to be as good and decent as my father was. And my dad would never have run out on you when you needed his help. He would never think about himself and his career when a child’s self-esteem was at stake.”

Her eyes widened. “Wow.”

He cupped her chin. “What? Talk to me.”

“You already are that man. You don’t think your dad had internal struggles, too? He had to make adjustments and switch his priorities. The fact that you even care… I mean, God, Slick.” She threw herself into his arms.

Her hair smelled different, and yet, he would know this woman anywhere any time. There was just something about her that snapped into place, that made her…

Mine.

Hellcat is mine.

He’d known all along, hadn’t he? No one had ever fit him the way she did. Not before the cabin nor after.

Holy shit.

He held her close, inhaling her scent, aware of the shape of her, the absolute rightness of this woman. And just when he was about to kiss her, she pulled away.

Wiping her tears with her fingertips, she said, “Here’s the thing. We…we have something here. There’s no point in denying it. And it’s good, Slick. It’s really good.” She gave a slow shake of her head. “But there’s a little girl who needs us to be there for her. I might want to kiss you?—”

“You do? Because I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to kiss someone more in my life.”

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