Page 128 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

“I wanted you to be, but you wound up being more than that.”

“You’re fucking right about that. You’re planning my wedding, dickface.”

“He’s offering you friendship now, hon,” Noa said quietly. “So, maybe tone it down.”

Booker cracked a smile. “Well, to be honest, this is less about our bromance and more about trying to win her heart.”

Hellcat sucked in a breath, but Noa said, “I’m not sure I can forgive you for walking away from a woman you had sex with. Protection isn’t a hundred-percent reliable. If you’d left your number, she wouldn’t have had to go through it all alone.”

“I did. I left her a note.” He pulled out his wallet, found the note, and tossed it onto the counter. “She just never saw it.”

Their friends watched with wide eyes.

“And then, fast forward to now. I’m your maid of honor,” Hellcat said. “And he’s your best man...”

“I can’t believe that first day, when Stevie sat on your lap, you didn’t even know she was your child,” Noa said. “That’s crazy.”

“It is. I didn’t have a clue,” he said.

“So, what’re you going to do?” Ginty asked.

“From the looks of it, get on with making baby number two,” Noa said.

But her attempt at humor didn’t break the tension in the room.

Booker came up to Ginty. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. You’re a good friend. I’ve just had my head up my ass.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Ginty said.

“All right, we have to go.” Noa slid her arm through her fiancé’s. “We’ll talk more tonight.”

After they left, Hellcat asked, “But it’s not now?”

“What’s not now?” He tried to replay the conversation to see what he’d missed.

“Have you pulled your head out of your ass now?”

He shut her sassy mouth up with a kiss. “If I win you a stuffed animal at the festival, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yeah, Slick. I’ll be your girlfriend.” She grabbed her purse. “But it better be a big one. The biggest.”

He shoved his wallet back in his pants. “There’s nothing small about me.”

“There sure isn’t.” They headed into the garage, and she clicked the remote door opener.

He got into the passenger side of her Land Cruiser and buckled up.

As she backed out, sunlight flooded the car. “So, those friends you told me about in the cabin, they’re Renegades?”

“Yeah. Declan’s the coach, and Jaime’s the goalie. Cole used to be the forward, but he retired, and now, he owns the team. Well, actually, I do, too. I just don’t want it, so I’m a silent owner.”

“Are you telling me the door is wide open for you to be back with your friends, but you’re rejecting it? The thing you want most in the world?”

He reached for her hand. “That’s not even close to what I want most.”

With a soft smile, she headed down the long driveway. “So, the next few days will be tough for you. You’ll get to watch them being best friends, telling their inside jokes, seeing their wives hang out, living the future you always imagined with them. And you’re going to feel like a total outsider.”

“Okay, let’s walk this back.” He grinned. “I’m the owner of an NHL team. Pretty cool, right?”

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