Page 130 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

She was told her dad didn’t have time for her, but her mom sure did. Her mom’s entire life was about Lorelei Calloway—and for all the wrong reasons.

If he didn’t get his partners to rework the contract, he’d lose her. He saw it clearly.

She needed to be his priority.

But how did he reconcile that with a career that demanded so much of him? “Is your mom’s last name Calloway?”

“Nope. We made it up.”

“So, you’re really Lorelei Gentry.” Would she change her name when they married?

Whoa. Way to leap ahead in time. He didn’t even know if she wanted that from him.

Come to think of it…had she ever said anything about a future with him? She’d said she wanted his heart but nothing about giving him hers. She wanted him to be all-in, but she’d never talked about her investment.

In fact, he couldn’t think of a single thing she’d said to indicate her feelings for him.

Oh, fuck.

You’re not doing it again, are you?

Thinking a relationship is more than it really is?

ChapterTwenty-Five

Outside the tent,a man dressed as a barkeep sold tokens. After buying a few, they left the bright sunlight for the shaded interior. The place smelled of hops and the sweet, almost fruity, scent of yeast.

Immediately, Booker scanned the crowd for the wedding party. The hockey team would spend the day at the raffle, shaking hands and taking selfies, but they’d work in shifts. Which meant he’d probably see some of his old friends.

That familiar buzz of anxiety hit his chest, but he pushed it aside. He had to stop letting it get to him. It wasn’t like they cared or even noticed. He was just yet another person they’d gone to high school with.

The noise level was loud as brewers talked animatedly about their particular blends, and people sat around the tables enjoying pints and bar snacks.

“There they are.” Hellcat spotted their friends and waved.

It was hard to believe no one noticed her. But he supposed, in her baseball cap, jean shorts, and Taylor Swift T-shirt, she looked unremarkable.

To everyone except him. Because no one else’s smile had the power to jumpstart his heart. No one else’s touch electrified him.

But then, she’d never been Lorelei Calloway to him. She was his hellcat.

He reached for her hand and clasped it.

Startled, she pulled her gaze away from their friends. It traveled from his eyes down to their joined hands and back up again. She broke into a smile that set off tiny explosions in his chest. “You just claimed me.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

She laughed, but she got up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m proud to be your girl.”

He grabbed the back of her neck, holding her in place. “Watch it.”

“Watch what?”

“Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll throw you over my shoulder and fuck you senseless in the car.”

A shudder went through her. “We’d have to remove the car seat first.”

He released her. “Way to kill the mood,Mom.”

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