Page 136 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

And if he could do that, then she could be brave enough to overcome her trust issues.

Because hewastrustworthy. His heightened sense of honor and integrity was proof enough.

“Well, I think you know what I’m going to tell you,” Noa said.

“Don’t condemn him for the actions of an ex?”

“Well, that, for sure. But I was going to say, talk to him. That’s a rule me and Ginty have. We don’t confide in our friends, and we don’t make up stories in our heads. We talk to each other. You want to know what’s going on with George? Ask him.”

How could she argue with that?

ChapterTwenty-Six

Out on her balcony,she took in the yellow lights of her cabins.

Noa’s sister was in one, and she was undoubtedly on the phone arguing with her baby daddy about child support. In another one, Ginty’s childhood friend was most likely playing video games. In the other ten, the couples were getting ready for bed.

One light blinked out. That couple had probably just slid their naked bodies between soft, clean sheets. She could imagine them talking about the day, sharing conversations they’d had. A sweet tuck of hair behind a wife’s ear, a gentle sling of a knee over her husband’s thigh…it would lead to a kiss, a touch, an intimacy.

Lorelei was starved for it.

And not because she was alone. No, it was because of the man down the hall.

Beneath the shallow level of doubts and fears, trust had already grown roots. In the cabin, when he’d had no reason to pretend—he hadn’t been trying to woo her, just the opposite, in fact—he’d shown integrity. That was the whole reason he’d left his fancy sports agency to start his own.

She knew his character.

And she knew his heart.

They were bound not just by physical attraction, but by life experience. They’d both been blindsided and had to rebuild their foundations in life. They understood each other.

But even deeper than that, where it was pitch black and you could only rely on muscle memory and gut instinct, there was an absolute certainty this man was hers. Call it kismet, call it whatever you wanted, but they were meant for each other.

She was safe with him.

And that right there—that was the scariest part of all.

Because she’d believed she was safe with her mom, Cissy, and Landon.

But she wasn’t a coward. And Noa was right about communication. So, now that the house was quiet, she slipped her feet into her shearling flip-flop slippers and padded quietly down the hallway.

His door was cracked open, light spilling onto the floor. As she neared, she heard his voice. “I get what you’re saying. And I don’t put my situation above anyone else’s. I’m just telling you what I’m willing to do for mine.”

It was funny how he could fill her with pride and lust at the same time. A man with his confidence, who knew his mind, who made decisions and stuck with them…

That’s hot.

There wasn’t a shred of uncertainty in his tone. “At the end of the day, if neither of my options work for you, I’m willing to walk away. But I’m taking my clients with me.”

Oh, no. This is bad. He can’t give up his partnership for us.

She entered the room, mouthing, “No, no. Don’t do that.”

Sitting on the bed with one leg on the floor, and the other hitched in front of his laptop, he glanced over and waved her in. He motioned for her to close the door behind her.

“All right, well, thanks for the call?—”

“Hang on,” a man said. “Let’s talk about this.”

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