Page 172 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

But if she wasn’t ready, he’d give her space. He’d buy a place not far from here. Or stay in her dad’s lodge. He’d be nearby, close enough to help her at a moment’s notice.

He’d earn her trust one moment and one deed at a time.

When no one answered, he turned the knob. It was locked, so he pulled out his phone to text her, but before he could hit Send, he heard her shouting.

“Moto.Moto. Dammit, Moto, get over here.”

Was she saying Moto—as in master of the obvious?

He followed her voice, and when he came around the side of the house, he saw a black, tan, and white furball racing in wide circles around the yard. Holding a leash in one hand and a dog biscuit in the other, Hellcat followed the puppy’s movement. “Look, Moto.” She waved the biscuit. “I have a yummy treat for you.” She stomped her foot. “And this is why I don’t have time for a damn dog.”

He grinned. “Not on your own, you don’t.”

She whipped around, her jaw hanging open when she saw him.

“Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?” he asked.

“No, I just got home. My parents will be here in half an hour with Stevie. What are you doing here?” Her dog whizzed past her. “Moto!”

“You named him Moto?”

“Yes.” Hope shone in those bright, blue eyes.

He couldn’t believe it. Not only that she’d named her dog after his dad’s call sign, but because she wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t—“You forgive me?”

“Of course, I do. We just both got scared, you know? I told you I got carried away with the idea of having a father for Stevie, and you heard, This is all a lie. God, Slick, I couldn’t have shoved you out the door harder. Look, I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m an idiot. I know you didn’t sleep with George.” She reared back. “You didn’t, right? Not even once?”

“Not even?—”

“Don’t answer that.” She waved her hands. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care what you did before me. I know you’d never cheat on me. Iknowyou.”

The dog ran circles around their legs. They stepped closer together to get out of the path of the whirling dervish.

He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Hellcat, I’ve never slept with George. I’ve never kissed George. I’ve never seen her that way. And even if you need to ask me ten times a day for the rest of our lives, I promise to answer you patiently and honestly. You never have to be careful with me. You can tell me when you’re worried, and when you’re overthinking. You can be real with me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can tell you she’s gorgeous, and you’re an idiot for not at least making out with her?”

“Trust me. She doesn’t want to make out with me any more than I want to make out with her.”

“But why? How? You’re both so hot.”

“I think we needed siblings more than we needed to hook up.”

“I love you.” She cupped his cheeks. “You’ve been so generous with your heart, and I’ve been stingy. With my ex, I felt like such a fool. Everyone knew what was going on except for me. The only reason no one said anything was because they wanted to be part of the Lorelei Calloway Band. But I’m not going to be stingy ever again. I’m going to tell you how handsome you are. How smart and clever. How good you make me feel. How kind and generous and loving you are. And how much I want you.”

The dog ran even tighter circles, forcing them to take yet another step closer.

“I love you, too. You’re the best person I know, and there’s no one else I want to spend my life with than you and Stevie and our five other kids.”

“Be careful there, Slick. You have no idea how much I want a big family. And where did you come up with five?”

“You can have six on the ice at a time, so we either have six kids or twelve.”

She laughed. “So, the man who didn’t want kids is good with a brood oftwelve?”

“The idea ofchildrendoesn’t interest me. But I want a family with you.” He cupped her chin. “You make beautiful babies. Please make me more.”

Her grin was like a burst of fireworks in a midnight sky. It was an injection of joy straight to the heart. “My God. I didn’t know I could love someone this much.” She got that crease between her eyebrows. “But what’s going to happen with your career? I don’t want to hold you back from reaching any of your goals. I trust you to work with George—and any other woman. I really do.” Her eyes widened. “Of course, if you want us to move to New York, we can talk about that. Stevie hasn’t started school yet, so it doesn’t really matter where we live.” She glanced around her property, and he could read it all in her eyes.

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