Page 56 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

“Certain things are stamped on your soul. You’re born with a happy spirit. You’re born with a loyal heart. You’re born to love one person for your whole life.”

“Did you just describe yourself?”

“I think I did.”Wow, wow, wow. She needed a moment, so she got up and took her mug to the kitchen. Stage lights made it impossible to see individual faces in the crowd, but when the stadium lights turned on, suddenly, that mass of bodies became individuals. And in that moment, the lights went on, and she could see the very thing she’d been struggling with for three months.

Rinsing out her mug, she looked out the window to see the sky had lightened. Thankfully, the storm was moving on.

All this time, she’d thought she needed to reinvent herself. That she could no longer write about true love.

But she hadn’t been writing about Landon. She’d been writing about her soul. The true core of her.

It was never Landon.

It’s me.

Elation flooded her. Her mind cleared, and she could take a full breath for the first time in months.

“You okay?” He set his mug next to hers in the sink.

The whipped cream had melted, but he hadn’t taken a single sip. “You made that cocoa for me.”

He nudged her aside to dump the drink down the drain and rinse out his mug.

This man.

What a sweetheart. “You’re going to make some lucky woman a great husband one day.”

He gave no indication he’d heard her.

“If you can get your head out of your ass.”

Still, no sign he was listening. She gave an exaggerated sigh.

And he swiveled the faucet to spray her. With a shriek, she jumped back. “Hey.” At least the water was warm. “You did not just do that.” He laughed as she pulled the damp sweatshirt away from her chest. “I take back every nice thing I’ve said about you.”

“Good. And can you also stop trying to wife me up?” he asked, teasing.

“Of course, hon.” She grabbed the canister and squirted whipped cream in his hair. “My bad.”

His hand went to his head, coming away with a palmful of it. “You’re a slow learner.” Smiling, he leaned over the sink and rinsed it out.

Not knowing what he’d do as retaliation, she dashed into the bedroom to change out of the sweatshirt. Wasn’t it just last night she was slamming a bat on the bed? How could she have so much fun with a total stranger?

As she dropped the wet top onto the bathroom floor, she knew one thing for sure. She’d never felt this kind of exhilaration around Landon. And instead of waiting for payback, she remembered something she’d bought to do with her nephew.

As soon as she found another sweatshirt, she headed out to the dining room and sorted through the packages. Once she found it, she pulled it out and ripped it open, pulling on the skullcap and arming herself with Velcro balls. Then, she came up behind him in the kitchen and plunged the hat over his head.

“Hey.” He slammed the faucet off. But before he could say another word, she lobbed the balls at his head, where they fastened securely to the cap. Quickly, he ripped them off and went on the attack.

She’d left more balls on the table, so she snatched some up while he scooped up the ones that fell on the floor, and the game was on. She ran across the living room, ducking behind the couch, but the man was merciless. On his knees, he leaned over and threw one ball after another, so fast they bounced right off the Velcro. “You suck at playing.”

“Do I?” He leaped over the couch and grabbed more balls. “Or is it just too easy to beat your ass?”

She was ducking and trying to catch the balls in the air. “Why do you make everything a death sport?”

“Sounds like something a sore loser would say.”

She laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe, all while he kept firing away. “How does anyone have those reflexes?”

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