Page 81 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

“That’s between you and your mom.” He picked up his phone and opened the Notes app. “I was talking to these two knuckleheads.”

“Nuck heads.” The little girl giggled.

And Booker’s heart cracked wide open. The matching dimples, the sparkle in her eyes…Damn, this kid’s adorable.

Still laughing, the toddler pointed to Noa. “You nuck head.”

“Nice,” Ginty said to him, but he was grinning, too.

“All right, no more cuteness. Let’s get to work.” He got a whiff of the girl’s baby shampoo, one of the most distinctive scents in the world. He’d spent loads of time with his clients’ kids, giving a bath or two while a wife was in the hospital giving birth. He’d played with them in the pool and tossed a football in the backyard. But he’d just never had any interest in having any of his own.

“Right, so.” Noa pulled a folded piece of paper out of her shorts pocket. “Here’s our confirmed guest list. We’re still waiting to hear from a few people.”

Booker unfolded it and scanned the mostly familiar names.

“We capped it at fifty,” Noa continued. “I don’t want to stress Lorelei out. She might have a hundred beds on this property, but she hasn’t upgraded all the rooms, and I’m not about to have her buy new mattresses and all that. So, between the twelve cabins, the bedrooms here, and the caretaker’s duplex, we can comfortably fit the people who matter most.”

That seemed manageable. “So, what are we looking to do? We’ll throw a rehearsal dinner, the wedding itself, and then a goodbye brunch the next day?”

Noa and Ginty shared a troubled look, but his client quickly said, “That sounds great.”

“Hey, come on.” He wasn’t a mind reader. “If I’ve got it wrong, let me know, and we’ll get it back on track.”

“No, what you described is perfect,” Noa said. “I’m disappointed because we had so many fun things planned, but we’re not on St. Lucia, and there’s no scuba diving here, so we’ll have to make the best of it.” She beamed at her fiancé. “At least we’re getting married.”

“And after hockey season, we’ll go to St. Lucia for our honeymoon and do all the things we missed out on.” Ginty kissed her hand.

“Hey, Mister.” The girl held up one of the pieces. “Wat dis one?”

“Well, let’s look at this shape.” Booker took it from her. “It’s the letter A. Do you see how it has two legs?” He traced her little finger around the edges.

“Dat not yegs.” She gazed up at him.

“Well, they’re kind of like legs. See?” He made the letter dance. “Look, it’s rockin’ out.”

She laughed. “It not wocking.”

“Oh, yeah? Watch it headbang.” He played with it, tipping it over and back a couple times as the girl giggled. “Now, tell me that’s not rocking out.”

The way this girl laughed with her whole body was a revelation. She had so much joy and sunshine inside her. But enough playtime. “Look at the puzzle board. Which of these shapes can fit two legs?”

It took the girl about two seconds to slap the letter in the right place. “Dis got yegs.”

“It does.” With her settled, he turned his attention back to the couple. Ginty watched him with a raised eyebrow. “What do you want me to do? Ignore her?”

“You’re awfully good with kids,” the hockey player said. “Sure you don’t have one I don’t know about?”

“Ha. No. That’s not in the game plan.”

“What does that mean?” Noa asked. “You’re not having kids?”

“Nah.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“It’s just not my thing.” He’d never had a pull to domesticity like so many people seemed to have, but he smiled at them to break the tension since Noa clearly thought he was a monster for not wanting two kids, a picket fence, and a swing set in the backyard. “Which is good if you’re my client because then, my entire life is about you. So, thoughts on the rehearsal dinner? What kind of food are we serving?”

The toddler’s gaze snapped to Noa. “I want hot diggity dogs.”

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