Page 172 of The Pucking Wrong Man

Walker choked, his eyes wide and terrified.

Geraldine laughed, a rich, throaty sound. “Oh, I’m just kidding, darling. I prefer handcuffs.” She winked at him again and glided ahead of us down the hall into a...very unusual living room filled with statues of what appeared to be the same man.

“Her late husband, Harold,” Camden murmured, noting the expression on my face as I stared at the statues. “I’ll explain later.”

I nodded, sure it was going to be an interesting tale…

Ari had hustled up to Geraldine’s side, clearly trying to get her attention. “How do you feel about Batman, Geraldine?”

She glanced at him and sniffed. “Superman was the superior hero, everyone knows that.”

Ari’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as she continued to flirt with Walker, not giving him a second look. Blake linked arms with him and whispered something in his ear about letting him be Batman when they got home...and he seemed to perk right up.

I wasn’t going to ask.

Logan was walking along beside us now, a huge frown stretched across his face as he glared at where Geraldine was still flirting with Walker.

“What’s wrong, Rookie?” Camden teased.

“It’s like I’m not even here,” he growled, gesturing forward. “I’m just as interesting as Disney!” He huffed as Geraldine patted Walker’s bicep, acting so impressed. “You know what, I’m going to show her my bicep…maybe my quad too. That will really get her going.”

Logan hustled ahead and started doing just that. Monroe was laughing so hard she was crying as Lincoln held her up.

“I think Logan has left out a few details from the other night,” Ari mused, his eyes mischievous as he cocked his head, no doubt planning how he was going to torture Logan about this later.

We moved to the dining room where a long table was set with fine china, gleaming silverware, and crystal glasses. A chandelier with pink crystals hung overhead, casting a warm, pink glow around the room.

Dinner was served, and the conversation flowed, mostly led by Geraldine. She regaled us with tales of her younger days, her flirtations with famous men, and her various escapades. Throughout it all, she kept her focus on Walker, who handled her advances with increasing awkwardness.

“Walker, dear, how long have you been playing hockey?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“For basically all my life,” Walker replied, scooting closer to Olivia like Geraldine was going to reach across the table and snatch him up.

“It’s such an exciting sport!” Geraldine crooned. “Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about handling a stick.”

Logan nearly choked on his drink, while the rest of us struggled to contain our laughter.

“I like her,” I whispered to Camden and he snorted.

“She definitely never fails to make things interesting…”

“I play hockey too, Geraldine, remember?” Logan inserted suddenly, leaning toward her eagerly like he wanted her to scratch his head or something. “I’m very good at handling a stick.”

There was a beat of silence, and Ari’s face was literally going red from the effort it was taking for him to hold himself back.

“Go ahead, Lancaster. Just get it out,” Lincoln finally sighed.

“I–I don’t even know what to say first. ‘That’s what she said’ or ‘good to know’ or…”

Logan had realized by then what he’d just said. “I meant I could show her how to handle a stick!” he huffed, throwing his hands up.

We were all silent again, and then the group burst into laughter, Geraldine staring at all of us with a twinkle in her blue gaze. “Sounds good to me,” she said, finally stroking Logan’s bicep. He preened, like he’d just won some kind of medal.

I had to set down my soup, or I was going to choke on it because I’d never laughed so hard in my life.

“Pinch me, Golden Boy. Because I’m obviously in some kind of nightmare where people like Disney and the rookie are better than me. I’d like to wake up now,” Ari hissed.

“You’re my favorite, Lancaster,” Blake flirted, and Ari got a starry look in his eyes as he gazed at her, completely forgetting anything else.

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