Page 2 of Raine Out (Grand Slam 2)

“Excuse us,” Millie says to the guys as she takes my arm and pulls me across the patio. She grabs my shoulders and gets in my face. “You’re going. It will do you good. When’s the last time you’ve had more than a day off? It’s only for a long weekend. You know Butch will be a blast. He’s just teasing you.”

“I know,” I say, covering my face. “It’s not about him. I haven’t been around my old friends for so long. It’s not the same anymore. You know how it is when you hang out with people who aren’t in the business. I can’t even tell them what I do for a living. What do you tell your childhood friends?”

“I don’t have any childhood friends. When I left home, I cut all ties. You know that.” She takes a step back. “And it wasn’t healthy. You’ve kept in touch with Sophie—”

“She kept in touch with me. No matter how much I ignore her, she keeps coming back.”

“Good.” Millie wraps me into a hug. “Sophie’s cool. I liked her when she spent the weekend with us in D.C.”

“She liked you, too. Maybe you should come with me instead of Butch.”

“Are you forgetting I have a baby who’s literally almost always attached to me?” She squeezes me again before she releases me from the hug. “And if you took me, they would definitely think we’re a couple. Didn’t Sophie already ask you that?”

“Yeah, I think she roots for us to be a couple.”

“She ain’t the only one,” Butch says as he walks up behind us.

“Are you still trying to live out that fantasy?” Millie slugs his shoulder. “We’ve told you if we ever hook up, you’ll be the first to know.”

“And I await that news anxiously,” he says as he puts his arm around me. “You know I’m just messing with you. I’ll behave like the perfect gentleman when we get there. And I’m the best wingman ever created if you require those services.”

“Are you really taking this idiot with you?” Millie’s dad, Mack, walks over holding her adorable son, Mo.

“You know I’d take you if Carol would let me.” I smile a little too broadly. I’ve had a crush on Mack from the second I met him. He’s a retired SEAL, too. But unlike all of these other guys, I find him wildly attractive. He’s almost dangerously tough, but it’s his boundless tender side that makes my heart ache. “You’re everyone’s first choice, Mack.”

“He’s definitely mine,” Butch says, taking a step away from Mack in case he swings at him. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Mack shakes his head at Butch. “You better treat this young woman like the queen she is. If I hear you didn’t, I’ll kick your ass and enjoy every second of it.”

“Yes, sir,” Butch says, saluting him. “I think you’re the only person who could kick my ass, but only because you fight dirty—”

“Damn straight I do,” Mack snarls, “especially when I’m protecting my daughters.”

Mack’s started calling me his daughter. It’s adorable and it’s made me crush on him even harder. I know he’s not an option. It’s the only thing that keeps me from acting like a complete idiot in front of him. As soon as a hot guy starts showing me any attention, I become totally awkward. I’ve been that way since I was a teenager.

“Whatever you say, chief,” Butch says as he walks away. “You know I don’t want any part of you.”

Mo starts crying and reaching for Millie.

“Mills, he’s hungry again,” Mack says, handing him to her. “I’ve already fed him the two bottles you packed in the cooler, so we’re going to have to go directly to the source. I swear he eats as much as I do.”

Millie starts to reach into her sundress to pull out a breast for Mo.

“No!” I put my hands up to stop her. “Millie! No!”

“Raine, it’s just a boob,” she says as Mason leaps across a lawn chair and starts pushing her toward the house.

“I know it’s natural and nothing’s wrong with it,” he says as Millie tries to resist, “but there’s not a chance in hell you’re breastfeeding him in front of these deviants. Hawk said you could use his bedroom.”

“Fine. Come with me, Raine.” Millie grabs my hand as she kisses the strawberry blonde curls starting to form on Mo’s head. “We’re not finished with this discussion.”

I follow her back to the bedroom—head down and dragging my feet—like a kid who’s about to be disciplined.

“Raine Nira Laghari,” she says, patting the spot next to her on the bed. “Do you want to tell me what’s really going on? Why are you resisting this trip so much?”

“Damn, using my full name.” I plop down on the bed. “You sound like my mom.”

“I love your mom. That’s a compliment.”

“God, she loves you, too. I shouldn’t have brought you home for Christmas that first year we met.”

“Did I tell you she sent Mo a Baby Ganesh? It’s enormous. It almost takes up half of his room.”

I groan. “Ugh, Millie, why did you have a baby? She won’t stop talking about him. She legitimately thinks she’s his grandma. She keeps texting me that picture you sent her—like I haven’t seen him already. She thinks it will encourage me to get married and start popping out kids.”

“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.” Millie smiles. “Finally, we’re getting to the real reason you don’t want to go on this trip.”

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