Page 7 of Raine Out (Grand Slam 2)

“Yes, Millie. I’m not like you. I’m not loose around guys. It’s not how I was raised.”

She whacks my leg. “What do you mean loose?”

“Not like that—not slutty—I mean natural. You’re so easy and flirty with guys. Teach me your secret.”

“There’s no secret. Just put yourself out there. Be vulnerable. Didn’t you tell me Sophie’s marrying a professional baseball player? Maybe flirt with one of his teammates. That could be hot.”

“You think a professional athlete’s going to want to date me?” I say, throwing the pillow off my face. “When they have Sophie-types floating all around them.”

“Oh, come on. Who’s this person?” She scowls down at me. “I’ve never known you to be unsure about anything. You’re the most confident person I know.”

“About most things. It’s just when I get around Sophie, I revert to the dorky bookworm who never quite fit in with the popular girls.”

“Sophie adores you. You told me that you were inseparable until you went to different high schools. I know you’ve taken different paths, but you’re still one of her best friends.”

“I know. I love her, but I always feel invisible around her and Maisie. They’re like you. Guys fall over when they see them. Men barely look at me.”

“Whatever! That’s not even close to being true. You’re beautiful, and funny, and sweet, and unbelievably smart.” She tugs at the collar of my crewneck T-shirt. “And you have a smoking body if you’d ever let anyone see it.”

“I have a smoking body?” I say, pushing her hand away. “What are you, twelve years old?”

“I’m just saying, you’re going on a beach vacation, maybe show some skin and let those curves breathe a little bit.”

“My mom would not approve. You don’t even know how sexually repressive she was when I was growing up. You never had to deal with that—”

“Seriously? My grandma thought I was the devil when I wore v-neck T-shirts. You’re a grown-ass adult woman now. Get over it. Wear what you want.”

“Mmm.” I grunt and cover my face with the pillow again.

She whips it off and throws it on the floor. “You need a total attitude adjustment and this trip is the time to do it. You’ll be on a Caribbean island. Let loose. Be free. Flirt with hot baseball players. Be whatever person you want to be. You don’t have to look for your husband. Just have fun. You’re on a month’s sabbatical. Have a good time. Maybe even hook up with some beautiful man—”

“Hey,” Mack says as he pushes the bedroom door open and peeks in. “Is Mo done eating? Do you want me to burp him?”

“Dad,” Millie says as she pulls Mo up, “you know he’s never done eating.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely of our gene pool. Come here, little piglet.” Mack puts Mo on his shoulder. “Millie, Butch is looking for you. He wants to play poker. Apparently, he hasn’t learned his lesson from the last smackdown you gave him.”

“Well, I’ll have to teach the lesson with more force this time,” Millie says as she pulls me up.

“Nope,” Mack says, looking at me as his eyes start to narrow. “Raine stays here with me.”

Millie drops my hand. “Damn, what’d you do? That’s his disciplinary voice.”

“Wait, what?” I try to pull Millie between Mack and me, but she spins out of my hold. Mack’s pointing at the chair next to the bed. “No, wait, Millie don’t leave me.”

“You’re on your own,” Millie says as she turns toward the door. “I’ve been on the receiving end of that voice my entire life. If you’ve adopted him as your dad, you have to deal with this side of him, too.”

“But I didn’t do anything,” I say to Millie’s back. I think about running after her, but I know Mack could—and would—stop me, even with a baby on his shoulder.

When I turn around, he’s still pointing at the chair, his eyebrows raised. “Sit down, Raine. You and I need to talk.”

* * *

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