Page 12 of No One Wants That (Blitzen Bay)

“Since when is Millie sweet?” I say, leaning away from Mason to avoid the backhand I know is coming in. He misses my face but lands it firmly on my shoulder.

“No, I didn’t mean the sweet part—”

“What?” Millie says, spinning her head around to Raine. “You’re my best friend. How do you not think I’m sweet?”

“No, you are sweet,” Raine says, leaning up to take Millie’s hand, “but I don’t think anyone’s as sweet as Noelle. Believe me. You’ll understand when you meet her. I meant she reminds me of you in looks. She’s got that sunny, California surfer girl thing going for her, too. What’s Nash like, Mason? Noelle told us a little about him.”

“He’s a former Army Ranger. He was Delta Force for a few years. We worked with his team on some missions.”

“Is he a good guy?” Millie says.

“I guess,” Mason says. “He’s a fellow Texan so you know I’m going to like him. What do you think, Butch?”

“About what?”

“About Nash.”

“What am I supposed to think about him?”

“I don’t know,” Mason says, shrugging. “You know the ladies like details.”

“He has sandy blond hair,” I say, shimmying my shoulders, “dreamy blue eyes, and he’s the best kisser in the world.”

Millie kicks my seat and points at me. “You’ve got about ninety more minutes to be an asshole. The second we cross over into Blitzen Bay, it’s done.”

I bare my teeth and growl at her. She rolls her eyes.

“Mase, how did Nash and Noelle meet again?” she says. “You said something about her running out on her fiancé.”

“Yeah, I’m still not completely sure about that,” Mason says. “He tried to explain it to me. Like they met at his buddy’s wedding. Noelle was supposed to marry the buddy but ended up running off with Nash.”

“What?” Raine says. “I didn’t know that part. I can’t believe sweet Noelle would ditch someone at the altar.”

“Apparently, she did,” Mason says. “Like fifteen minutes before the ceremony started. I think Nash was her getaway driver.”

“Damn,” Millie says. “I already like her. You’ve got to respect someone with that much nerve.”

“Yeah,” Mason says. “I don’t think they even knew each other before. She just ran out, grabbed Nash, and made him drive her away from the wedding. He took her back home to Blitzen Bay.”

“That’s cool,” Alex says. “So was it love at first sight like it was for me with Raine?”

“Aww, baby,” Raine purrs. “It was for me, too.”

“He said it was for him,” Mason says. “Maybe not for her. I guess she needed a little time to recover from everything. They started dating like a month after they met.”

“So it’s just the five of us and Nash and Noelle?” Raine asks.

“I think he said Noelle’s cousin is coming in from Spain,” Mason says, “but I couldn’t swear to that.”

“Hmm,” Raine says. “Maybe I’ll set you up with the cousin, Butch.”

“Do we know if the cousin’s a woman?” Millie asks.

“It doesn’t matter,” Alex says. “Butch is so desperate. I’m not sure gender matters to him anymore. Or even species.”

“Good one,” Millie says, giving him a fist bump. “You really are getting better at this.”

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