As they shared a laugh, Benji swallowed hard. Their laughter died down and Jayden slowly shook his head. He looked sad, but the anger was there. It was loud and clear that Jayden was not a fan of Rick the Dick.

“I just don’t know. She worries me. She needs to be happy too,” he said, more to Baylor than Benji, but there was no unhearing that. “I just don’t know why she doesn’t try, at least.”

Clearing his throat, Benji leaned on the table. “Because it’s easier to hide from the fear of rejection and pain than to put yourself out there and try.” They both looked up at him and he shrugged. “But then the right person comes along and it makes you want to try. It makes you overcome the fear.”

“Whoa, that’s some deep shit, bro,” Jayden said, his eyes widening.

Baylor’s brows pulled together, a knowing look in her eyes. It sort of made him nervous. Did she know he was crushing on what was apparently an unattainable girl? “Sounds like you have some experience in that department.”

Benji smiled. “Eh, a bit.”

“Yeah, but you’re different, BP. You’re okay with being alone. I don’t think Lucy is, and that’s what makes her so mad.”

Benji laughed. “No one is okay with being alone if they’re honest. The human race wants companionship—that’s why God gave Adam, Eve.”

Jayden nodded slowly. “My apologies.”

“No big deal, but she’ll come around. Don’t worry. The right guy will come for her, as the right girl will come for me. God has a plan.”

“He sure does,” Baylor said, leaning into Jayden and he smiled.

“Yeah, he does,” he said softly, kissing her nose. She smiled up at him and love was shining out of her pores. They reminded him a lot of him and Ava when they had first gotten together. Young, unadulterated love. What a beautiful thing.

When Jayden looked back over at him, he was breathless as he said, “But I pray that the guy He sends for her is ready for Hurricane Lucy.”

When Baylor laughed in agreement, Benji knew their statements should have been a red flag. A clear sign that he needed to go the other way, that he wasn’t even sort of prepared to take on Lucy. No matter what he felt, it didn’t matter. She didn’t want anyone.

But he didn’t care.

And as much as he should be ready for Lucy…

She should be ready for him.

Wow, that sounded way more confident than Benji felt, but it felt right.

It felt true.

And for once, Benji was excited for the future.

“There’s Benji!”

Angie full out ran toward him as Lucy followed behind, Angie’s bag on her shoulder. Angie had been talking incessantly about meeting Benji early for some extra practice. Since she was leaving for her dad’s in two days and she wasn’t happy about it, Lucy figured she should try her best to get her to the rink. Thankfully, she was able to move a consult to later that night so they were able to come early. She was worried that Benji wouldn’t be here, but apparently, he just assumed they’d be there. Or maybe he came just in case they could make it.

She wasn’t sure how that made her feel.

As she watched Benji greet Angie, she couldn’t help but notice that he was sort of hotter than he had been on Monday night. His hair was falling into his eyes in an unruly fashion, while his face was covered with coarse, dark hair. She was pretty sure he hadn’t shaved, and if she was honest, she liked it. A lot. Like, a little too much…

Instead of the sweats he had on Monday, tonight he was wearing a girdle and socks, with a tight, Dri-FIT, long-sleeved shirt covering his torso. Every ripple of muscle on his chest was screaming at her, and for some reason, she felt like doing her laundry on his abs. Praise Jesus, his thick shoulders were almost screaming to have nails dug into them, and they did nothing but make it hard for Lucy to concentrate on the simple task of walking.

Her tripping was a sign of that.

Lord, he was gorgeous and, unfortunately, she had been thinking a lot about Mr. Benji Paxton.

More than she would like to admit.

She wasn’t sure if it was because he was adorably dorky or if it was because he was so great with Angie, but she found her mind wandering to him more than it should have. She wanted to know if he was married, if he had kids. Angie had said he had a daughter, but when she Googled him—don’t judge—she couldn’t find anything about a wife and daughter. It was weird, and a part of her wondered if he was a deadbeat dad. That didn’t seem right, though. He didn’t seem like that kind of guy. But then, like he said, she had no clue what kind of guy he was. All she knew was her daughter loved him, and Lucy was sort of, in some crazy, weird way, attracted to him.

It was bizarre.

Or she was losing it.

Sucking in a breath, she came up just as Angie declared, “So I’m a little crazytown today, as my mom calls it. My day care forgot to give me my medicine this morning, so I might be a little crazy.”

If waving her arms at the end didn’t say crazy, Lucy wasn’t sure what did. Her sweet baby had been diagnosed with ADHD two years before. Getting her medicated was a feat, but they overcame it, and now Angie was flourishing. In school and in life. She was just happier and, in turn, that made Lucy happy. It wasn’t easy, though, especially when Rick blamed her for all of it. If it wasn’t enough that she was already blaming herself—because obviously there was something she could have done to make sure her baby didn’t have those problems—having her ex-husband throw at her that it was her fucked-up genes was just great.