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CHAPTER 22

SLOANE

T he sleek black car came to a stop, and the driver stepped out, opening the door for me with a polished smile. “Here you go, ma’am,” he said, handing me my suitcase as I stepped out into the humid morning air. The private plane loomed ahead, gleaming against the runway lights. I swallowed hard, gripping the handle tightly. Logan had insisted that I fly with his friends’ wives to the next game, and somehow…I’d agreed. Despite the fact that they’d been overwhelmingly warm and kind at the last game and also at dinner the other night, I was still trying to not be an anxious mess.

Taking a deep breath, I climbed the stairs, each step echoing faintly in my head. As I reached the top, the door opened, and I was greeted by the last thing I expected: a gray-haired woman with spectacles, who had to be at least seventy, dressed in a cat sweater that said I’m feline fine . She was wearing orthopedic shoes, and her warm smile radiated grandmotherly energy.

I glanced back and helplessly watched the car I’d arrived in drive away. He’d dropped me off at the wrong plane.

“Hi, dearie,” she chirped. “You must be Sloane. My name’s Mabel. I’m so glad you’re here.”

I blinked. Once. Twice. Or maybe I wasn’t in the wrong place. “Uh…thanks,” I said slowly, my voice trailing off as I tried to piece together what was happening.

“Have a cookie while we wait to take off,” Mabel said, holding out a tray piled high with what looked like homemade chocolate chip cookies. “We’ll have all sorts of good stuff for you once we’re up to cruising altitude.”

“Thank you,” I said, my voice trailing off as I hesitantly took a cookie from the tray. I stepped inside, blinking at the sight of another older woman ahead of us with a pitcher of lemonade. Did her name tag say…Edna?

The sweet smell of freshly baked goods followed me into the plane, and I glanced into the cockpit as I passed by. There, to my utter disbelief, were three more older women—all with silver hair—fiddling with switches like they’d been flying planes since World War II.

What was going on?

I kept moving, the cookie halfway to my mouth, as I began to make my way down the narrow aisle. My focus was still on the bizarre setup I’d just seen, so much so that it took me a second to realize everyone else was already here.

Monroe, Blake, Olivia—holding the cutest baby I’d ever seen—and Anastasia were lounging in plush seats, looking perfectly at ease as they sipped what appeared to be lemonade from crystal glasses. Their faces lit up when they saw me.

“Sloane, you’re here!” Monroe said excitedly, patting the seat next to her.

“Hi,” I said awkwardly, her enthusiasm catching me off guard.

“Take a bite of that cookie. It’s life-changing,” Blake urged, gesturing to the warm treat in my hand.

“Oh, right.” I bit into the cookie out of politeness…and then moaned. It was warm and gooey, melting in my mouth. “Holy fuck that’s good.”

“According to Mabel, she’s been working on that recipe her entire life,” said Anastasia, happily snacking on her own cookie.

“Mabel and Edna…are the flight attendants?” I asked hesitantly. “Are they like Lincoln’s grandmas or something?”

Olivia snorted, and a second later, all four of them were laughing.

“Welcome to Grandma Airlines,” Blake said, throwing up her hands and giving me jazz fingers like she’d just got done with a big reveal on a game show.

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” I snorted.

“No, seriously. That’s what we call it,” said Monroe, taking a sip of her drink. “It was Lincoln’s way to ensure that no guy would talk to me, and then the others joined in.”

I gaped at her. “He bought this so other guys wouldn’t talk to you?”

She smirked, like she was amused by my reaction. “Yep. He’s a little obsessed.”

“I think calling Lincoln Daniels a little obsessed is like saying Texas is only a ‘little’ hot during the summer, Monroe,” teased Blake.

“Says the girl whose husband has a ring on his—” Blake slapped her hand over Monroe’s mouth so she couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Shhh. You can’t show our crazy yet. We have to make her love us first before you start talking about that,” she hissed.

I giggled, and Blake winked at me. I could see why she and Ari were together, both of them were ridiculously charming.

“So…I’m assuming you’ve discovered if Logan’s tattoos cover…all of him.” Olivia grinned, rocking her sleeping baby in her arms as she munched on a cookie.

I blushed at that reference because there was actually only one place Logan didn’t have a single tattoo, and I’d had that monster dick all up inside me just this morning before he’d left for the team plane.

“I knew it,” Anastasia huffed. “You luvvvv him.”

“What does that have to do with her seeing his tattoos?” asked Monroe, raising an eyebrow.

“Tattoos aren’t important with these guys?” Blake asked innocently.

“Oh my gosh, you guys are the worst,” Monroe practically screeched, and then the others all burst into laughter.

I was so lost.

But I loved it.

Feeling like maybe I was becoming a part of their group.

They wouldn’t be acting like this if they knew who I was…

The thought popped in my head, and the smile that had been on my face died. I pulled out my phone, suddenly wanting to create a wall between myself and the others.

The plane began to taxi down the runway. While the girls continued to tease each other, I pulled out my phone, reading Logan’s latest text as I set the cookie down on the table in front of me.

Logan: Red. I beg of you. Bring me some cookies.

Me: Oh, do you mean the cookies made by the women in cat sweaters that you failed to warn me about—who exist because your friends are a little crazy.

Logan: …

Me: So you don’t deny it?

Logan: Listen, Sloane. Baby. Love of my life. I have been trying to get ahold of these cookies since I first heard about them. They told me that I couldn’t have them until I had a lady. You are my lady. You have to get me one.

A little flutter built up inside me at the fact that he’d just said love of my life . Who knew you could swoon this much from a text.

Me: Almost sounds like you’re using me for cookies, York.

Logan: I would never…

Logan: P.S. This is a matter of life or death.

“What’s Logan saying over there?” asked Monroe with a smirk.

I blushed. “He was saying he wants some cookies.”

“I bet he wants your cookies,” said Blake innocently. There was a pause, and then we were all laughing.

“That was a good one, Lancaster,” Olivia said. She pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead, and there was a sudden pang of longing inside me as I watched them.

I blinked, wishing I could just be…normal for once.

We made it to cruising altitude, and soon the cheerful bustle of Edna and Mabel filled the cabin. Edna refilled our lemonade glasses with military precision, and Mabel beamed as she carried another tray of cookies down the aisle.

Across from me, Monroe raised an eyebrow, watching me as I stared at the flight attendants, bemused. She was clearly trying not to laugh. “Something wrong, Sloane?”

“This is really all because your guys don’t want men flirting with you?” I asked.

Olivia grinned, bouncing her baby gently on her knee. “You know those red flags they tell you to stay away from when you’re growing up.”

“Yeah?” I asked, confused.

“Well, it turns out…they’re actually very green once you get to know them.”

I blinked at her, and then the four of them were bursting into laughter.

I took a bite of my second cookie, shaking my head in amusement. “This is one of my weirder experiences,” I told them.

“It’s only weird if it doesn’t work,” quipped Anastasia.

“Good try,” said Blake, snorting.

“Hey, that was a good one.”

“It was better than usual,” Monroe said soothingly.

I realized there was a big, goofy grin on my face as I watched them.

“If Logan isn’t showing any red flags yet…it’ll just be a matter of time,” Blake said, some cookie crumbs falling out of her mouth as she talked.

I went to shake my head again…and then stopped.

“Oooh…Rookie’s already showing his game, isn’t he?” Anastasia asked.

I smirked, miming zipping my lips.

“We’ll get your secrets out soon, Calloway,” Blake teased, getting up from her seat and walking over to a box on one of the empty seats. “Speaking of secrets, evidently the guys had something made for us, but I wasn’t allowed to open the box until we were on the plane.”

Blake opened it and pulled out a blue T-shirt with the Dallas Knights logo on it. “They want us to wear these instead of jerseys?” she asked, sounding confused as she turned it around.

A bark of laughter reverberated through the plane as she stared at the shirt.

“What is it?” Monroe asked, craning her neck to see.

Blake’s smile was huge as she turned the shirt around to the back where Stanley Cupcake was written on top of Ari’s number.

“I guess we finally have a name, girls,” Monroe laughed as Blake began to pass out the shirts.

There was even one for me.

I’d never been more proud to be a part of something as I pulled on my Stanley Cupcake shirt and snacked on chocolate chip cookies and lemonade for the rest of the flight with the girls who might actually be…my friends.