Layla sighed dreamily from beside me and whispered, “Oh my God.”
“You ready, baby?” Donovan asked me in his low, deep voice. “Your appointment’s in ten minutes. Can’t keep the man waiting.”
I grabbed my purse that was hanging over the back of the chair, rose from my seat, and placed my hand in Donovan’s outstretched one. “See you later,” I called out, my heart warming as I was hit with a loud chorus of goodbyes.
We crossed the room together, Imogen jabbering at us from Donovan’s hip, and his hand tightened around mine as he led me out to the sidewalk.
Every step felt as if I were walking a tightrope suspended above an abyss. I half expected the ground to shatter beneath me, like some cosmic force reminding me how fragile all this was and how easily it could be lost. But instead, my heart bloomed as Donovan held my hand up to his mouth and gently kissed my fingers.
We walked down the sidewalk, past the line of mom-and-pop stores with their fronts already dressed for fall and Halloween. My eyes caught on the reds and oranges of the leaves that had started to wither, and it hit me that in a few weeks the road would be covered in nature as summer faded away.
Donovan and I turned onto Monument Street, heading toward a white medical building, and that was the moment when nerves began to erupt in my belly. My steps faltered as I looked up at the windows that housed a psychiatrist's office.
Slowly, Donovan turned me in his arms to face him, and with Imogen nestled between us, he rested his forehead against mine. “You’re gonna be okay, baby. Mitch will help you. Look at what he did for Cash and Cara. Even Breaker and John Stone swear by him, and I wouldn’t let you go see any old witch doctor. You know that, right?”
“Yeah,” I breathed.
“I love you so fucking much,” he whispered. “I’ll be there every step of the way.”
My eyes filled with tears because the emotions were just too much.
“Hey,” he murmured, his thumb going to my cheek to swipe away a tear. “If you’re not ready for this, we can reschedule. A part of me feels like I’ve forced you into it, Rosie Posy, but I just want you to feel like you again.”
I smiled through my tears and sucked in a deep breath to calm my shit. “I’ll be okay. It’s just been a hard few months. They’ve taken their toll.”
He nuzzled my nose with his. “It’s been a hard few years, baby, but soon you’ll feel better. You’re so fucking strong, and I’ve got so much faith in you.”
I cupped Donovan O’Shea’s cheek and whispered, “I know it’ll work out. How can it not when I’ve got you at my back?”
My guy grinned down at me, then gently turned me toward the building, murmuring, “Go get ‘em, Tiger.”
I glanced over my shoulder, shot Donovan a dazzling smile, and then, with a determined tilt of my chin, I took the first tentative step toward a happier future.
All my life, I’d looked after everyone else.
I’d been a good daughter, a good sister, a good wife, and most of all, a good mom. Things hadn’t always gone to plan, and life had thrown enough curveballs to force me to fight tooth and nail to protect what I held dearest.
Now it was my turn.
My beloved dad had sent an angel to look afterme.
I’d been given my reward.
And he wasbeautiful.
EPILOGUE
DONOVAN
Three Months Later
Holding my glass high, I shouted, “Sláinte,” at the top of my voice, grinning as the crowd held their drinks up and yelled it right on back at me.
I threw my whiskey down my neck until I drained the glass and then pounded it on the bar top, letting out a loud hoot. Then I turned and landed a hot, heavy smooch on my wife’s bright red lips, and started making out with her while sitting atop the bar in the Lucky Shamrock.
Wolf whistles and raucous bellows of encouragement filled the room along with the deep timbre of Atlas’s voice yelling, “Put my fuckin’ sister down, ya fucknut.”
I lifted my head and gave Rosie The Smirk before turning to the crowd and yelling, “She’smywife now.Myproperty. So go fuck yourself.”
