It was like I hadn’t spoken because Donovan replied, “I’ll pay for one night out a week, the rest you earn. You want cash, you get your ass to my gym a few days a week and help me out. You’ll get paid fifteen bucks an hour, and you get free run of the place. I know you’re working for the Demons over summer too, so I’ll speak to Atlas, and we’ll work your hours out between us.”
“Wait a minute—” I exclaimed, but I was cut off by my son asking excitedly, “You want me to work at your gym?”
“Life ain’t gonna give you a free ride, bud,” Donovan told him. “Better to learn that now.”
“Cool!” he breathed. “Will you teach me some moves? Everyone knows you’re a good fighter and you do Martial Arts.”
Donny’s lips quirked. “Bowie and I were talking about starting a boxing league for the town’s kids.”
DJ’s grin lit up his face. “Kai’s gonna freak the fuck—shit, I mean, Kai’s gonna freak the hell out.”
“Umm, excuse me,” I interrupted. “I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. I haven’t even agreed to go out on a date yet.”
“You will,” DJ muttered from the back seat.
“Hey!” I protested. “Watch your mouth.”
Donovan shot me The Smirk and squeezed my knee.
I sat back in the passenger seat of the truck and let out a quietharrumph.
Somewhere along the line, my boy had adopted his uncle’s protective streak, and he exercised it on a regular basis, not just over me but his sister, too.
DJ may have looked exactly like his dad (with my dark hair thrown in for good measure), but he was all Atlas in personality. God knew that Evan was a hypocritical sonofabitch who thought his shit didn’t stink, but he was a beautiful man, so the way I saw it, DJ got the best of both worlds.
The problem was, it meant that my son had the world at his feet, and he knew it, hence his success with his ‘honeys’. It also meant that DJ was a strong-minded, strong-willed, determined, macho-alpha-in-training who never backed down. If I got fucked over, it would cause mayhem, and the fallout would resemble hell on earth.
Donovan suddenly becoming DJ’s boss didn’t bode well, so maybe I needed to rethink dating him.
My gaze settled on my hand, which was currently glued to his beefy, muscular thigh, and covered by his long, tattooed fingers.
Just seeing us connected that way caused a belly flutter to ensue, which I furiously tried to ignore.
Donovan’s eyes sliced to mine. “You not okay with the gym thing?”
How the hell did he know me that well already? I had a fantastic poker face.
“You’ve got a god-awful poker face,” he murmured quietly, throwing me a shit-eating grin.
My eyes narrowed.
Hmm.
“It’ll be sick, Mom,” DJ told me from the back seat. “I just messaged Kai, and he agreed to help out too. It’ll be fuckin’ awesome.”
“Don’t say fuck, and of course I think it’s a good thing,” I assured him, lying through my perfect, professionally whitenedteeth. I glanced at Donovan and noticed him grinning at DJ through the rearview, like they were bosom buddies having a secret conversation.
DJ rolled his eyes at Donny, communicating that I was a pain-in-the-ass, nagging banshee type of mother, before adding magnanimously for my benefit, “It’s okay, Mom. I won’t get hurt.”
“I know you won’t get hurt,” I lied again, stopping myself from tagging on,but I damned well might.
“You could come if you wanted, Gabby,” Donovan offered, glancing over his shoulder at her before his eyes returned to the road. “It’s not just for the guys; the ladies are welcome too.”
“Thanks,” she replied sweetly from the seat behind me. “But I’m more into book clubs than fight clubs.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to learn a few moves, Gabs,” I prompted gently. “You’ll be going off to college in a few years. I’d like you to be prepared for all situations and learn how to defend yourself at least.”
“I’d probably make a fool of myself,” she protested quietly. “I like sports, but I’m not really athletic.”
