My lips twitched because Gabby was just like me.
I went to the gym because I loved food, which meant exercise was a necessity, not a choice, but I didn’t particularly enjoy working out. The only time I ran was when someone shouted, ‘It’s wine o’clock’ and held a filled glass out ready for me to take.
“How about I teach you the basics?” Donovan offered, his eyes darting to Gabby in the rearview. “You and your mom can come to the gym, and I’ll go through some defense and offense techniques. If you don’t feel comfortable training in front of the guys, we can keep it private.”
“I’ll think about it,” she acquiesced. “Thanks, Mr. O’Shea.”
“Donovan,” he corrected.
“Donovan,” she murmured.
My belly fluttered again, but that time the feeling stuck and spread outward until my stomach was filled with it. Despite myself, I squeezed Donny’s leg gently, silently thanking him for handling my girl with care.
“Have you thought about speaking to Maeve about starting a book club, Gabby?” Donovan asked. “She loves reading and speaks about her books every opportunity she gets. She’s always going into the city to visit bookshops and libraries. She’s even spoken to Abe about opening one here in town.”
I sneaked a look in the side mirror and saw Gabby’s eyes widen.
“Really?” she breathed. “A library in Hambleton would be so cool. What does Mizz Maeve read?”
“She loves the classics, but also historical romance stuff and something calledACOTAR. You heard of it?”
“A-A Court of Thorns and Roses?” my girl stuttered excitedly. “Ilovethat series.” She winced when she realized what she’d revealed and added, “It’s okay, Momma. I skip the spicy scenes.”
I almost laughed out loud because little did she know I learned about sex from my mom’s oldHarlequin Blaze and Darestories, though that was something best kept to myself.
“When Mae gets back from her honeymoon, I’ll hook you up, and you can chat with her—see if she’s up for organizing something,” Donovan offered.
“That would be rad,” Gabs cried softly.
The butterflies intensified, and my heart melted because apart from Atlas, I’d never seen any man—including Gabrielle’s father—handle her with so much thoughtfulness.
It seemed that Donovan O’Shea was full of surprises. I’d introduced two men to my kids over the years, and I’d been seeing both of them for months before I brought them around.Even so, I’d kept them at a distance because I didn’t want DJ and Gabby to get attached to men who I wasn’t sure would last.
Seeing their dad drift from woman to woman had made me decide to be more discerning. All kids needed stability, and as much as their dad was a hard worker and chipped in financially, his personal life was a disaster. For example, when Gabby was younger, she got close to one of her dad’s girlfriends and was devastated when they broke up. My girl learned a hard lesson early on, and I hated that for her. Therefore, I decided I had to conduct my love life differently.
They were older now, and I knew that over time, they’d learned to keep Evan’s lovers at arm's length because who knew if the poor woman would be traded in for a new model by the time of their next visit.
The kids knew Donovan from club cookouts and family parties, so I couldn’t keep them apart while I got to know him better. But seeing him interact with Gabs and DJ made me realize that his relationship with the kids was independent from me anyway.
I also knew it wasn’t a suck-up tactic. Was Donovan trying to build a stronger rapport with them? Absolutely, but I also knew that Donovan had probably been thinking about creating a boxing league for the town’s kids for a while, and having DJ around probably just reminded him do something about it. He never knew Gabrielle loved books, but as soon as he found out, he offered to speak to Maeve because he wanted Gabby to have someone to relate to and understood it would help build my girl’s confidence.
“We’re here,” he said softly.
I looked up to see we were pulling off the main road onto the track that led to my house, and I couldn’t stop a small smile from stealing across my face.
Home was a four-bedroom farmhouse set over three levels, the third floor being an attic room that had been converted into a huge master, complete with a walk-in closet and separate bathroom. We were situated at the end of a dirt track and surrounded by a white picket fence along with half an acre of land.
The house looked as if it had been here for a hundred years, except in fact, it was newly built. It was one of the places that my brother owned, which had been burned down by the Burning Sinners MC—a rival club to Atlas’s—a few years before.
The Speed Demons owned and ran a construction company, so Atlas had the place rebuilt to his particular specifications. The outside had been designed in keeping with the surrounding farms and rural homes that were owned by the townsfolk, but in contrast, the interior was modern with large rooms and high ceilings.
I loved the place and sometimes had to pinch myself that I lived here. Atlas had tried to gift it to me, but I’d turned him down. When I had a steady income, I wanted to get a mortgage and buy it from him, but he refused to take money from me, so we were at a stalemate.
Still, the only way I’d ever leave this house was when they carried me out in a coffin. If I had to take a gift from Danny in order to keep the place, then I would, but I’d put the mortgage money into a separate account and give it to his daughters when they were older.
“Wait,” Donovan ordered quietly. He switched off the engine and threw his door open before slamming it shut and jogging around the hood to open my door.
“Thanks,” I murmured, gingerly hooking my bag over my shoulder and sliding a leg out. Dancing and high heels didn’t mix. Years ago, I wouldn’t have felt a thing, but it had been a while.
