“You’re an amazing woman, Kennedy Stone,” I told her.
“Well, duh,” she sassed back. “Of course I am, but you’re pretty incredible too. If it’s any consolation, Tristan was right:a man can change his ways when he meets the right woman. You’re a catch, babe, and don’t let your guy forget it.”
I laughed softly, my heart warming at the fact I’d just made a new friend. “Oh, don’t you worry about that. You can rest assured, Donovan O’Shea has met his match in me.
—————
Studyingmy outfit in the full-length mirror, I nodded to myself.
I looked hot, but it wasn’t too much.
My skirt was short and my shirt unbuttoned low enough to show some serious cleavage, but the thigh-highs covered enough leg to keep things classy. I wasn’t the type of girl to adhere to the whole ‘show leg or boob, but never both’ rule. I wore what I wanted, and if I flashed a bit of ass cheek and side boob, then so be it.
After slicking on my nude pink lip gloss and drenching myself in my favorite date night perfume, I was ready to go. I’d purposely gotten ready early so I could have a quick talk with the kids before I went out. I wanted to tell them about my meeting with Kennedy and get their opinions. They needed to understand everything that was about to go down and be okay with their part in it, and the consequences.
I slipped my lip gloss, perfume atomizer, and phone inside my bag and made sure I had some cash and cards on me, then I came out of my room and made my way downstairs to the kitchen, where the kids were chilling out.
Gabby looked up from her seat on the couch at the far side of the room, where we usually gathered to watch TV together, and smiled. “You look hot, Momma.”
“Thanks, baby.” I smiled, my gaze hitting DJ’s, who was usually more critical of what I wore than his sister due to the fact that he was a teenage boy and a protective alpha-in-training. “Do I pass inspection?”
His eyes flicked down me then back up again, and he sighed. “It could’ve been worse, I guess.”
“DJ!” Gabby admonished. “Mom looks hot.”
“Exactly!” he bit out.
Gabby rolled her eyes at her brother, and he went and rolled his eyes right back at her.
A lot of eyes went rolling in my house. I was the master at it, and I’d passed my world-class talents down to my kids because they could eye-roll up there with the best of them, and usually at me.
“What time is Donovan picking you up?” Gabby asked me.
I walked over to where DJ sat at the breakfast bar. “In about fifteen minutes. I wanted to talk to you guys before I went. It’s about your dad.”
Two sets of eyes slid to me.
“What about him?” DJ asked.
I took a seat next to my son and motioned for Gabby to join us. She paused her movie and came straight over, sitting on the stool opposite.
“When I spoke to your dad last night and told him you didn’t want to go over while Rachel was there, he threatened to sic his lawyer on me,” I explained.
Gabby’s eyes welled up, and DJ’s mouth went tight.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” I assured them. “Your dad was mad at me, and no doubt he let his emotions get the better of him. Still, I thought it would be better to get prepared just in case, so I arranged a meeting with Kennedy.”
“Good,” DJ muttered. “Kai told me his mom’s a shark.”
“That’s definitely the impression I got too,” I agreed. “Kennedy told me not to communicate with your dad anymore, or at least not until we get this sorted out. Any talking needs to be done through our lawyers, just in case we need to go to court at a later date.”
“If you go to court, I’m telling the judge everything,” Deej threatened. “So if Dad knows what’s good for him, he’ll drop it.”
“I’m hoping it won’t get that far, Son,” I murmured. “Kennedy also asked me to speak to you. If your dad calls and tries to involve you in all this, would you be okay with telling me? I just need you to take a screenshot of the call log with the date and time stamp so I can pass it on to Kennedy.”
“Why?” Gabby asked.
“It would be inappropriate for him to try and involve you in our beef, Gabs,” I explained. “If he does, we need to know so we can stop it. I’m not saying you can’t speak to him, guys; you know I’d never do that. It just wouldn’t be right for him to engage you in any details of the case.”
