by SJ McCoy
Cal moved forward, but it was her mom’s voice that broke the silence.
“Hi, Donovan. Have you met my daughter, Elle? And her daughter,” she waved a hand at the stroller, “Skye.”
Donovan came to meet them with a big smile on his face. He reached out to shake with her, and she couldn’t help smiling back. She bit down on her bottom lip when his fingers closed around hers. His hand felt warm and strong.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.” She blinked a few times, wondering if she was just imagining this—if her vision would clear and he’d turn into a nice, ordinary guy—like Brayden and his friends she had met. Nope. He was still there. Still smiling. Still gorgeous.
He seemed to come to his senses and let go of her hand. He could probably feel her mom and Cal watching them, just like she could. Cal was great, but she was wishing he wasn’t here right now. He’d be enough to scare any guy off.
To her surprise, instead of turning away scared, Donovan squatted down in front of Skye. Elle’s heart melted a little bit when he held his hand out to her daughter with a solemn expression on his face. “Hello, Skye. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Donovan.”
Her heart melted the rest of the way when Skye giggled as she shook hands with him and said, “Hello, Dondervan.” Then, she looked up at Elle. “He’s nice!”
Elle had to laugh. Her mom laughed, too, but Cal didn’t seem impressed.
Skye, as usual, was oblivious to any tension. She looked up at Cal and held her little arms up. “Want out, Grandpa!”
Elle’s heart sank when Donovan’s eyes widened as he looked up at Cal. He got to his feet and stepped back out of the way when Cal came to unfasten Skye and get her out of her stroller. The way Cal swung her up to sit on his hip made Elle smile again. He might be scaring Donovan off, but that was a small price to pay.
She’d already come to see Cal as someone who’d be there for her and Skye. If she was going to allow a man into her life—and especially into her daughter’s life—it was better that it should be a father-figure. Someone like Cal, who she knew would have their backs. Someone like Donovan was a nice idea—but nice ideas rarely panned out. She didn’t need to go messing her life up again for another good-looking guy, and she’d already sworn to herself that she wouldn’t mess up her daughter’s any more than she already had.
“Do you want a drink?” Donovan asked.
“Thanks, I’d love one.” She made herself smile at him the same way she’d smile at Ally’s brother, Brayden. Brayden was a nice guy, but not someone Elle would ever date. She’d just have to force herself to see Donovan—and treat him—that way, too.
She followed him around the side of the house, then glanced back over her shoulder. Her mom was kissing Cal’s cheek and Skye kissed his other one. She felt like it was a message—love could wait. If her mom could find and fall in love with such an amazing guy as Cal in her fifties, Elle had to take that as a message from the universe that she could do the same. Skye had to come first.
Chapter Two
“Hey, Donovan,” Brayden called to him as soon as he made it to the back yard. “You need to come and … oh, hi Elle.”
“Hi, Brayden.” She smiled at him.
Donovan didn’t smile. He glared at him. His heart rate still hadn’t returned to normal. He couldn’t believe that this gorgeous chick was here, walking beside him, about to come into his home. More than that, he couldn’t believe that Brayden had set him up on a date with Jade the other weekend when he knew Elle. How could he think—how could anyone who knew Elle think—that a guy would want to go on a date with some other chick instead of her?
Brayden gave him a puzzled look. “Are you okay?”
Donovan pulled himself together when he realized that Elle was looking at him, too. He forced himself to smile. He could kill Brayden later. “Yeah. What do you need me for?” Perhaps it’d be better to get a few minutes away from her, to try and gather his wits.
Brayden seemed to pick up that there was something between him and Elle. He gave him a very poorly disguised, conspiratorial smile. “That’s okay. I can sort it out.” He grinned at Elle. “I can see you’re busy here.” With that, he turned around and walked away. Damn him. Donovan pressed his lips together. Could he make it any more obvious?
He didn’t have time to figure out what Elle thought of it before Callahan and Teresa caught up to them. Ah well, he should stick with the idea of giving himself a minute away from her. But first he’d have to make sure they all got drinks.
Donovan was relieved when, as soon as he’d gotten them all a drink, Manny called them over. Teresa touched his arm and smiled. “Thanks again for inviting us. Cal told me about why you wanted to get everyone together.” He had to laugh when she winked. “Don’t be fooled by the tough exterior. He’s a good guy underneath.”
Callahan turned back and gave them a puzzled look.
“And if you ever need help with him, you call me, okay?” Teresa said in a low voice before chuckling and hurrying after him.
Donovan couldn’t help smiling as he watched them go. Callahan—Cal—must have moved fast there. He’d only been in town a few weeks—he’d arrived not long after Donovan. And yet here he was with Teresa acting like she knew him inside out, little Skye was calling him Grandpa already, and Elle ... He couldn’t help letting his gaze travel over her again. She was hot! Long blonde hair, a willowy figure, she wasn’t tall, he’d guess maybe five-six—which next to his six feet was just about perfect. She might be slender, but she had curves in all the right places. She had a set … He lifted his gaze slowly as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He had a feeling … yep, he was right. Callahan was watching him. He had his arms folded across his chest and deep lines furrowed his brow as he frowned. Shit. He forced himself to make eye contact and smile before looking away as if he’d just been scanning the yard, checking if everyone was okay. He didn’t think for a second that Callahan bought that, but it was, he hoped, a little better than acknowledging that he’d been caught checking out Elle’s breasts.
“Hey! Where did Elle go? You two looked like you were into each other.”
He turned and gave Brayden a hard stare. “Err, yeah! I mean come on, she’s …” He shook his head and glanced back at Callahan. It felt like he should choose his words carefully.
Brayden had no such worries. “I know! I told you. She’s hot. But …”
“But what? How could there be a but when it comes to a woman who looks like that? She’s …” He swallowed as it dawned on him that he might be going overboard on his reaction. He couldn’t help it—but perhaps he could hide it a little better.
Brayden shrugged. “You know. She’s a mom. She’s got her daughter. And from what Ally said, she just went through an ugly breakup. She’s living at home with her mom and …” He shrugged again.
Donovan nodded, finally understanding why Brayden hadn’t thought to set him up with her. He grasped Brayden’s shoulder and smiled. “I’ll forgive you then.”
“Huh? What for?”
Donovan had to laugh. Brayden obviously had no clue. “For setting me up with Jade when there’s an Elle in the world.”
Brayden laughed. “Seriously? When there’s an Elle in the world?”
“Yep.”
“Even with … what you know now?”
Donovan glanced over at her. “Yep. Even with the information you just shared.” He pursed his lips as a thought struck him. “Perhaps even more so because of that information.”
“Nope. You’re going to have to elaborate. You’re not making sense and you know I don’t like to detour from the logical path.”
“Then let me explain. I like her more knowing that she’s a mom than I would if she were just some … party girl. And knowing that she’s been through a breakup and that she’s come home to stay with her mom says that she’s the kind of person who takes life seriously. She’s taking the time to figure out her next steps and she’s smart enough to come home and do that i
n a safe place. A place where she and her daughter have a support system.”
Brayden looked skeptical. “So, you’re telling me that you’re more interested in someone who takes life seriously?”
He nodded, knowing that probably sounded weird. Guys their age were supposed to want to party and screw around and therefore be into girls who were the same way. But that just wasn’t who he was. It never had been. Sure, he knew how to have fun, but he was more interested in building a stable life for himself than he was in partying.
Brayden shrugged. “Then I guess I owe you an apology. Ally said I was nuts for setting you up with Jade. She told me that you’d do better with Elle.”
Donovan’s heart sank. “You mean, you could have …?”
“No! I don’t really know Elle. Well, maybe I could have but I thought Jade was more … fun. Does that make me shallow?”
Donovan had to laugh at the puzzled look on Brayden’s face. “No, my friend, it does not. No one could ever accuse you of being shallow. I think it makes you normal. I’m the odd duck. Guys like us are supposed to be about partying and having fun and taking life as it comes. It’s just that my background—the way I grew up … I want stability. I want to build a life for myself, a life with a solid foundation.” He glanced over at Elle again. She was laughing with her mom and Callahan at something Ryan had said. “And I’d like to find someone to share it with.”
~ ~ ~
Elle was only listening to the conversation around her with one ear. Ryan was teasing Cal about how much he’d lightened up since he came to the lake. She liked these guys, but she wasn’t thrilled about being stuck with the oldies. She’d kind of felt as though she existed in limbo since she came back to the lake. She loved her mom and her mom’s friends. Cal was awesome, and his friends were good people, too. They were fun. They weren’t old and stodgy and boring—but she wasn’t one of them. On the other hand, she looked over to where Ally and Jade were talking to Isaac and Alex; she wasn’t one of them either.
She wasn’t old enough to fit in with her mom’s friends, but her life was too different for her to fit in completely with the girls her age. She smiled at the sight of Skye grabbing Cal’s nose. He hadn’t set her down yet, but he’d probably have to soon. She got bored when people talked all around her.
Two minutes later, Elle reached for her when she started to wriggle and wouldn’t let Cal take part in the conversation.
“I’ll take her.”
As soon as she had her, Skye wriggled to get down. She took hold of Elle’s hand and tugged.
“Where are we going?” Elle didn’t particularly mind where, she was just happy to wander away from these guys. “Do you want your juice?”
“No.” Skye was tugging her along toward the house. “Go potty.”
“Oh.” Elle looked around. It seemed that everyone was staying out here in the yard. She didn’t want to just waltz inside without checking first. She wasn’t going to be able to wait for long though. Skye didn’t have much of a delay time between announcing that she needed to go and needing to go.
“Does she need the bathroom? Come on inside. I’ll show you.”
She looked up into a set of big brown eyes. Damn, he was hot! Where had he even come from and how did he know? While she was busy wondering about Donovan, Skye grabbed his hand.
“Gotta go potty.”
Elle hurried inside after them and started to go into the powder room in the hallway after Skye. Skye scowled at her.
“No, Mommy. I’m a big girl.”
“Okay, but I’ll be right outside the door.”
Skye closed it, but Elle put her foot in the way. The last thing she needed was for madam to lock herself inside there.
It was only the sound of his laugh that made her realize Donovan was still there. She looked over her shoulder to see him smiling at her.
“I take it she likes to lock the door?” He jerked his chin toward her foot.
“Yeah.” She needed to stop ogling and get her act together. Yes, he was hot—he was gorgeous. And he didn’t hide the fact that he liked what he saw in her, too. But he was hardly going to find anything other than her looks attractive. Guys who looked like him weren’t interested in taking toddlers to the bathroom—or dealing with tantrums, tears, and all the other realities that came with being the parent of one.
She smiled. “It’s okay. You don’t need to wait.”
His smile faded. “You want me to go?”
Her heart pounded when she met his gaze. She could hardly tell him the truth. Then again, perhaps that was exactly what she should do.
“Honestly? I’d love it if you wanted to stick around—to hang out with Skye and me. But you don’t really want to do that. You might like the idea of hanging out with me—but only until you figure out that we’re a package deal. I rarely go anywhere without her and she’s my number one priority—in everything.”
When she finished, she felt stupid. It hadn’t really even been about him. It was more for her own sake to remind herself of her own reality and to stop herself from getting lost in his big brown eyes.
His full lips turned up into a smile—she hadn’t expected that.
“Are you laughing at me?” She felt really stupid now.
“No! I wasn’t laughing at you. I’m … admiring you. I think it’s awesome that she’s your number one priority. And for what it’s worth, I think she’s awesome, too. I don’t know her yet, but …” He held her gaze. “I’d like to. I’d like to get to know both of you. And you were wrong when you said I wouldn’t want to hang out with her—with both of you. You seem like my kind of people.”
She narrowed her eyes, wondering if he was just trying to bullshit his way into her panties. He didn’t strike her as that type but … she’d been wrong before.
He held his hands up. “Tell me no if you like. It’s totally up to you. But I love little kids and they usually love me.”
“Mommy!” Skye pulled the door open and smiled up at her.
“Did you wash your hands?”
“No. Can’t reach.”
Elle went in after her. She didn’t know what to make of Donovan. He seemed like a straight up kind of guy, but was he for real? What guy their age liked hanging out with little kids? She blew out a sigh as she dried Skye’s hands.
He was still waiting in the hallway when they came back out.
“Dondervan!” Skye smiled at him.
“Hello, Skye.” He smiled back at her and then looked up at Elle. “Can I hang out with you and your mom?”
“Yes!” She took hold of his hand and grabbed for Elle’s, too. “We can read my book. Do you know Benji Mouse?”
“I don’t think Donovan wants to read right now, Skye. This is his party, and he has lots of guests to see to.”
He surprised her when he smiled at her over Skye’s head. “I do, but Skye’s the most important guest because she’s the smallest. The others are big enough to see to themselves.”
Skye grinned up at her. “See!”
Elle followed along as Skye led them back to her stroller and started digging in her bag for the book.
Donovan smiled when she held it up to him triumphantly.
“Okay, then. Do you want to sit over there? He pointed to a sofa on the patio which Dan and Missy had just vacated.
Skye ran over, and Elle looked at Donovan as they followed her. “What are you doing?”
He raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t understand, but the way his lips quirked up said he knew exactly what he was doing. “Going to read a book about Benji Mouse, apparently. Is it a good story?” He smirked, but he didn’t seem cocky. It was more like he was asking permission
She started to relax a little. “I like it. Benji’s a cool mouse; he likes to go on adventures.”
When he gave her a full-on smile it made her knees go weak. He was one good-looking guy. He was just her type—except with a twist. She’d always been a sucker for tall, dark, and handsome, and he was all of that. His ha
ir was almost black, his eyes were a deep brown and even though he wasn’t as tall as Cal or even some of the other guys, he was still probably half a foot taller than her. But the twist was that she’d always had a thing for the bad boys, and he was all clean cut and … wholesome … was that even a word you could use to describe a guy? Or was that just food? She wasn’t sure, but it meant the same in her mind. He seemed natural and home grown and … good for you.
He took a seat in the middle of the sofa next to Skye. She’d assumed that he’d sit on the end and let her go in the middle.
She was amazed to see Skye crawl into his lap and hold the book up under his nose. She was pointing at a picture of Benji Mouse. “See! This is Benji and his friend, Frankie.”
Elle sat down on the other side of him and held her hand out for the book.
“Not you, Mommy! Dondervan!”
Elle tried to bite back a laugh. If he was just doing this to impress her then he was getting more than he’d bargained for.
Her gaze flew to his face when he elbowed her in the side and gave her mischievous smile. “That’s right, Mommy. You already know the story. I get to read it this time. I want to learn how it goes.”
She searched his face. She couldn’t figure out what his deal was. There was no way he could want to sit here reading a story with a three-year-old in the middle of what was supposed to be his party. She shrugged. She didn’t get it, but she wasn’t going to interrupt. Skye wouldn’t give anyone any peace until she got her story now.
~ ~ ~
Donovan took the book from Skye and held it so that she could see as he read. He moved his finger along under the words just like Stella always did with her kids. Skye was probably too young to follow along that way, but it couldn’t do any harm.
She looked up at him every now and then as he read. She was cute—just like her mom. She had the same blonde hair, but Elle’s eyes were a light green color and Skye’s were big and brown.
When he reached the end, she wrapped her little arm around his waist and rested her head against his chest. He had to close his eyes. He knew how it felt to be loved by a small person—it was one of the best feelings in the world. Skye didn’t love him, but her affection made his heart swell. He patted her shoulder and had to resist kissing the top of her head. With three older sisters who all had kids, he was well used to being openly affectionate with little people, but Skye didn’t know him yet and neither did her mom.