NICE GIRL TO LOVE (THE COMPLETE THREE-BOOK COLLECTION)(66)

A huge grin lit his face. Not over the idea of her tackling him, of course—though that would be fun—but at her assurance that she’d be standing right there with him in a few years to witness a milestone in his little girl’s life.

With Skylar still pouting worriedly as she raised the camera once more, Abby nailed him again in the gut for good measure. “Don’t worry kiddo,” she added firmly, “I’ll make sure he behaves.”

Not only was she promising to be a part of their lives, she was in full mama-lion mode about it, too. Something primal and male inside him responded to that, roared silently to the forefront, amplified his feelings for her ten-fold. Pulling Abby against him fully, he wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, “Will you be able to make me behave on Skylar’s prom night? Possibly.” He smiled at the camera and waited for the flash before whispering again, “Tonight? Definitely not.”




ABBY WALKED INTO THE HOTEL BALLROOM of her first prom ever.

In a way, she was almost glad her teen years had been the mess that it was—she couldn’t imagine a better date for her prom night than the one she had now.

“If you don’t stop looking at me like that, you’re going to get us both into a lot of trouble,” warned Brian softly.

“Promises, promises.”

A quiet growling groan rumbled out of his chest and Abby chuckled, tugging him to the chaperone table before they really did get themselves into trouble.

“Are you okay sitting here alone for a bit? I’m going to go check in with the prom committee to see if they need help with anything.”

“Not to worry, I came prepared.” She flipped open her beaded purse—another great thrift store find—and pulled out her trusty e-reader.

Shaking his head, Brian bent down and placed a kiss to her temple. “You’re adorable. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Abby opened up the ebook she’d been reading last night and was about a chapter in when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

“Abby, is that you?”

Eyes wide with surprise, she quickly stood and reached up—way up—to give the lanky boy standing before her a hug. “Evan?” He’d barely been at shoulder-height last she saw him. “Oh my goodness! I can’t believe how grown-up you look! Are you a junior already?”

“Yep. It’s been over three years since you tutored me, remember?”

“How could I forget?” She smiled affectionately. “You certainly made my first year tutoring memorable.”

Evan shuffled his feet and blushed. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was kind of a punk back then.” He glanced up again quickly. “Hey, you’re tutoring my brother now aren’t you? Is he giving you a hard time? Tell me if he is; I can knock some sense into him for you.”

Laughing, Abby shook her head. “No, Justin’s been an angel.” She frowned then. “That reminds me—he mentioned some of the problems your folks have been having with their business.” The poor kid broke down one day just before the winter break and told her the whole story about his having overheard his mother crying about their business failing and possibly losing their house. “I didn’t get a chance to talk with him about it when I saw him last week. How are things? Is there anything I can do?”

“Actually, we’re doing a whole lot better. Mr. Sullivan came by the shop the week before Christmas and helped my parents out big time.”

Abby felt her heart rate kick up a notch. “Mr. Sullivan?” Did Saint Connor come to the rescue of another family in need?

“Yeah. He told them about all these ways to save a bunch of money, and gave them these great ideas that—” Evan looked over to her left suddenly with an awe-filled look. “Oh hey, Mr. Sullivan! I was just telling Abby how you helped out my folks. You know, like you did with Sandi’s parents, and Caleb’s uncle.”

Of course. Mr. Sullivan as in Brian Sullivan. Guilt coursed through her veins over not having even considered the possibility that it was her very own best friend who’d helped out Evan and his family. Of course it was. Business was, after all, Brian’s forte. Plus, he was that guy. The one who was clearly making it a habit to provide business assistance to every student’s family he could.

“So you mean I rushed over for nothing?” teased Brian. “Here I thought you were terrorizing poor Abby like you used to in your glory days.”

Evan shot her a horrified glance. “You used to talk about me to him?”

Abby smacked Brian in the chest. “He’s kidding, Evan. I’ve only said good things about you, mainly that you were rambunctious and very clever with your practical jokes. And the only reason I’d mentioned you at all was because I used one of your practical jokes on Brian here.”

This time, Evan’s awestruck look was directed at Abby. “Seriously?”

“Yes,” grumbled Brian.

“Which one?” he asked curiously, visibly trying not to laugh because, let’s face it, he knew as well as Abby did that all his practical jokes were pretty legendary.

“Oh look at that, all your friends just arrived,” interrupted Brian, none too smoothly.

Evan, the wise kid that he was, raised his hands up in compliance and backed away without probing any further.

“I’ll find you and tell you later, Evan,” Abby stage-whispered, yelping in laughter when Brian tickled her ribs in retaliation.