Soaring (Magdalene #2)(137)

“Yeah,” Cillian replied, looking away from me. “The short one’s my dad’s girlfriend.”

“Whoa, nice,” his friend said, eyeing me as they jockeyed for position in a line that led to one of those upright scales that Junior was attending.

It was at that from Cill’s friend that it just wasn’t my cheeks that were warm but other parts of me, primarily the region around my heart.

The last time I was in this gym, I felt old, unattractive and past my prime.

Now, I had the approval of twelve-year-olds.

It wasn’t much but it was something, and having Cillian’s approval of me for his father was even better.

Then the night got better when I felt weight around my shoulders, looked up and saw Mickey had claimed me with his arm around me.

“Hey,” he said on an easy grin.

“Hey back,” I replied.

“This feel good?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Good,” he muttered.

“Mr. Donovan.” I heard and looked up to see a bruiser who might be seventeen or eighteen standing close to us.

“Joe,” Mickey greeted.

The boy looked at me. “Hey, uh…you’re Auden’s mom, right?”

I straightened and regarded my son’s friend, Joe, who was not seventeen or eighteen but sixteen, which was shocking. He looked like he could be a Marine. And he was very cute.

“Yes, Joe. I’m Ms. Hathaway.” I offered my hand. “Nice to meet you. Auden’s talked about you.”

He took my hand briefly then let it go, looking this way and that shyly, as he said, “Yeah. Cool. He’s a good guy.”

“He is,” I agreed.

“Anyway, thanks for doin’ this.” He threw out a hand. “Totally cool.”

“Happy I could help,” I told him.

“Right. Great. Anyway, later,” he muttered and moved to the line.

“Later, Joe,” I called after him.

Mickey’s lips came to my ear. “You and Josie gotta get the f*ck outta here or the situation is not gonna be good.”

I pulled my head back so I could catch his eyes and he lifted his so he could give them to me.

“Why?” I asked.

“’Cause your boy’s friend just met his friend’s MILF of a mom and Josie is pure MILF too. So you two better take off so the league doesn’t grow three times its size just so boys can get a look at the possible ass they’ll be tapping when they’re old enough to know what to do with their dicks. Ass they’ll tap because they were smart enough to train to be a fighter.”

I reared away, not getting far as Mickey’s arm around my shoulders tightened, but that didn’t stop me from exclaiming, “Mickey! Really!”

“Babe, I used to be sixteen,” he returned. “Mrs. Getty next door is now seventy-five but she once was forty-five and she saw a lot of sock time.”

I leaned into him. “I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.”

“Think of what poor ole Joe is thinkin’, he’s gotta go to school tomorrow and face his friend with the hot mom.”

“Stop talking,” I ordered sharply.

Mickey burst out laughing.

“Stop laughing,” I demanded hotly.

He didn’t.

What he did was bend to me and touch his mouth to mine still laughing.

I didn’t pull away because there were people around, but I did glare at him when he was done.

“This, right here,” he said. “Again, all you. What you gave the boys, one of ’em my son, the way I feel standin’ beside you with the way you look and what you did for this league. Another flash of happy.”

I instantly stopped glaring.

“Thank you, baby,” he whispered.

I pressed my lips together so they wouldn’t tremble.

“You gonna cry?” he asked.

“No,” I mumbled, but even one syllable, it was shaky.

“Best not kiss you again,” he noted.

“If you say one more gross thing, I’m not having sex with you for a week.”

I got another easy grin. “Like you can hold out that long.”

“Whatever,” I muttered.

“Amy?”

“What?” I snapped.

“You’re the best woman I’ve ever met.”

I stared into his beautiful blue eyes, seeing those words reflected there and knowing since the moment I clapped eyes on him, one of the things I wanted most was to see that look aimed at me.

It wasn’t “I love you.”

But it was the next best thing.

“Great, now I wanna make out with you,” I griped under my breath to hide how his words made me feel.

Mickey was again grinning.

“So, Tuesday is on with Auden and Olympia?” he asked a question he knew the answer to but I knew he asked it to change the subject.

I nodded as I moved into him, excited and anxious about this first meeting, but hoping, my kids being mine, they’d see Mickey. They’d see how he was with me. They’d see he made me happy. And it would all go great.

“Lookin’ forward to it, Amy.”

That was when I smiled up at him but while doing it, I felt a shiver slide up my neck.