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She cleared her throat as her cheeks warmed. Glancing at the other fighters, she said, “I know you weren’t too sure about coming to the dance, but was so much moral support necessary? I didn’t realize you tough fighter types needed your hands held for stuff just like us common folk.”
“Haha, funny. I’m tough enough to handle a dance with my kid.” Ian rolled his eyes while the others laughed. “Shelby told me some classmates were coming but didn’t have dads who could make it. Me and the guys here thought maybe they wouldn’t mind dancing with us. I hate to think of any of the girls missing out while the other girls had all the fun.”
Holly’s mouth popped open and her eyes widened in surprise. That was the last thing she expected to hear him say, but it was an amazing idea. She glanced at the other guys before looking back into Ian’s bright blue eyes, her heart fluttering madly in her chest.
Searching for her voice, she grinned. “Guys, this is amazing. I’ve been wishing there was something I could do for them. Thank you all so much.”
“It’s nothing. Any chance to flirt with a pretty girl, I’m in,” one of them said with a wink at Shelby.
“That’s Seth.” Ian nodded to the one who’d spoken. Gesturing at each of the men in turn, he said, “This is Jax, and that’s Alex.”
“It’s so nice to meet you all. Thank you all again for coming,” she said, shaking their hands.
“It’s our pleasure,” Jax replied.
“We wouldn’t miss it.” Alex gave her a warm smile. “My mate, Cammie, said she met you at the fight last week.”
Mate? she thought, wrinkling her brow. “Yeah, I did. She seems really nice.”
“Ha. You don’t know her very well.” Seth smirked. It turned into a grunt as Ian elbowed him in the stomach.
“Ignore him. He’s still salty over the last time Cammie beat him in a fight.”
“That was months ago,” Seth protested to Ian.
“And? We all know you hold onto stuff like that. Damages your ego when a girl beats you in a fight.” Ian looked completely serious, but the twinkle in his eye told the truth. He was teasing, and he clearly enjoyed it.
“Daddy, can we go dance?” Shelby asked as Seth was opening his mouth to reply.
“Of course,” Ian replied. His voice was infused with enthusiasm, but Holly could hear the reluctance he was trying hard to hide.
Shelby dragged Ian to the dance floor and Holly turned
to the other fighters. “If you guys want to follow me, I’ll introduce you to the girls who don’t have dads present. Maybe you shouldn’t tell them why you’re here. Some of them have fathers who couldn’t make it, but some don’t have fathers at all. I’d hate for them to feel even worse about it if they have to answer questions about where their dads are.”
“Of course,” Jax replied quietly as the others nodded. “We’re here to make their nights better, not to make them feel bad.”
“Ladies, I have a special treat for you tonight,” Holly said as they stopped in front of the cluster of girls. “These gentlemen are here to spend the evening with you. Say hello to Jax, Seth, and Alex.”
Wide eyed, the girls echoed a hello before exchanging glances with each other. Quickly introducing the girls, Holly said, “You ladies chat, dance, and have fun. Come find me if you need anything.”
As she turned away, she heard one of them whisper to another, “They’re so hot!” Shaking her head, she found a chair so she could sit and take some of the pressure off her leg. The girls were ranging in age from seven to ten, but it was clear their senses were already well developed if they recognized that the men from Rocky River were all very attractive.
Tapping her toe to the music, she let her gaze roam around the gym before her whole body stilled as her eyes landed on Ian and Shelby dancing. A slow song was playing and Shelby stood on her dad’s feet, arms around his waist and head resting on his chest as they swayed to the music. Ian had one big hand wrapped around her shoulders and the other was slowly stroking her light brown curls. He was going to smooth out her carefully styled hair, but she didn’t seem to care, and Holly couldn’t say she blamed her.
Her heart was melting in her chest, turning her into a puddle of goo, but she couldn’t look away. The picture was too sweet and irresistible, and despite her lectures and warnings to herself, Holly lost a sliver of her heart to Ian right then and there. This huge, tough, tatted up beast of a fighter, slow dancing with his daughter while he held her tenderly, love shining from his face and pouring off his body in waves… she dared any woman to not lose a slice of her heart while watching.
Another teacher and chaperone walked up with a question, distracting her, and once they were gone, the song was over and Ian and Shelby were nowhere to be found. Trying to bury her disappointment, she rolled her ankle and flexed her leg, making sure it was still holding up. To her relief, it was still fine, but she kept up the exercises. Her leg became difficult and uncooperative if she left it in one position too long, and she wanted to keep it feeling good. She had her cane in her classroom, but she really wanted to avoid using it for the rest of the night.
Jumping when she became aware of a presence beside her, she swallowed a gasp and brought a hand to her chest as she saw Ian standing beside her chair, a smile warming his eyes as he looked down at her.
Holding out a hand, he asked, “May I have this dance?”
“What?” she sputtered, heart racing at the thought of being held in his strong arms. “This is a dance for the dads and kids. You should be dancing with Shelby.”
“It’s open call,” he replied with a nod to the dance floor. Following his gaze, she noticed a lot of the teachers dancing with fathers, and some of the fathers dancing with girls who weren’t theirs. “And Shelby is occupied with her friends right now. So? Want to dance with me?”
“I don’t think so, Mr. Gallagher, but thank you for asking,” she said, ignoring the voice inside her that let out a wail of protest.
