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He pointed across the room and said, “Kelsey’s scared too.”
Kate nodded while glancing over at Jonathan’s friend who was biting on her thumbnail and wearily looking around.
Donovan took over and said, “Maybe, if you could comfort her, she wouldn’t be so scared anymore.”
Jonathan’s eyes went wide. “How do I do that?”
“Make her laugh,” Donovan stated as a matter of fact.
“Why?”
Donovan cocked his head and asked him, “Are you feeling better or worse than before you went to see Miss Kate?”
He nodded eagerly. “Better.” He glanced over at Kelsey. “Okay. I’m going to help her.”
“Okay, buddy.”
“Bye, mister.”
When they stood again, Kate placed her hand on Donovan’s cheek and leaned into him. She tried to keep her voice light saying, “You, mister, you’re trouble.”
He guffawed and placed his hands on the small of her back and pulled her closer. “I like the sound of you calling me mister.” He waggled his brows.
“Oh, you’re definitely trouble,” Kate flirted.
He allowed a little bit of space between them, probably because they still stood there between the children from her class, but he leaned in and whispered against her lips, “I know. And you love it.”
She shuddered as she realized the implication of his words. He was right, she loved it. She loved him. But before she could answer him, they were interrupted by the loud voices of the kids behind them screaming in unison: “Ewww. Miss Kate is kissing.”
She immediately pulled back and turned around. Probably with a beet-red face to show for it. But surprisingly enough, she didn’t care that much—not like she used to anyway. Because she remembered that at the end of the day, everyone would go and take a dump.
Kate’s shoulders shook with laughter, and all the children fell silent. Oh God, she felt so good laughing. She didn’t do it too often, but when she could let go, she felt, oh so free. Shaking with laughter, she tried to wipe her tears away.
Donovan took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Wow. Just when I think you can’t be any more beautiful….”
She blushed and shook her head. “Donovan….”
“Okay, I’ll let it go. Only if you tell me what made you laugh like that,” he said before giving her a quick kiss on her dimpled cheek.
She glanced at him and searched his eyes. “You did.”
His brows rose, and he cocked his head for her to clarify.
“I was starting to feel embarrassed, but then I remembered your words, you know, about taking a….”
Grinning, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “You’re so fucking cute. Okay, I think it’s time for me to take my seat. I’ll see you later, okay?”
She nodded and watched this perfect man rounding the corner. She couldn’t help but move to the curtain and follow him as he walked over to take his seat. The three women who sat in the row in front of him, instantly straightened. One of them even flipped her hair and glanced over her shoulder to ogle him.
With a sigh, Kate let the curtain drop. She knew she’d better get used to other women flirting with him, but she didn’t know if she could do it. The pain of feeling not enough and the hurt of the betrayal her ex had caused made her open up the curtain once more for a closer inspection.
Sure enough, two of the three women were turned in their seats while talking to Donovan. He smiled politely but didn’t seem overly interested. One of the women was really pretty. Kate recognized her as Kelsey’s mother, who recently divorced Kelsey’s dad. Maggie, yeah, that was her name.
Maggie reached out and placed her hand on his knee as she was talking to him. Kate held her breath and wondered what Donovan would do. He shifted and crossed his leg to rest his ankle on that same knee. Maggie let her hand fall but didn’t turn around. She kept talking and even laughed so loud, making other parents look over to her. Kate hated the pang in her chest when Donovan smiled at her. But then he took out his phone and bluntly ignored her as he scrolled through it before making a call.
A smile crept over Kate’s face when Maggie turned around with a big ole frown on her face. Ha! Kate glanced once more into the auditorium and noticed Caitlin and Declan coming in. Donovan scooted over a few places so they could sit together.
Cait and Dec waved at Bree who sat in front of the stage. Bree was going to help the children with the lyrics. Because they were only five years old, they didn’t have any lines to say. All words would be sung and mostly together in small groups. As the play started and progressed, Bree sat there and sang the lyrics the loudest when the song sometimes fell flat. She also ushered the children to and from the stage.
