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When she snubbed him the next day on her way to the school bus, Ronan had tried everything to get her attention. She steadfastly ignored his jokes where others found him funny. After three days of following her around, she stopped dead in her tracks when he nicknamed her Princess.
At twenty-nine, he still resorted to calling her Princess just to get a reaction out of her. She stood up from the floor with Ava in her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you doing here? Bree and Dec are out for the weekend,” she said.
This was not taking things slow. He’d been on her mind 24/7. His showing up made her nervous. She suddenly felt like she did when she was a teenager with raging hormones and hung around one of the most gorgeous but still manly, Ronan.
Something flashed before his eyes as he stared at her standing with Ava on her hip. She had no idea what that look was all about, but it made her feel uneasy. Like he saw right through her and had just discovered her deepest wish.
“What?” she spat at him as she walked out of the master bedroom.
“Ah, there she is. My fiery Red.”
She grumbled to herself about his non-original nickname. Ronan ignored her and picked up Dean before he followed her out.
She laid Ava down in her bed, kissed the top of her hair and wished her good night.
She switched positions with Ronan in between the two low toddler beds in the room and leaned in to kiss Dean good night.
“No sleepy,” Dean said with droopy eyes. This kid got cuteness overload written all over his adorable face. She suddenly wondered if a child of Ronan’s would resemble Dean.
She ruffled Dean’s dark hair and said, “I know. But it’s bedtime, munchkin.”
Ava shot up in her little bed, pursed her lips and said, “No!”
Fianna looked over at Ronan for some assistance, but the man simply grinned as he watched her struggle to put the two-year-olds to bed. Great.
“Okay, Princess. Please step aside for the babysitter champion.”
Fianna’s eyebrows shot to her hairline when Ronan slid the two beds together. Ava and Dean crawled back into bed under the covers. Ronan perched his colossal frame on top of Ava’s bed and settled in with his back against the wall. He patted the tiny free space what was left on Dean’s side, indicating she should join the three of them.
“That’s not going to hold us all, Ro.”
“Auntie!” Ava said.
One glance at the three beaming faces staring back at her, and she caved. She crawled on the makeshift bed that was slightly bigger than a twin bed. Fianna took in their warm and cozy pile. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting Ronan’s sandalwood scent fill her nostrils.
Ronan whispered in the dimly lit bedroom, “Do you want to continue the story, Princess? Or should I take over?”
She opened her eyes, cleared her throat and said, “Oh, that would be great. Thanks.”
Ronan went on his side and leaned upon his elbow, his legs dangling over the side of the bed. He stared directly into Fianna’s eyes as he spoke over the heads of the sleepy twins in between them.
“The warrior fell deeply in love with the princess from the moment they met and she’d defended her sister. He’d experienced nothing like that before and he was sure that their love would last forever.”
Her breath caught in her throat. She clung to every word that escaped his lips.
“No sleepy,” Dean mumbled in his sleep.
Ava giggled softly, and Fianna joined her.
Ronan swept a curl from Ava’s forehead, smiling down tenderly at his niece. It had been years since she’d last seen his soft side, and it directly pulled at Fianna’s heartstrings.
At Ava’s “Story,” Ronan continued.
“The warrior and the princess had their first kiss during a game.”
“Ro….” Fianna urged him with her eyes to keep his story PG.
He chuckled. “A game where you spin a bottle.”
