Page 7 of Holiday Loss

The question made him chuckle. Seemed like the boy, who appeared to be about seven, was a confident kid, he liked that. “Because when my mom married my stepdad she took his last name,” he explained. “But you can call me Donovan, no need to be so formal and go with Mr. Davidson.”

“This is Freddie. My son,” Jessica added with emphasis, like she was trying to explain without saying it out loud that they were a package deal. Like he didn't already get that. Of course they were. He’d been raised by a single mom, he would never expect Jessica to prioritize anything else over her child.

That didn't mean she wasn't important, too.

She was.

And he intended to make that she knew it.

Kneeling so he was eye to eye with the kid, he balanced the bouquet in one hand and held out his other to shake the boy’s. “Nice to meet you, Freddie. Baking brownies with your mom sounds like lots of fun, I used to love baking with my mom when I was a kid.”

“We always bake when Mom has time,” Freddie said excitedly, missing the way his mother winced.

“You're a lucky guy,” he said as he straightened, absolutely meaning it. The single parent life was rough, and yet from the looks of things, Jessica was handling it like a pro. “These are for you. Thought I’d deliver them in person from here on out.”

Eyes widening, Jessica glanced down at her son before lifting her gaze to meet his again. “You're going to keep delivering flowers?”

If she thought he was backing off because she had a kid she was sorely mistaken.

No way was he backing off now. He wanted kids. Okay, so he hadn't considered being a parent this way but it was no deterrent.

“Only way I’m going to stop, green eyes, is if you tell me to.”

Chapter

Five

December 9th

11:52 A.M.

“Do you have any intention of listening to a word I say today?”

Guiltily, Jessica looked up from her phone to see Adam looking at her from his desk across from hers. Her partner didn't look annoyed with her, in fact, he looked a combination of amused and pleased.

Ever since Donovan had turned up at the precinct a few days ago, Adam had been as interested in the handsome billionaire as her son had been. Both men in her life had peppered her with questions, and while she’d done her best to be as vague as possible because she honestly didn't know what she was going to do about it all, she couldn’t deny it was exciting.

Having a man show genuine interest in her, even knowing she had a kid, was new for her. Donovan was being respectful, not pushing too hard, while making his intentions more than clear.

He wanted to take her on a date.

Her.

A single mom who worked long hours as a cop.

Him.

A billionaire who looked like a model who almost definitely had women falling at his feet.

So why wasn't she?

Because this all felt too good to be true.

One burned twice shy.

While she liked to pretend that her ex dumping her the way he had, just walking away like everything they’d shared meant nothing, hadn't affected her, it had. It had messed with her self-confidence. Claiming she was too busy to date, while undoubtably true, was also a good excuse to not have to put herself out there. If Donovan wasn't being so persistent, she wouldn't have given him asking her out that first day a second thought.

Okay, maybe a second thought or two but nothing would have come of it.

---