Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Aideen screamed so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “Kalin had the baby?”
“Yep. A beautiful chunky boy,” I said proudly. “He’s an eleven-pound whopper of a child.”
“Oh, my God!” Aideen screamed again, and to whoever was in earshot of her, she hollered, “Kalin had the baby! Gavin’s a daddy! The little mite is eleven pounds.”
There were cheers, then sobs. I smiled. It never did take much for Aideen to cry since she had kids of her own.
“What’s his name, Dante?”
“That, little sister, is somethin’ that Gavin will let ye know.”
I hung up on her, and my da laughed.
“She’ll kill ye for that.”
“I know, but it’ll be worth it. I can’t believe me baby brother and baby sister are parents. This is wild.”
“No, son,” Da beamed. “This the beauty of life.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ina
* * *
One week later …
* * *
I kissed Dante Collins.
Me.
Ina O’Shea.
Every time I thought about it, I felt like giggling. It had only been one week since he kissed me for the first time on the floor of his hallway, and we revealed the interest that we harboured for one another. We hadn’t kissed since then, but it hadn’t been a problem. I knew Dante was waiting for my cue to make a move, and with each passing day, I felt the urge to make that move for him. It still blew my mind that he liked me like I liked him. I would have never expected him to be into me romantically, but I was on cloud nine that he was.
I was still scared shitless, but I wanted to explore things with Dante. I couldn’t allow fear to control me the way it had done when I lived with Daddy. I had to take chances, and if I fell, I had to pick myself up too. The only worry I truly had was what Mr Collins would do if he found out Dante and I were involved now. I loved my job, and I didn’t want to lose it. That was the only reason I wanted to keep things quiet about Dante and me.
I didn’t want to lose all the newfound happiness that working at the garage had brought me, but I also didn’t want to lose the growing bond I had with Dante. I had only known him for a total of five weeks, and I had never felt so safe and secure with a man as I did with him. My friendship with Dante triumphed my entire nine-year relationship with Finn, so I could only imagine how much a romantic relationship with him would overshadow everything I once had with my ex.
I looked up when a beep sounded behind my desk. I smiled wide when a customer entered the reception and approached me. The man was in his fifties, wore stained work clothing, and looked like he needed a cold one. He didn’t have a smile on his face.
“Good afternoon, sir.” I beamed. “How may I help you?”
“I’ve an appointment for two tyres to be fitted.”
Hello to you, too.
“Name?”
“Michael Chambers.”
“One second, please.”
I clicked into the client appointment portal on my computer and when I saw the three pm time slot was coloured in red, my pulse jumped. I had assigned colours to the portal once I learned the system. Everything was colour coded based on the service the client needed. The only colour I assigned to red was double bookings. I picked that colour so I wouldn’t make a mistake like that, but this one slipped by me unnoticed.
Shite.
Quickly, I clicked into the mechanics’ logs, and my heart sank further when I saw all of the men were currently working on a vehicle already. I felt as if the temperature in the room had risen by ten degrees because I could feel the sweat roll down my back. I wiped my clammy hands on my thighs before I looked up at the man and said, “I seem to have double booked the three o’clock time slot for one of me mechanics.”
His passive face turned a dark shade of red. “You’re jokin’ me?”
“I didn’t realise I had made this mistake until now.”
“And what fuckin’ good does that do me?” he snapped, a dark flush rising up his thick neck. “I’m not leavin’ this buildin’ until me car has two new tyres fitted like I was booked in for.”
I shrank. “I’m so sorry, Mr Chambers.”
“Ye should be!” he griped. “D’ye think I can take time off work whenever I feel like it?”
“No, sir.” I shook my head rapidly. “Of course not, I just made a mistake, but if ye give me a moment, I’ll do me best to rectify it.”
He glared at me. “You do that.”
I grabbed my tablet, shot to my feet, hurried around my desk, and refrained from sprinting into the hangar. I brisk walked onto garage floor, looking at my tablet as I went. The Slaters were both working on an engine with Mr Collins. He was teaching them something, so they weren’t available, and neither was JJ, Harley, or Gavin. Those three were in the pits of bays four, five, and six. Dante was the only one close to finishing the vehicle he was currently working on.