Love to Hate You (Hope Valley #9) - Jessica Prince Page 0,57

while they didn’t have any kids of their own, they had custody of Gyspy’s five siblings.

I shifted my attention toward the back of the yard just in time to see Gypsy’s three-year-old brother Raleigh totter up to Ivy and grab her hair, pulling her face down so he could give her a big, smacking kiss.

Every muscle in my body locked tight as I grunted, “The hell?” I let go of Hayden and booked it across the yard with single-minded focus. I reached them just as Raleigh was going in for a second kiss—one that the little monster was already puckering up for.

“Nuh uh,” I clipped, scooping Ivy off the ground and holding her to my chest as I twisted to shoot a murderous scowl at the little kiss thief. “No kissing allowed.”

“But Mike!” Ivy cried. “He’s my best friend.”

I looked at her, my expression showing every bit of indignation I was feeling just then. “Like hell. I’m your best friend. And you’re way too damn young to be kissin’ boys,” I scolded as I started stomping back toward Hayden.

I threw a finger out at Gypsy and Marco as I passed them, ignoring the fact they were both cracking up. “You keep that handsy little toddler away from my girl, or he and I are gonna have some words.”

That only made them laugh harder.

“Well, how old do I gots to be to kiss boys?” she asked, making my stomach sink like a rock.

“Seventy-two,” I answered quickly, making her blue eyes go big.

“But that’s forever away!”

“Exactly,” I grunted under my breath just as we reached her mom’s side. “I’ll be dead by then so I won’t have to see it.”

“Think you might have over reacted just a bit?” Hayden asked as she took her daughter from me and balanced her on her hip.

“No. That boy’s trouble. I can already tell.”

“Mommy, Mike owes me two dollars!” Ivy declared excited. The she proceeded to snitch on me. “He said damn and hell!”

Instead of giving me a reproachful look, her head fell back on a long, loud laugh that worked wonders in unfurling the knot that had formed in my chest as soon as I saw that dirty rat’s lips on Ivy.

I watched her for a second before I felt a pair of eyes on me. When I looked across our group I saw Leo watching me with a smug-as-hell grin on his face.

“You’re so screwed,” he mouthed.

I was. I so was. But I didn’t care one damn bit.

Chapter Eighteen

Micah

Walking into the station Monday morning, I felt better than I had in months. Now that Dalton was sticking to Charlie’s back like a leech, I could rest easier knowing she was safe. And after weeks of walking around in a near-constant state of arousal, all because of a certain redhead, that nagging ache in my gut—and groin—had been alleviated . . . at least temporarily.

I was counting down the minutes until I could slide back inside Hayden, but the pressure building inside me was no longer at risk of erupting at any moment.

I moved through the bullpen, not noticing that the noise all around me had dropped to a lull until I reached my desk. Leo was already at his, leaned back in his chair with his feet kicked up, grinning like the cat that caught the canary. I glanced over at the desk clump beside ours and noticed Hayes and Trick were watching me as well, both wearing expressions similar to my partner’s.

“What’s goin’ on?” I asked, my voice coated with suspicion.

“Nothin’,” Hayes replied, bringing his arms up to lace his fingers together behind his head, the picture of relaxation. “Just thinkin’ of all the shit I’m gonna buy with my half of your paycheck.”

My chin jerked back into my neck. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

“The bet, asshole,” Trick answered, looking way too pleased with himself. “We told you you’d find a woman one day and go ass over elbow for her. Your cocky ass was so sure that wouldn’t happen, you bet your paycheck.”

Goddamn it. I’d forgotten about that. “If I remember correctly, that bet was about getting married.” I collapsed into my chair and sucked back a big gulp of coffee that I’d gotten earlier at Muffin Top. “And that’s not on the table, so you guys can fuck off.”

“It may not be on the table yet,” Hayes said. “Did you forget we were there Saturday? We all saw how you acted when you thought Cormack was encroaching. You just