Page 24 of The New York Nighthawks, Vol. 2

AVA

Roan’s warning played on repeat through my head all night long, so I was a little groggy when I trudged into the kitchen late the next morning.

But I perked right up when I found Roan standing at the stove, making breakfast without a shirt on.

Hungry for something other than food, I devoured every inch of his muscular chest with my gaze before I headed over to the girls to drop kisses on the top of their heads.

“Morning, my beauties. Did you sleep well?”

“Uh-huh.” Cassidy nodded and gave me a syrupy grin. “But Daddy is a grumpy bear.”

I looked up as he strode toward us with two plates of French toast in his hands. “He is, huh?”

“That’s what happens when you toss and turn in an empty bed all night.” He gestured toward the chair next to Cassidy, and I sat down to dig in to the breakfast he set in front of me.

“I could sweep with you tonight, Daddy,” she offered.

“Thanks, sweet cheeks.” Roan stroked his hand down Cassidy’s hair before taking the seat next to Daisy’s high chair. “But then all of your stuffed animals will be lonely in your big girl bed.”

“Oh, right.” Her shoulders slumped, but only for a second. Then her eyes brightened, and she said, “But I—”

Before she could offer to drag all of her favorite stuffed animals into his room, Roan reassured, “Don’t worry, I’m a big boy. I’ll be fine.”

“Sooo big,” Cassidy sniggered, her entire body shaking as she giggled.

Sharing breakfast with Roan and the girls was a blast, so it sucked that I had to rush through it again.

At least yesterday, we were in a hurry because we were going to do something fun together.

Today, I had to drive downtown for my interview.

Which I guess was a good thing, depending on how I looked at it.

If I got the job, I was one step closer to being able to move to Long Island.

With that goal in mind, I headed up to the guest room after we were done eating.

I had hung the outfit I was going to wear for my interview in the closet—a pair of black skinny jeans with a super cute purple top.

I took extra time after my shower to straighten my hair and put on my makeup, then I got dressed.

When I was ready, I headed downstairs, pausing at the bottom of the stairs to eavesdrop on the story Cassidy was telling. “And then they ate twenty pizzas.”

“Twenty pizzas sounds like an awful lot for only ten dolls. They must’ve been awfully hungry,” Roan drawled.

“Uh-huh,” she chirped.

Making a mental note to stop off at my favorite pizzeria after my interview so I could bring a couple of pies back for dinner, I joined them in the den. Roan lifted his head, his eyes narrowing as his gaze swept down my body. “That’s what you’re wearing?”

I smoothed down the front of my blouse with shaky fingers. “Yeah, I thought it looked good.”

“Too damn good, if you ask me,” he muttered, getting up from where he’d been sprawled on the floor next to the girls.

“You look bootiful!” Cassidy screeched, jumping up and racing over to give me a big hug.

“Do you like this top?” She nodded enthusiastically. “The reason it’s so pretty is because your mom talked me into buying it.”

“She did?” Cassidy’s eyes widened.

“Uh-huh, she had really great taste in clothes.” I tapped her nose. “And I bet you will too since you always know how to pick the perfect outfits for your dolls.”

“Did you hear that, Daddy?” Cassidy raced back to Roan’s side. “I’m gonna be just like Mommy!”

“You sure are, sweet cheeks.”

The smile he beamed at her warmed my heart…and made my panties damp. Which was bound to make me uncomfortable during my interview, so I forced myself to say my goodbyes. “I have to head out so I’m not late for my interview. Be good for Daddy while I’m gone.”

Cassidy puffed out her bottom lip. “Aw, you gots to go now?”

“Yup, but I’ll bring some pizzas with me when I come back,” I promised. “As long as we don’t need twenty.”

She giggled and shook her head, avoiding a possible meltdown over me leaving. Roan flashed me an appreciative smile as he pulled a key fob from his pocket. “I don’t want you driving your car downtown. Take the SUV instead.”

“I know it doesn’t look like much, but my car got me here just fine.” That was stretching things a bit, but he didn’t need to know how I’d white-knuckled it through the entire drive.

He pressed the fob into my hand. “I’ll worry less if you drive mine instead.”

It was silly of me to protest when he put it that way, so I tucked the fob into my purse. “I have to admit, I was surprised when we loaded the girls into it yesterday. A small Mazda SUV didn’t seem flashy enough for a professional football player.”

“I didn’t buy the CX-30 for flash.” His gaze softened as he looked down at Cassidy and Daisy. “I got it shortly after the girls came because it’s the safest SUV in its size class on the market.”

Holy heck, but the man packed a punch when he was in protective daddy mode.

His allure was dangerous—it had me already wishing my feeling that we were an instant family yesterday was real.

That I could just stay here with the three of them instead of heading out for my interview.

Unfortunately, my fantasy wasn’t my reality…

yet. If Roan had really meant what he’d said in the heat of the moment about me becoming his, then maybe it would be sometime in the future.

But for now, I needed to focus on the girls and take the first step toward ensuring I’d be able to stick close to them.

“And you’re sure it’s okay for me to take it? I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone and don’t want to leave you guys stranded.”

“We don’t have any big plans today, but if we need to go somewhere, I have other cars in the garage we can use. The girls have car seats in the Rolls too, so we’ll be fine.”

“A Rolls Royce, huh? Sounds flashy,” I teased.

“Flashy is an apt description for the Phantom.”

“Thanks for letting me use your super-safe dad car. I appreciate it.” I brushed kisses against the tops of the girls’ heads before heading toward the door.

Roan looked as though he was going to stop me—and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he wanted a kiss too after how we’d gotten hot and heavy last night—but then Cassidy drew his attention away from me.

With a final, lingering glance at the three of them, I headed out.

They stayed on my mind all the way downtown, and Roan’s tattoo flashed into my head as the hostess pointed out where the owner’s office was when I arrived at the nightclub.

My lips curved as I thought about how appropriate the words inked onto his chest were. “Believe. Achieve.”

My little pep talk gave me a burst of confidence as I headed into my interview, and they paid off because I thought it went great.

I was pretty sure he was going to offer me a job, but it was going to be a couple more days before I knew for sure.

That didn’t stop me from splurging on a few pizzas—cheese for Cassidy, meat lovers for Roan, and veggie for me—before I made the drive back to Long Island.

I wasn’t expecting to find Roan waiting on the front porch when I pulled up in front of his house. After I climbed out of the SUV, I beamed him a grin. “Were you worried I put a dent in your baby?”

“Nope, I don’t give a damn about the car,” he growled, uncrossing his arms to press his clenched fists against his hips. “You didn’t mention that your interview was at The End Zone.”

“I didn’t? Sorry, I thought I did.” My brows drew together as something dawned on me. “How did you know that’s where I was if I didn’t tell you?

“I know the owner. Axton played football with our quarterback in high school and college, so he’s kind of an unofficial member of the Nighthawks. He called me because he recognized the address you put down on the application you filled out when you got there.”

“Um, yeah. I figured if I used mine, it would just make him wonder if I was able to start soon. I hope that was okay.” His eyes burned into mine, and I started to get nervous that I had overstepped and pissed him off. Especially since we were having this talk outside. “Where are the girls?”

“Naomi has been hounding me to let her spend some time with them so I dropped them off with her and Prentice. She’s got this plan for Ben and Daisy to be best friends since they’re so close in age and we’re practically neighbors.”

“Oh.” Roan had told me about how a bunch of his teammates had houses nearby, including his quarterback and his wife.

But he hadn’t mentioned the girls had plans before I left, so I’d rushed back because I had been looking forward to spending more time with them.

“I’m sure they’ll have lots of fun while they’re over there. ”

“They’d better.”

My brows drew together. “That sounds…ominous. Is this the first time you left the girls somewhere without you?”

“Except for when my sisters are with them here, it is,” he confirmed. “But I know they’re fine.”

“Okay, but…are you going to be fine, too?”

“I’m going to be fucking fantastic.” He stalked toward me with a determined gleam in his eyes. “Because you’re not going to take that job with Axton.”

“I’m not?” I echoed softly, taking an instinctive step back. I didn’t get far before he wrapped his fingers around my wrist and yanked me against his chest.

“The End Zone is a fantastic club, and I’ll be more than happy to take you there for a night out if you want.

” His other hand glided down my back, coming to a stop just above the curve of my ass.

“But there’s no fucking way I’ll ever be okay with you working in a meat market like that.

You wouldn’t be able to serve a drink without getting hit on left and right. ”

Whoa. I’d thought he was jealous when that guy at the zoo tried to pick me up, but his reaction then was nothing compared to this.

Something must’ve been very wrong with me because I couldn’t help but poke the beast. “The tips would be fantastic, though.”

“Remember what I told you last night about being mine?”

“Uh-huh,” I breathed, the air catching in my lungs.

“I hope you’re ready because my ability to give you more time disintegrated when Axton called to make sure I was cool with you working at his club.”