Page 3 of Royal

I see Meghan at the counter where the register is. She waves to me, and I wave back with my free hand. I look at Donovan, who is waving around at her, too. I smile at his antics.

She brings over a booster seat for him, and I buckle him in securely. When she slides a menu in front of me, and the second I gather my bearings, I feel the heat of someone’s gaze.

I peek over to see who it is, and it’s someone I have never met before. Someone that I will never forget.

Because, holy shit, he is beautiful. He is out-of-this-world attractive. I turn back around and try not to pass out.

My whole body is growing hot.

The man watching me is tattooed everywhere. His arms, hands, neck. His eyes are a piercing blue, and his lashes are so long and dark, he looks like he could be wearing mascara. His hands are large, making the cup he is holding tiny in comparison. His hair is completely shaved on the side, the top gelled slightly to the side. During my brief look at him, I paid close attention to his hand—there was no ring.

He is wearing an MC vest, which says Grim Sinners Rebels. I have seen quite a few of these guys here over the years, but no one compares to him.

Meghan breaks me out of my panicked fog when she slides a coloring sheet and crayons to Donovan. He smacks the table, reaching for the crayons. I open the small package, and he breaks one in half within minutes.

I can feel the guy next to me still staring. How can I think? I don’t know, but how can I not?

He is gorgeous.

How is someone like him even real? Maybe I have been horny and lonely for so long that I ultimately made him up in my head.

I suck in a deep breath and slowly let it out without making it obvious, turning my attention to my son and helping him hold his coloring sheet still to stop it from dragging across the table with his furious coloring.

Meghan hands us our drinks and approaches the hottie. Maybe I just imagined his looks, because he can’t honestly look like that.

I peek over my shoulder once more, acting like I’m just looking the room over, and our eyes connect.

All the air is thrown from my lungs, like I got punched in the gut. His eyes are such a piercing color.

I turn my head around so fast my hair hits Donovan in the face, causing him to smack it away from him.

I resist the urge to look back at the tattooed stranger a third time, but it takes all my strength. I listen closely to see if I can hear him speak.

Meanwhile, I help Donovan with his food. Ketchup is smeared halfway up his nose, and I cringe because being a mother must be one of the grossest things, between the shit and throw-up. It’s a complex, dirty life. Oh, don’t forget the peeing on the face.

I get lost in my thoughts, but I hear Meghan mention Seth. I sit up straighter, because she is talking about the lunatic.

Seth is known around here by the girls as being batshit crazy, and he has stalked many girls in the past.

He had asked me out a year prior, and I turned him down at work. He went insane, throwing everything off the counters and trying to break the glass windows. Police were called, but honestly, he was out of jail shortly after. Following that incident, I just saw him in passing, so I moved on with my life.

Meghan tells the person she’s speaking to about how he tried to hurt her physically. She seems like the sweetest, and the thought of someone wanting to hurt her like this is horrible.

I decide to eat my lunch first, then revisit the issue of talking to her about it because it isn’t my business.

I sadly learned from a young age that men try to take advantage of you in any way possible if you let them, but then I saw the same thing happen to my brother but with girls.

It’s a messed-up world, a scary place, and sometimes I’m crippled with fear at the thought of things happening to Donovan and the things he might have to struggle with when he’s older.

Lost in my thoughts, I’m startled out of it when suddenly, Marie’s son, Terror, the owner of this establishment, runs past me, absolutely sprinting, out of the diner and down the street.

I look at Meghan, who is on the verge of tears. Before I can get up and ask her if she is okay, Terror storms back into the diner.

I slide out of the booth, ensuring Donovan is secure in his seat. “Can I speak to you for a moment?” I feel unsure because I’m interrupting them.

Meghan’s eyes widen at me speaking, the unreal, gorgeous guy and Terror beside her.

My first thought at seeing how tall he is, is he is huge. Must be way above six feet, with tattoos covering almost every inch of his skin but his face.

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