Page 32 of The Swap After Hours

“Not physically. They mostly ignored me, unless they were ticked off about something and then it was a bunch of yelling and throwing things. Neither of them wanted kids to begin with and they liked to remind me how lucky I was to even be there. As if I’d asked to be born.” I huffed out a humorless laugh.

“Jesus!” Donovan murmured.

“It wasn’t all bad though. I learned early on to simply stay out of their way as much as possible. I hung out at the local library a lot after school and in the summer. I spent a lot of time at Doug’s house too.” I smiled when I thought of his family.

“He comes from a big family, and they never seemed to have much money either, but his parents worked really hard and they’re super nice. They were always hugging each other and their kids.

“When they found out what things were like at my house, they kind of took me in and treated me like another one of their own. They’d feed me, let me spend the night whenever I wanted, and they made sure I had clothes for each new school year. They’d hug me a lot too, especially his mom. She gives the best hugs.”

Donovan pulled up outside my apartment and parked the car before turning to face me. The lights from the dashboard shone softly on the left side of his face, the right side in shadow, but still I could see sympathy etched in his features. “I’m sorry your parents were such assholes. You deserve better than that. But I’m glad you had Doug’s family. They sound amazing.”

I twisted in my seat, leaning my back against the door. “They are. I don’t know what I would have done without them. It was their belief in me that gave me the courage to go to college and they supported us when Doug and I told them we wanted to move to New York City.”

“That just goes to show that you don’t have to be blood to be considered family. My Aunt Sharon and Uncle Clifford aren’t related to me in any way, they’re friends of my mom, but they’ve always loved me like I was their nephew. It also proves that just because someone is actually blood related, doesn’t mean they qualify as family.”

He dipped his head, staring down at his hands. “My father ran as soon as he found out about me, and my grandparents kicked my mom out of their house because she wouldn’t get rid of me. None of them deserve to be called family and neither do your parents.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat, my eyes starting to burn. I’d never had anyone who understood, who got it the way Donovan did. Sure, Doug hated my parents, hated the way they treated me, but he didn’t understand. Not really. How could he? He had two parents who doted on him and his siblings, who showed them every day how much they were loved and wanted.

“That’s true. It makes me even more grateful for people like Doug’s parents and your mom. We’re lucky to have them.”

“Yes, we are.”

We shared a soft smile then time began to stretch as we sat there, staring at each other. I licked my lips self-consciously and his eyes dropped down, following the movement of my tongue. Heat pooled in my belly and my pulse began to race. What would it feel like to kiss him? To glide my tongue against his and taste him? What sounds would he make?

Before I could do anything crazy, like act on my thoughts, he cleared his throat. “Good night, Trevor,” he said, effectively dismissing me. His green eyes were shuddered, and I could see him putting his walls back up around him, but it was too late. I’d already seen the man behind them, the real Donovan Marshall. And I liked him. A lot.

“Good night, Donovan,” I responded, not bothering with formality. Perhaps his mom was right. Maybe it was time to start pushing him a bit. And who knew, I might just figure things out about myself along the way.

CHAPTER 12

DONOVAN

I eyed my assistant with amusement as he climbed in beside me, a frown on his face. “Rough morning, Mr. Reed?”

Trevor glared back at me. “It’s still dark outside. It doesn’t count as morning until the sun comes up.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his uncharacteristic grumpiness. I was used to being the one with the rough demeanor, so seeing him in a similar state was a welcome change. “Sure, it does. There’s one in the morning, two in the morning, three?—”

He let out a low growl. “Whatever. Don’t even talk to me until I’ve had some caffeine. Can we stop somewhere for a Coke?”

“Sorry, there’s no time. We need to get to the airport, but don’t worry, I asked them to stock the plane with a variety of sugary sodas for you to choose from.”

His face shot in my direction, and I felt his eyes boring into the side of my head as I pulled away from the curb. “Thank you, Mr. Marshall.”

When I glanced over at him, I was surprised to see a soft expression on his face but then I remembered what he’d told me about his parents and how badly they’d treated him. He probably wasn’t used to anyone—besides Doug and his family—doing nice things for him or thinking of his needs. It made me want to take care of him, to protect him, and give him all the things he’d never had growing up.

I’d never felt that way toward anyone but my mom. The realization unnerved me, so I chose to ignore it altogether. “When we’re away from the office, you can call me Donovan, if you’d like. Not that you needed my permission,” I quipped, referring to the first time he’d called me by my name, when he was getting out of the car after going to my mom’s.

His lips quirked up in a small smile and I rolled my eyes as he replied, “If you insist.”

Trevor spun in a slow circle as soon as we boarded the plane, taking it all in. “Holy sh—crap! This is crazy!”

I pulled my phone out and checked it for any messages. “Nicer than you’re used to?” I asked wryly.

He huffed out a laugh. “Well, I’ve only seen the inside of a plane on movies, but none of them ever looked like this.”

That had me looking up. “You’ve never flown before?”

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