Dangerous Promise by Gwendolyn Cease Read Online Free PDF

going to.
    “Is everything okay?” Abby called from her bedroom
    Kate went in and sat on the side of the bed. “We’re locked up tight and the alarm is on.”
    “Remember to leave the light on in the hall, okay?”
    Kate never, ever forgot, but she just smiled at the little girl. “Of course I will, and I’ll leave my door open just in case you need me.”
    Abby sat up and flung her arms around Kate. “I love you.”
    “I love you, too, honey.” Kate held her tight and rocked gently.
    “I’m glad I’m here with you,” Abby whispered. “I’m glad I’ve always been with you. Is that bad?”
    Kate pulled back to look into the little face that meant so much to her. “No, it’s not bad. Why would you ask that?”
    “Because you’re not my real mom,” Abby said, tears springing into her eyes. “Even when I was with her, I used to pretend you were my real mom, and I was just staying with her.”
    Kate forced herself not to tear up. She didn’t want Abby to think her confession upset her, but inside, Kate wept for the child she held. “Oh, baby, I’m so glad you’re with me. I’ve always been glad. I love you so much. Janie loved you, too, but she just couldn’t take care of you, and that was her fault. It had nothing to do with you, do you understand? So no matter who gave birth to you, I think of you as my baby, just as I think of Olivia that way. I wouldn’t give you up for the world.”
    Abby curled into her. “I’m going to call you momma, just like Olivia does.”
    This did bring tears to her eyes and Kate smiled. “I would love for you to call me momma.” She kissed Abby and snuggled her tighter.
    The two of them sat this way until Abby began to sag against her. Kate smiled, knowing she’d fallen asleep. She laid her down and covered her, making sure her nightlight was on as well as the light in the hallway. Quietly, she went across the hall to check in on Olivia, who was already asleep.
    Finally, she went to her own bedroom and fell back on the bed. Damn, she was tired. She knew she should do some work, but just didn’t feel like it. Instead, she lay with her eyes closed and brought Grimm to mind. Ice-white hair framing a face that was saved from being beautiful by a strong jaw and high sharp cheekbones, but it was his eyes that really caught her. They were a true perfect gray. One dance, that’s all they’d had, and he’d been the subject of her erotic fantasies for the last couple of weeks. He was even more handsome than she had initially thought. Who would have ever imagined that she would see him again? She knew how club hookups worked. You met, danced then never saw each other again. But this time, they had met, and he acted as if he wanted to continue to see her.
    She huffed out a breath. Y eah right, but that didn’t mean he would really call. He’d seen what her life was like. She had two small daughters who came first. Most men wouldn’t want to jump into dating a woman with a family, especially if the man looked like him. Hell, he probably had tons of women following him around. The evening had been an anomaly, that’s all. He’d seen her and had probably felt as if he had to stick around and chat.
    Her cell phone rang and Kate rolled over to grab it off the nightstand. Grimm’s name lit up on the screen. For a brief moment, she stared, stunned, wondering if she had fallen asleep and this was actually a dream. When it continued to ring, she pressed the button and put it to her ear.
    “Hello?”
    “Hi, Kate.”
    Damn, he had a great voice. “Hi,” she replied lamely and rolled her eyes.
    “I wanted to check to make sure you all made it home all right.”
    “We’re good. No problem, whatsoever. I really appreciate you hanging out with us and getting the girls drinks and cookies. They loved it.”
    “Just them?”
    “What?”
    “Was it just the girls who loved it? Because I’m hoping you liked it, too.”
    She couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “I really liked