No, I absolutely did not want to think of these goings-on.

So, I didn’t.

Whatever happened, I’d survive. So would Mickey. That had been proven beyond a doubt.

Instead, I watched my big brother’s eyes move around the room, catch on the woman beside me, and warm.

Robin and Lawr were no longer dating. Robin and Lawr were now an item.

It was serious.

They couldn’t make any big moves since her oldest was in college but her youngest was still a junior and she didn’t want to be far away. They had to wait a couple of years before she moved up to Santa Barbara to be with Lawrie permanently, but that was the plan. Now, every other week, she was up there with my brother and it was working.

Splendidly.

I knew it would and, of course, rubbed that fact in at every available opportunity.

Like right then, when his attention shifted from Robin to me and I assumed a superior look to which he shook his head, his lips twitching, and turned his focus back to Jake.

“Gonna steal her.”

I jumped slightly at hearing Mickey’s murmur and turned just in time for him to slide my glass of champagne out of my hand and set it on the table.

“Of course,” Josie murmured.

“If I wasn’t taken and you weren’t seriously taken, as evidenced by the proceedings,” Robin said to my guy. “I’d want you to steal me.”

My best girl liked my guy.

And I liked this.

Mickey gave Robin a smile, and I gave Robin a fake glare as he took my hand.

While he was moving me toward the door, I felt a hint of chill and glanced my mother’s way to see her aiming that chill at me as Mickey pulled me into the main restaurant.

“We’re sitting down to dinner in a few minutes, honey,” I told him as he guided me through the tables.

“Can’t do that without us,” he replied.

“This is why we can’t leave,” I pointed out.

He said nothing.

I didn’t either when he led me to the hallway that took you to the bathrooms.

My belly started to warm and my legs started to get shaky as he turned right at the end of the hall then took us past the bathrooms.

At the end of that hall, he shoved aside the coats (I knew it was a cloak area) and pushed me to the back wall.

It was dark.

It was quiet.

There was likely going to be a hostess invading our space to hang up a coat at any second.

I didn’t care about any of this when Mickey put his hands to my hips.

Weird how a coat closet was our place.

But it was.

This was not where it began.

But it was where it began.

And I loved Mickey Donovan even more for taking me there the night before he was officially going to make me his and I was going to make him mine.