True taps her chin with a finger. “I agree but you have to help me pack and move boxes into storage. That suit you’re wearing will get dirty.”
“Don’t care.” I’ll strip down to my bare ass if it will make a difference. “Besides, I have a spare change of clothes in my truck.”
“Always prepared,” she says softly, but it’s not an insult. True’s above cheap shots.
“I wasn’t prepared for what you’d do to me.”
Her lashes fall, hiding her eyes from me. “I wasn’t either.”
“Give me today, Sunshine. That’s all I ask. I promise I won’t ask for more than what you can give.”
“You’ve already taken everything I had to give.” Her lips tremble, then she pivots, making her way to the back of the house. “I need to make a call.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Hell, I won’t even go outside to let Margaret know I’ve rescinded my offer.
I don’t have to wait very long for Margaret to join me. “Great news. I’m almost one hundred percent sure—”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“What?” Margaret’s face falls. “B-but you offered fifty grand over the asking price.”
“I know.” I also know Margaret doesn’t deserve to be part of my strategy to get True back either. “I’ll compensate you for your time. How does five thousand sound?”
She blinks at me, then holds out her hand. “Deal.”
We shake and say our goodbyes with a promise to meet later in order to keep my end of the bargain.
“For what it’s worth, I hope she says yes,” Margaret says, pausing before she gets in her small, but expensive SUV.
“What do you mean?”
Margaret laughs. “A man doesn’t go to this much trouble unless he’s in hot water with his wife, or plans to win back the woman of his dreams. Good luck, Duke.”
“Thanks.”
After another minute or two in which True doesn’t appear, I decide to go looking for her. She’s in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of scotch.
“A little early don’t you think?” I ask, loosening my tie enough to pull it over my head. I shove it into my jacket pocket.
“Nope.” She tosses the drink down, gasping a second later. “Blech. I still hate that stuff.”
“Still?”
“Back in high school, my best friend and I raided my parents liquor cabinet. Didn’t end very well.” She grins, then pours another finger and pushes the glass to me. “Your turn.”
“Never could say no to you.” I drink the shot down, closing my eyes to the smooth burn before opening them again. “Do you mind if I change before we get started?”
She shrugs. “Up to you.”
“I drove here straight from KGS’s office,” I say, unbuttoning my two top buttons. “I would have bought your house—hell, I would have bought the entire city, if I thought it could make you stay this time.”
“Not right now, Duke. Please.” She holds up a hand. “I can’t think straight right now and I’m afraid I’ll either say something I don’t mean, or I’ll say something I do mean, and ruin everything.”
“All right. Give me a minute or two to grab my things from my truck and I’ll change.” I’m fairly certain I break some kind of record for changing clothes. I’m back in the kitchen before True can finish washing the glass and put away the liquor. “Where do you want me?”
True pauses mid-rinse, her head snapping to me. She licks her lips. Tension coils inside of me. All she has to do is give me a sign and I’ll drop to my knees for her. Worship every inch of her delectable body.
“I want you,” she swallows and my heart kicks against my chest, “to help me in the garage first. Lots of boxes to put in storage. Lots and lots of boxes.”
“Sounds good.” I nod. “Lead the way.”
“It’s right through that door.” She points a soapy finger to the left of me. “I’ll be there in a minute, I’ll need to move my rental out of the way so you can back in your truck.”
“You need to use my truck, too?”
“It’ll make things go faster—I mean easier.”
I frown. “I think you said what you meant the first time.”
She shakes her head, golden brown hair sliding over her back. “Actually, I did mean what I said, but not like you think. I only meant in terms of getting things done for the house, not us spending time together. I promised you today and I keep my promises.”
A grin replaces my frown.
“Even if my promises will break my heart into pieces,” she says a beat later.
Unable to take being in the same room yet unable to touch her, I stride to her, taking her in my arms. My world shifts, flooded with sunlight that only this woman can provide.
“Duke.” My name’s a breathless plea on her lips.
“Tell me to let you go.”
“I can’t.”
I dip my head, searching for the sweetest lips I’ve ever tasted, then stop. “Are you married?”
“No.”
“Engaged?”
“No.”
“Boyfriend?”
“No. You?”
My mouth quirks at the corner. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
She laughs weakly. “Now you have jokes.”
“Now I can breathe again.” I nuzzle her temple. “I am completely yours, True Prince. No one stands in our way.”
She trembles, her hands grasp my arms, wet and slippery with dish detergent. “It killed me to leave the first time.”
“If it hadn’t been for River, I would have been useless. Dead inside.”
She lifts her chin. “I’m glad you have her.”
“I wanted to come to you, fly out to Scottsdale, but... I couldn’t. I, everything was too complicated at the time. I didn’t want to come to you if I wasn’t free, if I couldn’t fully commit.”
“You don’t have to explain.”
“Oh, but I do, Sunshine. You deserve the truth, good, bad, and ugly. The fact is, my pride kept me away. I was so damn mad that you left, so fucking pissed at Laken’s inference, and I had a newborn who couldn’t keep anything down. The company was sinking. Laken suddenly disappeared and—”
“Disappeared?” True scrunches her nose. “ Six months after River was born, Laken contacted me to let me know that the two of you had worked things out for River’s sake. I thought... I thought... you were together and that’s what kept you away from me, not your damned pride.” Pushing me away, I let her out of my embrace. “I’m so stupid.”
“No, you’re not.”
“When it comes to you, I am.” Tears are in her eyes, but she’s not sad. She’s furious. “I am such a fool. I couldn’t even think to ask you if y’all were still together. I just let you take me in your arms and once again, I was in other woman territory.”
“Stop it. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
She gives me a pointed look.
“Again.” I ran a hand through my hair, exasperated and grasping at straws. How is it I can negotiate contracts with men and women who are as hard as nails but can’t see my way to forgiveness with a woman who is as soft as cotton. “Look, I don’t claim to be perfect. I don’t claim that I went about things the right way when we met. I know it was wrong to not tell you the truth up front, which is why I’m here to lay it all out for you.”
“Very pretty words, Duke.”
“Do I usually speak with pretty words? Do you know me to bare it all on a whim?” I counter.
“No.” She sags against the counter, her blue shirt riding up on the sides, revealing a sliver of tan skin. “But we’re both older and wiser now—or at least I like to think I am. You could be different now.”
I grimace. “My siblings would disagree.”
“That’s such a shame.”
My gaze goes to hers. “Why?”
“I thought you’d try to make up with them.”
I scrub my hand over my face, tugging at my ear as I gather my thoughts. This woman wants it
all from me, and damn it, I’ll give it to her. “Things have gotten better.”
“If they’ve gotten better, then why don’t you look less grimacey than usual.”
“Because it took losing Laird to wake us all up.”
“I’m so sorry, Duke.” True pushes away from the counter, anger dissipating with each step closer to me until she touches the hem of my shirt. “He was... he was a mini you in a lot of ways and I know that you miss him.”
My jaw clenches. “Yeah, I do.”
She runs her hand along my jaw, easing some of the tension. “You couldn’t have stopped him.”
“I know.” I close my eyes to her touch. It’s such torture, both to have her like this and to relive the memory of the day Laird went missing at sea. “Doesn’t bring him back, though. Doesn’t make it better for Momma or his wife.”
“Let’s go for a walk, get some air.”
My eyes pop open. “I thought you wanted to get this over with—moving the boxes, that is.”
True searches my face. “They can wait. One day won’t make a difference.”
“One day can change everything,” I disagree.
She lets her hand fall to her side. “That remains to be seen.”
Chapter 21
True
“I don’t really feel like talking, Sunshine,” Duke says as we walk, hand in hand along the waterfront. Yes, I am that weak of a woman to allow this, but in my defense, the man needs comforting.
“Pretty sure the deafening silence of the last ten minutes gave me a clue.” I squeeze his hand to let him know that I don’t mind. I never have. “Plus, you know I talk enough for at least a dozen people.”
He laughs, just a little, but it’s enough to send my spirits soaring. What is it about this man that makes me so happy when I know he’s capable of destroying me? “I always liked to hear what you were thinking.”
“It’s a nice day for a walk.”
“I was hoping for deeper thoughts.”
“If I’d known about the memorial service for Laird, I would have come, Laken or no Laken. I kept up with him and Ophelia over the years, but we all made sure to not mention you, except in passing.”
Duke flashes me a look. “They never thought to say that Laken and I were divorced?”
“Are you really going to blame them for your pride?”
His lips twist. “When you put it that way—no.”
“I can admit that maybe I should have womaned up and asked about you.”
“Would it have made a difference?” he asks, pausing in front of The Chocolate Shoppe.
“I don’t know.”
“At least tell me you found happiness,” he says and I swear he means it. I swear that the perfect summer we spent together, with all the swoony feelings, is trying to come back.
“For a while I did. I even got engaged.”
“What happened?”
“Found out he was married.” I give him a sly look.
Duke rolls his eyes. “Har har. I deserve that, though.”
“Yeah you do.” I laugh, then grow serious. “We dated for a long time, three years, two months, and half a day, before Linc ended our engagement.”
“Don’t tell me his name.”
“Don’t tell me what to say.”
“Touché.” He bows his head. “My apologies, but I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to marry you.”
I stare at the Granville family behind the glass as they make the chocolate treats sold in their shops. They’re fifth generation and the recipe has never changed.
“True?”
“Sorry. Distracted by chocolate.”
Distracted by your own fear of answering, you mean.
Am not.
Yeah, yeah, tell that to the judge.
“Anyway, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry me. He didn’t think I loved him.”
“Yet, he asked you to marry him anyway.”
I shrug, turning my attention to him. “He’s a military guy, younger than me, too, since I decided that older men were not for me.” Duke cocks a dark brow, but he doesn’t interrupt me, so I continue on, “He thought he could convince me otherwise. Had a plan of attack or strategy. He was... he is a really good guy. I think we connected so well at first because he was from North Carolina, too. Planned on moving back home to open a bar.”
“Where?”
“My lips are sealed because I don’t put it past you to track him down.”
“Guilty.” A hot flush suddenly stains the bridge of his nose and there’s a tic in his jaw. “Did you love him?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t enough for us... for him.”
“Color me confused, Sunshine, but none of this makes sense. How could you not be enough for anyone?” He shakes his head. “I think we need to eat and revisit the conversation once we’ve met that need.”
“I think you’re correct.”
Duke tugs on my hand, guiding me to a café table on the sidewalk. He orders two waters and a basket of onion rings, with a side of spicy ranch—one of my favorites.
“Be sure to dial up those happy moans.” He winks at me, positively flirtatious and I have to wonder if he suspects he’s the reason why I couldn’t fully give my heart to Linc.
I roll my eyes. “Things didn’t work out and that’s all there is to it. I’ve been single for the past eight months.”
“Has that been long enough to get over him and start dating again?”
The server brings our drinks and appetizer to the table. I chow down on the onion rings, making happy moans while I eat and giving no apologies for it either as he shifts in his seat. I know I’m turning him on and I don’t give a rat’s tail.
Okay, so maybe I care a little, but only in that I can still have that sort of power over him. Like he does me.
“Know anyone out my way that’s single?”
Duke pops an onion ring in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Are you opposed to single dads?”
“Depends on the reason they’re single.”
“Wife left him to raise their daughter on his own.”
“Hmmm.”
“There are a lot of unspoken thoughts in that hmm of yours.”
I tilt my head to one side. “You make it sound so easy to say yes to you.”
“Hate to break it to you, baby, but you’ve already said yes to me.” He makes a circular motion in the air, like he’s showing me my surroundings. “We’re on a date right now.”
“Oooh you...” I chow down on another onion ring. “You better be glad that I like food so much, or you’d be in trouble.”
One side of his mouth lifts, the happiest half-smile I’ve ever seen on him. “I know what gets you going.”
Playfully, I stick my tongue out at him.
“Can I interest you in an entrée or dessert?” He wriggles his brows at me and laughter bursts from my throat. “That’s exactly what I want to hear... after those happy moans of yours.”
Blushing, I take a long sip of water. “I thought it would be a lot harder to see you. Although at first it was a shock and I didn’t know what to do, then... well, here we are.”
“Shouldn’t that tell you something—that we’re meant to be. Doesn’t matter that ten years have passed. Doesn’t matter that I’ve never had you in my bed, because the past is just that— in the past. I want a future with you. I want you to give me your future. I swear I won’t let you down this time.”
“You’re moving way too fast for me. I only arrived in town last night. I’m recently out of a long term relationship—”
“Eight months isn’t that damn recent, True.”
I lean back in my chair, knowing that I can’t convince him to slow down, to give me a chance to ... do what exactly?
Hadn’t I fantasized about this moment?
Hadn’t I dreamed about seeing Duke again and watching him do everything in his power to win me back?
Except, all he’d given me so far were words, no actions.
&nb
sp; I won’t count when he was pretending to buy my house to get my attention.
Clouds roll in, obscuring the sun. The temperature drops a few degrees and I shiver in my cutoff shorts and thin t-shirt.
“I need to get back. Boxes won’t move themselves, and the storage company closes at five.”
“You don’t have a code to get in?” he asks.
“Not yet. Hence, why I need to get there before closing.”
Duke pays the bill, standing while I slowly scoot my chair back. I’m not a coward, but I don’t want to continue this conversation right now. Everything’s been too easy for us. We slipped right back into our old relationship like nothing had happened, like ten years hadn’t past since I flew out of Royal Bay airport, a sobbing mess of a woman.
“Want me to call Knight or Barron to come help?”
I shake my head and up my pace. The less involved his family becomes in my life, the better. “Nah. You know... I have to admit that it was kinda weird being on a date with you, without Laird and Ophelia with us.”
I inwardly groan. Why did I say that?
Duke twines his fingers with mine, slowing my march to a leisurely walk. “Definitely an unusual courtship, that’s for sure.”
“I have plans to see Ophelia while I’m here, and she was the only one I’d planned on visiting with, just so you know.”
“I figured.”
“How’s that?”
He smiles ruefully. “Who do you think told me of your plans?”
I should be mad at her, but when I search my feelings, I’m not. “I didn’t ask her to keep it a secret.”
“Tell me about your life in Scottsdale,” he says as a fat drop of rain lands on my arm.
“Still teaching second grade. Love it, obviously. Got into roller-derby for a while. That was pretty intense.”
“What made you stop?”
“Had to show up for work with a black eye. Some of my students freaked out, thought my boyfriend had done that to me. Not exactly the conversation I wanted to have with them or their parents.” I smile at the memory. “I’m flattered though, that they worried and cared so much about me. “
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