24. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
Ava
A goofy grin lingers on my face hours after leaving Duncan at the arena. The burst of color in amber, orange, and red from leaves falling on the Acadia only enhances it as I head to pick Scarlett up from school.
I’m not sure the last time I’ve had butterflies about someone or something. Maybe when Nathan and I first started dating? I mean, how could I not have been excited about Nathan? He’s Nathan Vaughn.
But who he is versus who I thought he was are two different people.
This experience is altogether different. It’s Duncan. There’s no guessing about who he is; I’ve known him more than half my life.
“Duncan,” I say, awe and disbelief filling my voice.
Jessie’s Girl sings out over the speakers, and I look to see Caroline calling for what has to be the hundredth time today. I know she wants to talk about the press conference and Nathan’s reaction, but for just this moment, I want to revel in this giddy feeling I’m experiencing.
Hitting the decline button, I send a quick text.
Me: I’m picking up Scarlett from school. I’ll call you later.
Caroline: Fine. I guess I’ll just have to wait to hear about that kiss.
Warmth moves through me as I think about the kiss she’s referencing. That kind of kiss is the sort of thing every girl dreams of, and movies do their best to convey.
Wait! How does she know about the kiss?
Another text pops up with a link to Tea Time. I blow out a deep breath and groan, running my hand through my hair, so much for not having eyes on me while I’m here.
Caroline: I must say for a local gossip column Tea Time is on the ball. Caroline: Girlll! Either both of you are really good at acting or… Caroline: Call me as soon as you get home!!
For a moment, my stomach thuds at the thought of Nathan’s reaction to the photos, only to find I don’t care what he does. I did nothing wrong.
I ended a relationship that wasn’t working, and because he’s acting like a spoiled child, I know I made the right decision.
He can throw whatever he wants at me. The only thing I’m going to focus on is what Duncan thinks and feels about whatever is happening between us.
Turning onto Scarlett’s elementary school street, I’m surprised to see a line of cars waiting. This is the first time I’ve picked her up, and the scene unfolding before me was not what I had expected.
Pulling up behind the last car, I park. Killing the engine, I leave and walk over to the front of the building, where I see others waiting. Immediately I notice everyone glancing at me and then do a double take. Pretty normal response and nothing new to me, just part of being a celebrity.
However, their reaction is a bit different from the norm.
Usually, people look at me, smile, and talk behind their hands or come up and ask for a selfie. Today, they’re just talking, looking at their phones, and then returning to me.
Heat creeps up my face as I remember the Tea Time link Caroline sent me, and I pull the sweater I’m wearing closer, wrapping my arms around my waist. Whirling away from everyone, I head back to the car and grab my phone.
Looking up Caroline’s text, I click on the link to Tea Time, where I find multiple photos of Duncan pulling me out of the car, wrapping me up in his arms, and kissing me.
My breath catches as each image has me reliving every moment. One picture shows Duncan looking at me. I enlarge it so I can see his expression. The smirk he’s wearing is so rare that I struggle to drag my eyes from it. Running my fingers over his face in the picture, my heart skips across my chest.
This man is so unbearably handsome he literally takes my breath away.
A chuckle falls from my lips, and I shake my head. For the first time, I feel like one of the characters I play in my movies. This lightness filling me can’t be real life, can it?
The ringing of the bell pulls me out of my thoughts and back to the sidewalk filled with parents waiting for their children.
The majority of them are watching me. Intently.
Loud, excited voices take the focus off of me as kids appear through the doors.
“Aunt Ava,” Scarlett yells, running over to me. “How did the press conference go?”
“How do you know about the press conference?” I take her hand. A small grin lines my lips, and my brows pull together. “I thought you were in bed when your dad and I talked about it?”
“When are you going to learn that I know everything going on,” she says, smiling as she skips. Abruptly, she stops and looks around. “Where’s your car?”
“Oh, I have Uncle Duncan’s today. We took his car this morning. It’s right over there.” I point to the Acadia parked about fifty feet in front of us.
“Uncle Dunky let you drive his car?” Is that surprise and awe in her voice? “He never lets anyone drive his car.”
I open the passenger side door and hold my hand out for her backpack. She hands it to me and climbs in the passenger seat. Moving to the rear passenger side door, I pull the handle and toss her backpack in.
Sliding into the driver’s side seat, I pull my seat belt on.
“Buckle up,” I tell Scarlett as she slides a booster seat under her.
Firing up the engine, I glance outside again to see the large group of parents still there, talking animatedly while glancing at us. Leaning on the steering wheel, I sigh.
“They’re talking about you and Uncle Dunky,” Scarlett says without looking up. “It’s what they’ve been talking about since the news that the two of you are dating was announced.”
“Always? Like this?” I ask, nodding in their direction.
“Not usually, but then you don’t normally pick me up. It wasn’t this bad with Uncle Dunky last week either.” Scarlett mulls their reaction over before asking, hopefully, “Did you kiss him?”
“Scarlett,” I scoff, feeling my face heat up. “You know that even if we did kiss, it’s just pretend, right?”
“If it’s pretend, why are you blushing?” My eyebrows shoot up, and my mouth falls open. “And why are you making sure that you look pretty? Today, you took forever to get ready. Was that just pretend ?”
Looking at my niece wearing a stern expression, with her hazel eyes narrowed and arms crossed over her chest, I can’t help but chuckle at her. The maturity level of this child is that of a thirty-year-old.
“Well?” She insists.
Messing her hair with my hand, her eyes pop, and she slaps my hand away. “You’ll just have to leave that to the adults for now.” I chuckle.
Putting the car in drive, I pull away from the school and head back to the house.
“Do you like him?” She pushes.
“Uncle Duncan? Of course, I like him.” I smile and do my best to act like I don’t know what ‘like’ she’s talking about. “What’s not to like about him? He’s a good guy.”
“Aunt Ava, I’m being serious!” She yells at me.
“So am I.” I grin, laughing at her annoyed expression.
“Then answer me,” she taunts. “Do you like Uncle Duncan…enough to kiss him? For real?”
Glancing over at Scarlett, I see how much this means to her. What I don’t fully understand is why.
“Scarlett, honey, can you tell me why this is important to you?” She bites her lip, looks out the window, and turns away from me.
This is not a side of Scarlett I see very often. She rarely holds back what she’s thinking. Despite being eight, she has very strong opinions that she never hesitates to share. Staying quiet, I wait for her to tell me what’s on her mind.
Just as we pull into the driveway, I feel her eyes on me. I kill the engine and turn my body toward her.
“You and Uncle Dunky are my favorite people,” she says softly.
“Aww. You know you’re my favorite person, too, right?” She nods and wraps her arms around my neck. My heart melts.
“It would make me happy if the two of you were a couple for real,” she says against my ear. My throat gets tight and the back of my eyes burn. “Plus, you make Uncle Dunky happy.”
Her words wrap me in warm tendrils of possibility. “What makes you think that?”
“The way he looks at you. It’s how Daddy would look at Mommy,” she whispers, and my breath hitches at her words. Kissing me on the cheek, she moves to get out of the car. She grabs her backpack from the backseat and hesitates before saying something that makes my heart race. “And you look at him like Mommy looked at Daddy.”
Closing the door, she heads up the stairs, leaving me spinning with the fact that she just told me Duncan and I look at each other like we’re in love.
My heart pounds like a sledgehammer against my chest, and I can’t help but wonder if we kiss that way.