Chapter Twelve
Duncan
"I have a good feeling about it, but we should discuss it with everyone,” I said.
Wyatt, Knox, and Finn were in my office, and we were debating the pros and cons of a property they’d found in Napa Valley. They’d spent the Fourth of July there while the rest of us were at our parents’ place. Chase and Griffin hadn’t had time to join us this afternoon.
"Sure, but we're going to fly out to check it out more thoroughly, and we wanted to touch base before that," Wyatt said.
I laughed. "You three are just looking for an excuse to fly to Napa Valley."
"Obviously," Finn said. "But if we can count it as a business expense, even better." Not that we had any need for it. We all had plenty of money, but we were conscious about finances anyway.
"What plans do you have for the weekend?" Wyatt asked me.
Knox and Finn exchanged a glance. They looked as if they were holding back laughter.
"Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering if you're going to make any more oatmeal breakfasts," Finn said. Knox burst out laughing.
"How long have you been sitting on that?" I asked my brothers.
"Oh, since we stepped into your office, but we figured it was best to end the conversation with it so we didn't hijack the whole discussion," Knox informed me.
"I see," I replied. "How do you even know?"
"From Jeremy, obviously," Knox said.
"Did he tell the whole family?"
"Not sure, but he told us , and we told everyone." Finn wasn't even apologetic.
My brothers were something, but I couldn't be mad at them. I was pleased that they all spent so much time with my son. Jeremy probably just blabbed it, and besides, he wouldn't know to keep it a secret.
"No plans, no," I said.
"But the question is, would you tell us if you had any?" Finn asked.
I sighed heavily. "Where’s Griffin when I need him?"
Wyatt straightened in the chair, rolling his shoulders back. "What do you mean? I'm right here representing the middle group."
Growing up, there were three groups. Chase and I were the older ones, Griffin and Wyatt the middle, and Knox and Finn the younger ones.
I pointed from him to Knox and Finn. "Yeah, but you know you’re more in their group."
"I'm affronted," Wyatt exclaimed. He was more cerebral than Griffin—usually, anyway—and they had a way to balance themselves out.
"Dude, what the hell?" Knox said directly to him.
"Yeah," Finn added. "Now we're affronted that you're affronted."
I laughed as they started to bicker. It was good to be surrounded by my brothers. Pity Chase wasn’t here. I wanted to pick his brain on how he’d managed things with Hannah, hoping that might give me some ideas for my situation.
It was incredibly hard to stay professional when it came to Riley.
I was constantly trying to tamp down my interest and my need for her.
It was more than a physical thing. I liked talking with her.
Riley wore her heart on her sleeve. She was spontaneous yet mature for her age and fun-loving. I liked that a lot—and Jeremy did too.
Riley had a fresh insight into things, and her natural sincerity appealed to me.
I’d never been interested in anyone in this way.
Things between Shona and I had been different.
We’d had a great time together, but neither of us was in love with the other.
That was why we’d never married. We’d tried to test the waters as a family, but we were honest with each other when it was clear it wouldn’t work and broke up early on before it got even more difficult to do so.
As soon as I got to the office, I checked my phone. Riley had sent me a picture of her and Jeremy at the ocean. Since their time at the amusement park, she’d taken him to various places to “broaden his horizons,” as she phrased it. Today was the beach, and I wished I was there with them.
Duncan: You look beautiful.
There went my legendary self-control.
Riley: Duncan…
Duncan: I know. I'm trying.
Riley: Really?
No, not really. I knew what was right. I knew what I had to do, and yet at the same time, I couldn't do it. I couldn't keep myself in check.
But I promised myself that tomorrow, when she sent me the picture after she’d picked up Jeremy, I wouldn’t flirt back.
But of course, that thought didn’t last. Because the next day, she sent me a picture of the two of them at the Natural History Museum. She was wearing a white dress with a boatneck. I couldn't see her cleavage or anything, but damn if I didn't want to.
Duncan: I wish I was there with you.
Riley: I think Jeremy would enjoy it too.
I took a deep breath.
Duncan: No, with YOU.
Fucking hell. It was time to admit that I wasn't going to do any better. I needed to talk to her face-to-face—alone. And I had a plan.
Riley
The next week passed by quickly. The tension between me and Duncan was building day by day. No matter how much I tried to steel myself, whenever I heard his voice announcing that he'd arrived home in the evening, my entire body reacted.
The dynamic between us had changed on a fundamental level.
I didn’t leave right away as before. I lingered during Jeremy’s routine, and we mostly talked about his day.
Sometimes Duncan asked about my mom and sister.
I didn’t even care what we talked about, to be honest. I simply longed to be near him.
And that was dangerous.
"I'm so excited," Jeremy exclaimed on Friday.
"You haven't spent the weekend with your grandparents in a while, huh?" I asked.
"It's just with Grandma," he said.
I kept forgetting that Duncan's parents were divorced.
"She always makes homemade pizza and cake." His eyes were shining.
God, I wanted to hug him and never let him go, but then the front door opened.
"Daddy, I'm ready," Jeremy exclaimed, darting out of his room. His Spider-Man backpack was hanging off one shoulder. I hadn't gotten to zipping it up yet, so his stuffed giraffe and favorite car fell out. Chuckling, I grabbed them and headed toward the living room.
Duncan had picked him up in his arms. Sometimes Jeremy would insist that he was a grown-up boy and didn't want public displays of affection, but then sometimes he went looking for it. I assumed that, because he was going to spend the night away from his father, he wanted more affection than usual.
I walked up to them. "The backpack's ready," I said, stuffing the items back in and zipping it up this time.
Duncan glanced down at the zipper and smiled at me. "Thanks for that. Day went okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah, completely uneventful." My body buzzed. I couldn't understand how that happened when Duncan had only spoken a few words. But he’d looked at me, and apparently that was all it took these days.
"All right," he said, putting Jeremy back down. "Grandma is going to be here soon."
"I need to bring my magic pillow too," Jeremy said, darting toward his room.
The second Duncan and I were alone, I was even more on edge.
"As I was saying, my mom is picking Jeremy up soon. I'd like to cook you dinner."
My head snapped up as I looked straight at him, totally in shock. "Wow, Duncan… Um, I wasn't expecting this."
“It would do us good to talk," he said.
I bit my lip. "That's true. But I promised my roommates that I would spend the evening with them. We're having dinner and then going clubbing, and I don't want to blow them off. But you can come with us," I blurted.
He worked up a sad smile. "I don't go clubbing, Riley."
Right. I didn't want to turn him down, and yet I didn't want to disappoint my friends either.
"We'll have dinner another time," he went on.
“Thanks. I’m going to see if Jeremy needs help finding his pillow.”
"Sure."
Just then the doorbell rang, and Duncan went to open it. His mother stepped in. "Hi, Riley. How's everyone treating you?"
"Great. Things are good. Jeremy is so excited for his sleepover at your place."
She beamed. "Of course he is. And so am I."
“I’m just going to see if he’s ready,” I said. “He needed to get his magic pillow.”
“Oh yes. Don’t worry, Riley, I’ll go.” Susan walked straight to Jeremy’s bedroom.
"I'll come with you," I said. "I want to tell him goodbye before I leave."
"Sure."
"Actually," Duncan said, "I have a proposition."
I looked up at him. My heart stuttered.
"Since Mom is taking Jeremy anyway, why don't I drive you home?"
I shook my head. "You don't have to do that."
"Oh, let the man drive you if he's offering to. It’ll be quicker," Susan said from the doorway.
"All right,” I said. My stomach was full of butterflies. I was super nervous, but I also was looking forward to spending a bit of time with Duncan even though it wasn't the way either of us had imagined.
Susan and I went to Jeremy’s bedroom. He’d taken out half the contents of his closet and piled it on the bed.
"Jeremy, what's the meaning of this?" Susan asked.
He turned around, eyes streaked with tears. "I don't know where my magic pillow is. I can't leave without it."
My heart broke for the poor little guy. How could he be so inconsolable about a pillow?
"Jeremy, don’t worry. We'll find it, okay?" I said.
He nodded. "I just don't know where it is."
"Let's go through things together. Where have you looked?"
"Everywhere," he said.
That was impossible, of course.
"I’ll check as well, okay?"
I looked at the dresser, but it wasn't anywhere. Then I opened all the drawers of the tallboy next to his bed and glanced under the bed itself.
"I'm going to check in the playroom," I said.
"Okay," Jeremy replied between sobs.
The magic pillow was in the lap of his favorite giant panda bear. "Found it!" I called, then immediately headed back.
Jeremy ran toward me, grabbing the pillow from my hand as I stepped inside the room. He pressed it to his chest. "Thank you, Riley."
"Now, let's put everything back before we leave," Susan said. Her voice wasn't stern at all, but Jeremy immediately nodded and started folding his clothes.