Chapter 19 Duke #2
Occasionally, she’d want to change it up and take charge.
I tried to indulge her, but I couldn’t get out of my head.
It always felt wrong. Now, I wondered if it really was just a case of two people who weren’t properly suited for one another, because if Olivia had ordered me to follow her into that bathtub, then I would’ve gone like a dog on a leash.
The girls showered and changed quickly, barrelling into the living room before I’d had a chance to boil water for the pasta, so I decided to enlist their help.
Harper was used to being my helper during dinner, but Charlie seemed lost. She admitted she could bake a mean cookie, but she didn’t know the first thing about cooking a meal.
As we put the finishing touches on dinner, I reminded them to pick a movie while I checked in on Olivia. They gladly agreed, running for the remote without another word.
My bare feet padded against the hardwood floor as I made my way to the master suite. The door was cracked open. I rapped my knuckles against the frame, hearing a soft, “Come in,” from the other side.
I blew out a breath before pushing it open and looking around. The room was tidy, but looked inherently lived in. When he built the place, Lukas was adamant about adding minimalistic touches everywhere so it felt cozy enough to stay for a few days without making anyone feel too at home.
Olivia didn’t seem to get the message.
Her clothes were all over the place, strewn haphazardly along the floor and the reading chair in the corner.
The bedding had been replaced, going from a soft cream to a sage green.
Small picture frames were placed on her nightstand and the dresser against the far wall.
Most of them were of Charlie growing up, but the two that weren’t immediately caught my eye.
The first was of Grady’s wedding. Olivia was standing at his side with Cleo on the other. Charlie stood between them. All of them were wearing the biggest smiles I’d ever seen. That was what true happiness looked like.
It was the second that gave me pause. Three people posed in front of a lake. It was nearly dusk, the sky in the background a faded pink hue. I remembered when it was taken, but I’d never actually seen the picture itself.
Lukas and I were holding a newly graduated Olivia between us, preparing to toss her off the dock and into the frigid water below.
All three of us had just graduated from school, so we’d decided to camp at the lake to celebrate.
John rented some ridiculous house he called a cabin, even though there were something like six bedrooms to choose from.
On our final night, John begged to get one single photograph to commemorate our time together before we all went our separate ways. Olivia, the darling she was, had immediately stepped between us and smiled. Her brother and I had other ideas.
We each bent down and grabbed one of her legs, dangling her dangerously close to the water. John snapped the picture right before we tossed her in, all of us with our heads thrown back in laughter.
God, everything seemed so much simpler back then. There were no rules, minimal expectations. We had our whole lives to look forward to. While Lukas and Olivia dreamed of creating big, exciting futures for themselves, I’d wanted to take a simpler approach.
I wanted to find a good job—maybe open my own business one day. I wanted to get married, have kids, and do all the boring, mundane shit together as a family. And for a while, I’d made those dreams a reality until they all came crashing down.
My life now looked so different from what I’d imagined. It was hard not to mourn what could have been. Regret had followed me around for years, even after I married Sarah. I should have done more, dreamed bigger, loved harder.
But I didn’t.
Regrets are for fools.
I could hear John’s words clearly. Only a fool would waste what little time he was given lamenting on the past. But it was hard not to sometimes. Especially when I looked at my daughter and wished I could give her so much more than I was able to.
“Duke?” My head snapped toward the cracked bathroom door at the sound of Olivia’s voice. “Is that you?”
“Y-Yeah,” I stammered, clearing my head. “It’s me. I wanted to let you know dinner’s ready.”
“Perfect timing.” I heard the sound of the stopper popping free and water draining. “I’ll be out in five.”
“Sounds good,” I called, taking a step back from our photo.
I turned to head back into the living room, but stopped short as I realized there was a perfect line of sight into the bathroom from where I was standing.
The lighting was dim. I could see the flicker of candlelight along the wall, interrupted only by a shadow.
The silhouette of a woman rising from the bath.
I should stop.
I should look away.
I should leave.
But I couldn’t. Not when Olivia stepped into view, giving me a perfect view of her exposed back. Rivulets of water ran down her curves, settling into the dimples just above her ass.
She moved the towel gently along her body, starting at her neck and working her way down.
Her hand came up, kneading the tense muscles along her shoulders.
My gaze traveled down the length of her.
I was entranced, wishing I could step through the door and take care of her myself, but knowing it would cross too many lines if I did.
Lines I wasn’t sure either of us should be thinking about crossing in the first place.
As my gaze traveled back up her body, I realized she was looking at me over her shoulder with those warm brown eyes I’d spent my nights fantasizing about. My mind screamed at me to move, but I couldn’t. I was trapped here, too lost in the moment to feel an ounce of shame.
Our gazes remained locked as she turned to face me and dropped the towel to the floor.
God help me, I couldn’t help myself. My eyes dipped to the blush of her cheeks, to her neck, to her exposed collarbones and the freckles dusted against the skin at the hollow of her throat.
Then lower to her perfect breasts that would fit in the palm of my hand, and her rosy nipples ripe for plucking.
Bluish-purple stretch marks lined her stomach, a reminder that her body had once carried life.
I wanted to drop to my knees, to kiss each one and remind her of how strong she was. I wanted to give her the chance to let go of control for once. To create a space where I could carry all her fears and worries, even if only for a night.
Behind me came soft footsteps on the hardwood floor, followed by Harper’s voice. “Dad, Miss Olivia, we’re hungry!”
The moment was broken, and I quickly stepped out of the room, giving Olivia her privacy. My daughter greeted me on the other side, staring up at me in question. “Why is your face so red Dad? Are you coming? We’re starving”
Clearing my throat, I forced a smile and prayed to whatever fucking god may exist that she didn’t notice the current problem I was having. “Yeah, sugar. I’m coming. Did you pick out a movie?”
Harper nodded. “Yup. And we got the blankets and pillows out to make a nest.”
“A nest?” I asked. “You mean a fort?”
“No, Dad. A nest! Come see.” Harper grabbed my hand and dragged me into the living room. Charlie popped up from the other side of the couch, arms splayed above her head in proud display. “See?”
I was, indeed, looking at a sort of nest. The entire couch was layered with blankets in different colors and pillows in different shapes. I was pretty sure they raided the whole damn house, save for Olivia’s room, for materials to make this.
I had to admit, it looked comfortable.
“We wanted to make a fort, but the TV was too high, so we settled on this instead. I thought my mom would like it best. She always curls up with a soft blanket, even if it’s warm outside,” Charlie said.
She peered behind me. “Where is she? I’m so hungry.
” She dragged the word out dramatically and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Right here, sunshine.” I turned to see Olivia striding into the room, fully clothed, much to my disappointment. She was wearing a pale green matching pajama set, and her hair was clipped up, leaving her neck on display.
I wasn’t sure why that particular part of her drew my attention so much, but there was something so soft and delicate and feminine that captivated me.
Harper walked into the kitchen, holding something up. “We already got our plates—”
“Paper, for less clean-up,” Charlie interrupted.
“—and there are two more right there,” Harper said, nodding to the edge of the counter.
Olivia stopped beside me. I could feel the heat coming off her skin, fresh from the bath. It made my hand itch to touch her. “This looks amazing, guys. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Charlie shrugged. “Mr. Bennett kept us waiting, too. He went to get you, and then Harper had to go get him.”
I glanced at Olivia, who was suppressing a smile. “Is that right?”
Harper nodded. “Yeah, I’m not sure he was feeling good after he left your room cause his face was like, really red and sweaty.”
Fuck me. Kids were too observant for their own good.
Olivia hid a snort behind her hand. “We’d better feed him then.” She met my gaze. “I’m sure he’s starving.”
We stayed like that, locked in a silent battle of wills while our daughters grabbed their food and ran to the couch. Olivia was the first to break, walking around me to get a plate of her own, and I stopped her, wrapping my hand around her wrist to pull her back.
“Go sit down,” I said, nodding toward the couch. “I’ll bring you a plate.”
“You don’t know how much I want.”
“Well, you can eat what I bring you. If you need more, I’ll get you more. But right now, you need to go sit your ass down. I’m not done taking care of you yet.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she did exactly as she was told and found a spot on the other side of her daughter while I made quick work of the plates, piling a decent amount of spaghetti on both.
If she didn’t eat it all, that was fine with me.
At least I’d know she’d eaten something today.
Coming back to the couch, I went to sit on the other side of Harper, but she quickly put one of Charlie’s stuffed animals there. “Sugar, can you move this so I can sit down?”
“Sorry, Dad. That’s,” she looked over at Charlie and whispered, “what’s her name again?”
“Miss Sprinkles,” Charlie said with a mouthful of spaghetti.
“Right. That’s Miss Sprinkles’ spot. You’ll have to sit over there.” She pointed to the other side of Olivia, who narrowed her eyes at her daughter but didn’t say anything, opting to clear the spot for me to sit next to her instead.
Careful not to trip and fall on the fifteen blankets piled everywhere, I carefully navigated my way around the coffee table to my designated seat and handed Olivia her plate. She took it with a polite nod.
For some reason, I suddenly felt nervous about her trying my food. It wasn’t like this was anything complicated. It was literally the easiest form of pasta I could make. But I still wanted her to like it.
I watched as she brought the fork up to her mouth. She closed her mouth around the tines, humming softly.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked.
“Honestly?”
“That’s why I asked. Don’t worry, you can’t hurt my feelings any more than this one can.” I nodded toward Harper. “When she doesn’t like something, she isn’t afraid to say it.”
Harper shrugged. “It’s true.”
“I’d have to say this is the best basic ass spaghetti I’ve ever eaten,” she said, chuckling.
“Really?”
“Oh, I don’t lie about food. Harper and I have that in common.” She reached over and gave my daughter a high-five.
I glanced between the two of them. “This feels dangerous.”
“Come on, Dad. We make a great team.”
“Yeah! Girl power,” Charlie chimed in. “You’re outnumbered three to one.”
I liked the sound of that. For the first time in years, it felt like having a family again. Which was alarming considering we weren’t anything close to that. We were playing house at best, being reckless at worst.
With each passing day, it was getting more and more difficult to remember that Olivia’s time here would come to a close.
I’d have to settle for the occasional check-in when she stopped by to see Charlie, and that was even if she wanted to.
She’d probably rather spend time alone with her daughter than with me.
“What movie did you girls pick out?” Olivia asked, helping herself to another bite of food.
“Um, I think it’s called The Parent Trap? I don’t know. It’s, like, really old.”
Olivia placed her hand over her heart. “Jeez, kid. Way to hit me where it hurts. I remember when this movie came out.”
“That tracks,” Charlie muttered. A pillow flew over, smacking her gently on the head.
Thank god she’d put her plate down already. Lukas would have had a fucking fit if he’d found red stains on his cream colored couch.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“For calling me old, you brat. Your poor mom can’t take any more heartbreak right now,” Olivia said.
It was meant as a joke, but the sobering look on Charlie’s face tugged right at my heart. She leaned over, resting her head on Olivia’s shoulder, and draped her arm around her stomach. “Sorry, Mom.”
“Oh, Charlie…” Olivia wrapped her up in a hug. “I’m sorry, sunshine. I didn’t mean to make you sad. This right here? With you guys? This is the best I’ve felt in days.”
Charlie nodded, but didn’t let go of her mother. I grabbed the remote and pressed play, settling in beside them. The longer it went on, the closer everyone drifted to one another.
Charlie and Harper passed out first, their snores nearly drowning out the TV’s low volume. Olivia followed quickly after. Her body melted against my own. I tried to keep her upright, but it never lasted long. Eventually, I gave in, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and tucking her into my side.
We stayed like that until the credits rolled, and my own eyes drifted shut.