20. Sylvie #2
Rivale Familiare was one of the remaining restaurants in town that hadn’t chosen a King or Sullivan side, despite the name.
It was both a good and a bad thing. It meant there was an equal chance of running into either one of our family members, but they did have the best garlic bread in town, and my stomach grumbled at the thought. “It’s perfect.”
The drive to Rivale was pleasant, if not a bit quiet. I had been living in Duke’s house for weeks, but a date with him in public felt like a huge step.
A chuckle escaped me as I placed my hand on my belly and laughed at the ridiculousness of that thought.
“What’s funny?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Just thinking about how I feel nervous about this date when, well...” I gestured toward my belly.
He chuckled and his face scrunched. “Yeah, it is a little bit putting the cart before the horse , isn’t it?” He ran a hand across his denim-clad thigh. “I’m sorry about that.”
Feeling brave, I reached for his hand. “I’m not.”
I swallowed hard and my throat closed tighter. He moved his hand, placing it on top of mine and holding it in place.
Rivale was busy for a Friday night, and with it being outside of the main tourist season, the eyeballs tracking our entrance were all townies’.
Mouths hung open. People leaned over to whisper and pretend they weren’t pointing.
In town, everyone knew a Sullivan had knocked up a King, but there we were parading my little baby bump in front of everyone. We were prime gossip fodder.
Duke’s gentle hand at my lower back was my only comfort, and I allowed him to guide me as he followed the hostess to our seats. He pulled out my chair, and as I scooted it forward, I could practically hear the collective swoon coming from behind me.
Duke was the perfect gentleman, allowing me to order first and listening attentively as I told him about my quiet day with a long, hot bath and a steamy book.
Big mistake, by the way. I couldn’t stop picturing Duke as the grumpy main character who was presently railing his nanny into next week. Correction: railing imaginary me into next week.
“I was just so tired after such a busy day yesterday, you know?”
Duke hummed in agreement but didn’t look at me. “How was it? Your Thanksgiving.”
I sighed and blew a raspberry through my lips. “Oh, you know. Typical King family gathering.”
His eyes swept up to mine.
“Oh.” I chuckled. “I... I guess you don’t know, really.
Well, long story short, my father didn’t bother to show up.
JP had his nose in his phone the entire time, working on some business deal.
” I rolled my eyes as I air-quoted business deal .
JP always took himself way too seriously, and I hated to admit it, but he was turning out just like my father.
“Abel was there, which was nice, but he’s so quiet.
He’s hard to get a read on. MJ didn’t have work, so I loved that.
She was able to be there with us. And Royal was. ..” I laughed. “Well, he’s Royal.”
Duke’s jaw clenched at the mention of my brothers, but he didn’t interrupt me.
“Royal was going on and on about someone listing the tattoo shop’s address for a local furry meetup.” I gave Duke a pointed stare. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
I didn’t miss the tiny hitch in the corner of his mouth before he shook his head. “Nope.”
My eyebrow lifted. “Mm-hmm.”
He raised both palms. “I promise I had nothing to do with it, but I can’t say for sure when it comes to Lee. He loves that shit.”
I laughed and smoothed my napkin across my lap. “I swear, if you really think about it, it’s amazing how alike you all are.”
My shoulders fell as the reality of our situation hung in the air. Our families weren’t alike, not even close. In fact, they hated each other, and here we were going to bring a baby into the center of that negative dynamic. My eyes started to fill.
Duke reached over and placed his hand on top of mine. “Hey.”
I let out a shaky breath. “I know, I just wish there was some way for everyone to get along. They don’t even have to like each other, but just something a little softer than hate would be nice, you know?”
Duke’s features were hard. I didn’t know all the details, but I knew the origins of the King–Sullivan feud went back generations. I only knew the stories from the Kings’ side. Lies. Secrets. Backhanded business deals. Constant one-upping. Lines drawn in the sand as alliances were made.
I could only imagine what the Sullivan side of that story told.
I looked at Duke. “How are we ever going to make this work?”
He frowned and looked at our hands. “I think the trick is to find two pieces that connect—that way we’ll have a place to start.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked at me with hopeful eyes and shrugged. “Maybe MJ. It’s possible she can be our puzzle piece. We start building there, and the rest will fall into place.”
I mulled over his words. MJ had a soft spot for Duke, and everyone in my family had a soft spot for her. She also kept my secret friendship with Duke quiet. Maybe she could be the piece that helped bridge the gap between our families.
“You really think it could work?”
His dark eyes held mine. “Despite everyone in this town—in the entire world—it really is just us. Why are we letting them decide when we get to be happy?”
When he put it like that, so confidently, it seemed so simple.
For the first time, I held on to something new.
Hope.