Chapter 19
Like I might die if you ever stop kissing me.
McKenzie revisited those words as she fell asleep and then as she awoke to a new day full of exciting possibilities.
Duke Sullivan.
She smiled so big, it was a wonder her face didn’t break.
The thing with him wasn’t without risks, especially after the ordeal Eric had put her through.
But she wasn’t thinking of him or his lies as she lay in bed for a few more minutes before beginning another day.
No, she was thinking of Duke and how cute he’d been coming to her door last night to apologize for being weird.
Of all things, he’d been jealous of the way the guys from the fire department and Coast Guard had looked at her.
How silly and sweet.
She hadn’t noticed a single one of them. Why would she bother with them when she had the full attention of a man like Duke, who knew how to treat a woman with respect and kindness?
A loud crash followed by beeping outside had her getting up to see what it was. Nothing was happening out front, so she went into the kitchen to look out the other side. Through the trees, she could see equipment and men working on the cabin.
Filled with excitement, she went to get Jax from his crib, then got him changed and fed so they could walk next door to check out what was going on.
Mac was standing in the yard with another man, who looked like a younger version of him. “Oh, hey, McKenzie, this is my cousin Riley. He’ll be supervising things here.”
McKenzie adjusted Jax on her hip so she could shake hands with Riley. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
“This is Jax.”
“Hey, Jax. Nice to meet you, too.”
Jax was dazzled by the orange machine that was pulling pieces of busted wood and other materials off the pile that had once been the cottage.
“Hope we didn’t wake you,” Mac said.
“No worries. We’re thrilled to get started on the repairs.”
“I received your questionnaire, and I’d like to meet with you in the next few days to go over some basic plans to make sure we’re on the same page.”
“Sure, I’m around whenever you have time. I’m going to be working with Tiffany at her store, but she’s closed this week.”
“Yeah, I heard that.”
“Have you heard how they’re doing today?”
“My wife, Maddie, talked to her this morning. She said they managed to get some sleep, but Ashleigh has a lot of questions for which there’re no easy answers.”
“I don’t envy her that.”
“None of us do, but Ash will be very well loved through it. I’m leaving you in Riley’s capable hands. If you need me for anything, you’ve got my number.”
“Thank you again for jumping on this so soon.”
“Glad to help.”
After Mac left, Riley asked for her phone number and punched it into his phone. “Where are you staying while the house is being rebuilt?”
“Next door at Duke’s. He was nice enough to loan me his garage apartment.”
“Oh great. I’ll keep you posted on things here, or pop over here any time to check in. Mac said you’ll be meeting with him to go over the floor plan and other details?”
“Yes, in the next day or two.”
“Excellent.”
As she was about to walk back to Duke’s, a large truck pulled in with a dumpster that was deposited in the yard.
McKenzie was excited to watch the construction progress and was thrilled by how quickly things were moving.
Duke was rolling his big motorcycle out of the garage as she came into the yard. “Are they working over there?”
“Yep.”
“Nice.”
“Mac put his cousin Riley in charge of the project. They sure do make those McCarthy boys handsome, don’t they?”
He grumbled out an inaudible response and then tilted his head, giving her a look that set her blood on fire. That’d certainly never happened before. “How you doing this morning?”
“Good. You?”
“Excellent.”
“Did you sleep well?”
She gave him a coy look. “I was a little tossy-turny. Can’t imagine why.”
“Probably for the same reason I was.”
“Maybe.”
“Any regrets this morning?”
“Not a single one.”
“You should be dating one of those handsome McCarthy boys.”
“Are you really going to start that nonsense again?”
He shrugged. “It’s true.”
“I’ll just go see if Riley is single, then.” She spun around to walk away, but Duke was right behind her, reaching for her arm to stop her from getting away.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
“I suck at this.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I just can’t for the life of me figure out what a goddess like you wants with me.”
“Until you figure that out, maybe we should press Pause on the kissing and stuff.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
“Then you need to stop questioning what you bring to the table, because I’ve told you—repeatedly—it’s more than anyone has ever brought to any table in my entire life.”
“That’s a damn shame.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and looked at her with such tender affection that her knees went weak—another thing that hadn’t happened before. “You ought to be treated like the queen you are.”
“I don’t want to be treated like a queen. I just want to be treated with care and respect, two things you’ve shown me time and again.”
He enveloped her and Jax in a hug. “You two are turning my whole world upside down.”
“Does that upset you?”
“Not in the least, which is rather incredible.”
McKenzie had no idea how long they stood there, holding each other, before Jax began to protest being squeezed between them.
They pulled back, smiling as Jax blew spit bubbles that made Duke laugh.
“Everything he does is so damned cute.”
She thought so, too. It was nice to have someone else around who agreed. “He’s pretty cute.”
“So’s his mama.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a black key that he handed to her. “That’s for the truck. Use it for whatever you need to do today. I’ll ride the bike.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. If you wanted to come visit me at the studio, I’d be happy to see you.”
“I’ll come by to look at your books.”
He grimaced. “You’re going to want to smack me around when you see the mess I’ve made of them.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Thank you for loaning me your truck.”
“No problem.”
“Where’s your helmet?”
“I was just going back for it when I saw you two coming.”
She eyed him skeptically. “Lying is a deal breaker for me.”
“I’m not lying,” he said with a laugh. “I was about to go grab it when I saw you.”
“Go on, then.”
“Sheesh,” he muttered as he walked toward the garage, returning a minute later with a helmet that had no face coverage. “Satisfied now?”
“No. It doesn’t protect your face.”
“My face is fine.”
“Yes, it is, and I want it to stay that way. Don’t you have one with the shield thing that covers your face?”
“I might.”
“Go get that and quit playing games with me.”
“Honestly,” he said on a huff as he went back to the garage. “Never knew you were such a bossy thing.”
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Sure you didn’t.”
He returned a minute later with the requested helmet, which was covered in dust that he blew off as he walked.
“Looks like that one doesn’t get used very often.”
“It’s collected some dust.”
“It won’t anymore, will it?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Excellent.”
“Are you quite pleased with yourself?”
“I rather am.”
“You’re awfully cute when you’re bossy, but then again, you’re cute pretty much all the time.”
She made a face at him. “No woman wants to be called cute.”
“Is sexy as f-u-c-k better?”
Flustered by the way he looked at her, she said, “Yes, that’s better.”
Duke dropped the helmet to the ground and closed the distance between them, placing his hands on her hips as he worked around Jax to kiss her. “Couldn’t wait another second to taste those sweet lips again.”
He kissed her three more times in rapid succession, until he had her head spinning and her breath caught in her throat.
Then he kissed the top of Jax’s head, stepped back and bent to retrieve the helmet.
Turning to face her as he put it on, he held her gaze until he had it snapped into place.
He flipped open the visor. “You might want to take him inside before I start this thing.”
“Good idea. Be careful.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Stop making fun of me.”
“I’d never do that.”
“Now you’re lying again,” she shot over her shoulder as he laughed.
He waited until they were inside with the door closed before he fired up the loudest engine she’d ever heard.
“Roooooom,” Jax said.
Startled by the noise, McKenzie sat on the sofa with him. “That’s right, buddy. Is that really going to be one of your first words?”
“Rooom. Rooom.”
Smiling, she clapped his hands together. “Room, room.”
“Roooooom.”
She couldn’t wait to tell Duke that he’d inspired one of Jax’s first words.
A day passed slowly when you were waiting for something to happen. Duke caught himself looking toward the door every five or ten minutes as he applied the latest portion of a full-back tattoo he was doing for Kyle, who worked as a deck hand on the ferries.
Kyle had been given a few days off after helping take the boats out to sea during the storm and was spending one of them in Duke’s chair.
As he filled in the detail on a set of wings on a raptor, Duke let his mind wander to the night before on the sofa in the apartment.
Kissing her had been one of the most thrilling experiences of his life, and he couldn’t wait to do it again very soon.
Would she want to pick up where they left off later?
Things had gotten pretty heated the night before, but they hadn’t progressed beyond kissing. And why hadn’t they, exactly?
He couldn’t say, but something told him to take it slow with her and let her set the pace. She’d been through a rough ordeal with the last guy she was involved with. Duke didn’t want to press her for more than she was ready for.
“Duke!”
He turned to see Sierra standing behind him.
The other guys were out to lunch, and Kyle, who was wearing headphones, was dead asleep.
“Where the hell were you zoned out to?”
“Nowhere.”
“I said your name twice, and you didn’t even react.”
“Sorry, what’s up?”
“That’s what I was coming to ask you. What’s up?”
“Uh, nothing. Why?”
“That’s not true. You’ve got yourself a little family all of a sudden.”