Chapter 16
Viv pressed pause on the audio recording and typed out a few more lines in her article. It was often that, during her assignments, she’d wake up before her alarm, anxious to get to work.
She allowed herself to muse on her subjects outside of her set work hours. New insight would often strike at random times, as if her mind was continually working to put pieces of a puzzle together. Why they did this or how they could feel that.
With Duke, it was all the more. He was occupying more parts of her mind than she should allow—not that she minded much.
They’d been in Costa Rica now for five full days.
Today, they would fly home. A bit of sadness seeped in as she tipped her face to the sun.
From her balcony, she’d come to appreciate the calls of distant howler monkeys, the low-pitched squawks of the macaw, and the rustle of the breeze in the trees.
Each was charming on its own, but together, they reminded Viv of Duke now too.
The animals from his first shoot. And the breeze from their first kiss in the storm. Well, first kiss within the decade.
Duke had kept all of his promises to her. He’d taken her on two incredible zip lines, the wine tasting and vineyard tour, and he’d arranged for her to cuddle with a long-armed sloth.
He’d even been caught arranging a special dinner for Irene and Sebastian at the house, something she only discovered when overhearing a conversation with a caterer.
He went on to explain the elaborate table setting, how he hadn’t wanted to hurt their feelings, and how he sensed Irene and Sebastian would appreciate a special evening together.
It all seemed to point to the core of who he really was—a genuinely good man.
Someone who sought to see the best in others.
It went all the way back to his school years.
Some kids were popular despite being hated by a large population of their class.
That’s not the way Duke was. Duke became popular because he connected with people, no matter how different they seemed to be.
It had to be what made falling for him again so easy.
Falling for him despite the fact that she’d been hurt by him.
Despite the fact that things might not go so smoothly once they got back to LA.
And despite the fact that—as kind and incredible as Duke might be—he might not want the same things she did.
It was that small list of possibilities that kept Viv grounded, if not guarded too. Sure, she and Duke had the kind of chemistry most people dreamt of. They laughed together, had fun together, and admired one another too.
It felt good to be seen. Heard. Adored. And Duke did seem to adore her.
Here in Costa Rica, it’d been easy to jump into things with both feet.
They had all the time in the world and nothing to pull them apart.
But now that they were headed back to LA, Viv couldn’t help but fear everything would change.
Similar thoughts cycled through Viv’s mind as she packed up her things, said her goodbyes to Sebastian and Irene and, after a water taxi ride to the airport, stepped onto the jet with Duke by her side.
If she were honest, Viv sensed that Duke was having similar reservations. During the taxi drive, he’d taken her hand, rubbed his thumb along it as they headed to the airport, but remained nearly as quiet as she had, cracking an occasional joke before drifting into his silent thoughts once more.
Did he regret getting so close to her during the trip? Was he finally starting to think about how much his life would change if he hooked up with a single mother of eight-year-old twins?
“Penny for your thoughts,” Duke said, breaking into her musings.
Viv pulled her gaze off the sight out the window and turned to him. “Did you get your stuff done?” He’d said he had a few calls to make as they took off. A half an hour had passed since then.
Duke nodded. “Yes.” He held her gaze for a blink, then pointed to the seat beside her. “Mind if I join you?”
Viv gave the seat a pat. “Not at all.” If awkward could be squeezed into a sixty-second segment, these sixty seconds would do just fine.
He was dressed in a suit again—well, minus the jacket—and his sleeves were rolled up at the wrists. It seemed to say, without really saying it at all, that he had more business to take care of once they got back. As if he was already looking for a way out of this, whatever this was.
Scents of his heavenly cologne wafted over her as Duke sank into the sofa beside her. He closed his eyes then, leaned his head back, and let out a big sigh.
A mean ache prodded at her chest as she looked at the handsome features of his face. She wanted to reach out, trace the tip of her finger along the bridge of his nose, the sculpted shape of his lips. The furrow along his brow.
Another hot sting tore at her heart as Viv felt herself preparing to let go of him. As if she could snatch up the time they’d spent, the memories they’d made, and the feelings she’d let herself feel, and toss them off the plane by the fistful, leaving it all behind in Costa Rica.
Her heart pounded out of rhythm as she considered speaking up. Prolonging the inevitable would only cause more pain.
It was nice while it lasted. A taste of romance she wasn’t sure she’d have again. Not until the kids were grown, anyway.
“What’s on your mind, Duke?” she finally asked.
The heart pounding spiked another notch. She studied his face, his posture, his every move as she waited for a response.
Duke cracked an eye open and shot her a look. “I don’t want this conversation,” he said before closing his eyes and leaning back once more.
Neither did Viv, but she forced out a probing question. “What conversation?”
“The one where you say it was all a big mistake and you have kids to raise and articles to write and…and more homes in the valley to buy and restore and sell…”
A spark of hope flittered in her chest. “The one where I say that?” she asked.
Duke’s eyes popped open. He pulled away from the headrest and looked at her. “Well, I don’t have kids to raise. Or articles to write.”
She studied him for a beat. “What do you see happening between us when we go back to LA?”
“I’d like to keep dating you,” he said.
The words were a calm to the storm inside her. “I’d like that too,” she assured. Talk about an understatement. Her heart had grown wings of its own. It felt as if it had darted into a series of loop de loops inside her chest.
His eyes went wide. A grin broke over his face. And suddenly, he was closing the gap between them to press a celebratory kiss to her lips. “Thank the heavens,” he mumbled against her mouth. “There’s so much I want to do with you when we get back.”
Viv took his hand and leaned against his masculine shoulder. “Like what?”
“Like take you to a Dodgers game. Let you and the twins test out my new mock stadium at home. Have you meet the rest of my family. Take you to this annual gala coming up this summer.”
That one took her by surprise.
“What would you like to do?” he asked.
“Spend lazy days at the park. Binge a few of my favorite series together. Ease you into meeting the twins.” Viv had mentioned the twins at the end for a reason, though she wasn’t exactly sure what that reason was. She felt her guard trying to build up once more as she waited for Duke’s reply.
“I can’t wait to meet them.” He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze, brought it to his lips, and mumbled against her skin. “Vivi,” he crooned. “My beautiful Vivi.”
He held an arm out next, encouraging her to lean into him.
Viv took him up on the offer by folding her legs beneath her, scooting even closer, and resting her head against his chest. The relief was there, that was certain.
Enough to make her close her eyes and drift into a comfortable, almost dreamlike state.
But hints of reservation remained as well.
The hesitation she’d felt when he’d mentioned the twins.
Or maybe fear was more like it. Could she afford to let them meet a man who might get ripped out of their lives?
Even as she’d replied with things she saw happening—meeting Duke at the park with the boys—that same fear flared hot.
And what was this banquet all about? The last thing Viv wanted was to put herself on public display. Or set herself up for another round of humiliation ten years after their breakup.
A heavy heap of upset settled onto her shoulders as the thoughts rolled through her mind.
Time, she told herself. That’s what she needed. There was no crystal ball or magic fortune that would show her how things would go. If Viv wanted to test things out with Duke, she’d have to take it one day at a time, allowing herself to be vulnerable along the way.
But even at that, could she allow the boys to be vulnerable too?
Of course, recognizing the fact was the easy part. Now it was time to see if she could do it.
Anxious spurts flickered hot in her chest. Already her guard was threatening to rebuild before the signal even came.
Perhaps this was going to be a whole lot harder than she thought.
If there was such a thing as cloud nine, Duke was living large on cloud ten. The moment couldn’t get any better. Lounging in his jet with Vivi by his side. Inhaling the gorgeous scent of her as she snuggled up to him with her silky skin and warm touch.
He breathed out a sigh of relief as he considered the topic of the twins.
Sure, kids were somewhat of a sore spot for Duke in his life.
They didn’t like him. But they didn’t exactly hate him either.
It was more of a mutual disinterest, he guessed.
That explained the sparks of panic that lit up at the mention of meeting them, but he’d recovered quickly enough. He hoped.
Now it was time to get serious about the gala. Several Stanford alumni would be there, from his frat house and her sorority alike. It was his big chance to make up for the dance he should have taken her to a long time ago.
She hadn’t seemed too interested in the gala when he mentioned it just now, but that shouldn’t surprise him. Viv wasn’t the type to be wooed by extravagant events with big money, Hollywood names, and flashing bulbs from the paparazzi.
He thought back on Grandma Lo’s text. The one she’d sent while he waited in the greenroom at Slipper Magazine. She’d wanted him to take Sylvia Sampson to the gala.
What were the odds that the same two women would sweep into his life at the exact time ten years later? He thought back on another text he’d received just last night. The one from Sylvia herself: Hey, stranger, it’s Sylvia. I’m back in town and I’d love to catch up. You free?
It went to show that what Grandma suggested was spot on. Sylvia expected an invitation this time around too. One she wasn’t going to get.
He sucked in another breath, a boost of confidence taking root in his chest. This time he’d play it right.
Vivi wouldn’t need to know it was between her and this woman from the past. In truth, there wasn’t a contest at all.
When it came down to a woman like Sylvia—or any woman at all, he mused—Duke would pick Viv every time.