Duke tipped his head, cradled her cheek, and gave in to another taste. And then another, drawn back in by the silky heat of her mouth. As complex as Vivi was—and guarded where her feelings were concerned—she expressed herself in their passionate exchanges in the shade. The way she’d grip the back of his neck or pull at the front of his shirt, anything to get him impossibly closer.
And for Duke, anywhere close to Viv—that had become his heaven on earth.
The art of putting things into compartments, focusing on one thing over the other, had taken root hard and fast where she was concerned. During their few hours together each day, it was easy to be present.
But even still, a part of him knew that as much as Vivi cared for him, as much as she returned his feelings, she was holding back. The situation with the gala and the twins said it all. But he wouldn’t focus on that now. Couldn’t, was more like it. For now, Duke would simply enjoy his little piece of heaven.
* * *
Viv set a freshly made sub sandwich on a sheet of butcher paper, positioning it on the top corner.
“Remind me why we’re doing it this way,” Duke said through the line.
She propped the phone to her ear and began to roll the sandwich, wrapping it as she went. “Because this way the twins won’t know we’re dating.” Viv set it in the basket, reached for the next sub, and inwardly prayed he wouldn’t push the topic.
“Why can’t you just tell them you like me and that I like you? I thought that’s what we were doing.”
Viv shook her head. Fear—hot and menacing—bubbled and swelled inside her chest. “I want to, but I think this way is better for now.”
“We’ve been together for nearly a month, Vivi.Reallytogether.”
It was true. It was like concentrated dating. A see-each-other-every-single-day-because-we-can’t-be-apart kind of dating. But for whatever reason, that only added to her fear. “I know,” she said. “It’s goingreallywell. But the boys, they’ll get attached to you. I don’t want that to happen if—”
“If I’m going to go and mess things up again?” he mumbled. “Tsk, great way to approach our relationship, Viv—assume it’s going to fail.”
“I can’t just assume it’s going to work out either.”
“Have I given you any reason to make you think—”
“It’s not about you, Duke.” Viv stepped away from the breakfast bar and broke into a pace. “It’s about two little boys who’ve never had a dad, okay? They wish they did, so they…they’ll really attach themselves to you.”
She heard the rev of an engine on the other end of the line. “Where are you?” she asked.
“Just passed the park.”
“Passed it? Why? We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
She recognized the sound of an engine shifting gears. The sound of a blinker. And eventually, the unmistakablecrankof a parking brake.
“Duke?” she came again.
A car door slammed through the line. Or maybe it was out front. Slowly then, Viv ventured from the kitchen and into the dining room, head tilted to see out the front window.
A knock sounded at the door. Viv glanced at the time. The boys’ ball practice shouldn’t be over for another ten minutes.
She hurried into the front room and peered through the glass screen door that separated her from her visitor.
Her heart fluttered out of beat as she recognized his pristine sports clothes, tall, toned stature and, at last, the strong, unmistakable planes of his handsome face.
“You’re here?” she blurted.
His brow stayed furrowed. “I’ll leave before the boys get here if that’s what you’re worried about. But this is a conversation we should have in person.”
Viv pushed open the door and waved him in. “I don’t see why it has to happen at all. I’m their mom. Don’t you think I know what’s best for them?”
Even as she held his gaze, Viv felt she was standing on shaky ground. Pictures of the boys in their baseball uniforms stood in frames on the bookshelf at his back. As much as Duke fit in her life, he seemed oddly out of place in her house, among the massive lounge chair they shared while reading bedtime stories. Or the sofa they snuggled on to watch movies.
Viv had grown very protective of that side, and she wasn’t sure how to let anyone in.
