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Funnily enough, he adored his other children. JP was the spitting image of Dad and was set to take over the family businesses. He prided himself on finding and buying out struggling businesses to turn a profit, almost as much as Dad did. Whip had a job as a firefighter, which brought honor to the King name. MJ was a nurse and was continuing her education—on Dad’s dime. Even Royal’s tattoo shop was a source of pride for Dad’s entrepreneurial spirit. Abel had his own struggles, but when he opened the brewery, our father saw it as a business opportunity and forgave him all his past sins.
I was the daughter who worked at a bakery and still lived with her aunt.
I also bore an uncanny resemblance to our mother. That alone condemned me to a life of snide remarks and general disdain. Maryann King had survived twenty years married to her husband before she could no longer bear the weight of it all. She packed her bags and left her children with a man who didn’t have the capacity to love.
She had chosen her freedom over her husband. Over her children. I hated the small part of me that empathized with her decision.
Heaviness threatened to overtake me. There was no point in reasoning with my father or pleading with him to allow Annie to stay in the space she rented from him. He’d made his decision, and she would suffer the consequences.
“I have to go.” I gritted my teeth against how small my voice sounded. The barely whispered words went unacknowledged, and I quietly left my aunt’s house feeling smaller than I had in a long time.
As I left, I let my mind wander to thoughts of Duke. The look on his face when he saw me walking with Charles had been dark and intense. Surely he knew there was nothing between Charles and me.
Right?
I wanted to text him, but he’d been unusually quiet and hadn’t responded to my earliergood morningtext. It was silly to think that one unanswered text meant anything, but I couldn’t remember a time since we’d started texting that neither Dukenor I had had something funny or quippy to say to each other in the mornings.
It never failed to start my day off with a smile.
As I drove down a quiet country road, I sucked in a lungful of coastal air before pulling into a parking space that butted up to a sand dune cliff that overlooked Lake Michigan. I got out and leaned against the hood of my car and let the wind whip my hair as I closed my eyes and soaked up the sun. My phone sounded with an incoming text message, and I quickly dug through my purse to look at it. My pulse danced as I opened my messages.
It was from my friend Sloane, asking how my date with Charles had gone.
Meh.
Sloane
Want to talk about it over coffee?
Make that mimosas and I’m there.
I’ve got orange juice!
I’ll bring the booze.
Settling back into my car, I smiled down at my phone. I might have a shitty dad, but at least I had a few good friends. I was thrilled Sloane had moved back into town and couldn’t wait to invite her to the Bluebirds.
On impulse, I tapped back to my most recent texts with Duke.John Oates. Every time the name flashed across my screen, the skittering of nerves made me want to giggle.
Giggle.
It was unreal.
I wondered what Duke was up to. It was a Sunday, and while most people were enjoying a day off or maybe watching sportsor something, I imagined Duke walking through the rows of blueberry bushes on the farm. Maybe he was even begrudgingly getting ready for a family dinner at Ms. Tootie’s house.
Family dinner was something Kings never did, and I wondered what it would be like to be in her warm, stately farmhouse, surrounded by Sullivans.
Totally fucking weird.
Despite the nerves tickling my tummy, I quickly typed out a new message to him.
Busy day?
I stared down at the phone, waiting to see the three bubbles pop up. It was needy, sure, but I didn’t care. Something was off, and I hated that my involvement with the date auction might be the cause.
But what was I supposed to do? It wasn’t like Duke and I were dating. Not like we couldeverdate.
When a few minutes went by and there was still no reply, I sighed and tucked my phone back into my bag. Pulling out of the parking space, I headed toward town in search of champagne.
