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I watched Duke as he walked with long strides across the lawn and back to the barn. The bubbles in my stomach fizzled again, and I pressed a shaky hand to my belly. “I know, baby. I know.”
John Oates
Finishing up here. I’d still like to take you out. Can you be ready by six?
For our date,I chose a soft knitted dress in a delicate cream. The sweater dress was roomy enough to accommodate my belly, and the belt accentuated my growing bump. The dress was short, hitting just above my knees, and I paired it with tall leather boots with a flat heel. It was comfy, but also cute. Nervous for our date, I even took extra time to dab on a little makeup and curl my hair into soft waves.
I walked down the stairs and rounded the corner to the kitchen to find Duke standing, his hand clamped on the back of a chair, and I paused. Still in boots and jeans, he had swapped his typical T-shirt for a knitted navy pullover sweater. The two tortoiseshell buttons were undone, giving me the tiniest peek at his collarbone. The sweater stretched across his muscular chest and clung to his biceps. His denim was clean, and he wore a brown leather belt.
My mouth went dry at the sight of him.
Duke took me in and sighed, rubbing his hands together as though he felt just as nervous as I did. “You’re stunning, Sylvie.”
I smiled and my eyes fell to the floor. “You clean up pretty good yourself.”
He helped me into my coat, and as we walked toward his truck, he opened the car door for me, making sure I was tucked inside before he closed the door. I tracked his graceful movements as he rounded the hood and then climbed in.
“I thought we could go to Rivale... unless you had a taste for something different.”
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 bitputting 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 imaginarymeinto 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-quotedbusiness 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.”
