AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m telling the truth,” he says gruffly as if reading my mind.
“Okay, so when was your last date?” I ask.
He gets that pondering look again, giving my words serious weight. “Roughly four years ago.”
“Four years ago,” I say doubtfully.
“You don’t believe me,” he chuckles. “Is it that hard to believe?”
“Have youseenyourself, Duke? Women must be clamoring to get their hands on you. I bet if we brought up all your matches on that dating app and compared them to me…”
He comes to an abrupt stop, causing me to jolt forward slightly. Quick as a viper, he puts his arm out, bracing me, though I’m wearing a seatbelt.
“Sorry,” he mutters, nodding ahead. “Asshole.”
A big truck has stopped in front of us. Duke watches it with the cool calm of a predator and then nods shortly when the car pulls away.
“I take it you don’t have road rage,” I point out.
“Road rage is useless.Mostrage is useless. It can help if you’re untrained to get angry enough so you don’t feel the blows coming. Overall, staying calm is always best.” He pauses. “And comparingyoutothem…” He shakes his head. “I wouldn’t want to do that. It wouldn’t be fair to them.”
I feel my cheeks blushing red when he winks at me, a cocky smirk on his face. This would about be the best date imaginable if it weren’t for the giant Ryan-sized elephant waiting to stampede over everything.
“Yeah, right,” I say sarcastically.
“I mean it,” he grunts. “A beautiful woman like you, Molly… You need to have more confidence.”
“So, how did the other date go?” I ask.Four years ago. I’m still not sure if that’s true. A silly voice inside tells me he’d never lie to me, but I can’t know that. Just because I feel it andwantto believe it doesn’t make it true.
“Not well,” he says. “None of my dates have. That’s why I stopped trying.”
“Why?” I ask. He seems way too cool, comfortable, and at ease with me for me to accept he’d turn into some stumbling mess with other women.
“Maybe it was my lack of interest. I’ve been called cold more than once.”
“You don’t seem cold to me.”
Every time he glances at me with a smirk, it’s enough to heat me up inside. It’s enough to send my mind into the future, spinning into all the impossible scenarios, wedding bells and long lazy Sundays with the kids, an entire life… withRyanas mystepson.
He glides into the parking lot of an Italian restaurant. It looks like an upscale place just from the exterior of the building, clean and well-maintained, with a long red carpet out front and two doormen standing on either side of the door.
He’s about to reach for the car door when his cell phone rings. He takes it out of his pocket and sighs. “Sorry, it’s my son. He’s going through a hard time right now.”
I swallow. Yeah, of course he is. His girlfriend—I—just broke up with him. “I understand.”
Even now, I’m thinking about the passion in his voice and the fact this makes him a good father. He’ll be a good dad toourkids, too.
He answers the phone. “Ryan? Wait. Christ. Send me a pin. Now. Right now, son.” He puts the phone on the dash, starting the car.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as he pulls out of the parking spot quickly.
“Ryan’s drunk. Maybe on drugs. Apparently, he got into it with a few criminal types. They’ve locked him in the bathroom.”
“Shouldn’t he call the cops?” I say.
“He said he can’t. He said they’d kill him. Forfuck’ssake.” He slams his hand against the steering wheel, then stops the car, takes a moment, eyes closed, breathing slowly.
I reach out and touch his hand gently. There’s a strong urge in me to take some of his pain and always be there for him. “It’s going to be okay. You can handle this. If you stay calm, you can handle anything.”
