“Yeah, you might have shown me a few things that alluded to that. But that still doesn’t mean you’re eating sweets before eating something of substance. I’m sure you didn’t even have breakfast this morning.”
Duke chuckled and looked off before returning his attention to me.
“Why are you sitting out here putting my business in the streets, Sweets? I had enough to eat this morning. You were there.”
He added that last part with a sheepish grin. I swatted his shoulder, causing him to laugh.
“There you go putting my business out there. All of Rose Haven is going to know you can’t keep your head from between my legs with how loud you’re being,” I whispered, looking around.
Duke cracked up, then ran his tongue across his lower lip with a shrug. He reached forward and plucked a grape from the containers in front of us.
“Shouldn’t taste so good and we wouldn’t have that problem. I have no shame, love.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to hold back my smile. I truly enjoyed every moment I spent with him.
“Tell me something about your parents. I feel like you never talk about them. I think I’ve heard you mention your grandparents more than anybody else.”
Duke’s expression sobered quickly at the mention of his parents. I hadn’t meant to kill our vibe. I was just curious and didn’t always know how to keep things to myself.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Duke grabbed a napkin to clean his fingertips. “Nah, you straight, Sweets.”
I continued eating my roast beef sandwich, waiting on him to say more.
“You don’t hear me talk much about them because they haven’t done anything worth talking about. My grandparents raised me. Heiress had me when she was a freshman in high school. According to my grandparents, they didn’t want that one situation to define her future, so they raised me as their own. She was more like a sibling than a parent. Colby was on the same young acting stuff, and his parents did the same when it came to me. But they chose to act like I didn’t exist.”
I wiped my hands on a napkin and reached out to touch his hand.
“I hate that you had to experience that, but at least you had someone who came for you and cared for you,” I told him.
Duke glanced up from our hands, his eyes widening, then ran his free hand over his face.
“Damn. I didn’t mean to sit here and complain about this when you had it way worse than me.”
I shook my head with a soft smile. “I didn’t say that to make you feel sorry for me. We’re all entitled to our own experiences and feelings. I only said it because I want you to try and shift your perspective. I know it’s easy to focus on the negatives and the things we would have preferred. But God did give you your grandparents. Your mother didn’t abort you. You were wanted, love. The timing was just off, and it seems like maybe a lot of guilt is swirling around in your world.”
Duke leaned forward, almost like something I said had flipped a switch.
“I never looked at it like that, but I see where you’re coming from. I think I’m more upset with the fact that I’m grown now and she’s still doing the same things. My grandparents are still coddling her and it’s not helping.”
I nodded. “That can be frustrating. But you can only worry about what you can control. You can’t control your grandparents’ actions. At the end of the day, she comes from them, and I can only assume it’s hard to let your child fall on their face. I don’t have kids, so I don’t know for certain, but I imagine that’s how I would feel.”
Duke reached out and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into his lap, then placed a kiss against my neck.
“You want kids?” he asked.
I sat quietly and leaned back into his chest. I had never really given it much thought. My whole life had been about survival. It wasn’t until this point in my life that I had allowed my dreams to become a reality.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it. I’m just not sure what kind of mother I would be. I haven’t had many examples since the day my mother passed. The time I did have with her was good though. I think she is the sole reason I am as strong as I am. She was resilient.”
Duke’s arms tightened around me. “So are you, love. You would be an amazing mother. Shit, you might be one soon if you keep begging me to fill you up every night.”
I swatted his shoulder as he attacked my neck, cheek, and chin with kisses.
“Duke.” I giggled.
An older couple walked by holding hands and smiled in our direction. I couldn’t help but imagine Duke and me in that same position later in life. For the first time, I saw a future for myself that I would choose a thousand times over.