Page 41 of Off Limits Daddy

“I’m going to clean up and then pick up Aiden. Dinner will be at six thirty if you want to join us.” He stalked to the door. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “By the way, Aiden drew a few more pictures. I’ll drop them off here before I leave.” He didn’t wait for me to answer. He walked out, leaving me alone in my guilt and confusion.

This is for the best, I told myself as I exited the office and went down the flight of stairs to the second floor and into my room. As I got into the shower and washed away the remnants of Duncan from my body, I briefly considered packing up and going home. What was I possibly going to learn from Aiden that was going to help me in my case, anyway? And in terms of keeping him safe, I could make arrangements for somebody else to act as a bodyguard.

But aside from the fact that I wasn't a quitter was the need to prove to myself that I was strong enough to see this through. I could endure my body's strange longing for Duncan and his belief that I was a bitch.

When I got out of the shower, I dressed and was thinking about heading back to the office except it was just aboutsix o'clock. If Duncan wasn't back from picking up Aiden, he certainly would be soon and would be preparing dinner. If I was going to stick with this operation, I needed to join them for dinner. Not to pretend to be Duncan's fiancée or Aiden's foster mother, but to build a relationship with Aiden that would have him trust me enough to tell me what he saw while he was living with Wally and on the day that Donovan and Patrick were killed.

So instead of going to work, I pulled out my laptop, deciding to check in. Maybe the Organized Crime team had new information. I also wanted to do a background check on Julia Racine, telling myself that it was for Aiden's protection and not out of some petty revenge for how she had irked me at our meeting today. I suppose this was the exact type of work that had prompted Duncan to share his office with me, but I couldn't walk back in there now. Not with the memory of what we did on the desk and of course the disastrous aftermath. I wondered if I'd ever be able to walk into that room again and not remember the intense feelings of pleasure followed by guilt.

At six twenty-five, having not found anything interesting about Julia Racine, I closed up my laptop and made my way downstairs to the kitchen.

"That's it, you got it, Aiden."

I lurked in the doorway, watching as Duncan stood next to Aiden, who was on a stool, teaching Aiden how to toss a salad. It seemed like more lettuce was flying out of the bowl instead of staying in, but Duncan was patient as he picked up leaves and tossed them in the sink.

"I think that's pretty good. Why don’t you jump down? I’ll hand you the bowl and you can put it on the table.”

I watched as Aiden jumped off the stool and then waited as Duncan handed him the bowl. He carried it to the table and then sat in his chair. I noted that while Aiden continued to be a quietchild, his demeanor, the ease with which he was around Duncan, showed that he was comfortable. He trusted Duncan.

I plastered on a smile and stepped into the kitchen. "Something smells delicious in here."

Aiden tensed slightly, and I wasn't sure if it was because I'd startled him or because he didn't trust me.

Duncan smiled, but it wasn't that charismatic one that always reached his eyes. "Just in time. We’re having my mom's famous chicken casserole and some salad. I just need to get us some drinks and we’ll be ready."

Feeling like I needed to pay my way, I said, "Why don’t you let me get the drinks? Aiden, do you drink milk?"

Aiden kept his head downward, but his gaze lifted toward me as he nodded.

"And what would you like, Duncan?”

"I'm just going to have water. Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge." He turned away from me to the stove. It was silly to feel like the movement was a rejection when in fact, he was just getting dinner out of the oven.

I got us all drinks and set them on the table and then sat with Duncan and Aiden. Duncan was his usual chatty self, with Aiden only occasionally verbalizing anything, but he was clearly listening, often nodding or shaking his head in response to Duncan. The longer the meal went on, the more of an outsider I felt. I didn't belong here. It was disingenuous to be here acting like I was going to marry Duncan and be Aiden's foster mother.

Once again, I had the urge to pack my things and leave, which irritated me because I wasn't the type of woman to run away. I stepped up to responsibility. I’d done it for my mom and siblings when I was growing up. I did it at work. I would do it now

“Why don’t you tell Veronica about your visit with Grayson today?” Did Duncan feel my unease? Was he trying to include me?

Aiden looked at me and then at Duncan, his eyes round as if he'd been put on the spot. I definitely had my work cut out for me if Aiden was going to trust me the way he trusted Duncan.

"Did you play some fun games?" I encouraged him. While Duncan saw me as a coldhearted person, I hoped that Aiden would see me as someone who was friendly to him.

He shrugged. "We played trucks."

"Trucks are fun. What kind of trucks were they? Dump trucks? Cherry pickers?"

Both Duncan and Aiden looked at me in surprise.

"What? You don't think girls know about cherry pickers? I have a younger brother. I know a whole lot about trucks." My brother Van and I once built an entire city of trucks in his portion of the bedroom he shared with my mother.

"Backhoe."

"Backhoes are fun. You could dig up a lot of dirt with those."

Aiden's lips twitched up as he poked his noodles and chicken with a fork, taking a bite.

"You and Grayson talked about some interesting things as well. I bet Veronica would like to hear about it."