Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Oh, my God. What am I saying?
His expression turns from stony to interested. “Go ahead, Doc. Finish that thought for me.”
Shit.
“I was going to say that you also have the talent. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made it this far, no matter who your dad is.”
Staring down at the notepad on my lap, I contemplate my next question.
“What are your personal relationships like?”
His eyes widen. “You mean with my family?”
“No, I mean with people outside of your family.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Like my teammates?”
“Yes, for starters.”
“And women?” He stares at me so hard it sends a shiver down my arms. “If you want to know if I’m single, Doc, just ask. You don’t have to beat around the bush.”
“I’m not asking if you’re single. I noticed that you don’t have any personal relationships with anyone outside of your team or family.”
“What’s wrong with that? I have all of the relationships I need.”
“What about women?”
“What about them?”
“You don’t date.”
“That’s a statement, not a question, Doc.”
We stare at each other for a long, hard minute. My breath catches in my throat when Duke runs his thumb along his bottom lip. Does he know how much this is turning me on? Probably. Ted and Duke have a lot in common. Men like Duke and Ted wear their confidence on their sleeves. They practically radiate it. And they don’t miss a beat, especially not when it comes to women.
“You want to know if I fuck women?”
I gasp at his question. He’s still playing with his bottom lip, driving me completely insane. You’re the doctor, Delilah! Get a handle on the situation. You have to control the conversation.
Men like Duke will manipulate the conversation if given a chance. He thinks he’s winning, getting under my skin. Well, I guess he is to some extent. But that can’t happen.
“What you do in the bedroom is your business,” I say, trying to regain control. “I’m more interested in your relationships with women.”
“You mean sex?”
“No, Duke. Sex is part of a relationship, but that’s not what creates the bond between two people.”
“I don’t date,” he shoots back.
“How come?”
“Because I don’t want to,” he says, somewhat annoyed. “What difference does it make?”
“It makes a lot of difference.”
“I don’t have time,” he says in his defense, which I know is just to get me off his back. “Hockey is my life.”
“Plenty of your teammates are married with kids. If they can find the time to have a family, you could do the same… if that’s what you want.”
“What is your problem, Doc?” He glares at me. “Why do you care what I do with women?”
“Because it’s the one part of your life that seems to be lacking, and I’m curious if your anger has anything to do with it.”
He rolls his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Just because I don’t parade the women I fuck around town doesn’t mean anything.”
“They’re not meaningful relationships,” I point out.
“Some people prefer to have meaningless relationships with the opposite sex.”
“In my professional experience, it’s because the person is guarded and closing themselves off from the world. It’s a defense mechanism.”
“If you say so, Doc,” he deadpans.
“You’re close to your sister, Kat.”
“I raised her,” he snaps.
“And you feel protective of her like a parent would with their child?”
“Of course. Kat needs me. She can’t count on our dad for anything.”
“What about your brothers?”
“Austin helped me raise Kat and the twins.”
“Do you resent your father for not being around?”
“Yes,” he growls. “I hate that he left us. Instead of going to parties with my friends in high school, I had to stay home and watch my brothers and sister.”
“Do you resent your siblings for having to give up that part of your life?”
He shakes his head. “No, not at all. My mom didn’t want a stranger raising her kids. I promised her that I would take care of them for her.”
And there it is… The missing piece to the puzzle. Duke’s mom.
“Do you feel like you’ve already raised a family?”
He shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t know. I never thought about it like that.”
Duke’s body relaxes as if he’s relieved by this revelation, but I know there’s much more to his story. We’ve barely even scratched the surface.
“So, your relationships with women last how long… A night, a week, a month?”
He tilts his head to the side, as if thinking it over, and scratches the corner of his jaw. A few minutes pass in silence.
“What’s your longest relationship?”
“Not that long,” he says. “I kept this one girl around for sex until she wouldn’t stop bugging me to get serious with her.”
“Does the thought of having a serious relationship with a woman bother you?”
“It did with her,” he says without hesitation.
“How come?”
“Because she’s not the kind of girl my mom would have liked.”
It all comes down to his mom.