Page 8 of Approved (The Dapper Duck #1)

Chapter eight

WEST

Once Tyler was safely inside, I headed home.

The bar didn’t need me there to close, and I wanted to enjoy the happiness that bubbled inside me from that kiss.

If I had been asked a few years ago about dating, I would have laughed at the concept, and then added on top of that, leaving work for a man.

The Dapper Duck was hugely successful, and I wouldn’t leave it for long, but I could see myself taking a two-week vacation with Tyler to enjoy all the money I’d worked so hard to make, spoiling him with anything and everything he would ever want.

That was one of those things I had never given much thought to.

If you are successful, what good is the money if you don’t use it?

Better yet, having someone to use it on.

My home was peaceful, I had worked hard to make it a sanctuary, and whenever I crossed the threshold, I would relax.

The one thing I wanted was someone to share it with, as I looked around, I wondered if Tyler would feel comfortable in my space, as my eyes roamed the room again, I knew I wanted to find out.

WEST

I am really glad you stopped by tonight.

TYLER

Me too.

I’m heading to bed.

Talk tomorrow?

WEST

You bet.

Good night, Tyler.

Attached was a picture of him in his bed while he kissed Earl, and Larry was on his lap.

It made my body happy—I wished I were there.

TYLER

Good night, West.

Everything about Tyler aroused me, when I was with him I ignored my cock which would get rock hard as soon as I was near him, he always smelled like flowers, and citrus.

If I had it my way, he would know how he affected me—someday.

He was kind and thoughtful, something in me knew he would be a lot of fun in bed, because it was always the quiet ones.

I laughed out loud.

Before I drifted off, I considered jerking off, and I knew it would be thoughts of Tyler that would take me to the pinnacle, but I felt like I wanted to save myself for him.

My confidence had grown some.

It felt like he would let me take him out, and I hoped I would get the chance to be with him physically, but if not, any time with him would be a gift.

Until then, I planned to continue being transparent and letting him get to know me.

As I started to slip toward sleep, I recalled how I used to flirt with customers in the bar and men I met around town, but since meeting Tyler, I hadn’t given another man a second look, which was exciting and scary.

My head was filled with fantasies of a sexy man whom I was clearly obsessed with.

Sleep claimed me with thoughts of Tyler under me, his body writhing as I pleasured him.

Usually, I slept until an hour before I left for work, but lately, I found myself eager to get up and start the day.

Today, it was only 7:00 a.

m.

when I got up.

I had several free hours before I had to get ready for work, while making a sandwich, my phone rang.

“Hi Unkkie Wefst.” I couldn’t stop the smile on my face.

“Hello, sweet princess girl. What are you doing?” She just giggled.

In the background, I could hear my brother.

“Tell him you will come to his house for dinner tonight.” Then there were more giggles.

“Tell him, Allison.”

“We come for dinner tonight.”

“That sounds good. What would you like for dinner?”

“Chimkin’ nuggets.”

I laughed.

It’s always chicken nuggets.

I didn’t even know why I asked.

Again, my brother’s voice was in the background.

“Tell him bye.”

“I love you Unkkie Wefst. I see you.” My heart swelled.

That girl was everything to me.

There was the sound of the phone being handed over.

“What’s up, East?” My brother had been through hell and back, but he had me and his daughter.

When he lost his wife during childbirth, I didn’t know if he would survive.

We had worked together to learn how to care for the tiny human he was now responsible for, while he adjusted to being a single father.

A month after Allison came along, we bought houses in a new development, our homes next to each other.

After four years, I no longer worried about him being alone, and I could focus on the future, not just getting through the day.

His loss changed him because Sabrina was his person, which made me realize that if someone enters your life who fits you, you need to hold on to it tightly.

More than anything, I hoped he would get lucky twice and find someone else to share his big heart with.

For now, though, we were a tight little family, figuring it out together.

“Lil’Bit and I will be over for dinner. Leave work early?” There was nothing I wouldn’t do for these two.

Two nights in a row, not being at the bar for twelve hours, nobody would believe it.

“You bet. Allison was the one who asked to see you, and you know I can’t deny her anything.”

“That’s good enough for me. Come over around 7:00 p.m.? I’ll have dinner for all three of us. Steak for us and nuggets for Allison?”

East chuckled.

“We should come over more often, if you will make us steaks.”

“You know you are always welcome. We could build a walkway between the two houses, or just build a bigger house and all live together.” I considered my offer and wondered what Tyler would think about living with my brother and niece.

I knew it should be weird that my thoughts about my future always included Tyler.

My heart insisted that it wanted him, and I was losing the battle, keeping away from him, so I naturally included him in my thoughts of my future.

Clearly, I have lost my mind.

“West?” I had tuned out whatever he was saying.

“What?”

“Oh, you are distracted, which means we have something to discuss. I’ll see you tonight.”

I briefly considered arguing with him about what he said, but he was right, so I didn’t bother.

Knowing I would see them tonight was good; they were some of my favorite people.

“Okay. See you then.”

As soon as I got off the phone, I sent a message to Tyler.

WEST

I hope you are having a great day.

And while you answer that.

Tell me about your perfect date.

Asking for a friend.

Don’t ask who the friend is.

Sitting in my office at The Dapper Duck, I made a grocery list for dinner delivery.

I found Spark in their office.

“Hey, I’ll be leaving early today.”

“Ohh, another hot not-a-date? Mr. Brooks is very handsome.” They wiggled their eyebrows.

“Not tonight, spending time with Allison and East.”

Spark’s smile was huge.

“I love those two. Tell that sexy brother of yours he needs to come by more often.” I gave Spark a look.

“What?” They looked at me.

“That man is hot, funny, and that adorable daughter. He’s the full package.”

“Spark, we are twins, we look the same.”

“No way.” They said.

“He is much better looking, and I don’t know.” They stopped and looked at me, with their head cocked for a minute.

“Better.”

I wasn’t even sure how to address that since we were identical twins, but if Spark saw a difference, who was I to argue?

I worked until around 5:30 p.

m.

, then double-checked with my amazing manager and pulled into my driveway by 6:00 p.

m.

The person who delivered my groceries pulled away from the curb as I parked.

My phone chirped as I unlocked my door, and I immediately hoped it was Tyler since I hadn’t heard from him all day.

Before doing anything else, I checked my phone, and when I saw it was him, I felt a flutter in my chest.

TYLER

Perfect date.

Something simple.

I want to talk to my date and get to know them.

Sorry, it took so long to reply.

It was busy today.

Taking a deep breath, I dialed his number.

“Hello.” Hearing his voice made the light flutter become a full swirl.

“Hi. Hello. What’s up? How are you doing?”

He chuckled, which went straight to my dick.

“Hello, West.”

“Hi. How are you? What’s up?”

This time, he snorted.

“I am doing well, West. It was a long, busy day. I’m glad to be home even though Earl and Larry are complaining about wanting their dinner. How about you?”

The ability to speak seemed to be gone.

Get it together, West.

“West?”

“Yeah. Hi. How are you?”

He sighed, “West, take a deep breath. Now breathe. I can wait a minute for you. Why did you call me?”

“Yes. On Saturday, there is an Art Festival and I wondered if you would like to join me. And after I can take you to dinner.” I held my breath, again.

He had turned me down a few times but gave me a maybe yesterday, and I was betting on that.

“That sounds nice. I’ll take the day off. Yes, West, I will go with you.”

“Yes? You’ll go with me?” I felt my heart beat way too hard.

“Yes.” He giggled, which made my heart beat harder, and I worried a little that I might pass out.

“That’s wonderful. I am so happy. Okay, I will contact you more to plan time and stuff. Thank you so much, Tyler.” He really laughed this time, which aroused me more than it probably should.

“I have to go, my niece and brother are coming over tonight.”

“Have a good evening, West. I’m excited about our date.”

“Me too. So much. Excited. Thank you. I’ll talk soon. Bye.” I hung up the phone.

“Whoop!” He finally agreed, and I just knew in my soul that Tyler was special.

Hopefully, I could get some sort of control over my nerves before we go out because I was completely aware that I hadn’t exactly been smooth when I asked him out.

I danced back and forth a little bit, swishing my feet and moving my hips.

It made me stupidly happy that he had finally said yes.

While I worked on dinner, I felt light, and my thoughts wandered to my upcoming date with Tyler—I couldn’t get enough of that word in my head.

I imagined us walking hand in hand through the festival, and then I’d buy him sweet treats and share stories about the bar and my life.

I hoped he would share with me, too.

I put a ton of chicken nuggets in the air fryer just as the front door opened.

“Unkkie Wefst!” When she said my name, it made me feel good.

She still added an ‘F’ in the pronunciation, but it was the best thing to hear.

East came around the corner and pulled me into a hug.

He was my other half, and I wouldn’t trade him for anything.

I picked up Allison and gave her hugs and kisses.

“How are you, sweet girl?”

“I’m happy. Are you happy?” She asked while she looked at me, her eyes wide.

I kissed her cheek.

“Yes, I am very happy. Go get your coloring books, and I have a movie on for you in the living room.”

“Nuggies for dinner?” She smiled up at me as I set her down.

“Yes. With lots of ranch.”

“Yaaay.” She ran out of the room, delighted with the plan.

“How are you doing, brother?” East asked.

“You’re very happy?”

East knew if I said I was very happy, something must be behind it.

He knew I wanted to meet the right guy and find my very own happily ever after.

Even before he lost his wife, I had confided in him that I was tired of the hookups and wanted to settle down.

My heart broke for him because he lost his love, but he still supported me.

At least East has been dating since his wife passed away.

I’d been too picky, too afraid.

He wanted someone he could grow old with, maybe have another child, and help raise Allison.

Sometimes it hurt to think he didn’t want me to help with my niece, but I knew I didn’t keep him warm at night.

So far, though, nobody had filled the gap.

“I’ve got a date on Friday?” Waves of excitement traveled through me.

“Oh yeah? Is he cute? Would he like to be a co-parent?” I slapped him.

“Stop it. Just because we look alike doesn’t mean every guy I meet will like you too.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“I’m the handsome, friendly one. I could steal your man. Plus, I am pansexual, I can enjoy all people.”

I shook my head.

“Nope. Not this one, I am going to make him mine. I really like him, East.”

“No shit? Where did you meet him?”

“You know that florist I told you about from Valentine’s Day.” I had told him the whole story, but hadn’t mentioned that the minute I met him, he made my heart flutter, and I was drawn to him.

Admitting it to myself sounded a bit crazy, so I figured I’d just keep my feelings to myself, but now I had something to share with him.

“Oh, that was a couple of weeks ago. You haven’t gone out yet?” He knew how I was with men.

There had been many of them in my bed, but none interested me enough to see a second time.

“I asked, but he was thinking about it until yesterday. So I’ve planned a date and hope we can get to know each other better. Something about him, East, I want to know everything about him, and be near him.” I looked around to make sure little ears hadn’t wandered back in range.

“Plus, I want to rub all up on him, making us both sticky.”

He cocked his head at me.

“No kidding. Well, I hope you have a great time on your date. He might be perfect for me if you like him a lot.” I punched his arm.

“You will not. He’s mine.” I reiterated.

His comment made me think about what Spark said: maybe they would be a good match for my brother and Allison.

Spark already adored them both, and they were one of the best people I had ever known, plus they did say East was the hot one.

“Ironically, someone told me the other day you are the hot one between us.”

“Well, that’s true.” He said without a second thought.

“East, we are literally identical twins.”

He shrugged at me.

“Not my fault, they can see how much better looking than you I am. Who said it?”

“Spark.” His eyes got wide, and he smiled.

“Really? I like them a lot. We haven’t gotten much one-on-one time to talk, though. The few times I’ve been in the bar, they were great. And talk about gorgeous, they are…woah!” I put a pin in it, but the idea of Spark dating my brother wasn’t terrible at all.

East and Allison would be lucky to have Spark in their lives.

I knew my life was better with them in it.

“Yes, really. We should have Mom come watch Allison a few times a month, and you can come hang out at The Dapper Duck. I’ll make sure Spark gets time to know you better.”

He looked at me happily.

“Fucking great idea West. Now, tell me more about your guy.”

“I am like a moth to a flame when it comes to him. After we spent the day together delivering flowers, I wanted to know more about him. We’ve texted a lot and met a few times. One evening, I got him to meet me at Hash House for pie, then he came to the bar and talked for hours.” I knew I grinned foolishly when Tyler was the topic.

East mirrored my grin.

“You really like this guy.”

“East, I can’t explain it, but he is sweet, smart, and funny. I know we hardly know each other, but there is something I can’t explain.” I knew I wasn’t being clear and probably sounded stupid, but East would get it.

It felt good to tell East about Tyler.

We talked about the hugs and sweet kisses we shared and how it made me ache for him.

“I’ve been patient, and together, I hope to figure out where he fits in my life or where I fit in his.” East looked at me, mirroring my happiness.

Patience has never been my best trait, but Tyler made me want to try, and I knew I could succeed since time with him would be my reward.

“Why wasn’t he willing to go out the first time you asked him?” It was a solid question and one I couldn’t answer yet.

“I’m not sure, but I hope to find out.” I felt giddy, which was weird, but I liked it and wanted more.

After we ate dinner, I found myself curious.

“East, do you believe in love at first sight?”

He looked at me dreamily.

I knew what he was going to say, and I mentally slapped myself for asking.

It’s what he had with his late wife.

“Never mind, I know the answer to that question. I’m sorry she is gone, I hope you find another person, raising your little monster would be easier with someone.” He brightened up.

“It’s been four years, almost five now. I am sure someone will come along someday, but I am excited to see how this plays out for you. I’ll make sure you two are a couple before he meets the better twin.”

I rolled my eyes.

“We are identical.”

“I have it on good authority that Spark doesn’t think so.” I laughed.

We finished our meal, and East picked up Allison, who had fallen asleep on the couch.

I loved these people so much and was glad to have them in my life.

“Let me know how the date goes. If you need cute reinforcements, I will lend you this one.” He pointed to my niece.

I kissed the back of her head and gave East a hug around his daughter.

“I’ll let you know. I don’t doubt it will be amazing because it always is when I am with him.”

“You got it bad, brother.” He smiled, then turned away and headed home.