Page 33 of Forbidden Kisses

"Girl, do you have any secrets to spill?" Julia asked the next morning. She was sitting at the kitchen table, looking like hell. We’d had a fun night dancing, but I ended up taking an Uber home long before they left.

"What do you mean?" I asked, though I wanted to shout,“Yes, yes, I do. Duncan kissed me, and it was damn amazing.’”

"How do you look so fresh?"

"I didn't drink at all yesterday."

She rolled her eyes. "Boo. Yeah, now I remember. You were no fun."

"It's Monday, remember? I’m working and need to drive and be alert." The whole time we were dancing at the club, all I could think about was Duncan and our kiss. And how much I missed him.This was nuts!

"I don't know why I'm even awake. I'm going back to bed."

"You wanted to have coffee," I said, pointing to the machine. It was whirring, warming up.

She waved her hand. "No, I’ll have it later. I still need, like, one more hour or ten of sleep."

I chuckled. "Fair enough."

I’d gotten up early and baked the muffins. They turned out delicious. I only ate one—a taste test of sorts. I’d packed the rest in Tupperware.

It was 8:50 a.m. My stomach somersaulted. I didn't have time for a proper breakfast, but I would grab something at the park. Duncan would arrive any second now. He liked to be punctual.

It was one of the reasons why I’d started preparing dinner fifteen minutes earlier than usual last week. I didn't want to risk him coming home before I finished, figuring the less we were around each other, the better. But clearly, that had backfired, because we both had a lot of sexual tension building up inside us.

Honestly, I didn’t know what to make of it. Duncan was quite a bit older than me. Not that I knew exactly how much of an age difference there was between us, but I’d bet it was close to ten years, and that was a lot.

His life was set—he was divorced with a child, and he was successful in his career. He wasadulting, and I was just trying to get my life started. But I couldn’t deny how attracted I was to him.

I’d always been a bit of an old soul anyway. Mom said it was probably because I had to look after my sister often as we grew up. She always apologized about it, said it made me grow up too early, but I honestly hadn’t minded. I’d loved taking care of my sister. Even now as an adult, I felt a bit older than my peers.

Boy, where did all of this come from?

I knew the answer to that—one swim in the pool, one hot kiss at the kitchen sink, one sexy look… and basically I was screwed.

As I waited for Duncan and Jeremy to arrive, I texted Mom yet another update so she wouldn’t worry about me. At five tonine, there was a light knock at the door. I’d texted Duncan not to ring the doorbell, since Christine was still sleeping—and Julia now too. I tiptoed to the door, opening it as quietly as I could.

"Surprise," Jeremy exclaimed. "We brought you breakfast."

"Quiet, buddy. My roommates are still sleeping. Come on, let's go to the back of the house and into the garden." I held my finger over my lips to make it more of a game to him, so he wouldn’t think I was reprimanding him, and thankfully he got it right away.

I led them through the narrow corridor that opened up directly into the backyard. Jeremy tiptoed like he was a predator stalking his prey—God, he was cute! Our little patio area was small, but we had a portable cabinet we kept out here full of dishes. I took out three and put them on the table. It was big enough to seat four people comfortably.

"What did you buy?" I asked as they took out three glass jars.

"We didn't buy it. Dad and I made it. It's oatmeal. Dad asked me what your favorite food was, and I told him. So yesterday, after we left your place, we went by Walmart again, because that's where you said your favorite is, and we picked it up."

My insides simply melted. Duncan flashed me a gorgeous smile.

"Thank you!"

I was awfully touched, not only that he'd asked Jeremy my favorite food but that he'd gone to Walmart. He’d probably never been in one of those stores before.

"Wow, Jeremy, thanks for remembering. It looks great." I’d made it for him once last week, and it looked like he’d remembered every step. “You even remembered how to mix the fruit."

"I know. We took a picture, remember? And I showed it to Dad."

I blushed a little bit at Duncan.