Page 34 of Forbidden Kisses

"Let's eat and see if it's as good as it looks," he said, winking, and I melted yet again.

Sitting here, the three of us together, made me long for a family of my own. Growing up with my mom and sister, we were very close. I missed that kind of connection. Having roommates was just not the same by a long shot.

"I cut the bananas," Jeremy said.

I could just picture the two of them working side by side in the kitchen.

I smiled. “Good for you."

"Dad said that I might be allowed to cut more things, but it wasn’t a real knife. It was just made out of plastic even though I'm not a baby,” Jeremy countered.

“Of course not," Duncan said.

We exchanged a conspiratorial glance. It was hard not to give in to the impulse of imagining how my life would look if I were Jeremy's mom.

But you're not, Riley. You're his nanny. No matter how well the two of you get along, once you start your job at the law firm, you’ll never see him or Duncan again.

Usually, my mood completely deflated when I reminded myself of the reality. But this time it didn't, and I blamed the absolutely delicious oatmeal for it.

"Whoa, this is good," I said. It had more honey than I usually put in.Hello, new recipe.I was going to start adding more honey too.

"We didn't find any agave syrup, so I just added more honey," Duncan said.

"It’s much better." I grinned through a mouthful, then covered my mouth. "Sorry, that's so unprofessional. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied.

"Do you like it?" I asked both Jeremy and Duncan.

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, it's sweet."

Duncan frowned. "It's certainly better than what I usually have, which is black coffee."

I shuddered. "Without any breakfast? Are you an alien?"

"No, I just usually don't like to eat in the morning. Wastes too much time."

"Really? The first meal of the day is so important,” I chastised him.

“True, and Jeremy certainly eats his, but I just don’t seem to find the time in the mornings.”

“Well, I love breakfast because I love coming back here and enjoying the sun and the chirping birds while I take a few spoonfuls of oatmeal and wake up. It's like a little routine that makes every day start off on the right foot."

Duncan looked at me strangely.

Damn it, we were so different. Forget the age thing—we were just at other stages in life. This could never work out.

He was a single dad and needed to focus on his son. I was a lawyer just starting my career.

And yet I couldn't help but melt. They’dmademe breakfast.

I smiled at Duncan, and he winked at me, making me feel hot all of a sudden. Did he want to talk about what happened last night? I wasn't even sure what to say.

"Okay, now that we're done, can we go?" Jeremy asked abruptly after he'd finished his bowl.

"Jeremy, what did I tell you? We need to wait for the others at the table to finish eating. Then you can ask."

"I'm done," I said, quickly eating my remaining two spoonfuls.