Page 65 of Forbidden Kisses

I’d never felt jealousy like this. It simply raged through me. Someone had flirted with my man.

Whoa, hold your horses, Riley. He's not your man. He's Duncan Sterling, hot, successful woman magnet, and you don't know if you're even exclusive.

But he’d told me this morning that I was the first woman he’d brought to the condo. That had to mean something, right?

I took in a deep breath and then texted back.

Riley: I don’t know if I should tell you this, but I feel weirdly jealous.

A weight lifted off my shoulders once I put it out there. All the guys I'd dated in the past were never serious and liked to play games. Of course, they were younger, less mature—as was I, for that matter. But things had changed.

Duncan: You don't have any reason to be jealous. You're the only one I want in my bed, Riley.

This was the precise moment that he confirmed that he was nothing like anyone I'd dated before. He was a man through and through, and he knew exactly what he wanted—and that was me!Squeeee!

This was so different from my past relationships. The guys I dated had FOMO—their fear of missing out was too big. Or maybe they were just all assholes.

Duncan: The only one.

I smiled at my phone, putting the bowl of salad on the table. This wasn't going to be easy or straightforward because he had Jeremy. I vividly remembered when he told me that he wouldn't introduce a woman to his son until Jeremy was at least sixteen. So, whatever this was between us may not have a future.

But that didn't matter, at least not right now. I was happy as a clam with what we had.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Duncan

In the afternoon, I picked up Jeremy from my mom's place at four o'clock. She usually liked to have Sunday evening free, and I respected that. Besides, I already missed the little guy so damn much that I was glad to have him back.

"How was your weekend?" I asked when we were both in the car.

"It was great. Nana taught me how to bake muffins. We can try at home too. I got the recipe."

"Sure we can," I told him. "What do you want to do tonight?"

He was sad for a few seconds, which told me that he wanted to ask something that he expected me to say no to. I looked at him in the rearview mirror.

"Dad, can we go to the zoo?"

And my insides died.

I'd been there more times than I could count. And I knew for a fact that he'd been there with Riley this week. Still, he was pleading with his eyes.

"Sure, buddy. Why not? We can stay for two or three hours and still be home in time for dinner."

"Yes! Thank you. You're the best dad in the world."

"The zoo it is," I said.

I tried to muster up enthusiasm, but the best I could bring myself to do was smile and ask him what exactly he wanted to see there this time. I loved spending time with my son, but trips to Disney or Legoland or the zoo were at the very top of my shit list. I couldn't hype myself up for them, hard as I tried. Especially not when I was doing it for the millionth time. But I wanted to make him happy. I’d promised myself a long time ago that I’d listen to what he wanted and needed and do my best to fulfill it. He wanted quality time with me in a place he liked, which happened to be the zoo.

We found a parking spot easily enough because they had a huge lot. As we walked to the entrance gate, he was already bouncing with joy. Once inside, I spotted a few familiar faces, but that was par for the course. Jeremy wasn't the only kid who liked to come here repeatedly.

We strolled on the main path, stopping in front of each animal’s display. There were quite a few people gathered in front of the zebra park.

“Did it have its baby?” Jeremy asked excitedly.

“What?”