Page 91 of Forbidden Kisses

I called her right away. "Hi, Shona," I said, closing the door to my office.

"Oh, good. I'm putting together a shopping list. He’s still in his Spider-Man phase, right?"

"Yeah, he is."

"And you still think he'll be in it by the end of the summer?"

"Definitely. This has a stronger hold on him than his previous passions."

"All right. And he still loves the zoo?"

"Yes.”

“Apparently, he shares his passion for animals with Riley."

"That’s true. Riley's been monitoring all the babies that are coming in the next few months. She keeps looking at all the cameras."

Shona gasped. "Oh my God, Duncan."

"What?"

"Is there something going on between you and Riley? I did think that it sounded that way from what Jeremy told me, but I wasn't sure. Well, knowing you, I figured the last person in the world you'd go out with would be your son's nanny."

Her words felt like a punch in the gut. "She's not going to be his nanny for too long. She starts her full-time job as a lawyer soon."

"You're not denying it."

"I'm not." I didn't want to keep this from Shona. She was Jeremy's mom and had a right to know.

"Oh, wow. Well, good for you."

"What?" I didn't expect this reaction.

"I hope things are going well. Jeremy doesn't know yet, does he?"

"No. I'm looking for the right moment to explain everything to him."

"So, this is serious?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Goodness. When you move, you move fast," she said.

"It feels right," I confessed, "but I want to tell Jeremy under the right circumstances."

"Well, I, for one, think he'll be thrilled."

I was certain that he would be. He cared about Riley, but still, no matter what Shona and my family thought, this required tact. Of course Jeremy could understand the notion of a parent dating, but I still wanted to do this as carefully as possible.

"Duncan, I honestly am very happy for you. Just make sure you give the relationship a chance, okay?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You and I didn't work out because it wasn't meant to. If it weren't for Jeremy… well, you know what I mean. When we decided to try to be together for his sake, we both knew it wasn't going to be a success. At least, deep down, I did. But before I gotpregnant, I always got the feeling that you held yourself back. I don't know if it was because of the way your parents' marriage ended or something else, but you always seemed to keep me at arm’s length.”

I couldn't disagree because she was right. It wasn't something I'd done consciously, but I'd done it nonetheless.

"So, if Riley is important to you, don't stand in your own way, okay?"