Prince Pucking Charming Read online

  “I raised her,” he snaps.

  “And you feel protective of her like a parent would with their child?”

  “Of course. Kat needs me. She can’t count on our dad for anything.”

  “What about your brothers?”

  “Austin helped me raise Kat and the twins.”

  “Do you resent your father for not being around?”

  “Yes,” he growls. “I hate that he left us. Instead of going to parties with my friends in high school, I had to stay home and watch my brothers and sister.”

  “Do you resent your siblings for having to give up that part of your life?”

  He shakes his head. “No, not at all. My mom didn’t want a stranger raising her kids. I promised her that I would take care of them for her.”

  And there it is… The missing piece to the puzzle. Duke’s mom.

  “Do you feel like you’ve already raised a family?”

  He shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t know. I never thought about it like that.”

  Duke’s body relaxes as if he’s relieved by this revelation, but I know there’s much more to his story. We’ve barely even scratched the surface.

  “So, your relationships with women last how long… A night, a week, a month?”

  He tilts his head to the side, as if thinking it over, and scratches the corner of his jaw. A few minutes pass in silence.

  “What’s your longest relationship?”

  “Not that long,” he says. “I kept this one girl around for sex until she wouldn’t stop bugging me to get serious with her.”

  “Does the thought of having a serious relationship with a woman bother you?”

  “It did with her,” he says without hesitation.

  “How come?”

  “Because she’s not the kind of girl my mom would have liked.”

  It all comes down to his mom.

  “What kind of woman would your mom have liked?”

  “Someone smart. My mom was a lawyer.” He digs his teeth into his bottom lip. “She used to say that intelligence is our greatest asset.”

  “So, intelligence is also a quality you admire in people?”

  He nods. “My mom was brilliant. Even up until the last few days, she was…” Duke turns away from me, his eyes downcast.

  “What else, Duke?”

  Duke covers his face with his hands and sighs. “She told me not to settle until I find a woman who challenges me.”

  “So, you’re waiting for the right woman?”

  He slides his hands to his knees and then glances over at me. His blue eyes hold mine. “Something like that.”

  Before I can ask another question, I hear Max’s voice in the waiting room. She’s talking in her usual outdoor voice in the lobby. Duke follows my line of sight toward the door.

  “Do you mind if we end our session a few minutes early?” I ask.

  He shakes his head, clearly tired of talking about himself. We have so much more to cover in the upcoming months, and I can’t wait to peel back the layers. I hope by the time Duke’s suspension ends that he gets some closure. That he understands his anger issues can be fixed.

  I open the door for Duke. “After you.”

  “Mommy!” Max screams when she locks eyes with me.

  Duke’s gaze travels between us, and then a rare smile turns up the corners of his mouth. Great. I didn’t want Duke to know about my personal life. I keep my family separate from my patients.

  Ted is in the lobby with Max, chatting up my receptionist. How the hell am I going to explain why his favorite NHL player is in my office without violating doctor-patient confidentiality? The Capitals kept this part of Duke’s suspension off-the-books for a reason. And now, Duke’s biggest fan is about to discover the truth.

  Chapter Nine

  Duke

  Our session ends with a commotion outside the door. Dr. Devine leads me into the waiting room, where a tall, dark-haired man accompanies a young girl. Long blonde hair spills down her back, and her pale skin flushes from telling a story to the secretary with enthusiasm. She has a lot of energy, practically out of breath from talking so fast.

  “Mommy,” the little girl yells when she spots Dr. Devine. She almost runs into my leg to get to her. “Mommy, I was just telling Rosie about my new rabbit.”

  Dr. Devine looks surprised, maybe even a little annoyed. She gives the man approaching us a dirty look. He’s dressed in an expensive black suit with diamond cufflinks, armed with a cocky grin.

  “You bought her a rabbit?” Dr. Devine says under breath with a hint of annoyance in her tone. “Doesn’t she have enough pets, Ted?”

  “C’mon, Delilah,” he groans. “It’s not that big of a deal. Why do you have to freak out over everything? She’s a kid. A few pets won’t hurt.”

  “I wouldn’t have to freak out,” she says with a low growl, “if you’d stop doing things without asking me. She’s my daughter, too.”

  Dr. Devine is married, which makes sense why she ignores my advances that would work on other women. Turning away from them, I take this family get together as my cue to leave, but the little girl tugs on my shirt.

  She looks up at me with the same blue eyes as Dr. Devine. “You’re big,” she says with a squeak to her tone. “Giant big.”

  “Max,” Dr. Devine says. “That’s not nice.”

  I wave my hand. “It’s okay.”

  Max looks up at her mom and then back to me, lowering her voice. “How tall are you?”

  I crouch down to meet her height. “Six foot five.”

  “Wow!” Her face beams with excitement. “Did you know that the tallest building in Washington D.C. is the Washington Monument?”

  I can’t stop grinning. “No, I didn’t.”

  “The Washington Monument is five hundred fifty-five feet tall. It was named after George Washington.” She’s speaking so fast she’s out of breath as she continues. “He was important, you know. He was the first president of the United States.”

  A burst of wild laughter takes over me. “You’re a smart kid. Did you learn this in school?”

  She shakes her head, and her hair smacks me in the face. “No, I went on a tour with Mommy and Daddy last year. I got my picture taken with Abraham Lincoln. He was tall... like you.”

  I laugh again. Max is so cute and funny the way she talks about the statue of Abraham Lincoln like he’s alive and in the flesh.

  “Come say bye to Daddy,” Dr. Devine says from behind me, snapping me back to reality. “He has to get back to work.”

  I rise to my full height as the little girl hugs her dad’s leg, resting her head on his thigh.

  “I’ll see ya later, Maxie.” He gives her a pat on the back before he peels her hands off him.

  What a strange reaction. Dr. Devine looks irritated with him, her eyes narrowed and jaw set as hard as steel.

  Her husband’s eyes meet mine. He tilts his head to the side, giving me a confused look. Realization lights in his eyes, and then he gives me a wicked smirk.

  “Duke Baldwin?”

  He extends his hand to me, but after the way he treated Dr. Devine and his daughter, I would rather spit on him. He must be a fan. I can’t afford to get into any more trouble, so I shake his hand.

  “Nice to meet you,” he says with a wicked grin. “I’m Ted Fairchild, Chief of Staff for Senator Banks. Nice, firm grip you got there,” he says, shaking out his hand.

  Dr. Devine has a different last name. Interesting.

  “Duke Baldwin?” The little girl taps her dad on the leg, peeking up at him. “Daddy, he’s your favorite player.”

  Ted clutches his daughter’s shoulder and shushes her. “Yeah, Maxie. Daddy’s talking now.”

  Wow! This dude is such a dick.

  “Tough game you had in Philly,” Ted continues. “I couldn’t believe you got twenty games for that.”

  I roll my shoulders. “It wasn’t my call.”

  “You better be back for the playoffs. The team could use you right now.
”

  As if I don’t already feel like shit...

  “Yeah, I’ll be back in time.”

  “We’ll see you next week,” Dr. Devine says to Ted, interrupting our painful conversation.

  “Are you with...” His voice trails off as his gaze flicks between Dr. Devine and me.

  “It’s none of your business who I’m with, Ted.” Dr. Devine presses her palm to his shoulder and gives him a shove in the opposite direction.

  Ted’s cheeks flush. “You sure know how to pick them, huh?”

  “Sure do,” she says with a cheeky grin. “I have a patient coming soon. Now, if you would excuse us.”

  He says one last goodbye to me and then his daughter before Captain Douchebag disappears into the hallway, leaving us in awkward silence.

  “I’m sorry,” Dr. Devine says to me.

  “For what?”

  “My ex-husband thinks we’re dating. I couldn’t tell him you’re my patient. That would violate doctor-patient confidentiality.”

  Dr. Devine is single. One point for the home team.

  “I’d be happy to be your fake boyfriend.” I wiggle my eyebrows as a smile turns up the corners of my mouth.

  But Dr. Devine doesn’t look too thrilled about my proposal.

  “You’re my patient.”

  She sucks in a deep breath, and her lips part as if she’s about to speak again. Instead, she leads her daughter to the couch across from the reception desk.

  “Mommy, can Duke come over?”

  Dr. Devine laughs. “No, baby. Duke has to go home.”

  Max looks up at me. “I watch you on TV with Daddy! Daddy loves hockey. I love hockey. I’m going to play hockey soon. On a real team and everything. When did you start playing hockey?”

  “As soon as I was old enough to hold a stick.”

  Her eyes widen. “Did you play when you were my age?”

  “How old are you?”

  She glances down at the hot pink digital watch on her wrist and then says, “I turn eleven in ninety-seven days, ten hours, and nine minutes.”

  “That’s very specific.” I laugh once. “And no, I was younger than you when I learned how to play hockey. My dad was a professional hockey player. He taught me.”

  “I like the fights,” Max says. “The last time I was at Daddy’s house, I watched a bad fight. The player in the orange jersey was hurt. Daddy was upset. He said our season is over.”

  I feel like shit the second it all sinks in. Dr. Devine gives me a look of apology because she knows the fight is the reason I’m here. Her daughter watched me beat the shit out of Dean. It hadn’t occurred to me until now that I have disappointed more people than I can count. I remember being her age, obsessed with my favorite hockey player. Meeting Max puts everything into perspective for me.

  “Can I come to one of your games?” She sits up straight, her hands folded on her lap. “Daddy stood me up last time,” she says with a frown.

  Now, I want to break Ted’s face. My dad did the same thing to Kat for most of her childhood. The calls were always last minute or not at all. Austin and I were there to pick up the pieces, while Dr. Devine is left to do the same with Max.

  “I’m not playing right now,” I tell Max, “but I’ll take you to a game.”

  If my coach will allow it.

  “Did Daddy tell you he’s a liar?”

  I laugh, confused as I glance at Dr. Devine. “He’s a liar?”

  “Ted’s a lawyer,” she corrects. “Sometimes, Max gets it mixed up.”

  “No, I don’t,” Max snaps. “Daddy lies for a living. That’s what he does. He tells lies. He told me so.”

  Dr. Devine laughs so hard she snorts, but her soft demeanor turns to stone. “He’s good at lying.” The anger in her tone is palpable.

  “Did you know that snakes can predict earthquakes?” Max says in a singsong tone.

  I shake my head, unable to contain my laughter. This girl is killing me.

  “Nagini would feel it coming five days before,” she continues. “I read about it on Google. I like Google. It has a lot of cool stuff. You type in a question, and it does all of the thinking for you.”

  I laugh again because this kid is too much.

  “Nagini is Max’s pet snake,” Dr. Devine says. “We named her after Voldemort’s snake from the Harry Potter books.”

  “Mommy read Harry Potter to me when I was in her belly. She still reads to me. Every night.”

  Kat calls Theo and Travis the Weasley twins because she’s a huge Harry Potter fan. I read the books to Kat after our mother passed away. She begged me to read to her every night, something my mother did before she got sick.

  “You remind me of someone I know,” I tell Max.

  “Who?” Max asks.

  “My sister.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Kat.”

  She balls her little hands into fists and pushes them out in front of her like a cat and says, “Meow.”

  I laugh so hard, I snort.

  Max reminds me so much of Kat when she was her age that my chest feels like it’s going to cave in. Tears burn my eyes, but I attempt to keep them at bay. Looking away from Dr. Devine and Max, I suck in a deep breath. Doc touches my shoulder, and I turn to meet her intense gaze. She’s worried about me. For the first time in my life, someone other than a family member has struck a chord.

  “You okay, Duke?”

  I lower my head in shame. “I failed her.”

  She tightens her grip on my shoulder. “Who?”

  “My sister.”

  We share a moment of silence.

  She glances at Max and then to me as if she understands for the first time why I’m here. “Want to talk about it?”

  “Maybe next time. I have to get going.”

  She presses her lips together and nods. “Next time, I want to hear all about your sister.”

  “Let me know when you want to take Max to a Caps game,” I say to change the subject.

  “You don’t have to,” she says. “Max just says stuff. She doesn’t know any better.”

  “No, it’s okay. I want to take both of you.”

  “We can’t date,” she challenges. “You’re my patient. This is… unprofessional. And you’re my patient…”

  “You already said that,” I shoot back with a wink. “We can watch a game together as...”

  What would that make us?

  “As friends,” she says.

  Like Kat and Dean? Yeah, well, they obviously weren’t just friends. Friendship isn’t possible with a woman.

  Anger bubbles up inside my chest, my rage coursing through my veins. I want to smash Dean’s face against the boards all over again. But when Lila curls her fingers around my wrist, I forget about everything but her.

  “Sure,” I choke out. “We can be friends.”

  Chapter Ten

  Delilah

  I sit at the kitchen table with Max and watch her do her homework. She doesn’t need my help. Her work is right every time I check it. So, I keep her company, sipping tea as she finishes the last problem on the page.

  “All done,” Max declares, dropping the pencil onto the table. “Can I have a cookie now?”

  I flip open the tin at the center of the table and offer it to Max. She reaches inside and pulls out three chocolate chip cookies, stuffing one of them into her mouth.

  “Mommy,” she says between bites, “when are we going to the game with Duke?”

  “I already told you, baby. I don’t know if we can.”

  “What does your work have to do with hockey?”

  “Ever hear the expression ‘Don’t mix business with pleasure’?”

  I know she does before she nods. This girl Googles everything. I couldn’t keep her off the iPad if I tried. She carries it around with her, tucked under her arm, almost everywhere she goes. Some nights, she even falls asleep with it on her chest. I love that she loves to learn. It’s good for children to be curious.

  �
��Well, I have a business relationship with Duke,” I say, “and it would be unprofessional to go to a hockey game with him.”

  “Could Daddy go to a game with Duke?”

  “I suppose he could.”

  Max lifts her precious iPad from the table and starts typing.

  “What are you doing, Max?”

  Her head is down, eyes fixed on the screen as she types a question into Google.

  I chuckle. “You won’t find the answer online.”

  “Yes, I will,” she challenges. “I can find anything online.”

  “I promise this is one thing you won’t find.”

  She gives me a disapproving look. “Then, I’ll just ask Daddy. He knows.”

  I grab the iPad from her hand before she can FaceTime with Ted. “We talked about this, remember? Daddy isn’t allowed to know that Mommy is working with Duke.”

  “Because Daddy would get jealous?”

  Ted hasn’t shut up about Duke since he saw us together in my office. My ex thinks I’m dating Duke, and that’s fine with me. As long as he doesn’t discover the truth, he can think whatever he wants.

  “Daddy didn’t take me to the game,” Max says with a sad face. “And you won’t take me.”

  I slide my chair next to hers and hook my arm around her. “Yes, I will. We can go to any home game you want.”

  “Just not with Duke Baldwin.”

  Can I make this one exception for Max? Every part of me screams yes, but the part of me that likes the extra income from the Capitals is saying hell no. We need the money now that Ted is gone. I make a decent living with my private practice, but the cost of living in Washington D.C. is sky-high. Ted and I agreed to divorce on peaceful terms. We were best friends since high school, and I didn’t want to cause a fight that would eventually create a rift between Max and me.

  Max is the reason I didn’t fight Ted for money. Custody of Max was all that mattered to me.

  “I see Duke in a few days,” I say. “I’ll talk to him then, okay?”

  Max jumps into my arms, wrapping her tiny arms around my neck with a firm grip. She smacks a kiss on my cheek. “I love you, Mommy!”

  I rub her back. “I love you, too, baby.”