Page 56 of Playing for Keeps

“I was acting like an asshole because I was on my back foot. Lola rejecting me hurt like a sumbitch. But we’re past that now. You see me, and you’re not a guy who feigns blindness just to create drama.”

Duke studies me for a long time, taking a bite of his burger to drag out the moment. I feel him replaying the last few weeks. He’s a smart guy, but he doesn’t trust easily.

“Yeah, I see you,” Duke finally says. “But you’re my daughter’s man. I can’t say shit to you without worrying you’ll rat me out to her.”

“Lola doesn’t want to know all the dirty details. She’d rather see you as Superman again. That’s why I told her that you having a fun stripper hookup was a sign you weren’t stressing life.”

“I don’t want Lola to worry.”

“Neither do I, but I don’t want to lie to her. So, like, you aren’t serious about this stripper, are you? I mean, I get the fun factor, but she won’t be joining us for Thanksgiving, right?”

“What if I say yes?”

“I will prepare Lola for meeting her new stripper step-mommy.”

Duke rolls his eyes. “I don’t bring hookups home for the holidays.”

“The stripper probably doesn’t want the hassle, either. What’s her name? Maybe I know her.”

Duke’s gaze goes dark, and I assume he’s worried I might have banged his current hookup. I can understand why he wouldn’t think he’d stack up well compared to my fine ass.

“Back in the day, West, Ike, Otto, and I often hit up strip clubs all over West Virginia. We liked to jump on stage and have quarters thrown at us.”

“My club’s future president,” Duke mutters.

Grinning at his annoyance, I ask, “Didn’t you used to have stupid fun?”

“I got married when I was eighteen and became a father soon after. Being stupid wasn’t an option.”

“You never got to be a wild young man like me. That explains why you want to party with a stripper now.”

Duke’s expression is difficult to read. I think he’s relieved to have me understand. Maybe he wants to share more. Or perhaps, he’s still wondering if I’ve already plowed his stripper girlfriend. The holidays could be very awkward if he does bring this woman home.

“How come you don’t want to tell me this chick’s name?”

Duke wipes his mouth and takes a drag on his straw before sighing. “This thing we’re talking about is between us, right?”

“Sure.”

Duke glances around and shrugs. “This woman isn’t just a hookup. She ought to be. Nothing can really come out of us being together. But she’s gotten under my skin. With that said, I don’t want to get into any details or bring her around the house. I’m not ready to face how we might not work long term.”

“And you can’t work because of your family’s curse or because she’s a stripper?”

“Neither,” Duke says immediately. “She comes with a young woman’s dreams. I’ve had my kids. I’m not looking to start over, but I know that’s important to her.”

Duke’s expression is raw. He’s a man showing me his damn soul. I’d normally get uncomfortable in such a situation, but he feels like family now. Lola talks about Duke constantly. She’s crazy about her family like I am about mine. If she knew her dad was nursing a crush on a woman he couldn’t keep, her heart would break.

“I’ve dated hot women before,” I say, and he instantly frowns hard at me. “None of them lit me up like Lola. I’d give her anything. Maybe this woman isn’t your Lola. In that case, you should keep her away from your real life and enjoy this thing until it dies naturally. Then, you’ll lick your wounds while babysitting the grandkid I plan to give you.”

“I’d be okay with you not having kids for a decade.”

“No way. West is planning on having a kid, and I can’t have my brother stealing the spotlight,” I explain before returning to his problem. “But if this stripper is your Lola, the curse doesn’t matter and her age won’t either. You’ll give her a kid just like Bullet plans to do with my sister. For the right woman, you’ll do anything. For a great woman who isn’t the right one, you’ll simply enjoy the ride.”

“That’s a very mature response.”

“I grew up around happy couples. I might be a dipshit about a few things, but I know how love works.”

“What if this woman is the right woman and wants a kid? I’ll have a child and a grandchild who are the same age.”

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