Page 33 of Off Limits Daddy

"And as part of that, she's able to conduct an investigation?" He seemed to be fishing for why she’d play along.

I glanced down at Aiden, hoping he couldn't understand what Brett and I were talking about. "That's right."

"Seems like something that could go wrong. What if she closes the case? Or what if it goes on forever?"

My heart did a crazy thump at the idea of forever. "At this point, we’ll just see where it goes. My focus is on Aiden and doing whatever it takes to keep him safe and happy." I reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "Isn’t that right, Aiden?"

He nodded.

"How about I give you a tour of where your old man works? Then we’ll go shopping for school and have lunch. After that, we’ll go see Grayson."

He nodded.

I sighed. I suppose it was nice that he was well-behaved, but it seemed to me that a normal little boy would sometimes push the limits or talk back. I hoped that someday soon, he would feel safe enough around me to misbehave.

As I led Aiden out to tour the gym, I thought back to breakfast. Veronica had a guard up as well. Was it just for me or part of her MO like it was with Aiden? More importantly, was it something I could break through and have her trust me? Would she feel safe around me? Not enough to misbehave, unless, of course, it was in bed.

9

Veronica

I'd worked on a lot of cases that made me uncomfortable, but as I drove to Duncan’s home to pick him up for our visit to Social Services, my gut was coiled into a tight ball. It wasn't because I was going to have to pretend to be in love with Duncan. And it wasn't even because I was about to fill out paperwork that I had no intention of following through on. What had me second-guessing myself was Aiden. By pretending to be engaged to Duncan, filling out foster care paperwork, and moving in with him, I was giving the impression that I wanted to be a mother. What didn't sit right was lying to Aiden. What kind of person acted like they wanted to care for and nurture a child, but it was all fake? The situation felt morally and ethically wrong. Even reminding myself about the importance of this case and how I was actually keeping Aiden safe from Wally Creighton didn’t alleviate the guilt that I could end up hurting a sweet little boy who'd already been traumatized in life.

Several times, I’d nearly turned around to call off the meeting. Maybe I could postpone it and solve this case and nothave to worry about hurting Aiden. But I also knew Duncan worried about Aiden being moved to a new home. This action could stop that. At least in the short run.

Dammit. Why did this case involve so many emotions? I’d much rather be back at the Boston Police Department talking to Detective Riker. He didn’t have much to give me that I didn’t already know regarding Liam Quinlan’s murder. We suspected Wally or one of his goons to have pulled the trigger that killed Liam, but like our situation in solving Detective Donovan and Darcy Patrick’s murders, we had nothing to pin Wally to it. Except Aiden.

So, I continued on this journey that had me feeling like a horrible person. As I pulled in front of Duncan's home, the door opened and he came trotting out toward the car, suggesting he'd been waiting for me.

He opened the passenger side and was somehow graceful as he got into his seat even though the guy was the size of a bull.

"Just in time. I just got back from dropping Aiden off with Miranda and Grayson. I'm really hoping a little normalcy and having a friend will help him."

I put the car in gear to back out of the driveway. "I'm sure it will." I spoke absently as my mind continued to chastise me.

Out on the street, I headed the car toward Social Services. For a while, we rode in silence as my moral dilemma continued to battle within me.

"You know that when we go in there, we need to look like we're engaged, right?"

My fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I know what needs to be done." I took a quick glance at him and then returned my eyes to the road. “Do you think I don't know how to do my job?"

"Not at all. I imagine you're a kick-ass FBI agent. Agent Veronica Kick-ass Marsden. But right now, you have this vibe that you’d rather be anywhere else than here.”

My jaw tightened. I wanted to tell him that I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be pretending to love him or his little boy. But I was good at what I did because I could push my personal feelings aside. “You don't have to worry, Duncan. I'll be so convincing you might even think I'm in love with you."

He gave me that affable magnetic grin. "I'm looking forward to that."

There was something about his comment and that stupid, charming grin that had my lips twitching upward. What was it about this man? His body size, along with his bald head and beard stubble that looked like something Lucifer might bear, would lead anyone to think he was aggressive and full of machismo. But here he was, wanting to play Susie Homemaker to a six-year-old boy. He was baking cookies and pushing my hair back from my face as we had a moment in the morning before I went to work. There was something about that contrast that was messing with my mind, and my mind was already messed up.

We arrived at Social Services, and as we headed toward the building, I threaded my arm through Duncan's. It was showtime.

He looked down at where my arm was entwined with his, and then up to my face, giving me that silly grin again. "Is this the start of your convincing me you’re in love with me?”

I smiled up at him in what I hoped to the public would look like a woman gazing lovingly at her fiancé. “If you can’t tell, then I'm not doing a very good job."

His smile brightened and he leaned his face closer to mine. "Are you going to try harder?"

I felt his words like a challenge. Like he was poking at me. I wanted to wipe that little mischievous smirk from his face. So, I closed the difference between us, pressing my lips against his.

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