Page 44 of Off Limits Daddy

I reached the door to the office but didn't go in, standing in the open doorway instead. Glancing into the room, I sawher intently staring at the computer on the desk. Memories of fucking her on the desk came back to me, followed by another blow to the ego that she could sit there acting like nothing happened as she tapped away on her computer. I would have to get over it. Veronica liked sex and she was good at it, but there wasn’t any sentiment to it. Not that she’d fall in love with me, but even one-night stands I’d been with, there’d been a friendliness about it, an appreciation of what we each brought to the situation. Not Veronica. She was the definition ofwham, bam, thank you, sir. I wasn’t sure how to classify what we had. We’d had sex, but I wouldn’t say we were lovers. I couldn’t even say we were friends.

As I stood in the doorway, I noted that the room felt cooler. I looked around and saw the window was open. The temperature had to be in the teens, and she had the window open.

"Is the room too warm for you?" I had money to pay for heating, but it would be less expensive to close the window and turn down the heat.

She looked up from the computer she'd been working on at the desk. She glanced toward the window and then rose from the chair. "No, I just need some fresh air." She shut the window and went to sit back down at the desk. She stared at me as if she was waiting for me to say something. I suppose since I was the one who had sought her out, I was the one who needed to make the move.

I leaned against the door frame, hoping she would get the message that this time, I wouldn’t be making any attempt to seduce her. "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you earlier today."

She shrugged. "You're not wrong." She looked down, which told me that while she wanted to act like it was no big deal, my words had been hurtful.

"It was mean, and I'm not a mean person."

Her lips quirked upward. "I guess I bring out the worst in you?"

I thought she was trying to be funny, so I tried to smile too, but I wasn't very successful. I reflected on a few of our past conversations in which she had made it clear that her focus was on her job. She wasn't interested in marriage or family. Society had come a long way, but I knew that it still held the expectation that people would marry and have children. I felt certain that it held especially true for women, so it had to be annoying to her when people expected or suggested that she get married and have kids. I wondered how many other people had suggested that there was something wrong with her because she didn’t have a man in her life. Something I had done the other day as well. There was something about her that brought out the meanness in me. Except it wasn't about her, was it? There was something about me that was triggered by her cool indifference.

"I don't know what it is, but it's definitely something I need to work on because I don't like being an asshole. You're an intelligent and hard-working woman, and your dedication to helping Aiden is something that I admire. I'm going to do my best to make this situation easy for you so you can do the job that you have set out to do.”

A look of relief crossed her face. "Thank you."

I straightened from the doorframe. "I guess I'll let you get back to work, then."

"You're not going to ask me if I've learned anything about what Aiden said at dinner?"

I shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but I figure if it’s something I need to know, you’ll tell me."

"I haven't actually found anything yet. But I'm reaching out to see if any bodies have been found recently. I have a message in to the Organized Crime investigators as well."

"I’m sure you'll figure it out." I started to leave again.

"Duncan?"

I stopped and turned my attention to her again. "Yeah? Is there something you need?"

She looked down for a moment, making me curious about what she wanted to say. Finally, she lifted her gaze to mine. "I know that my focus and determination can make me seem like an unfeeling person."

I shook my head and waved my hand to stop her. "If I made you feel that way, I'm sorry."

She gave her head a quick shake. "I'm not fishing for another apology… I'm just trying to explain that while it may not be obvious, I am sensitive to the situation." She looked down again and appeared to swear under her breath. When she lifted her head again, she said, "What I want to say is that I notice you and how you are with Aiden. You’re a wonderful father to him. He trusts you. And you're so patient with him. And engaged. I don't know why Julia Racine is thinking that Aiden would be better off in another placement. I know that he needs to be here with you. You are his father."

Her words filled my chest with gratitude.

"And if you need somebody to stand up for you… you know, when this is all over, if she still insists that he needs to be in a two-parent family, you can count on me to be on your side. I’ll go before a judge and vouch for the type of father you are."

I wanted to lumber across the room, pick her up, and hug her. Not in a sexual sense, but in appreciation. Of course, I wasn’t going to do that. Being too close to her, touching her, led to irritation.

I pressed my hand over my chest and gave her a sincere smile. "Thank you, Veronica. Really. It means a lot to me."

She gave me a soft smile and a single nod.

"Well, again, I'll let you get to work."

"Thank you."

Somehow, we had found a truce, and as a result, I found myself wanting to linger and talk to her. There was more to Veronica than the focused FBI agent, but it was none of my business to learn about it, even if I wanted to. So, with a small wave, I stepped away from the door and headed downstairs again.

The next day,Veronica was again up and ready to go to work when I entered the kitchen to start breakfast.

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