Spontaneous - Brenda Jackson [38]
“How are things going?”
He glanced up and saw that Kim had approached. “Okay. What about with you?”
“Edward is asking a lot of questions.”
“About what?”
“You. And I hope I gave him all the right answers.”
Duan frowned. “What sort of questions?”
“Questions I’d assume a father would ask when his daughter brought a guy to the house for their first date. How long were you a cop? Are you a detective, and if so, how long? Where did you live in Atlanta and for how long? Those sorts of questions.”
Duan nodded. “And what did you tell him?”
“What we agreed that I would.”
“Good. I might add you to my P.I. firm yet,” he teased, leaning toward her and placing a kiss on her lips. Anyone looking at them would assume they were sharing a loving moment.
She chuckled. “No, thank you. I’ll stick to the medical field. Anyway, I think I surprised him when I finally told him that considering he was going to marry my mom, the two of you should get to know each other. And that if he wanted to know anything else about you, he needed to ask you himself.”
Duan smiled. “He did, but I’m sure more questions are coming later.”
He placed his arm around her shoulder and tried to downplay the tingle he felt in his gut from touching her. No matter where she’d been in the room all morning, he’d been aware of her.
“How did things go with you and Aunt Gert?” she asked.
“I think she likes me.”
“HOW WAS THE REST of your day with Edward?” Duan asked. “I couldn’t help noticing a few times he had you stuck in a corner all to himself.” It was later that evening and they were heading back toward the hotel, momentarily stuck in traffic as a train passed.
Kim glanced over and gave him a faint smile. Everyone had hung around for dinner and afterward several people played a game of cards. Duan was right. Edward had participated in one or two games, but most of the time he’d cornered her. She wasn’t surprised Duan had noticed. In fact, she had picked up on him watching her a lot that day. And knowing his gaze was on her had given her sensuous shivers. The thought that he had that effect on her no longer came as a surprise.
“Yes, I did everything you’d suggested and kept him talking. He didn’t say a lot about his marriages, but he did tell me he didn’t have any kids and that was his one regret in life. So, he’s looking forward to becoming my stepfather.” She sighed. “That’s basically it. And he did talk about how happy he plans on making Mom. So, what did you find out?”
“Not a whole lot. He likes playing golf and going fishing. He suggested we do both while I’m here. Of course I didn’t turn down the opportunity to spend more time with him. I also got him to talk about his past life in Atlanta. But other than telling me about the auto mechanic shop he used to own in College Park, he was rather tight-lipped.”
“That doesn’t tell us a lot, does it?” Kim asked.
“No. However, as days go on—”
“But that’s just it, Duan. Instead of spending time getting to know the man my mother is marrying for the right reasons, I’m questioning him for all the wrong ones, only because—”
“I know what you’re about to say, Kim, and I understand. But—”
“Does there have to be a but, Duan?”
“In this case, yes. Now tell me about your mom’s neighbor.”
She glanced over at him in surprise. “Who? Mr. Bennie?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you want to know anything about him?”
“He seems to like your mom.”
Kim rolled her eyes. “Of course he likes Mom. They’ve lived next door to each other for years and have known each other even longer. They attended school together. The house Mom is living in now used to be my grandparents’ house and the house Mr. Bennie lives in used to be his parents’ house, so he and Mom were neighbors growing up. He’s a few years older than she is.”
She shifted a little in her seat to look at Duan. “When his mother died, Mr. Bennie and his wife and only daughter moved back to Shreveport to take care of his father. But his dad only lived a year after