Page 80 of Under the Influence

“You’re going to need to skedaddle soon,” Pa-Donovan tells Ike. “We’re having lunch with Edith and Duke.”

“I never paid much attention to Duke. I want to know him better.”

“He’s in love with your sister, and they’re having a baby. You’ll get to know him fine tomorrow and next week and so forth. Don’t be a troublemaker. Too much shit has gone down over the last month for us to stir up more drama now. After all, we’re Mooneys. We don’t embrace drama. We’re the ones who roll our eyes at other people’s drama.”

“Drama can be fun,” Ike insists and glances at Oana. “Right?”

“I would rather eat pizza than sandwiches for lunch.”

Ike smiles. “Well, in that case, I don’t care about the lunch here. Let’s go grab a pizza.”

After I finish half of my muffin and get a shower, Pa-Donovan and I wait for our dream people to arrive.

“I didn’t trust in the magic,” I admit to my pa. “I kept thinking my relationship with Duke wouldn’t last. I don’t know why I can’t just relax.”

“You seem relaxed right now.”

“I’m excited for Duke to come here in the middle of the day in front of everyone. I need things between him and me to feel normal.”

My pa studies me in a soft way before offering a smile. “I think I hear his motorcycle.”

I hurry to the bathroom to check my appearance before bolting for the door. Soon, I’m at the closest garage where Duke climbs off his motorcycle and smiles at me.

We don’t speak. An awkward moment passes, and I start doubting. I can’t seem to get out of my head and take charge.

Fortunately, Duke steps closer, wraps me in his arms, and kisses away my worries. My mind swims, and my heart races. Yesterday feels like a crazy dream.

Once his lips leave mine, Duke studies me. I see something in his expression. That’s when I notice my eyes are filled with tears.

“I’m losing my fricking mind,” I mumble and move away from him. “What’s wrong with me?”

Duke rests a hand on my shoulder and guides me back in front of him. “You’re okay,” he says in a soft tone. “You know I love you.”

Nodding, I smile and shuffle closer. His fingers feel like magic against my bare arms.

“I’ll get to know your parents at lunch,” he says, making me smile wider. “Tonight, you’ll come to my place. I already have the pork chops prepped. We’ll watch a movie or talk or spend the entire time in bed. There are no wrong answers because we aren’t on a schedule.”

Wiping my eyes, I feel the tension leave me. “I love you, too.”

“It’s okay to get emotional as you’re adjusting to this new situation. But you need to speak up about what’s happening or else I’ll start assuming the worst.”

“I’ll try to remember that, but the Earlham in me has broken loose and she doesn’t make sense. It’s all emotion, all the time.”

Duke grins. “Your family’s odd. Mine believes in curses, so we aren’t normal, either. Our kid will never be bored. That’s for sure.”

I swoon over how he knows just the right thing to say. The Earlham drama might be exhausting, but Duke remains patiently in control. Nothing will stop us from building our forever together.

DUKE, AKA WATER PISTOLS AND WENDY DARLING

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This morning, before Clover leaves to supervise a work project, she wishes me good luck with my not-a-stripper girlfriend. My response to her teasing is to whip out a water pistol and shoot her in the back as she walks away. Clover gasps, realizes what I’ve done, and marches over.

“You shot me,” she mutters. “That place is a bad influence on you.”

“You’re just saying that because I have the water pistol and you don’t.”

A smiling Clover accepts a second pistol. “I plan to drench you.”

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