Page 61 of The Sculptor

He chuckles. “My issues should not come as a shock to you right now.”

They don’t, and really knowing this is how unattached he was does something to my heart. This man owns me in all the ways it matters.

“I’m assuming she likes to be called something else, though, something a little more biblical.”

He arches a brow in confusion.

“Duke, seriously, what’s her real name?”

His face scrunches up, and I can’t keep the laugh from bubbling out. “We’re fucking doomed.”

“No, we’re not doomed. I’ll figure it out before tomorrow, when I have to introduce you.” He shifts and wedges his hips between my thighs, already done with this conversation.

“And if you don’t remember her name, and she spits in our face?”

I can’t even with him right now.

“Then we’ll bring wet wipes and go with plan B.”

“And what’s plan B?”

He flinches. “Telling Vance.”

Ramsey

Summertime Girlfriend’s name is Kelly.

And not only is she gorgeous, but she’s a reporter for a national news network known for its shocking exposés.

“So, you’re his winter, huh?”

I flash Duke a glare that he misses since he stepped away to “take a call” that no one heard come through.

“I guess so—though I’m not entirely sure what you mean by that.”

Kelly motions to the small bistro table outside the quaint coffee shop, where we met. “Duke’s a great guy,” she says with a smile, “but his heart was never available. Everyone knew he was waiting for someone else. He was waiting for winter.” She pulls out a chair and sits, eyeing the small ring on my finger. “He was waiting for you.”

I guess there is no need in denying it. “I suppose he was.”

She laughs. “You’re just as cagey as he is, but for this to work, you’re gonna have to tell me what you know.” She pulls out a pen and a notepad like she’s ready to start.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Duke?”

She grins, and it’s savage. I know then that if anyone is going to take down Langston, it will be this woman. “Aren’t you tired of waiting?”

Oh, no. This is going to be bad. “I—”

A hand comes down on my shoulder, solid and secure. “Kelly—” At least he didn’t call her Summertime. “As we discussed, in exchange for helping us locate our son—who you will not include in this story—we’ll provide all the details we know to expose this undercover adoption scandal involving Congressman Ford, Harrison Potter, and Congressman Albrecht.”

My breath hitches. “You didn’t tell me we were going after our fathers, too.”

Slowly, Duke walks around and squats at my feet. “You promised me your future,” he reminds me.

I nod, feeling the air change around us to something more suffocating.

“No matter the outcome,” I agree.

He nods, pulling a piece of paper and handing it to Kelly.

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