“Why would I want to commit to anyone when I’m only twenty-two?” I asked with a shrug. “I don’t see the point of tying myself down yet when there’s still so much fun to be had.”
“Shit, you’re practically a baby.” The man shook his head. “My husband and I are almost as old as your father.”
“If his boyfriend being younger than me doesn’t stop Dad, why should I let it bother me that you’re almost his age? Turnabout is fair play, as far as I’m concerned.”
The bartender snorted at my argument. “Isn’t that more like getting revenge?”
“Only if I hated Calixto. But honestly, he’s been amazing for my dad. Sure, it’s weird he’s younger than me, but mentally and emotionally, he’s older than both Dad and me combined. Plus, he’s cute as hell. If Dad hadn’t snapped him up, I would have tried to shoot my shot. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve both been interested in the same guy.”
“Things really are different in LA.” He shook his head. “What would you like?”
“Let’s start with your name.”
He did a poor job of smothering his amusement. “Duke Morrow.”
The name rang a bell from my role prep for my movie. “You own this bar?”
“I do.”
My eyes lit up at the prospect of spending more time around the sexy beast of a man. “Great. That’ll give me even more chances to tempt you.”
“I’m surprised you’re here so early. The movie shoot doesn’t start for another few days.”
“I came to scope out everything before the madness begins.”
“You’re also filming at my husband’s café.”
My night kept getting better and better. “Perfect. I’m sure we’ll be able to convince you to change your mind about letting me into your bed while I’m in town for the movie.”
“You seem awfully confident about that for someone who just met me.”
I let my gaze roam over his impressive physique. It was rare for me to want a bigger man to rail me into the mattress, but something told me Duke would make sure I had a damn good time while he fucked me into a sex coma. “What can I say? I’m a man who knows what he wants.”
“Let’s start with what you want for dinner.” He gestured at the menu I had forgotten about because of my interaction with Tobias.
I gave it a quick glance. “The taco burger with fries sounds amazing. I’ll take that medium, please.”
“Sure thing.” Duke took the menu back and entered the order into his system.
I sipped my horchata beer. The concept of itsounded a little weird to me since I didn’t associate a milky drink with beer, but the sweetness worked for me. “Good call on this, by the way.” I lifted my glass in a toast. “It’s unusual, but I like it.”
“I’m glad.” I suspected there was a gooey marshmallow layer under Duke’s gruffness. He asked, “Are you staying with family while you’re in town?”
“Dad wanted me to stay with him, but I don’t want to ruin his honeymoon period with Calixto.” My dad wasn’t the best with boundaries, so I didn’t want to walk in on him fucking his hot boy toy, especially since I was still a little jealous about not being able to claim Calixto first. “I’ll stay with Mom until she starts asking too many personal questions, then I’ll probably go to my uncle’s place.”
“You’re lucky Melody cares enough to get involved.”
“I could do without the judgy lectures, though.” I scrunched up my nose as I recalled some of them. “We don’t all want to fall in love. Some of us only want to get laid.”
“It’s natural for a mother to want her son to find love.”
“That’s a surprisingly sentimental take for a guy who looks like a mean club bouncer.” I smirked when he couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “I’m sure your mom was thrilled you settled down with a husband.”
“She would have been shocked if she had livedlong enough to see it.” The haunted look in his beautiful gray eyes lingered for a moment before it was gone. “Let’s just say I wasn’t the marrying type before I met Early.”
I inwardly cringed at unintentionally stepping on an emotional land mine. “Yeah, that tracks. You look like a love-’em-and-leave-’em type.”
“It’s amazing what meeting the right person can do for you.”
