“No idea. You’re the list maker, not me.”
Ivy’s comment brought to mind the list of questions she made weeks ago—the ones Duncan had answered without a single complaint.
“Do you mind if I call you back later?” Tory asked.
Right now, it was more about getting her thoughts and feelings on paper than about organization.
“You better, or I’ll call you.”
* * *
“You really shouldn't leaveyour door unlocked,” Gianna said in lieu of a greeting when she and Alec walked into the kitchen.
When he'd learned they were going to a concert tomorrow afternoon at the Garden, he'd invited them to spend the weekend with him. While Duncan wanted to catch up with his favorite cousin and best friend, it wasn't the only reason he'd invited them. He hoped the company would keep his thoughts off Tory, because work certainly hadn't.
Much like when they'd been in high school, he'd looked for her each time he left his condo, but the only place he'd seen her had been in his mind—a place he tried to banish her from, because thinking about her accomplished nothing. Unfortunately, he failed more than he succeeded. Thoughts of their last conversation hit him at least once a day. When that wasn't replaying itself, memories of their time together paraded through his mind.
When Tory had walked out on Saturday, he'd almost followed her. He even made it to the door. But, ultimately, he'd decided he'd be better off giving her some space. Once she had time to think about everything, she'd realize how wrong she was and come to him. Duncan no longer saw that happening—not after six days—and he would not beg her.
“Thanks for the advice, Mom.” Duncan pulled her into a bear hug.
“You know he does it because he's too lazy to walk to the door every time someone rings the bell.” Alec dropped one of the suitcases he held and helped himself to a mozzarella stick.
“Why am I not surprised?” Gianna said, returning Duncan's embrace.
“Do you care which room we stay in this weekend?”
“You pick.”
“I'll be right back.” Alec kissed Gianna on the cheek before walking away.
He never imagined his cousin and best friend getting together, but they were obviously happy together.
“Do you need help with anything?” Gianna asked.
The menu for tonight was typical poker game food: easy, and except for the veggie platter, not all that healthy.
“You can grab the veggie platter from the fridge,” he answered, opening the oven and removing the meat lover's pizza—just one of the four types he'd bought.
“What time are Matt and Tory getting here?”
“I'm here now.” Matt and Alec entered the kitchen at the same time. “And since Alec's here with you, I see you're still babysitting him. But if you ever get tired of doing it, you know where to find me.”
“That would be like going from babysitting a six-year-old to a two-year-old.” Giving his friends a hard time was just the thing Duncan needed tonight.
“I don't know, Duncan,” Gianna countered. “I think Alec has the maturity of at least an eight-year-old. You, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. Maybe I'll discuss it with Tory when she gets here.”
Duncan ignored his cousin's last comment. “You can think about it while we play cards.” Since there was no baseball game tonight, he'd set everything up in the kitchen instead of the entertainment room.“This isn't a restaurant. Help yourself.” Grabbing a plate, he added some of everything to it. “What should we play tonight?”
Most often, they played Texas Hold’em, but occasionally, they wanted a change and played seven-card stud or five-card draw.
“Shouldn't we wait for Tory, or is she not coming?” Gianna asked as she sat across from him.
“Just the four of us tonight. Tory and I aren't together anymore.”
His cousin's eyebrows bunched together, and he knew she wouldn't let his comment go. “I didn't expect that. You guys seemed close on Thanksgiving. What happened?”
The three people at the table didn't need all the details.