Prince Pucking Charming

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??Well, I have a business relationship with Duke,” I say, “and it would be unprofessional to go to a hockey game with him.”

“Could Daddy go to a game with Duke?”

“I suppose he could.”

Max lifts her precious iPad from the table and starts typing.

“What are you doing, Max?”

Her head is down, eyes fixed on the screen as she types a question into Google.

I chuckle. “You won’t find the answer online.”

“Yes, I will,” she challenges. “I can find anything online.”

“I promise this is one thing you won’t find.”

She gives me a disapproving look. “Then, I’ll just ask Daddy. He knows.”

I grab the iPad from her hand before she can FaceTime with Ted. “We talked about this, remember? Daddy isn’t allowed to know that Mommy is working with Duke.”

“Because Daddy would get jealous?”

Ted hasn’t shut up about Duke since he saw us together in my office. My ex thinks I’m dating Duke, and that’s fine with me. As long as he doesn’t discover the truth, he can think whatever he wants.

“Daddy didn’t take me to the game,” Max says with a sad face. “And you won’t take me.”

I slide my chair next to hers and hook my arm around her. “Yes, I will. We can go to any home game you want.”

“Just not with Duke Baldwin.”

Can I make this one exception for Max? Every part of me screams yes, but the part of me that likes the extra income from the Capitals is saying hell no. We need the money now that Ted is gone. I make a decent living with my private practice, but the cost of living in Washington D.C. is sky-high. Ted and I agreed to divorce on peaceful terms. We were best friends since high school, and I didn’t want to cause a fight that would eventually create a rift between Max and me.

Max is the reason I didn’t fight Ted for money. Custody of Max was all that mattered to me.

“I see Duke in a few days,” I say. “I’ll talk to him then, okay?”

Max jumps into my arms, wrapping her tiny arms around my neck with a firm grip. She smacks a kiss on my cheek. “I love you, Mommy!”

I rub her back. “I love you, too, baby.”

I would do anything for Max, even if it means crossing the line with my patient.

* * *

Duke is in the waiting room when I open the door to my office. He’s thirty minutes early for his appointment. I glance over at my secretary, who has her head down, talking on the phone. She usually announces when a patient arrives.

“Hey, Doc,” Duke says, getting up from the chair. He looks even taller when he’s towering over me.

“Duke,” I say in greeting. “Everything okay?”

He smiles. “Never better.”

“Did you get the time wrong?” I hold up my watch to show him. “We have another thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, I know. I wanted to talk to you about the other day.”