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“Duke Crocker?” an accented voice called.
Duke turned his head and a wide smile appeared on his face.
“Hermione?” Duke returned when he focused on the beautiful brunette who had just walked in.
“Long time, no see.” she said as she strolled up to the bar.
“Too long. You look good.” Duke countered. “What brings you to Haven?”
“Well, I heard a sexy scoundrel lived here so I thought I'd check to see if it was true.” Hermione winked.
“Is that right?” Duke asked with mirth.
“It is! Think you could help me with that?” Hermione cheekily asked.
“I just might be able to, yeah.” Duke answered then groaned when Audrey and Nathan walked in.
Hermione raised a brow at his change of mood and noticed the man and woman who sat next to her.
“Audrey, Nathan. What can I get you?” Duke asked the new arrivals.
“The special for me, please.” Audrey said, “I love your tacos.”
“Of course. Nathan?” Duke prodded.
“The same.” was the gruff reply.
“Comin' right up.” Duke said as he disappeared into the kitchen. Not long after, he reappeared with two plates and set them in front of his customers.
“And you, Hermione? What can I get you?” he asked her.
“That smells really good. I think I'll give them a try.” she told him.
Hearing the petite woman speak, Audrey turned to face her. “Hi, I'm Audrey. You're a long way from home. What brings you to our little town?” she asked as she held out her hand.
“Hermione and I'm here to visit with Duke.” Hermione answered as she shook the blonde’s hand.
A low comment was made and Hermione told Nathan to repeat it, she hadn't quite heard him.
Nathan turned his gaze to her before saying clearly, “You could keep better company.”
Hermione bristled and narrowed her eyes before retorting, “I happen to think Duke is excellent company and you would do well to keep your judgmental opinions to yourself.”
Duke walked out with her food in time to hear the exchange. It made him feel good that Hermione had come to his defense but he also knew she was one of Britain's top Hit Witches so he interceded before Nathan could piss her off any more and find out just what she could do.
“It's alright, Hermione. Nathan and I have a long history.” Duke told her as he then promptly changed topics.
“How long are you in town for?” he asked.
“That depends.” Hermione answered.
“On?” Duke prompted.
“Whether you'd like my company for my full vacation.” she told him.
“How long is your vacation?” Duke wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. He had met her the year before when one of his customers wanted him to smuggle a large crate for them. Duke hadn't known about the magical world before but he got a crash course when Hermione had bound and silenced him before he knew what was going on.
He had later learned, from her, that his customer was highly sought after. He was a wanted war criminal and what he had asked Duke to smuggle was a baby hippogriff. Duke hadn't known what to think until she showed him the crate being opened in a magical enclosure. He had rubbed his eyes but there was no denying that he was seeing a baby hippogriff. She had spent the next week showing him around and explaining her world. When she had told him that most muggles were obliviated, he had asked why he hadn't been. She had tilted her head adorably and asked if he wanted to be. He had quickly told her no, causing her to chuckle. Then she explained that due to his profession, it was in their best interests to educate him instead so he could, maybe, alert them next time.
Normally, Duke wouldn't consider turning a contact over to the authorities but he decided he would any magicals that gave him the vibes this last one had. He had almost broken his own rule of not opening the packages when he had picked it up. After seeing what was inside, he was very glad he hadn’t.
Like most good things in his life, Duke had had to say goodbye to the beauty. His parting words were if she was ever in Haven, Maine, to look him up. She had agreed but told him to not hold his breath. She was kept pretty busy and rarely took days off. So he was very curious as to how much time she had.
“Three weeks.” Hermione told him, making his brows shoot up to his hair.
“That's a lot of vacation time for one so young.” Audrey joined in.
Hermione shrugged, “My boss wanted me to use it all but I can't handle being inactive for that long so I agreed to three weeks instead.”
“How much could someone your age have stored up?” Nathan scoffed. Audrey shot him a look.
“Well, if you truly wish to know, I have three months’ worth.” Hermione coldly said, not liking the brunette one bit.
“Three months! What job gives you so much time?” Audrey asked in amazement.
Hermione glanced at Duke, who smirked at her, before answering. “I'm in a special division in my law enforcement department.”
“Just how young do they accept recruits in England?” Nathan snorted causing Audrey to glare at his bad manners.
“Seventeen actually and my age is twenty-five.” Hermione stated as her wand arm twitched, alerting Duke of her patience running thin.
Duke shot Audrey a look and she nodded back. She then turned to Nathan, bid everyone goodnight before she dragged him out. The last thing they needed was an international incident because Nathan was in a snit.
After they left, Duke leaned on the counter, “Three weeks, huh?”
“Yep!” Hermione answered, popping the p.
Duke smirked, “Whatever shall we do to occupy our time?”
Hermione chuckled, “Oh, I'm sure we can figure something out.”
It was the one thing she had regretted a year ago, not kissing Duke at some point. It was crazy how they met and she had gotten caught up with showing him her world that the time had flown by. A week was not enough to spend with such a gorgeous rogue. Hell, three weeks wasn't going to be enough. However, she had failed to share that Kingsley had told her to see how it went and, if all went well, she would be taking all her vacation. Hermione hoped so. It had only been a week then but they had gotten on so well, three weeks would be heavenly in his presence.
~FIN~