7. Dominic
CHAPTER 7
Dominic
SULLIVAN RIDGE HOUSE
PRESENT
I expected dinner to be awkward, but somewhere between parking and walking to the door, I convinced myself it wouldn’t be as bad as I feared. I was wrong. It’s worse.
I’m sitting at the Ledger family table, surrounded by a chorus of voices speaking over each other and the loud clink of plates, struggling not to choke on the tension swirling from Ellie across the table.
She hasn’t looked at me once since we left the porch. Not really. A quick glance—more out of necessity than acknowledgment. Now, she’s doing an admirable job of pretending I don’t exist, laughing a little too brightly at whatever Lily, her niece, is chattering on about.
“How are you liking working for the sheriff’s office?” Leanne’s question jolts me out of my thoughts.
I clear my throat. “I love it, actually. It’s a nice change of pace from LA, that’s for sure.”
Ellie’s eyes rove over to mine for a split-second. Since we didn’t keep in touch, she likely didn’t know I’d been living in California up until recently.
“That’s wonderful. They really needed some fresh blood.” Leanne looks over to Ellie, who’s scowling, and her smile slightly falls before she puts it back in place. “I had a nice chat with your mom after running into you, and she filled me in on you and Adrian. It was so great catching up.” She breathes a soft laugh my way. “She’s very proud of you.”
My face flushes hot. I look down at my food and when I look back up, my eyes can’t help but find Ellie’s.I’ve always been drawn to her—searching for her in crowded rooms, even ones I know she couldn’t possibly be in.Now she’s right in front of me, and all I want to do is stare.Is it the same for her? Has she been looking for me the way I’ve always looked for her?
She’s not regarding me with hurt or sadness or anger. More like curiosity, like she can’t quite figure me out.
I stare back, because I think if I looked away, so would she.
Neither one of us blinks.
Or moves.
“I’m glad you could join us tonight.” Leanne continues, breaking the spell.
Ellie snaps her neck down, suddenly fascinated by her plate. A beat later, I turn my focus back to Leanne.
“It’s been too long since we’ve had you over.”
“Yeah,” I say, too bright to sound genuine. “Thanks for inviting me.”
Ethan, seated next to me, nudges my shoulder. “About time. I’ve hardly seen you since you moved back.”
“Been busy with the house.”
I was hoping my vague answer would suffice, but based on Ethan’s expression it had the opposite effect.
Ethan’s head cocks. “You bought a house?”
I should’ve rehearsed this, come up with a story. But I didn’t.
“Yeah.”
He waits for me to elaborate and the rest of the table follows suit. When I don’t speak, Ethan pushes on. “What house? One of the new developments?”
Well, fuck. I guess the truth was going to come out eventually.
My throat clears before speaking, buying myself time. “Sullivan Ridge House.”
Like a record scratch cutting through the noise, all eye snap to me.
I never really got the saying you could hear a pin drop—until now.
The silence stretches, heavy and suffocating, until Ethan cuts through it like a dull knife. “That’s great.” His smile is tight, his eyes darting to Ellie, checking for fallout.
My stomach twists. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.
Across the table, Ellie grips her napkin like it’s the only thing keeping her from launching it—or maybe herself—at me. Her knuckles whiten as she twists the fabric tighter, her jaw locked so hard I can almost hear her teeth grinding. If looks could kill, I’d already be six feet under.
An uncomfortable quiet grabs hold of the room until Marisa shatters it with a question about Lily’s upcoming dance recital. The conversation shifts, flowing around like a current about to drown me.
I focus on the food I barely taste because of the pressure building in my chest from the unspoken animosity coming from the woman across the table.
When dinner ends, everyone moves to the living room for dessert, but I linger in the dining room, helping clear plates. Ellie breezes past me in the dining room to grab a stack of dishes, her shoulder brushing mine. It’s the first time I’ve gotten her alone since the porch and the closest we’ve been all evening. Being this close feels like static crackling in the air.
“I should’ve told you…privately. About the house. I’m sorry you found out that way.” My voice is low, for her ears only.
She doesn’t look at me. “It’s fine.”
And just like that, she’s gone again, disappearing into the kitchen where Shane and Marisa are putting together dessert plates.
Not wanting to torture her any further, I keep my distance and chat with Ethan and Gavin. Shane hasn’t so much as greeted me, giving me a cold shoulder almost as bad as Ellie’s. We used to be friends, but I can see now that he’s drawn a line and it’s firmly on Ellie’s side.
By the time I’m outside, saying my goodbyes to everyone, dinner feels like a blur of forced smiles and awkward conversations. I’m halfway to my cruiser when I hear a frustrated groan behind me.
Turning, I see Ellie standing by her car, the hood popped and her phone flashlight aimed into the engine.
“Everything okay?” I ask, walking toward her.
“Does it look like everything’s okay?” she hisses, then immediately sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It won’t start.” She moves to step back as I peer under the hood, and I catch the faintest trace of her perfume.
“Battery’s probably dead,” I say after a moment. “You need a jump?”
“Don’t have cables,” she mutters, crossing her arms.
I don’t have cables on me either, though there are likely some in her dad’s garage. If there are, I don’t bring it up.
“I’ll give you a ride,” I offer, already knowing she’s going to argue. “I’m heading into town to pick up a few things, if that’s where you live.”
I’m actually not heading into town, and like a total creep I already know where she lives. I’ve never driven by, I’m not that creepy, I was more curious to see what kind of place she chose and if she lived in it alone. City records confirmed she’s the only occupant.
She hesitates, her lips settling into a thin line. “I can call someone?—”
Gavin and Ethan live on the estate property, and Shane and Layla and Ariana just left. I’m her only option unless she wants to ask her parents, which knowing her, she doesn’t.
“It’s late, and I’m here,” I cut in. “Let me drive you home.”
Her shoulders sag in reluctant defeat. “Fine.”
‘Fine’ seems to be her word of the day. Frankly I don’t care what words she says, as long as she’s still speaking to me, I’ll take it as a win.
As she settles in, more of her perfume reaches me, warm and intoxicating. She still smells like amber—deep, rich, and slightly sweet with an edge. It’s not overpowering—just enough to lead me down memory lane, to a time when that smell lingered on me and anything she came into contact with.
“Why aren’t you driving?”
Her voice pulls me out of the daze I didn’t realize I was in. It takes me a second to process that she was speaking, too drugged by her scent and still a little stunned by the fact that she willingly got into my truck without a fight.
“Earth to Dominic? Are you even listening to me?”
I blink, shaking off the haze clouding my thoughts. “What?”
She sighs, her head tilting slightly as if debating whether I’m worth repeating herself for. “I said I live at the townhouses on Second Street. ”
“Right,” I mutter, turning the key in the ignition. The groan of the engine is the only sound as we pull out of the Ledger driveway and head toward town.
The silence between us is unbearably awkward, broken only by the rolling of tires against the road. Every so often, I glance over, hoping to catch her eye, but she keeps her gaze fixed out the window. The passing streetlights trace over her profile, illuminating her features in soft, glowing light—plump lips captured with a nervous bite, sharp, high cheekbones that give her an effortlessly regal air, and delicate shadows cast by her long, dark lashes. Her skin, smooth and creamy, shimmers, and a loose strand of her dark hair brushes against her cheek, catching just enough light to gleam. She looks untouchable. So fucking beautiful it hurts.
“You know,” I start, desperate to fill the silent void, “this is the quietest I think I’ve ever seen you. It’s a little unsettling.”
Her lips twitch, and for a second, I think I’ve imagined it, but then a soft, reluctant laugh escapes her. “Don’t get used to it.”
“I’ll try not to,” I say, the corner of my mouth lifting.
The atmosphere between us shifts slightly, the awkwardness lifting just enough to breathe. But by the time we pull into the driveway of her townhouse, the distance is back. She unbuckles her seatbelt, one hand already on the door handle as she pauses to look at me.
“Why did you buy Sullivan Ridge House?”
Her question suspends in the air, taking me aback. Not because it’s accusatory, like I would’ve expected, but because it’s sad—sad in a way that makes my heart hurt. It’s as if it burns with every beat. She wants an answer, but maybe not the real answer.
I turn to meet her eyes, my voice steady but barely above a whisper. “You know why.”
Her breath hitches, and for a moment, I see a flash of something raw beneath her perfectly cold exterior. But then she pushes the door open and steps out, her expression hardening like a slammed door.
“Goodnight, Dominic,” she says, not waiting for a response before shutting the door softer than I expected and walking toward her front porch steps.
I sit there for a moment, watching her retreating figure, her shoulders squared against whatever storm she thinks I’ve brought back into her life.
“Goodnight, Ellie,” I murmur to the empty seat next to me. Once she’s safely inside, I shift the cruiser into reverse and drive away.
One step forward, two steps back.