Chapter 46
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
D ominic decided I should wait for him at the farm while he picked up dinner, then he’d drive us to Portland and bring me back on Sunday. I nodded, stumbling off to my car with my head spinning.
I couldn’t stop crying. The Roberts weren’t home when I pulled in, and I exhaled in relief, then ran up to my bed and collapsed onto it.
Why wasn’t I jumping up to click my heels together? It’s what you wanted. Breathe. Breathe. Instead, it was like all the trauma of the last two months crashed down on me.
The doorbell ringing woke me out of a doze. I jolted up, a hand on my forehead, disoriented. The little attic room still took me by surprise, with all my clothing crammed in like I’d been trapped in a closet.
Dominic held paper take-out bags when I opened the door. “Are you alright?” His forehead wrinkled as he stared at me.
I stepped back. “Fell asleep, sorry. I think the, um, pregnancy is making me really tired. And emotional.”
“Ah.” He set the food down on the kitchen counter. Then he pulled me into his arms and kissed my temple. “Come and eat.”
I ate my seafood pasta, surprised by how hungry I was. The sudden intensity—and volatility—of my body was a change. Go with it. This is what you want. Cravings and rollercoaster emotions are a small price to pay.
“Do you want to keep working?” Dominic asked.
“What?” I shook my head. “Oh—yes, of course I do.”
His face softened into a bemused smile as he stared at me. “Why?”
I drank some water, trying to gather my thoughts. Here we go—a million and one decisions to make, starting now. “It’s who I am. And it gives me security. I like having a career.”
“I’ll take care of you.”
My eyes watered again, and I bit my lip, leaning my head on his shoulder. “I don’t deserve you.”
His arm squeezed me against his side. “No, darling, it’s the other way around.”
Dominic rubbed his cheek and seemed lost in thought during the drive to Portland. I fell asleep. Before I knew it, he was helping me out of the car and guiding me up to his condo with an arm around my back.
We took off each other’s clothes—it started with jackets and then he was kissing me and peeling my sweater off over my head and dropping it on the hallway floor. I was naked by the time I lay down on the bed. Dominic stood on the floor at the edge of the mattress and pulled my legs open.
He slid into me, his head tipping back. I gasped, my hips rising up, throbbing heat scorching through me. It was unhurried and lingering. I cried again after my big moment, the pleasure somehow sharp and wrenching. Dominic cuddled with me, rubbing my back until I relaxed.
Propped up on an elbow, he smoothed hair away from my face. “I realized something after you left.”
Drowsily, I blinked up at him. “What?”
“I love you. I don’t want to go through life without you.”
My heart stopped, then jumped back into action. I covered his hand with mine, my eyes burning. “I love you too. So much it hurts.”
He lay down on the pillow next to me, smiling a little. “That’s because, deep down, you know you’re stuck with a surly grump.”
I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re it for me.”
“I’m bossy.”
“I’m insecure.”
“I’m jealous.”
“I cry all the time. Television commercials get me going.”
He took my hand, weaving our fingers together. “We’re going to be good for each other.”
“You know that I would never cheat—don’t you?”
“Yes.” He kissed my knuckles. “But I still struggle. And I’m going to work on it.”
“Thank you.”
“I want to live together.” He rolled on top of me.
“With a baby?”
He sighed, pinning my hands on the bed above my head. “Yes. But definitely not more than two.”