Chapter Ten
A Couple of Days Later
Dominic
I pull in front of my mom’s house and frown. The windows by the front porch are peeling and the potted flowers are browning and wilted. Great son I am. I cut the engine and climbed out of my pickup before kicking at a clump of weeds that were growing out of a crack on the sidewalk.
Before I make it to the front step, the door bursts open, and my mom rushes outside, letting the door slap shut behind her. “Dom.” Her face beams with happiness, making me feel like an even bigger heel. I resemble my father in stature and size, but I have my mom’s eyes.
“Hey, Ma.” I wrap my arms around her and inhale her familiar scent. Herbs and spices mixed with her floral perfume. And chocolate? It’s an interesting combination.
The woman lives to cook, but instead of growing her skills at a five-star restaurant or even a café, she worked as a cook at the school. She said it’s how she knew I’d stay out of trouble.
“Hey, baby.” She stands back and grips my biceps. “God, you get more handsome every day.” As she shakes her head, she purses her lips together. The expression of adoration morphs to disapproval. “And yet, you won’t settle down and give me grandbabies. You know I’m not getting any younger, right?”
She’s in her 40s and looks amazing. She keeps her hair styled and wears a faint touch of makeup to accent her eyes.
“Yes, Ma, I know.”
“Humph. You’d think by now you could convince a young woman to give you a chance. You are college educated, you have a vehicle, you’re fit, you have tattoos….” She wrinkles her nose. “I don’t want to know where they all are on you. Or where you have piercings that I can’t see. And you’re not ugly. On top of that, you’re living out on your own.” She shakes her head with a deepening frown. “With four other guys. That’s probably the issue. No girl wants to smell body odors and dirty socks all the time.”
Mrs. Dylan walks down her front steps. Her auburn hair is tied up neatly in a bun on her head. “Mira is always talking about you needing a wife.” She stops beside me in her pink robe, knee-high white socks, and black slippers. “You know, I have a niece that might be interested.”
“Ma….” My face feels like a cherry tomato as I ignore her neighbor. “Let’s go inside.” We need to get inside before she gives me her niece’s phone number.
“Fine.” My mom smiles at Theresa. “Give me half an hour. If Dominic hasn’t found a viable dating option, I’ll call you to set it up.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Theresa rubs her hands together and trudges through the grass. I’d throw a bigger fit, but this isn’t the first time my mom has encouraged her neighbors to set me up. She’s lived in the same neighborhood since I was nine, and she’s not the type to keep our business private.
“Come inside.” She walks to the screen door, opens it, leaving room for me to join her. The living room is tidy with solid furniture. I didn’t grow up with much, but my mom was a savvy saver and took good care of her finances.
It was either that or we lived on the street because we didn’t receive any support from my father or his family. He was in and out of prison until Levi, my younger brother, was born, and then my mom got fed up with him and kicked him out for the last time. We’ve only seen him a couple of times since then.
“Where’s Levi?” I glance around the room, noting my brother’s tennis shoes tossed haphazardly by the door.
“He’s at the field for practice.”
“Right.”
“Are you coming to the game Friday night?”
“Of course.” This is Levi’s senior year, and I’ve made all his home games. “We’ll all be there. Unless someone has to work.” Being in a small town in the Midwest, football is king, and we all served our time under Coach Hall.
“Good. Good.” She pads over to the sofa with her bare feet tapping on the floor and drops down on the cushion. “Sit.” She pats the spot next to her as the scent of chocolate fills my nose. On the coffee table is a platter of cookies. God, I love her chocolate chip cookies. “I’ve missed you.”
“I saw you last week.” I settle next to her as guilt eats at my gut. “I’m sorry I haven’t made time to stop by lately. I’ll bring the guys over on Sunday, and we’ll do some yardwork.”
“It’s fine.” She grabs my hand and holds it. “Everything will be here, and you don’t need to feel an ounce of guilt. I’ll get to the plants when I can. You have your own life to live, and it was my choice to raise two boys on my own.” Tears fill her eyes as she sighs, “Two wonderful boys who I love to spoil. You know that’s always been my priority over a pristine yard.”
“Yes, Ma’am, I do. But I can still find time to stop by and do a few things. It’s not that big of a deal. I’d do it today, but I don’t have much time.” My heart swells with love and pride for my mom. She sacrificed everything to raise us.
“I’d appreciate it, but it’s not an obligation.” She settles back into the cushions and points to the table. “I made you a sweet tea and a plate of cookies. Dig in.”
“Thanks.” My mouth waters as I pop a chunk of cookie in my mouth. “Ma, you should sell these instead of just supplying the neighborhood with baked goods.”
She clasps her hands together on her lap and fidgets with the hem of her shirt. “Have you heard of Chloe’s Bakery in the city?”
“Yes, of course, it’s one of the most popular bakeries in the city.”
“I met Chloe a couple of years ago. She’s a great woman. Extremely sweet but also savvy and business minded. We could talk about baking for hours.”
“I can imagine.”
Her cheeks pinken as she continues to fiddle with the hem of her shirt. “She’s expanding her business.”
“Oh, yeah?” I nod as I finish off the chocolate chip cookie.
“Yes, she’s leasing the empty café uptown.”
“The Jolie place?” I snatch another cookie off the plate. There’s no need to skim with just one when she has an entire platter of them. Not to mention, she’ll send the rest home with me, and there won’t be any left the second I leave them on the counter.
“Yes. It’s a good solid building. It won’t take much for renovations to get it ready to reopen before Christmas.”
I’d think it was strange that she’s fascinated by this new business, except we live in a small town, and it’s a newsworthy event anytime something changes. I finish chewing before I respond, “Good location also.”
“Yes, it is.” She lets go of the edge of her shirt and sits straight. “I quit my job. I’ll be overseeing the renovation and opening of the new bakery. I was going to wait until after Levi’s graduation, but the offer came out of nowhere.”
“Ma.” I drop the cookie on the plate. “That’s fantastic news. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you.” The pleasure on her face says it all. She waited a long time to do this. “I think it’s time. You know I wanted to be at the school when you were both growing up, but….” She shrugs. “But I can’t pass this up. Chloe wants me to focus on new lines of cookies for the shop. In addition to her signature cupcakes. Now, back to the important stuff. Time is ticking.”
I slump into the sofa. “I can’t magically wave a wand and find a wife.”
“You could if you ask her on a date.”
“Stop.” My teeth grind together as I ball my hands on my lap. “You know I can’t ask Bella out on a date. I live with her brothers, and they’ve already warned me away from her. Besides….” I shake my head. “I’m not good enough for her.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Because of your father? Because of me? Those are my sins, not yours. You didn’t use drugs, and you have no responsibility over my decision to be with your father or to stay married to him as long as I did.” She shoves off the sofa. “I’m going to take care of it. I’m calling her. And then, I’m calling those brothers of hers. If you’re good enough to be their best friend, you’re good enough for their sister.”
Fuck. I grab her hand. “Don’t. Let me take care of it.”
“Like that’s going to happen. You’ve been mooning over Bella for years. Drawing pictures of the woman night and day until you fall asleep thinking about her.” She found my sketches years ago while cleaning my room, so there was no point in lying to her. Besides, she’s my mom and knows everything about me. “I think your brother is even half in love with her.”
Absolutely not. There’s no fucking way. He’s eighteen and she’s twenty-one. Fuck. She’s closer in age to him than she is to me. And she goes to all his games. I swipe my hands on my jeans.
“I’ll get the drawings and take them to my place.” I’ve always been leery of someone seeing them, but if Levi is starting to get stars in his eyes over her, I need to nip that in the bud. I’ll hide them behind some portraits I drew, and no one will know anything different.
Her hands clasp my lower arm to hold me in place. “You should show them to her. They’re good.”
“Someday.” I shrug. Like that’s ever going to happen. She’d think I was a stalker. “Besides, I think she’s seeing Xavier.”
“Xavier?” She rolls her eyes. “That boy isn’t going to get Bella’s attention. I’ve seen them together countless times, and I’ve never once seen her drooling over him.”
“Maybe in the past.” My stomach cramps at the memory of seeing them together at the house. And then at the bar. “They’re all up in each other’s business all the time. It’s fucking annoying.” Jealousy swells inside of me at the thought of Xavier touching her, and I instantly want to punch him in the face again.
I can’t wait until Sunday’s pickup football game. I’m going to ensure I’m up against him so I can get a few good licks in. Maybe even knock one of his perfect teeth out so he looks like an idiot.
“Then tell him how you feel so he’ll knock it off. Or better yet, you tell her how you feel.”
Tell her how I feel? I can’t. I have no father. No grandparents. No aunts and uncles. All I have is my mom and my brother. Hell, she’d be better off with Xavier. At least, he comes from a prominent family that everyone respects.