Chapter Nineteen
Nicole
“So…” Nora gives me a sly smile. “How’d the after party go, hmm?”
“Well…” I prop myself up on my elbows as my face flames, staring at my FaceTime call on my laptop. “It was … good.”
Nora’s eyebrows shoot up. “Ooh, you have the face.” Her jaw drops and she wiggles her brows at me. “You better tell me everything!”
I bite the inside of my cheek, but it’s no use.
I can’t stop the giggle from slipping through.
“Okay, okay.” I take a deep breath. “So, it was… I don’t know.
I guess it was just completely amazing. The party was pretty quiet, and then there was this guy and his girlfriend, and she totally brought up Glow Girl… ”
My sister’s smile fades. “Um, please tell me you did not spend the entire time talking about your business. Like, you do understand how incredibly hot your date was, right?”
I laugh. “Well, yeah. I know that. But she started making fun of me, and Dom stood up for me. It was so sweet.” I sigh, resting my cheek against my hand as I kick my feet behind me like a little giddy kid.
“Then we left early and went for a walk on the beach. That was probably the best part. He held my hand and…” I look her straight in the eyes. “He kissed me.”
Nora’s face morphs into a grin. “Oh, I knew it. I knew he was into you! I can already hear the wedding bells. See, romance is still alive and well.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” I purse my lips. “And then he also sent me a text earlier and asked me to dinner tonight.”
“Oh wow.” Nora’s eyes widen as her floppy bun falls to the side. “He couldn’t even wait twenty-four hours. That’s a man who’s in love.”
I roll my eyes at her. “Dom is not in love with me. We’re just … seeing where it goes. I mean, we’re already friends, so it’s not that weird to hang out.”
“How do you feel about him?” Nora asks me, her voice softening. “It’s okay to let yourself like him.”
“I do like him.” I glance down at my oversized black T-shirt, signifying I’ve basically spent the entire day in my pjs. “He makes me feel steady. Like I don’t have to be impressive to be interesting.”
Nora holds my gaze through the screen. “That’s how it’s supposed to feel.”
My throat tightens, so I move—pushing myself upright, changing the subject before the feeling can settle too deep. “Okay. What should I wear to dinner? He gave me zero details.”
Nora grins. “Take me to your closet.” Nellie bounces behind her.
I swing open my closet door, revealing my mess of a wardrobe. Nothing is organized in my closet, and in order to find a matching pair of shoes, sometimes I have to dig. But it keeps them safe from Cocoa.
“Let’s go snappy casual.” Nora’s eyes narrow as she peers through the screen. “It’s not formal, but it’s not homeless either.”
I give her a look. “Are you saying I usually look homeless?”
She giggles. “Honey, have you brushed your hair today?”
In my peripheral, I catch the mess of tangled strands. “I went for a run this morning and then spent the rest of the day at home.”
“Valid.” Nora takes a sip of her coffee, relaxing back on the couch. “Let’s go. Put me on the counter and give me a fashion show or something.”
I make a face, but do as requested, setting her up to view my closet. She waits while I start digging through the mess, my nerves already ramping before I even go on a date with Dom.
Ugh. I flip through some of the clothes on the hangers and pull out a white romper and a black casual short-sleeve dress. I hold them both up and turn to face Nora. “Thoughts?”
She purses her lips. “I don’t know. They’re kind of … basic.”
“Classy,” I correct her. “I’m trying to be classy. He’s an NBA player. I don’t want to dress like a bag of Skittles.”
She snorts, nearly spitting out some of her coffee. “Fine, fine. Try on the black dress first. I think that would look good with a pair of wedge sandals.”
“Deal.” I step out of view of the camera and start changing into it.
“Have you mentioned your apartment complex idea to Dad yet?”
“Not yet. He’s got his own stuff going on, and I doubt he’ll be too excited to go into business with me after my Glow Girl disaster.”
“Maybe you should consider reaching out to other investors?” Nora’s suggestion comes as I step in front of the camera again, the dress hitting just above my knees.
I smooth out the material. “I know it’s kind of plain, but I could put a nice necklace with it?”
Nora grins. “And brush your hair.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, that’s obviously a given.”
“Nothing is a given with you.”
“Touché.” I let out a sigh, brushing some of my hair out of my face as I slide into the wedge sandals I set aside.
“And I have thought about other investors, but it just … I don’t know.
I have a reputation for failing. I feel like Dad might be my only shot.
” I lift my leg so she can see the shoes. “Thoughts?”
Nora smiles, her eyes softening. “Dom is a lucky guy.”
Cocoa comes running into my room—and somehow manages to knock over my laptop. I run my hands over my face as my sister bursts into laughter, and I try to take a deep breath.
Everything is going to be fine. Totally fine.
“Hey.” I swing my apartment door open within thirty seconds of Dom knocking, having already double checked my deep red lipstick.
“Whoa.” He blinks a few times, his gaze dropping slowly over me—lingering just long enough to make my pulse kick. “You look incredible.”
Heat creeps up my neck, and I try to act like I didn’t spend three hours wrestling my hair and redoing my eyeliner.
“Thanks. You look good, too.” Like, really good.
I take in his dark jeans, Vans, and the fitted button-down stretched across his broad shoulders.
“And you smell like heaven.” I breathe in his musky cologne.
“Shocking, I know.” He rolls his eyes, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth, then offers his arm. His attention flicks to Cocoa, already asleep on his bed. “How did you manage to get him tuckered out?”
“Four miles of running this morning.” I give him a sheepish smile. “It finally worked.”
“Look at you.” Dom chuckles as I step out of my apartment and close the door behind us, punching the lock button. “I think you’re getting the hang of the dog training.”
“I think I am! Plus, the Fur-Ever Homes Forum has tons of great advice.” I laugh, nervously looking up at him as he leads us to the elevator. I have no idea where we’re going, but Nora was on point with the outfit.
It’s like she just knows. It must be a big sister thing.
Dom punches the elevator button with his index finger, and I furrow my brow as I realize it’s the up button. Part of me wants to ask, but instead, I decide to just trust the process. Trusting him feels strangely natural.
We ride the elevator up to the penthouse level. When the doors glide open, he steps out, and I’m feeling more and more confused by the minute.
“I have no idea who owns this,” I say as he guides me down the hallway.
“Yeah, me either.” Dom shrugs, and I realize it doesn’t matter who owns it, because we walk right past it.
To the emergency exit.
“Okay, I can’t take it anymore,” I think aloud.
“Are we going to have dinner on the stairway outside? Because I don’t know if you know this, but I’m kind of distrusting of stairwells…
I saw this movie once where this serial killer basically, like, hunted women, and it was always in those creepy stairwells—”
“That’s not where we’re going,” he cuts in, laughing. There’s something in his tone that makes me smile—because I’m pretty sure he’s just as nervous as I am.
When we enter the emergency staircase, he actually turns us, and we start up the roof access staircase instead. I eye the employee access only sign and nudge him. “I had no idea you were so rebellious.”
“I’m not rebellious.” He shakes his head. “I cleared it.”
“Must have pulled some of those fancy NBA player strings.”
“Something like that.” He pushes the rooftop access door open for me and lets go of my arm, letting me step through on my own.
And I catch my breath.
“Oh my gosh.” My hand flies up to my mouth as I take in the single table with two chairs, already set for us. It’s surrounded by string lights, and the city lights go beyond, illuminating all around us. “This is amazing.” He thought about me.
He grins as I look back at him. “I was hoping you’d like it. I was a little worried you might be afraid of heights.”
I glance toward the edge. “I am one-hundred percent afraid of heights. But I think I’ll be okay.” I give him a smirk and then head for the table.
He beats me to it and pulls out my chair for me. And like a true gentleman, he waits for me to take my seat, and then he helps me scoot it forward. I eye him as he walks around to his own seat.
“Thanks for coming, by the way,” he says as he scoots up himself, and digs into the picnic basket, pulling out two glasses, a bottle of wine, and basically a five-star meal of steak and potatoes.
“I’m so impressed right now.” I giggle as he serves me. “I had no idea you were so creative with dates.”
“Yeah. I definitely didn’t Google this.” He gives me a look, and then we both laugh. “But thank you.”
“This food looks amazing. Did you make all this yourself?”
He gives me a sheepish grin. “I wish I could say yes and impress you with my culinary skills, but I’d be lying. I can make exactly three things without burning down a kitchen: scrambled eggs, protein shakes, and microwave burritos.”
“A true bachelor’s diet,” I tease.
“Exactly.” He reaches for the bottle of wine. “So I called in reinforcements. The team nutritionist also happens to be a personal chef. Wine?”
I nod, watching as he pours a deep red liquid into my glass with surprising grace for someone with such large hands. “What should we toast to?”
Dom considers for a moment, then raises his own glass. “To new beginnings. In new cities.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I say softly, clinking my glass against his.