Chapter 18
Dominic
It turned out a supermarket was rather like a department store.
A very modern, very diverse version at least.
Spread across one endless floor, it sold readymade clothes, shoes, technology devices, dinnerware, household items, children’s toys, cleaning products, and all the face, hand, and feet washes any one person could use.
But the most fascinating and bewildering part was the numerous aisles of food and drinks.
There were breads he’d eaten for breakfast in his own time, so many snacks and instant pots of food that were new to him, and some of the oddest flavour combinations he’d ever seen.
He had never before fathomed there could be enough varieties of milk to fill one entire side of an aisle.
And as they zigzagged through the shop, he discovered even more food novelties.
Somewhere towards the back of the supermarket, Dominic stood in front of a long block of shelves stacked with packets of biscuits, frowning as he read the ingredients on a box of shortbread.
He was bemused by the long list of powders, “preservatives,” and other flavourings that went into the biscuit.
He was no chef, of course, but off the top of his head, he was sure shortbread was only supposed to be made from flour, sugar, butter, and eggs, and not several things that read as those chemicals scientists used in their experiments.
“Dominic.”
At the sound of Rayna calling him, he glanced to his left and found her waving him over from the end of the aisle with their trolley full of clothes, toiletries, and foodstuffs.
He went to put the shortbread down, but curiosity at how the additional ingredients made the biscuit taste had him carrying the box towards her instead.
He picked up a pair of swimming shorts in a size Rayna had guessed would fit him from within their cart and put the biscuits down before placing the shorts back on top.
“You know we’ll be back next week, right?” she said with a teasing quirk on her brows and mouth. “We don’t have to buy every item in the supermarket today.”
“Perhaps,” he said, leaning into her as he took the trolley. “But I would like to buy at least half of the products today.”
He grinned proudly when she huffed a laughing sound and rolled her eyes. Then he pushed forward into the next aisle, where rows of bread, baked goods in paper bags with little windows, and cartons of eggs lined both sides.
Rayna got him to stop near the packets of pastries and left him to explore while she went towards the eggs.
Dominic immediately spotted some scones and picked up two packs to slot them in the trolley. Then he sifted through the array of boxed pink, chocolate, and white ring-shaped treats labelled “do—nuts.”
“Sorry,” a man said as he slipped up beside Dominic, his hand trying to reach for the shelf Dominic was standing in front of.
“Apologies,” he said, absently throwing the man a quick glance, and shuffled to the side.
“Thanks.” The man grabbed a pack of chocolate do—nuts.
“Okay.” Rayna’s voice came from Dominic’s other side, and he pivoted to her. “I picked up two cartons of eggs this time, and fifty-fifty bread instead of brown, so—”
“Rayna?”
Her attention went to her right, and Dominic’s ears prickled with alertness when the man who’d spoken to him moments ago called Rayna’s name in raspy wonder. Dominic watched as her lips parted and eyes lit up like sparklers before he rotated halfway to look at the man.
A bitter taste ever so gradually coated the inside of Dominic’s mouth.
He was a young man, probably not much older than Rayna, with a tall, lean build, lightly tanned skin, green eyes, and chestnut brown hair combed back from his face. In a light blue shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, tucked into navy-blue trousers, he looked rather charming.
Paired with the glitter of excessive happiness in the man’s stare, the bitterness in Dominic’s mouth quickly poured down through his chest, creating a thick layer of rippling dislike as it trickled between his ribs.
“Jake?” Rayna said breathlessly. “What are…what are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” this Jake boy said through a laugh, stepping towards her as he swapped his metal basket from one hand to the other. “Gosh, can I…”
Jake subtly opened his free arm, and with a chuckled, “Yes,” Rayna closed the gap between them and all but threw her arms around the man’s torso. He squeezed his arm around her, very nearly burying his face in her hair.
The dislike in Dominic’s chest erupted into scorching, infuriated flames.
No. No. No, no, no.
He is hugging my Rayna.
And it didn’t at all resemble the hugs she’d shared with the men in her family.
Dominic wanted to jerk forward and rip them apart as cinders of possessive rage splashed across his skin.
Who on bloody Neves was this Jake that he was touching Rayna so openly?
Why was Rayna letting him hug her as if they were long-lost bloody lovers?
“I thought I saw someone who looked like you, and I was convinced it was just my mind playing games,” Jake said, taking his damned time to unloop his arm. “But then you spoke, and I saw your face and realised it actually was you.”
Rayna kept her hands against his sides as she grinned. “What are you actually doing here?”
“I left work early and thought I’d stop by to get a few things before I went home.”
She stepped back and pointed to the floor. “Wait, you live in Redworth?”
“Yeah, I do. I take it you live here too? Or is it because of your work?”
“No, no, I live here. I mean, I’m working here as well, but I’ve always lived in Redworth.”
“What?” Jake stepped back on one foot, eyeing her in a way that made Dominic grind his teeth together. “I can’t believe I’ve never seen you around before. This is…fuck, this is amazing.”
“It is,” Rayna agreed, beaming.
Dominic’s heart twinged.
It was like she’d forgotten entirely he was there. And she’d never smiled at him like that before.
Did that mean…was she…her and Jake…
The man in question cocked his head, flashing her a princely grin. “I guess this means meeting up might not be so difficult after all.”
Rayna nodded slowly, happily. “I guess it does.”
Meeting up? As in, she wanted to see him again? No!
Dominic couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t stand there in silence and watch this Jake ogle at her with such blatant attraction and joy, talking about seeing her again, while Rayna gave him all her attention.
It filled Dominic with an agitated need to throw the boy across the aisle and warn him that Rayna was his. Only his.
With a dark hardness cast over his expression, he nudged their trolley back and stepped up right next to Rayna, his arm touching hers as he stared Jake down his nose.
They both glanced at him.
Rayna shifted on her feet. The glow on Jake’s handsome face subdued with a flicker.
“You’re the guy I…” Jake faded off, then dropped his attention to Rayna. “Wait, do you know each other?”
“Yes,” Dominic bit out. “I am her—”
“Colleague,” Rayna finished, swiftly placing a hand on Dominic’s forearm and giving him a squeeze.
He knew instantly she was warning him, telling him to keep whatever he’d been about to say to himself. And that threw oil on the angry fire within him.
Why? Why had she stopped him from telling Jake he was her husband?
“Jake, this is Dominic,” she said with a smile that was a bit too bright to be natural. “Dominic and I are currently working together on the project I told you about down at the Fronis Museum.” Then she gestured to Jake. “Dominic, this is Jake. He’s a...friend of mine.”
Friend? No. No, friends of the opposite sex didn’t hug like that. They knew how improper such overly familiar touches were. So, no. Dominic didn’t believe that one bit.
There was something going on that she wasn’t telling him.
What did she mean she’d already told Jake about the project? How? When?
“Hi,” Jake said, his gaze travelling Dominic’s frame.
Dominic stretched his shoulders wide. “Hello.”
A moment of weighted silence passed where neither of them looked away.
“Um, well.” Rayna cleared her throat, catching Jake’s attention. “It was really great bumping into you like this. Dominic and I have a few more things to get, and I’m sure you want to get home, so we’ll let you go.”
Jake’s brows dipped in confusion. “You’re...shopping together?”
Rayna opened her mouth, but Dominic cut in first. “Why would we not be? After all, we are living together.”
The blankness that rose upon Jake’s face wasn’t a look of relief, and Dominic found it immensely satisfying. “He’s the historian you’re currently living with?”
“Archivist, yeah.” Rayna nodded and widened her playful smile. “It’s kind of like living with an overprotective br—bodyguard.”
Why on bloody Neves was she comparing him to a guard?
Jake huffed and forced a small smile onto his mouth. “I can see why.” Then he nodded to the side. “I’ll leave you to it then, but…I’m glad I got to see you today. Really.”
“Me too,” Rayna muttered, and Dominic clenched his hands so tightly his blunt nails dug into his palms.
“I’ll message you later.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.” Jake then nodded stiffly at him. “Bye.”
Dominic couldn’t get an answer through the barrier of his locked teeth as he seethed.
Jake turned and walked down the rest of the aisle before finally disappearing out of sight.
Only then did Dominic rotate to face Rayna.
“What did he mean, he will message you?” Dominic growled. “Does he have your phone number?”
Something flickered through her eyes before her brows pinched, and she tipped her chin up. “Of course he does, Dominic. We’re friends.”
“Friends?” he echoed bitterly. “Men and women cannot be friends, Rayna.”
Her scowl darkened. “Yes, they can be.”
“Then why were you so eager to tell him we were colleagues?”
She scoffed like what he’d said was ridiculous. “Because you were gonna go blurt out that you’re my husband when he knows I’m not married.”
“Why does he know that?” Dominic rumbled in frustration.
Over the top of Rayna’s head, he could see an older black woman slowing to observe them with suspicion.
Rayna widened her eyes in disbelief. “What the fuck does that mean, Dominic? I’ve told him, of course.” He went to argue, but she cut a hand between them. “No, enough.”
She glanced around them, then lowered her voice to a stern mutter. “I’m not going to argue with you in public, Dominic. Whatever stupid questions you have, keep them to yourself until we get back to the farmhouse.”