Chapter 34
One kiss. My back against the wall, half-hidden in the shadow of the column—just long enough for my mother to pass by our table. That’s what I’m expecting, what I’m hoping for. A tentative step forward, a place to start.
It’s not what Dom delivers. And I would be lying if I said I don’t sink into everything he offers me.
One hand tangles in my hair while the other slides to the back of my neck, angling my head up.
He’s starving, parched, as his lips move over mine, and I feel in myself the same thing I know is happening to him: a final puzzle piece locking into place, the blessed relief of rightness when my heart has felt wrong for so long.
Out-of-step turning to synchronization.
I tilt my head further and tug him closer; his body seems to curl around mine as his lips grow more insistent, hungrier, his hands clenching.
Finally. Finally, I’m where I want to be, as near to him as possible, my heart on my sleeve and tangled up in his touch. I need to come up for air, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to move ever again.
When I finally have to breathe, I pull away as little as possible, and I hear his sharp inhale at the same time. He smooths one hand over my hair, my cheeks—aimless movements that nonetheless speak to me.
He has a chance to touch me, and he’s taking it. I know because I’m doing the same, my hands sliding over his back with no particular destination.
His breath is hot against my skin, his lips skimming over my forehead as he turns his head. Then he looks down at me, and I lean back to meet his gaze.
“Are we still hiding from our parents?” I say, out of breath.
His hands tighten almost painfully, a tug of hair at my scalp, a pinch of pain at my shoulder, but he doesn’t speak. He doesn’t answer.
He says nothing for a full five seconds.
“Sorry,” he breathes, and he tries to pull away from me, but the column and wall are at our backs. “I—sorry.”
“Of course,” I say with a humorless laugh—the only sound my falling heart can push out. I go up on my tiptoes and press one last searing kiss to his lips. It’s a kiss for myself, one to take with me. Then I look back up at him. “I’m not the only one running scared, Dom.”
The broken words cause his eyes to widen, a stricken look passing over his face. I untangle myself from his arms, smooth my hands down my dress, and then turn away.
I walk right past our table. Weave through the other settings.
Past the host stand. The click-click of my heels on the marble floor—until I make it outside and step into the rain I didn’t realize was falling.
I’m not sure if my vision is blurry because of the downpour or because I’m crying, but I find myself grateful—no one will recognize my tears for what they are.
No one will see my heart breaking.
I’ve only taken two steps into the parking lot, however, when a strong hand grips my upper arm and pulls me back.
It’s Dominic, of course. It’s always him. His shoulders and chest are heaving, and he looks utterly lost.
“Wait,” he says. One word, almost lost in the rush of the rain, but I freeze.
Slowly, I raise my brows at him.
“I lied.”
“What?” I say.
“I lied,” he rasps. He’s still lost for air, but something is coming to life in his eyes as he tugs my body back to his—blazing fire. His arm snakes around my waist as his gaze darts over my face. “I’m not sorry.” He swallows, a droplet of rain trickling down his throat. “I’m not sorry, Reese.”
And then his lips crash down on mine once more.
I startle, but his arms simply hold me tighter, keeping me close. His head is ducked against the rain, but I know he feels it as much as I do, on my arms as I wrap them around his neck and my face as I tilt it toward him.
He devours me. The kiss is hungry and desperate, a dam breaking free as we stumble together, up the curb, backward and backward again until the sidewalk disappears beneath our feet and we’ve hit the flower beds that line the restaurant.
It’s a relief when my back finds the outer wall, pale stone and rough at first but steady and solid.
Dom presses against me, his lips chasing as I cling tighter to him.
I feel more than hear his growl of frustration over the sound of the rain, his fingers digging into my back.
A gasp escapes me when his hands slide lower and then hoist me up—I am in a SKIRT, sir—but it brings my face closer to his, and I surge forward, wrapping my legs tightly around his waist. When a little sound issues from the back of my throat, significantly more risqué than expected, Dominic’s kiss turns from hungry to ravenous, deep and wanting.
And there’s nothing particularly funny about this situation.
But the absurdity pulls a laugh out of me anyway, a sound that’s muffled until I feel his lips curve into a smile too.
And then, somehow, we’re both laughing, being pelted by rain as I straddle him in a skirt while our parents are inside, possibly making googly eyes at each other.
I let my head fall back to rest against the stone wall as my laughter lingers, Dom’s breath hot against my neck as he shakes his head. Then he presses a gentle kiss to my collarbone, skimming his lips further up and kissing beneath my chin, too.
“Okay,” he says. “Let’s tell our parents. Okay? Let’s do it.”
Tilting my head back down to meet his eye, I lift my brows and wait for him to go on.
His gaze darts over my face for a moment before he shakes his head again. “If they get married and live happily for the rest of their lives—fine. But I can’t—” He breaks off, and his voice is softer when he goes on. “I can’t, Reese. I can’t love you from arms’ length my whole life.”
My eyes widen, my lips parting as his words find me.
For a second I even wonder if I’ve heard him wrong.
So I use one foot to nudge him in the butt, indicating I want him to put me down, and he eases me to the ground.
Then he lifts his hands to my face and swipes gentle thumbs beneath my eyes—wiping the tears he knew were there before.
He lets out a shaky breath and continues, “I can’t do that.
I can’t watch you find someone else and buy you silverware from your wedding registry and pretend—pretend I’m happy.
So…you were right.” His hands tighten where they cup my jaw, his eyes fluttering closed as he leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead.
“And I’m sorry,” he murmurs against my skin. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
I blink at him, dazed.
“But are you sure?” he says, leaning back to look down at me. He pushes some of the wet hair away from my face. “If we’re going to do this, we need to be sure.”
This, at least, I have an answer for, hoarse though it might be. “I’m sure.”
I’ve always been sure. And that was the problem, wasn’t it? I’ve always been sure about him, even when life demanded otherwise. Even when our situations were wrong, I knew he was the right one.
Dominic nods, glancing up at the sky as thunder rolls overhead. Then he looks back down at me, his eyes softening. “I adore you, Reese.” Such a manly voice, speaking such gentle words.
A flood of brilliant light and warmth erupts in my chest, impossible to contain.
A little sob escapes me, but it’s accompanied by a growing smile.
I clap my hand over my mouth to stop the tears, but it’s no use—and I’m not sure if I’m crying or laughing anyway, and Dom’s lips are pulling into their own smile as he wraps his arms around me.
I slide my arms around his neck as he holds me so tight I can’t breathe.
“I love you,” he murmurs into my neck, muffled and perfect. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I say. The words are strangled in a way that makes me laugh, giddy and garbled, and the rain is in my eyes, and my heart is blindingly bright.
“Let’s go,” Dom says, letting go of me and taking my hand instead. “Now. Let’s go, all right?” But when he tugs on my arm, it’s not toward the car—it’s toward the door of the restaurant.
I balk. “Now?”
“Yeah,” he says with a nod, swiping the rain out of his face with his free hand. “Now. Unless—” He eyes me. “Did you want to wait?”
“No,” I say, my voice breathless. “No. Let’s go now.” I pause, looking down at my clothes and then at Dom.
We’ve been standing in the rain, and you can tell.
“Will they let us back in?” I say.
His shoulders lift into a careless shrug. “We can see.” Then he gives me another tug. “Come on.”
Although it is accompanied by quite a bit of disapproving side-eye, the man at the host’s stand does let us go back in the restaurant. We don’t go to our table, however. Maybe high on our reconciliation, we make the rather bold choice of going to our parents’ instead.
There are only two chairs, and they are obviously occupied. So we stand, holding hands, staring down at our parents.
Daryl’s expression is tired and grim, I notice, and Alvina looks a little worse for wear. Both of them blink like they don’t trust their eyes when we appear, and then they look confused. When their gazes travel down to our interlocked fingers, their brows furrow even more.
“We’re dating,” Dominic says bluntly. His hand tightens in mine. “Reese and I. We’re dating.”
Just like that—we’re dating. My cheeks heat as I watch our parents’ faces, but I find myself speaking to Dom.
“You didn’t technically ask me out,” I point out, and he frowns.
“It felt implied.”
“Still,” I say. “You should ask, shouldn’t you?”
His lips twitch. “Darling Reese,” he says, the words exaggerated. “Dearest Reese. Holder of my hand. Please date me.”
I nod, grinning, and then look back at our parents.
My smile falls away at Alvina’s appearance; I think she might actually be trembling, and her penciled brows are lifted in shock. Her nose is a little red, and she looks utterly scandalized.
“We’re together,” I confirm. My voice is shaking and small, but the words are clear. I force myself to say them again, louder this time. “We’re together.”
“We dated in college,” Dom says with a nod. “And we’re dating now.”