Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Domi
“This one, mommy,” Ana said, tugging on the skirt of a dark purple dress Domi almost never wore. In fact, she was pretty sure the last time she’d worn it was for a friend’s wedding before Ana was born.
“That’s a little fancy for Pasta Plus, sweetheart,” Domi said, hesitating.
When she’d agreed to let Ana pick Domi’s outfit for her birthday dinner, she hadn’t expected her daughter to go straight to the back of her closet where her cocktail dresses were hanging.
All three of them. Of course, Ana had picked the flashiest one with lace and tiny sparkling gemstones.
Since they were going to the same restaurant Ana always chose when she had the choice, Domi didn’t know why her daughter suddenly wanted her to look so dressy.
“You said I could pick.” A mulish expression Domi recognized settled onto Ana’s face. She was not going to be easily talked out of this.
“You did say that,” Rae said from her spot on Domi’s bed, amusement in her voice. Domi shot her a dark look.
“Are you going to pick out something similar for Aunt Rae?” Domi asked in an innocent tone, even though Rae hadn’t offered to let Ana pick.
If Ana said yes, it wasn’t like Rae would be able to tell her no.
It was Ana’s birthday, which was why Domi already knew she was going to end up wearing the purple dress.
“Aunt Rae looks fancy all the time. You never do.”
Ouch. That hit her where it hurt. Going by the way Rae’s eyes widened, her lips forming an ‘o’ even if she didn’t make the noise, she felt the same way. The brutal honesty of children could be unintentionally vicious.
On the other hand, Ana wasn’t wrong. Rae didn’t dress extra fancy for work, but she did have to wear business or business casual, which included dresses.
Since Domi worked from home, she tended to go from her pajama pants to her yoga pants.
She tried to remember the last time she’d dressed up—that wasn’t for Stronghold.
Or her third date with Mitch since Ana hadn’t seen her then.
Thankfully that dress was tucked away in a box at the top of her closet with her other super sexy clothes and fetwear—where her daughter couldn’t find it.
Damn. It had been a long time.
“Alright, birthday girl, you win.” Domi reached over Ana’s head to pick up the hanger. The little girl clapped her hands in excitement. She’d been clapping a lot lately, thrilled to no longer be hindered by the cast.
“Yay! Now you can look nice and get a boyfriend.”
“Excuse me?” Domi froze, blinking in shock at her daughter.
“Mama Julia says that’s how you get one.”
Domi’s jaw dropped open. She had absolutely no idea what to say to that. From the bed, Rae cackled madly.
Mitch
Making small talk with his dad was always awkward, even when they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. It was funny because his dad ran a bar and actually excelled at conversation with the strangers who came through there, but with his own son or his ex-wife…
“You look good,” Mitch said, giving him a hug, which his dad returned. Hugging was good, taking up time that didn’t feel like an awkward silence.
“So do ye, lad.” His dad thumped his back before releasing him. Stepping back, his dad looked Mitch over, grinning. “Chip off the ol’ block.”
Mitch snorted, but he couldn’t deny he could do worse than look like his old man.
While he didn’t want to emulate his dad in other ways, his dad was what the women at Stronghold called a ‘silver fox.’ Only an inch shorter than Mitch, he was still in extremely good shape, and his mostly grey hair made him look more distinguished than when it had been dark brown.
His blue eyes twinkled with good cheer ninety percent of the time.
The silver beard was new since the last time Mitch had seen him, but it looked good.
Wearing jeans and a blue button-down that matched his eyes, it was no surprise when more than one woman gave him a second glance as they walked past, even those closer to Mitch’s age.
“Hope you’re hungry,” Mitch said, gesturing for his dad to precede him down the sidewalk. “Because I’m starving.”
“Enjoy the carbs while you can. Eventually you’ll need to slow down,” his dad said, patting his stomach as they walked to the front door of Pasta Plus.
There really wasn’t much more to say as they entered the restaurant and were seated before busying themselves with their menus.
Mitch delayed asking any questions until after they’d ordered and had the feeling his dad was doing the same.
They needed to hold on to whatever conversation they could to get them through a whole meal together.
“So.” Mitch cleared his throat once their server walked away with their menus. “What brings you to D.C.?” Hopefully, some kind of project that would be long and involved.
“Oh, ye know, business.” His dad rubbed the underside of his beard, a sure sign he was being cagey.
“What kind of business?” Mitch didn’t really care that much.
His dad had never really wanted Mitch around the Outlands, the bar and club he owned, as if he thought Mitch would either make trouble or would fall prey to bad influences if he were there too much.
He’d even refused to hire Mitch as a server or bartender, even after Mitch turned twenty-one.
At one point, Mitch had had a vague idea of them working there together until his dad eventually retired and turned the bar over to Mitch, but since he’d never been allowed to work there, that idea never turned into anything more.
“I’m meeting with another club owner down here.
Later this evening, in fact, so I can take a tour of his place.
We’re going to talk business. Trade some tips.
You wouldna be interested. What’s new with you?
” His dad shrugged, picking up his glass of water and taking a drink.
The lilt of his Scottish brogue had seemed slightly more intense than usual, which was one of the few reliable indicators of his dad’s emotions.
Mitch narrowed his eyes. For some reason, the fact his dad didn’t want to talk about it just made him even more curious and determined to find out. He was an adult now, and his dad couldn’t keep him out of Outlands business forever. Unless he was planning on selling it?
“Are you planning on selling the Outlands?” He had trouble imagining that.
His dad blinked in shock, putting the glass down with a thud.
“Hell, no!” He shook his head. “I… No, it’s just to talk about a business venture and find out some more about a new space they opened. I’ve been thinking about expanding, and I want to know how it’s going for them.”
That made a lot more sense.
“What club down here?” Mitch asked. “Maybe I’ve been to it.”
His dad chuckled. “I doubt it.”
Rolling his eyes, Mitch sat back in his chair.
“I do go out, you know. What club?”
“It’s called Stronghold.”
Time skidded to a stop—except it didn’t. It was Mitch’s brain that stopped. Froze. Time, the rest of the world, it all kept moving. Their server appeared at their table with the crusty bread he loved so much and the beers they’d ordered.
“Here you go,” she said cheerfully while Mitch and his dad stared at each other across the table, his dad’s expression slowly changing as he realized Mitch knew exactly what Stronghold was.
“Stronghold? And Marquis?” Mitch’s voice sounded odd. Strangled.
Did his dad look paler? He nodded. “Aye. I ah… I take it you know of them?”
“I’m a member.” His brain felt as if it was exploding.
Suddenly, his dad’s reluctance to have him anywhere near the Outlands took on a whole new meaning.
“Does this mean… you and Mom?” Of course, his mom was part of it.
His parents had owned the Outlands for years before Mitch was born.
They’d gone out every weekend on dates before things started to break apart.
Sometimes, even after things had started to break apart.
Back then, Mitch hadn’t understood why they kept going out together when they did nothing but argue at home.
Now… fuck. He’d had more than one thought lately about how hard it would be to go back to vanilla sex.
Not that he wanted to think about his parents getting their needs met, especially kinky needs, but… fuck. It all made sense—too much sense.
His dad’s chuckle was a pale imitation of his usual hearty laugh. “Ye really are a chip off the ole block, eh?”
Mitch’s stomach sank like a brick.
Which, of course, was when Domi and her family walked in.
Domi
Meeting up with Marcus and Julia in front of the restaurant, Domi was trying not to seethe.
For some reason, Ana was completely invested in finding Domi a boyfriend and was convinced the purple dress was the way to do it.
Ana had dressed up in her fanciest dress as well—her Elsa costume—so Domi wouldn’t feel so alone.
Which was very sweet. Rae thought the whole thing was hilarious, and Domi could tell from her bestie’s significant looks, she thought Domi should tell Ana about Mitch.
But it was Ana’s birthday, which was definitely not the right time.
“Daddy! Mama Julia!” To everyone’s surprise, rather than running to her father’s arms, Ana went straight for Julia, stopping in front of her and pushing her face up close to Julia’s stomach. “Hello, baby!”
From the expression on Julia and Marcus’ faces, Domi wasn’t the only one who melted at the sight, and she could hear Rae let out a soft little sigh beside her. Damn, the kid was cute. She was going to be such a good big sister.
Wedging herself between Marcus and Julia, Ana grabbed both of their hands, pulling them forward.
“Come on, come on! Time for my birthday dinner!”
“Wow.” Marcus’ eyebrows went up in surprise when he saw Domi’s outfit, and Julia looked a little stunned.
They were both dressed nicely but far more casually, Marcus in slacks and a dress shirt, while Julia wore a long-sleeved blue dress with a belted waist to emphasize her curves.
It also hid any sign of a bump, if there was one yet.
Rae had also gotten away with a dress and a sweater for when the evening got cooler. “You look nice.”
“Thanks,” Domi said, smiling with a smile that wasn’t really a smile. “Apparently, this is how I get a boyfriend.”
“Yes! Mommy is dressed up.” Ana did a little happy dance that killed some of Domi’s ire, though it brought up a whole host of other emotions.
Marcus’ brows drew together, but Julia lifted the hand that wasn’t holding Ana’s and covered her lips, sudden mirth filling her eyes.
“Oh, dear,” Julia said, clearly trying not to laugh.
The expression on her face was friendlier than it had ever been, though, which was something.
“I think something might have gotten a little lost in translation. One of the characters on a show we were watching got all dressed up to go on a date, and Ana had some questions.”
The anger Domi had been fighting drained away when she saw the pair’s reactions. Ana hadn’t been very clear on exactly how the topic of Domi getting a boyfriend came up. Obviously, it hadn’t. Her daughter had gotten the idea of a boyfriend in her head and decided Domi needed one.
Great. Was this a good segue to talk about Mitch?
No. Not tonight. Later. When she’d had some time to prepare what she was going to say and how to explain to Ana, she shouldn’t get too attached. Just in case. As if that was optional.
Sighing, Domi looked down at her daughter with loving exasperation.
“Yes, well. Let’s go inside and get dinner. Who knows? Maybe I’ll pick up a boyfriend while we’re here,” she joked.
Famous last words.
The moment they walked into the dining room, something—she didn’t know what—drew her eyes to the left of the room, even though the hostess was walking to the right, and she met Mitch’s blue gaze.
Something about his expression was very off.
Shocked, Domi ground to a halt as the man sitting across from Mitch turned to see what he was looking at.
At the same time, Ana grabbed onto Domi’s waist, looking around her mother to see what she was looking at.
“Murse Mitch!” Ana squealed gleefully and was off and running before Domi could react.
“Ah, the famous Murse Mitch,” Marcus joked, sliding around Domi.
He didn’t seem to realize anything was wrong, though Domi could hear Rae muttering behind her, her words reflecting Domi’s thoughts exactly.
“Oh, shit.”
With Ana already at Mitch’s table and Marcus and Julia following right behind, there was no choice but to join them.
A helpless glance at Rae didn’t provide any answers.
Her bestie looked as nonplussed as Domi felt.
She shrugged at Domi, dark eyes filled with sympathy, but it wasn’t as if there was anything she could do.
Groaning internally, Domi followed the train to Mitch’s table, where Ana was holding introductions.
“This is my Daddy and my Mama Julia. She has a baby in her belly that’s going to be my little sister or brother!”
Mitch smiled at Ana, but it wasn’t his usual smile.
It didn’t light up his face. Was he worried about seeing her now when he knew Domi wasn’t ready to introduce him to Ana as her boyfriend yet?
Or had something been going wrong before she’d even walked into the restaurant?
The way he’d looked had been weird, but that might have just been surprise at seeing her.
The man across from Mitch was beaming down at Ana. He was a total silver fox, complete with a grey beard.
“Well, aren’t ye a cute wee one?”
Holy crap, that Scottish accent was killer.
Domi blinked and gave herself a little shake, and she could see Julia doing the same.
The man was twice Mitch’s age but lethal with that accent and those looks and seemed to have a lot of the same charm as Mitch.
Actually… she blinked again. The beard had thrown her for a moment, but the man looked a lot like Mitch.
“I’m Ana. Who are you?”
“Murse Mitch’s father,” the man said, confirming Domi’s suspicion. He held out his hand to Ana. “Gavin Craig, missy. Pleased to meet you.” The fact his last name was different from Mitch’s threw Domi for another loop, but that was hardly the thing to focus on right now.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Craig.” Ana beamed as he shook her hand like a real adult, then turned her head toward Domi and reached out her hand. “This is my mommy. She and Murse Mitch are friends.”
“Are they now?” Mr. Craig gave her a curious look as he released Ana’s hand and held it out to Domi. “And what’s your name, lass?”
“Domi, Sir,” she said automatically, reacting to the authority in his blue eyes. Shit. She wondered if he was a Dom. Was that genetic or something? Mitch’s father had the same commanding aura Mitch did when he was in Dom mode.
He also had no visible reaction to Domi’s name. A sick feeling started to churn in her stomach as Mitch sat there silently while she met his father, who clearly had no idea who she was to his son.