“Dominic, you don’t have to work tonight. Your dad just had major heart surgery.”
“Which is exactly why I need to work. It’ll distract me. I want to do this.” And he wanted to see her. “Want to have dinner later?”
She tucked the slightest wisp of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I’d like to, but I should warn you, I don’t know how late this thing will go—or my meeting with Tim. I probably should head out now. Will you tell your family good-bye for me?”
“Of course.” He couldn’t resist the opportunity and reached his hand down to hers and held it for a moment, happy to see the way she jumped at his touch and then blushed. “Thanks again for coming, Kate. And don’t let this case get you down. You’ll do the right thing.”
He watched as she walked away, turning back a brief moment to wave before disappearing down the corridor.
She appeared to have the weight on the world on her shoulders. Dinner together might be just what they both needed.
He was already looking forward to the prospect.
…
Heavy, wet snowflakes made her commute home from work Friday night treacherous and stressful. The sight of Dominic’s truck in front of the curb at her house, after her long, bone-tiring day of finishing up Ms. Herrera’s deposition, quickened her pulse—but in a more pleasurable way than the traffic.
She hadn’t looked forward to a weekend away from work in a long time. Not just a weekend away from work, but a weekend with Dominic. It had taken every ounce of self-control not to race out the door after her meeting with Tim and Nicole and the long conference call with the client after.
Her feet seemed to fly up the porch to her door. Dropping her stuff inside the door, she stopped and listened for him. Hearing the noises coming from the kitchen, she headed in that direction.
He looked perfect.
And after the day she’d had, she felt an overwhelming urge to head directly into his arms, to have their strength around her, holding her. Smell his clean, musky scent. Feel the touch of his hands on her waist and hips as he pulled her closer and the stubble that darkened his jawline as she raised her mouth to his in a welcome.
He looked up then, and she had to catch her breath at the promise in his eyes when he saw her and his usual slow smile filled his face. Like a promise of fun and adventure and lots of laughter—and clothes-ripping, mind-blowing, make-her-beg-for-it sex. She let her breath out, trying to steady her rapidly beating heart.
It took her a second to realize that her old kitchen cabinets were no longer gracing her walls, and she was looking at blank, patched walls where they once had hung. She blinked.
“Wow. You have been busy. And I guess this answers my question. We certainly will be ordering in pizza. So everything is going okay with your dad?”
“He’s doing remarkably well. They think he’ll probably be released by Sunday, so that made him feel a lot better.”
“So fast? That seems crazy. You know what this means, right? Soon your dad will finally be on the road to good health and you can broach the topic of going out on your own.”
“Yeah,” he said, sounding somewhat distracted. “Soon, but I’ll probably give him another week to recover. Thanksgiving is next week, so I might wait and broach it after.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up her again, a nervous smile now on his mouth. “Which once again brings up another issue that I don’t think either of us considered when we formulated this plan of ours. Thanksgiving dinner. My mom will be heartbroken if you don’t come over and celebrate with us.”
Thanksgiving? That was big.
Back when Grams was healthy, Kate used to go all out making the big feast—even though it was just the two of them. A turkey that gave them leftovers for the next week, pies, stuffing, homemade Parker House rolls, and her grams’s special sweet potato casserole. It had been about…four years since they’d done that? She really missed it.
Really missed her.
“Dinner will be around four. I know how much your grandma means to you, and she’s welcome to come, too. I can help you get her if you want.”
He said it so easily, so ready to help make Thanksgiving complete for her. She smiled and shook her head, humbled by his consideration. “Thanks, and there would have been a time she would have loved the invitation. Now, though, she feels more comfortable and relaxed in her room, with the things that are most familiar around her.”
But she could go, and Lord help her, she really wanted to. And that just might be the biggest shocker of all. Her choosing to go to a family event.
“You know…I usually hang out in the afternoon at the center and have dinner with her—they serve Thanksgiving dinner pretty early.” Dominic was nodding in understanding, his face devoid of any emotion. “I suppose I could probably make it by four…”
It was hard to miss the smile that slid over Dominic’s face, the strange light in his eyes as he processed that she was coming. Like he was actually glad she was coming, not just because his mom had invited her, but because maybe he wanted her there. And suddenly, the dread and depression that been like a shadow of her day seemed to dissipate. She was feeling alarmingly cheerful and optimistic. “But I’m going to have to bring something. I insist.”
“You’re going to cook?” His brow lifted and it was hard to miss the mischievous smile he now delivered. “I’ll warn them ahead of time.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kate wasn’t sure what kind of work she’d envisioned getting done on Saturday with Dominic arriving bright and early, ready to get started on the next project. Even with the French doors closed while she worked at the dining table, her attention kept wavering every time she heard the steady sound of his work boots overhead or clomping down the stairs. And she’d look up from the table, anticipating the possibility of seeing him pass by the French doors, giving her that silly grin that turned her stomach inside out.