Dominic returned to the kitchen to finish and clean up. He had tried to sound unaffected, upbeat, even. But what he felt was frustration and disappointment. That Kate couldn’t see what she had in front of her, all the opportunities. Opportunities that might also include…him.
But what could he offer her? In some ways, he and Kate were more alike than she realized. Neither of them had an illustrious name, hefty bank accounts and trust funds, or the social connections that Michael had or that Melinda had wanted. They both knew what it felt like to not be enough.
The difference between them, though, was he didn’t care about those things. But it was beginning to hit him that to Kate, it meant a lot.
And maybe that was the biggest truth of all. He could never be Michael. He couldn’t give her the things that Michael could. The things that she seemed to want.
…
Dominic got off the phone Wednesday evening, exhilaration puffing his chest. Hell, he should have created a webpage months ago. Having taken Benny’s—and Kate’s—words to heart, he’d stayed up Monday night and well into Tuesday morning working on his own webpage. It hadn’t been nearly as difficult as he’d imagined. And twenty hours after taking his webpage live, he’d just had his first inquiry from a potential client.
Normally he would have been at Kate’s right now, doing little odds and ends as they talked or worked in companionable silence together. But since the bathrooms were finished and the kitchen painted, there wasn’t anything more to do until the cabinets arrived.
And it wasn’t like she wanted to see him right now anyhow.
She’d make that clear when she texted him yesterday to say she was working late the next couple nights and if she didn’t see him before then, she’d see him on Thanksgiving.
Well, she could hide all she wanted, for now. But he’d see her tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, and he’d remind her how good they could be. How happy she was when she was with him. How happy he was with her.
But she’d been right. He had needed to take some of the advice he was giving out so freely and make some tough choices of his own. He’d planned on waiting until after Thanksgiving to break the news to his dad, but he’d only been putting off the inevitable discussion, and he wasn’t going to do that anymore. It was time to embrace life. Take those risks.
And he was going to start right now. He grabbed the keys to his truck, already lighter at the prospect of talking to his dad.
It was time.
It was a bit of a shock to see his dad sitting at the kitchen table with Cruz when he arrived at his parents’ house just after seven. He’d grown so used to seeing him lying in bed when Dominic’s mom wasn’t railing on him to join everyone for dinner that he’d forgotten how reassuring it could be to see him in good health. His bathrobe was hopefully permanently retired.
He looked up now and smiled when he saw his son. “Dominic. Nice to see you.”
Dominic shared an incredulous look with his brother, who gave a slight nod of assurance. “Dad. You look great.” And he did. The usual gray pallor that had shadowed his face these past few years was gone, as was the fear in his eyes when he looked at his family. Like he was going to lose them any moment. “How you feeling?”
Petter Sorensen nodded, his blue eyes free from fear now. “Like a new man. And happy to see both of my sons making unexpected visits.”
Dominic looked down at the papers in front of the men and the Cruz’s laptop open in front of their dad. “Yeah. What’s going on here?”
“Wanted to fill Dad in on the recent progress with the company. And show him some ideas I’ve been working on.”
Dominic nodded. Cruz had been tied up in as many knots as Dominic these past few months, anxious to talk to Dad about plans for the future. The difference being that Cruz’s plans included further involvement with the company and further growth—while Dominic’s were to hopefully make his escape. From the slight creases in Cruz’s eyes and slight turnup of the lips, things had gone well. He was almost smiling. “And what do you think?” he asked, taking a seat at the table.
“I think Cruz has his work cut out for him. And he’s ready to take the lead. Which, surprisingly, is something of a relief. You boys have done a great job of holding things down these past three years. It’s really set my mind at ease.”
His dad looked so happy. Proud. And Dominic’s stomach tightened at the thought of disappointing him. “It was the least we could do for you, Dad. Which is kind of something I wanted to talk to you about today.”
Cruz sat back, clearly knowing what was coming as he gave his brother another reassuring nod. His dad just waited, mildly curious.
“You know how much I love working with you and the company,” Dominic started. “Stepping back in a few years ago was something I was more than happy to do. You needed me. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved my time there, working with Cruz and all the men I’ve known practically my entire life, but…well. I just think it might be a good time for me to get back to what I was doing before. Renovating houses, designing things. Maybe start my own business. And as you can see, Cruz has things well in hand.”
His father had crossed his arms during this litany and now studied him quietly. The clock above the stove ticked loudly in the quiet of the room. Then his face broke out in a grin, and his blue eyes twinkled. “What took you so long?”
Dominic blinked a few times. Wait. His dad not only didn’t sound surprised, but he sounded like he’d just been waiting for Dominic to make the announcement. “You’re okay with it then? You’re not upset?”
His dad actually chuckled. “Hardly. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me when you dropped everything and jumped in when you did. All of you. I count my blessings each day. And I can’t wait to see what you can do now that you’re ready to get out on your own. Maybe with a certain someone next to you for support?”
Kate. Right. His pretend girlfriend whom he no longer wanted to pretend with. Having her at this side, supporting him through this new endeavor, would make him feel invincible. But that possibility was lo
oking more and more bleak of late.
“Maybe” was all he said, though. Not yet ready to confess the whole thing was a farce.