Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
The food was almost finished when a knock sounded on the door.
“Come in.” I put on my oven mitts and pulled the pan out of the oven that held the garlic bread. Then I turned the sauce down on low so it wouldn’t splatter everywhere. I untied my apron and tossed it on the counter before I turned to the living room. “Hey—” I stilled when I looked at Dom, not Dex.
I just assumed it was Dex because it was seven o’clock on the dot.
Shit.
Dom stood with his hands in the pockets of his jeans and glanced at the wine bottle and two glasses on the dining table. The apartment was small, and it smelled like an Italian café, so he probably deduced that I was cooking. “Expecting company?”
“Yes, actually.” I’d told him I was seeing someone, so I wasn’t going to lie about it. “Dom, I’m sorry if I hurt you. That was not my intention, but it just didn’t work out, okay?” We went out two or three times, and while we clicked, it didn’t matter after Dex told me how he felt. All those feelings just disappeared, and I couldn’t even recall having them in the first place.
“Were you seeing him when you were seeing me?” He was a really good-looking guy, totally ripped, and was pretty easygoing, so I didn’t understand why he was so upset about this. He could replace me in a heartbeat.
We were never exclusive, so I didn’t know why the question even mattered, but I told him the truth. “No. Dom, you’re a really gorgeous dude. You could find a better woman than me right now if you just go out to a bar and meet someone.”
“I told you I’ve done that whole bachelor thing, and I’m tired of it. I want something real.”
“Dom, that’s so sweet, but like I said, there’s somebody else.”
“If you weren’t seeing him while you were seeing me, then did you just meet the guy?”
I was trying to be patient because I knew how it felt to be heartbroken, but I really didn’t have the time for this. “Dom, this is really not the best time. Can we talk about this later?”
“I’ve already tried talking to you, and you keep blowing me off.”
Now, I lost my temper. “Because we’re over, Dom. I don’t know why we need to sit down and have an hour-long conversation about it. I like somebody else, I want to be with him, and that terminates our relationship. That’s it. Period. We went out a couple times, Dom.”
“How can this guy be better than me? Come on, really?”
Oh, trust me, he’s better. So much better. “Please leave.”
“Answer the question—”
“He’s my boss, okay?”
His eyes narrowed. “Dex Hamilton? You’re with Dex Hamilton?”
“Yes.” And he’s much, much better.
Instead of giving him the closure he needed, it actually made him angrier. “So, you’ve had feelings for this guy the entire time? You were just finding someone else to make do until he noticed you?”
“Dom, it’s time to go.”
“I can’t believe this.” He dragged his fingers across his jawline as he shook his head. “So, that was a complete lie. I was just some rebound because you couldn’t get the guy you really wanted? Wow, that’s some bullshit right there—”
Dex walked inside, and he’d obviously heard the yelling through the door because he had a huge vein throbbing down his forehead, and he looked as if he had a cocked gun, he would shoot it. The threatening energy around him was palpable, dispersing and filling the room like cold air from an AC unit. “She asked you to leave.” He opened the door wider and stepped aside, never taking his eyes off Dom.
Dom stared him down before he looked at me again.
Dex raised his voice. “Have some dignity and walk yourself out before I throw you out.”
Dom made the right choice and walked through the open door, hopefully never to be seen again.
Dex shut the door and bolted all the locks.
This was supposed to be a romantic night, and I’d been looking forward to it since the moment he asked if I was free. Actually, I looked forward to our time together every single moment of every day, anxious to be in his arms, for his smell to stick to my skin long after he was gone. But now that possibility was long gone.
Dex turned to me, that vein still thick in his forehead, his skin a little tinted. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Let me explain—”
“Perhaps I should have clarified earlier, but I expected this to be monogamous.” He stepped toward me, moving past the couch as he inched closer, his arms hanging by his sides. “Exclusive. If you think I’m going to share you with someone—”
“I ended it with Dom the morning after the charity gala. He just…won’t let it go. He’s been texting and calling for two weeks, and then I told him the reason I broke it off is because I’m seeing someone. But instead of that giving him the closure to walk away, he marched over here to confront me about it. I was cooking when he knocked, so I just told him to come in, assuming it was you.”