Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 44254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
But Lizzy can never know about that. I can’t let her detect it, even for a second.
“Danni?”
I snap back to reality, realizing she’s been talking.
“Sorry,” I murmur. “What were you saying?”
“Jet lag?” Lizzy says. “We should get you home after this.”
“I know, but I don’t want to sleep. It’d be better to wait until nighttime. But I’m so exhausted, I know I’ll collapse the second we get in. Then I’ll wake up at three AM, and my sleep pattern will be even more screwed.”
I wonder if this is a lie or a half-truth. I wonder if it’s a way of me putting off the inevitable…the moment I walk through the door and find Dominic standing there, maybe in a casual T-shirt and shorts, with his muscles bulging.
The worst part will be when his gaze passes over me, with not even a hint of the hunger flaring in my body.
But it will be for the best. It will mean I can focus on killing this crush, if that’s even possible, and if that’s what this is.
A crush.
It feels like so much more.
“Dad’s rehoming a bunch of puppies from a farming operation.”
I clench my fist under the table. “Was it bad?”
Lizzy nods, toying with her black hair. “It was awful. The way they were treated, and the poor mothers. It’s sick what some people do.”
“It’s evil,” I snap, thinking of the mother forced to give birth over and over, thinking of the treatment of the puppies, the cramped quarters, the dirt, and the lack of love. “How many?”
“I think around twenty-five, maybe a few more. A few of them have gone already. But there’s still lots of work to do. I’m sure he’d be happy for your help.”
“Well….”
I’m unsure what to say because every part of me screams to say yes. It’s like there’s this force inside of me, demanding I do this and help those innocent dogs. It’s the same pull I’ve felt ever since I was a kid when I first learned that helping animals was a job.
“Well?” Lizzy prompts.
“He hasn’t offered me anything yet, so I’ll wait and see.”
“We can ask him when we get home if he’s there. The shelters have been keeping him crazy busy lately. Plus, there’s his real estate work.”
“How has he been?” I ask. “I just realized I’ve hardly asked about him since I moved to England.”
“He’s fine, same old Dad. Dedicated to the dogs, ready to kick ass if need be.”
“And no…special person in his life?”
I’ve purposefully avoided bringing up this topic of conversation. But now, as the rain hammers harder against the glass, as the buzz of the coffee machine whirs from behind the counter, I can’t help myself.
“No,” Lizzy says, sighing.
“You want him to find somebody?” I ask.
In high school, she was determined for her dad to remain single. She didn’t want anybody replacing her Mom, who passed when she was twelve.
“I think it’s time,” Lizzy says. “He’s got so much good in him. But there’s this darkness too.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Not anything bad. Or even specific. It’s just this look he sometimes gets when he doesn’t know I’m watching him. Maybe he remembers his time in the military. Or maybe he’s thinking about how he’d like to settle down, but he doesn’t want to upset me. I don’t know. Dad can be pretty closed off.”
“Maybe you should talk to him about it,” I say.
Even if I don’t want her to, I don’t want to find out Dominic is ready for a woman. I don’t want to be there as he begins dating models, socialites, or the pretty billboard women who line up, all to get a chance at the most perfect man who’s ever lived.
I push those notions away. It doesn’t help to think like that. It will just make me miserable.
“I might,” Lizzy says, picking up her coffee. “But honestly, he’s fine. And what am I basing any of this on, really? Maybe he just has a grumpy face.”
“Like father like daughter, huh?”
She rolls her eyes, laughing at the banter. “I do not have a resting bitch face…or maybe I do. Maybe it’s a good thing. It keeps the jerks away.”
“But the really jerky ones will try their luck anyway.”
“They can try, but I’m not interested. Full-stop. A blanket statement. I’ve sworn off men for life.”
“Quite a bold thing to say at nineteen.”
She beams. “You might’ve felt weird in high school not dating, but trust me. You didn’t miss out on much. So many of those boys are just absolutely immature ass-hats.”
I go along with the banter, warning myself not to mention the reason I never even tried dating in high school…not that I would’ve been successful if I did.
But I never put any effort in.
Nobody could ever compare to Dominic.
CHAPTER TWO
Dominic
I drive down my street, my body sore and tired but nowhere near as exhausted as we used to get overseas, falling asleep only to be woken a couple of hours later, ready for more action.