She stared at the floor. Had she been unreasonable?
"Look, I know you. You're not the sort of person who would ever throw away their livelihood for a guy. You've worked hard to get where you are today. And I would never suggest you sell the gallery. It's a horrible idea. You love this business with your entire soul.
"That being said, Dominic has a point. He doesn't have options. He's in the middle of a contract. He can't walk away from his job. The man is head over heels for you. He would move mountains if they got in your way. Anyone can see that.
"It's not unreasonable for you to take some time off. Like he suggested, I can manage without you for a month or so. We could hire someone to help out in your absence. A grad student or something. Someone comes in here for an application at least once a week. There are four resumes in the desk right now.
"Besides, most of the important stuff you could do virtually. There's no reason you need to be physically in the gallery to arrange showings, manage the accounting, handle the inventory spreadsheets. I can handle the on-site responsibilities."
Lily lifted her gaze to his. Why was he making sense? "You would do that for me?"
He jerked, scrunching his eyes. "Of course. What are friends for?"
She sighed, staring at the floor. Maybe Stephan's plan had merit. She could keep her hand in almost everything remotely. And if there was a problem in the gallery, Stephan could easily call her. Why had she spent the entire week stomping around acting like she was queen of the universe when all Dominic had asked for was more of her time so they could figure out if they had something sustainable? She didn't need to be a royal bitch about it.
She groaned. She hadn't spoken to her sister all week. Their spotty communication had been through texts. She suspected her sister was hiding something, or someone. Probably Xavier. But Ava had sent texts nearly every day. And that morning, she'd told Lily she had plans for the evening.
Lily, being nosy, had looked at the Miami schedule and determined the team was in Jupiter that day.
She jumped to her feet. "I need to go. Can you handle things today?"
Stephan smiled. "Got it. Go."
She raced across the room, grabbed her purse, and dashed out the back door. Her fingers shook as she fumbled with her keys and climbed into her car.
Get a grip, Lily. There's plenty of time.
His game would start in two hours. She didn't want to show up at the game and possibly distract him. She wanted to go to his condo.
First, she went home, haphazardly grabbed a bag, and tossed stuff in, hopeful. Then she sat at her computer and took a deep breath. She opened the gallery calendar to ensure she had all her ducks in a row for a few days. Nothing pressing jumped out at her. The deliveries were already arranged. The next show was on target. Paychecks had been distributed. Everything was fine.
Finally, she was on the road.
Nerves made her fidget the entire drive. When she got to Dominic's condo, she wasn't sure if he would be there yet or not.
She stared at the front of his condo. There were no cars out front, but that meant nothing. He would have parked in the garage.
She stepped out of the car anyway, determined to at least try. When she reached the front door, she stared at it a moment. What the hell am I going to say?
Before she could reach up and knock, the door suddenly opened.
Dominic stepped forward and then stopped. It didn't seem as though he'd realized she was out there. Instead, it seemed as if he were leaving.
But he stepped back.
"Can I come in? Is this a bad time?"
"No. Actually … I mean, no." He didn't move a muscle.
Her shoulders slumped. She fought back tears and pursed her lips. When she thought she could speak again without making a fool of herself, she opened her mouth. "Okay. I'll go. I just wanted to say I'm sorry." She turned around and took a step, her heart racing and her mind screaming at her to fight harder.
Dominic suddenly grabbed her arm from behind and pulled her around to face him. He tipped his head down, his expression serious. "I meant, no, it isn't a bad time. Not that you couldn't come in." He backed up slowly, his hand sliding down to grasp hers and tugging her with him.
Relief washed over her, but the stress and anxiety kept the tears so close to the surface she feared she might break down and sob anyway.
When he had them inside, he shut the door with a loud snick and took her other hand too. He pulled them both up to his chest and then hauled her against him. His face buried in her hair. "I'm so sorry. I was such an ass. I was actually about to head to Miami to find you."