Dirty Dom(39)

“Do you see trucks?” He runs back over to the pile of cushions and collects the truck to hold it up for me to see. “So big mommy!” I can’t speak, just looking at him has me too emotional to function, so I nod my head and make sure I’m smiling.

There’s another little boy jumping on the cushion-less sofa. Olive complexion with dark brown eyes and a faux Mohawk. He’s grinning from ear to ear like he can hardly stand the anticipation of the drop.

“That’s Gino,” Dom huffs a small laugh at the little boy.

“Is he your nephew?” I ask.

“Basically.” I think that’s all I’m going to get, but then he continues. “Jimmy’s my cousin, but we grew up together. We’re all close.” I nod as though I understand, but I don’t. I don’t know what that’s like. “You’ll meet him tonight. Clara’s gone already and Vince only comes home for Saturday and Sunday dinners.”

An older woman, maybe in her fifties, walks into the room from the kitchen. Her dark black hair with grey streaks is pulled into a chignon bun. Trailing her is the sweet smell of white wine and shrimp. I can only imagine she’s cooking up shrimp scampi or something else that smells just as good. My mouth waters as I lick my lips.

“Hi Becca. I’m Linda, Dom’s Ma.” she wipes her hands on a small kitchen towel and walks over to us on the other side of the room. I expect a handshake, but instead I’m greeted with a gentle hug. She looks over my face with a sad smile. “Would you like anything to drink?” It’s not the question I anticipate. But then I remember Dom’s warning about not asking questions.

I gently shake my head, “I’m fine, thank you.”

“You say that a lot you know?” He looks down at me with a quizzical look on his face.

Linda interrupts our moment. “Shrimp scampi for dinner, it’s almost ready.” I knew it! She says the last bit with a teasing tone. We have shrimp scampi at my bistro. It’s one of my favorite dishes. The reminder of the restaurant makes my gut sink. Dom still has my phone.

“I need my phone.” I’m blunt and I hope he doesn’t push me on this. I have a PA that theoretically could handle everything but in reality she constantly relies on me.

“Who are you going to call?” At first I’m pissed off at his question and then I see the threat in his eyes. The cops.

“Not calling anyone; I just want to check on my business.” He reaches into his pocket and holds it out for me. As I reach for it, he pulls back.

“Kiss first.” He turns his cheek to me. I roll my eyes, but stand on my tip toes and plant a kiss on his cheek. For some reason his playfulness makes me feel lighter. And then I look at the phone and see all the messages. 4 missed calls and 32 messages. Fuck. I sigh heavily and start with the texts, but the bottom one catches my eyes.

All taken care of. No worries. Just feel better! 7:14

I stare at the screen with confusion until Dom answers my unspoken question.

“I text her and told her you’d be out of commission and gave her the number of our manager in case she needed help.”

“Thank you.” I can’t imagine it’s that easy though. I read through the the messages, searching for something that she didn’t write back and say was fixed. Nothing. She did everything without me today.

He holds out his hand for the phone back.

I purse my lips. “I don’t like that.”

He leans in close to answer, “after what you said upstairs I’m nervous that you’re going to do something stupid.”

I shake my head, “I won’t. I don’t know why I said it.”

“I do.” He says while taking my phone and putting it back in his pocket.

“What the hell does that mean?” I do. Like he knows me like that.

“I told you to watch that tone doll. I’m trying to go easy on you, but you can only push so much.” The threat in his voice does all the wrong things to me. So I simply turn away from him and focus on the two little men playing with their toys and are completely unaware of what’s happened today.



Dinner has been … telling. Jax is happy and playing with Gino. The men, Jimmy Dom and Dom’s father, Dante, have been joking and carrying on and playing with the kids. Even Linda’s been poking fun at her husband. Almost like today never happened. Like they weren’t at a shootout. I’m not sure it’s perfectly healthy, but I like it. I appreciate it. I don’t want to wallow. I want to move on as quickly as possible.

I lean back slightly in the chair and lick the last bit of white wine butter sauce from my fingers. Linda knows how to cook, that’s for damn sure. I’ve been quiet all dinner except for the dozen times I’ve commented on her food. Jax likes it too, which makes me happy since he hardly ever actually eats anything. I swear he lives off fruit snacks and apple juice.