"That it does, I remember it well. Try spending that week with your dad as your boss pushing you around while your little brother's under your feet trying to help." Dominic said with a grin. Adele watched his face loose all humor as she felt her eyes tear up.
"Oh hell, Adele. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. This is meant to be a celebration. Here, have a drink and I'll go order us some dinner. Daily special okay?"
All Adele could manage was a nod. Dominic headed up to the bar to order their meals, leaving her alone to allow her a moment to collect herself. He seemed so in tune with what she needed.
She blew out a breath. Damn, she hadn't expected to react that much. Now she felt like a fool. If every time she heard someone talk about family she freaked out, it was going to be hard to make friends. She took a few deep breaths, wiped away the stray tears and tried to calm herself down before Dominic returned. Deep breath...and more tears. Damn it. Maybe she should have said no to dinner, just gone straight home. She felt, rather than saw, Dominic come back. He pulled his chair around next to hers and placed his hand on her back then started stroking in lazy circles.
"I'm so sorry beautiful, I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's alright Dominic, you couldn't have known. It's just my mother, she passed away four years ago. I've been on my own ever since. She was all the family I ever had; your talk of family just pricked a nerve. I'm sure if I wasn't so tired it wouldn't have affected me. I'm okay now, really. Can we please just talk about something else?"
~ * ~
Dominic was grateful Jenny picked that perfect moment to bring their meals out. Today's special was his favourite, beer battered butterfish with chips and salad. He couldn't help it. All cats love their fish. He was curious to whether Adele liked fish...he was curious about everything to do with Adele. Damn, Conner was right; he was acting like a love sick kitten.
"Oh, cool. Fish, my favourite." Adele chuckled. "I didn't even look at the specials board on the way in; I could have ended up with anything."
"You're pretty safe here. Generally the special is either battered fish or chicken schnitzels, sometimes soup in winter." Dominic said with a gentle smile. He was feeling better now he had her chuckling again; he loved the sound of her giggle. It sounded so carefree and relaxed. The fact she was drinking wine he'd selected and food he'd ordered for her made him want to purr in satisfaction.
They both proceeded to eat in comfortable silence until they were just picking over the last few chips on their plates.
"Well, that certainly feels better. I've never eaten as much as I have in this last week. At least with all the running around I'm doing I won't gain any weight." Adele said as she leaned back in her chair with her drink in hand.
"You would still be beautiful." Dominic said quietly. His mate was stunning, her classic hourglass shape with curves in all the right places. He didn't want her fussing about her weight. She didn't need to worry. She was perfection just as she was.
Adele's eyes flicked up to his. He could read her shock clearly in them. She'd heard his comment, apparently having difficulty believing it. He knew his eyes must be showing his emotions when a look of panic crossed her face. He needed to change the topic. Just pretend he didn't say anything about her being beautiful. He wasn't ready for the evening to be over just yet and she looked like she was going to bolt.
"Kit mentioned you're going to start keeping an eye out for your own place here in town. Does that mean you like it here and you're going to stay on?"
Dominic smiled innocently at Adele, waiting for her to register the change of topic to what was hopefully a safer one.
"Um, yeah, I am just going to keep an eye out in the local paper and check out the agents down Main Street. I won't be able to afford to move for at least another few weeks." Adele stuttered in response. "I love staying with Kit but I've always been independent and I don't want to overstay my welcome."
"I doubt you'd ever wear out your welcome, especially with Kit. But I certainly understand the need for some personal space. How do you like the job? I mean apart from the long hours, are you enjoying it?"
"I love my new job. I've always liked helping people. The work soothes me. I've been volunteering for years and it's great to finally be able to do it professionally."
"Yeah, fire fighting is a bit the same for me. I like being able to help people and I also love the thrill of the fire so fire fighting was the natural choice for me. As Dad's the captain, I knew when there were job vacancies so that helped make the choice even easier."
They chatted for a while longer about their jobs and the week they'd each had when Adele starting to yawn, her week catching up with her.