Flapping her hand, she waved him off, but he wouldn’t be thwarted.
“What this fine up-and-coming warrior is remiss in telling you is, not only did she renovate and recreate her papa’s home in his room, but she created an entire village for the seniors to roam.There’s a café and flower shop, a bookstore, a tiny Italian bistro, a small grocery store, a hair salon, and even a bus stop so they can hop on the bus and ride to the park, where there are fountains, lush gardens and places they can all enjoy a lovely sunny day.”MC paused before he finished with, “Though, let us not forget, she also accepts only what people can afford for their loved ones to enjoy all these luxuries, on top of the best medical staff money can buy.Sometimes, that means very little profit in the bank.”
She held up a finger when everyone stared at her in awe, uncomfortable with that kind of praise.“But the profit in my heart, the peace of mind my papa’s in good hands, that they’reallin good hands, is better than any big bank account could ever be.Besides, I do a lot of fundraising, and my financial consultant has made me more than enough to last a hundred lifetimes with some pretty smart investments.Don’t let anyone tell you money doesn’t make things happen.It was life-changing.”
“What she also fails to mention is that our Dominque didn’t buy fancy cars or a big house with all that money, she didn’t even take a trip around the world.She gave back instead.She bought the well-being of others and the gift of security for the children of seniors who otherwise couldn’t afford a place as wonderful as Remember Me.”
Tucking her cold hands into her sleeves, Dom shivered.“Not entirely true, MC.I did buy a pretty sweet townhouse, and every last bit of makeup at the cosmetics counter I used to manage, from the boss who didn’t believe I had a sick grandfather and who made me feel like a lazy piece of garbage for having to take so many days off.I wasn’tentirelyselfless.”
Everyone had gone silent as the leaves swirled at their feet and the hedge maze bent in the rising wind.
“What an incredible human being you are,” Wanda whispered, wiping a stray tear from her cheek before she rose from her seat and hugged Dom tight.A warm, floral-scented hug that made Dom tear up, too.
Marty joined her, throwing her arms around them both and squeezing.“Get in here, vampire.Don’t pretend you don’t want to,” Marty ordered, pulling Nina into their circle.
“Hey,” Harvey said, towering over them with his devastatingly handsome smile, his cheeks ruddy from the chill.“I want in, too, guys.”
As the women surrounded her with their special brand of affection, Harvey managed to get an arm around her, and Dom couldn’t help but feel that thrill he evoked when he hugged her with his broad arm.
He made her feel…anchored…and she didn’t understand it.She didn’t understand its suddenness.Call it trauma bonding or whatever Nina had described, but it existed, and it had become as much a part of this new life she was heading toward as MC had.
Taking a deep breath, Dom felt better.Pulling from their embrace, she looked at them all under the darkening skies and smiled.
“Okay, enough of the fuzzy-wuzzy, as Nina would say.Let’s try one more time before we call it a day.”
Nina flicked her fingers under Dom’s nose.“I would not either call it fuzzy-wuzzy.Now go handle your shit and quit putting sissy-ass words in my mouth.”
Dom tipped her head back and laughed before she positioned herself in the clearing in front of the hedge maze, widening her stance and planting her feet firmly into the ground.
With a deep breath and a flex of her fingers, she held out her hand, bunching the muscles in her thighs to prepare for impact.
“Hammer!”she shouted, with as much confidence as she could muster.
And then it happened.
She felt the breeze MC stirred lifting the loose tendrils of her hair when he launched himself at her, the hum of electricity in the air when his handle slammed into her palm.
And this time, she clamped her fingers around the cool metal and held tight.
The force knocked her back a few steps, but Dom held her ground and strengthened her stance, digging her heels into the earth.
The deafening silence held her in its steely grip for a moment before, almost against her will, she hollered, “Thooor!” raising MC high into the air.
When the sky cracked its acknowledgement, when thunder rolled and the frosted grass beneath her feet shook, everyone began to cheer.
She’d done it…
She’d done it!
Her elation, her sheer euphoria, left her forgetting the lecture she’d given herself only earlier today.
Without thought, the first face she saw—let’s face it, theonlyface she saw when she realized she’d actually caught MC—was Harvey’s, as she dropped the hammer and ran toward him, launching herself into his unsuspecting arms.
Wrapping her arms around his neck in her complete elation, she yelped, “I did it!”
Before she promptly laid one on him, pressing her lips to his until her eyeballs crossed.
And until she realized what she’d done, anyway.
