“Veronica?”
Her assistant looked up from her computer.
“You should head home. You’re officially moving in with Jasper tonight, right?”
Veronica nodded.
“Go home. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Her assistant studied her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Dominique could tell that Veronica wanted to ask more questions, but she let the subject drop. Once her assistant was gone, Dominique went back into her office and shut the door. Then, she sat down behind her desk and let her head fall into her hands. Her entire body started shaking as rage and helplessness filled her.
After twenty years of freedom, of being completely on her own, she was now beneath someone else’s thumb again.
Dominique wanted to rage and scream. To destroy her office.
But experience had taught her that none of those actions would make her feel better. If anything, she would feel worse.
She moved through the breathing exercises she’d learned over the past few years. Her focus remained on calming herself and releasing the stress, frustration, and anger. She couldn’t control what Ronan said or did. She could only control herself.
Finally, ten minutes later, she was calm enough to leave the office. Once everything was shut down and locked up, she walked out to her car. The Mercedes sedan was her first big splurge since the business took off and became profitable. Though it was now several years old, she loved this car because it was the first thing she had truly bought for the fun of it. Just because she wanted it.
As she approached, the usual pride she felt in her success was absent. After all she’d done, the independence she’d established, she was now under the thumb of another person who just wanted to use and abuse her. The knowledge left a bitter taste on her tongue.
Despite her dark mood, the drive home was typical, traffic heavy but flowing well. When she pulled into the driveway of her townhouse, she realized she’d forgotten to stop and pick up take-out for dinner. Her head felt light…fuzzy. Instead of heading back out and retracing her route, Dominique decided to order delivery. Paying delivery and other fees was an extra expense she often avoided, but tonight, she was making an exception. In fact, she was going all out and ordering a bottle of wine to go with her meal. After Ronan’s visit, she needed a glass. Or five.
Dominique went inside, dropping her purse on the console table by the front door, and kicked off her shoes. Twenty seconds later, Oscar ran over, telling her all about his day in long meows as he wound around her ankles.
She bent down and picked him up. Oscar was mostly British Shorthair with a little something else thrown in. She wasn’t sure what, but he was the prettiest, sweetest cat she’d ever owned.
Oscar butted his head against her cheek, rubbing his furry face down her jaw to her neck. His low purr rumbled against her skin, calming her better than any breathing exercise ever could.
“Hey, buddy,” she murmured, carrying him toward the couch. “I hope your day was lovely. Mine was great until about thirty minutes ago.”
The cat continued to nuzzle her as she cradled him. Stretching out on the couch, she started clicking through her phone until she pulled up the food delivery app. Five minutes later, she’d ordered a bottle of wine and a pizza from her favorite Italian restaurant. They cooked it in a wood-fired oven. The only better pizza was what she’d eaten in Naples, but it wasn’t fair tocompare because nothing could compete with the real thing in Italy.
When Oscar had enough affection, he jumped off the couch and wandered off to investigate her purse. He always seemed to think she would bring home treats in her bag. Every night, he had to check it, even though she’d never produced the treats he sought yet.
With a sigh, Dominique got to her feet and went up the stairs to her bedroom. By the time she’d changed clothes, twisted her hair up into a pile on top of her head, and washed off her make-up, she was completely calm. Her choices were limited. She had to focus on the things she could control in this situation, or she would lose her mind.
When her food arrived, she curled up on her couch, her legs folded beneath her and ate pizza as she read. The bottle of red wine she ordered was the perfect complement to the meal.
After she ate, she sat on the couch for a long while, staring down at the crescent moon on her wrist, rubbing the thumb of her left hand over it, back and forth.
As she went through her solitary evening routine, she didn’t feel the eyes on her. If she had realized the townhouse next to her wasn’t vacant and gave the man inside the perfect view into her house, she would have closed the blinds.
But she didn’t suspect any of those things, so she gave him an opportunity to study her when she thought she was alone.
Ronan remainedin the shadows of the empty townhouse, watching his future bride eat her lonely dinner with her cat and a book. The sight shouldn’t make his chest tight, but it did. Itreminded him far too much of his own evening routine. Except he didn’t even have a cat.
Stepping further away from the window, Ronan engaged his cell phone and called his mother, waiting as it rang. Though it wasn’t easy, cell phones could be used in the fae realm. A sorceress or sorcerer could easily enchant a phone to connect with others in the human realm. However, it took twice as long for the calls to go through.
Finally, she answered, “Hello, Ronan. How are you this evening?”
“I’m well, Mother,” he said. “How are you?”
