The phone starts ringing again before he even puts it back on the table, and a flash of annoyance crosses his face as he stabs the decline button again.
“You can take the call. It must be important if they called two times in a row.”
He waves a dismissive hand. “No, this is more important. Tell me what you need, Sloane, and I’ll give it to you. This dinner isn’t just about discussing my rules, and Idohave rules, but I want to know what you need out of this. What you need from me.”
“I—”
“Alright, you two. What can I get for you?”
Sarah is back with a bright smile on her face and a notepad in her hand. Dominic gestures for me to order first, but I have no idea what I want, as reading the menu has been difficult with the most intense midnight stare burning into my soul. Dominic and Sarah wait patiently for me to decide, and I settle on Wagyu beef sliders and a side salad. Dominic doesn’t even glance at the menu before he orders a grass-fed New York strip with a side of roasted potatoes. As he hands the menus back, he orders a glass of Shiraz to go with my entrée.
I arch a brow at him, and he smiles. “You’ll enjoy it. Trust me.”
“How do you know? You don’t drink.”
“True, but I do dine frequently with people who drink.” His lips curve into a smile. “And they’ve said the wine goes well with the sliders you ordered.”
My elbows rest on the edge of the table as I lean forward. “Tell me more about these people you dine with frequently.”
Dominic shakes his head. “Letting the green-eyed monster get ahold of you again, angel?”
“No.”Yes. Maybe a little.“Just making conversation.”
“A few years ago, Cerros underwent a small-scale renovation. The scope of work included suites on the top floor as well as the rooftop conversion. Do you remember?”
I almost don’t hear the question, because I’m too caught up watching his finger trace the rim of his glass with the same finger that was inside of me when I came less than twenty minutes ago.
“Yes.” I swallow. “Mal wanted us to bid on the project, but we’d just lost one of our senior designers, and I didn’t want to be stretched thin.”
“Right,” he murmurs. “She was sad that we missed the chance to work on a project together.”
My eyes snap to his face. “Archway handled the renovation.”
“Ihandled the renovation personally, per the owner’s request. He had been burned by contractors before and wanted to be sure his project was in good hands.” He lifts a cocky brow as he says the last word, and a fire erupts in my veins. “Anyway, by the time we were done, he owed me a few favors.”
Understanding seeps into my bones.Owed.As in the past tense. As in Dominic cashed in a valuable favor owed to him by a powerful man because he knew I would be worried about someone seeing us together. And not justanypowerful man, but Sebastian Adler of Adler Holdings, the oldest son of the family who shocked the world when he decided to open a chain of hotels, luxury condominiums, and restaurants instead of taking the CEO title he was raised to hold in the family company.
“Dominic, you didn’t…”
“I did, and I’d do it again just to see the look on your face when we walked in here and you realized the place was empty.”
I tilt my head to the side, wondering if I’ll ever get a handle on this man or the whirlwind of emotions he stirs up in me when he shows me his sweet side every now and again. “Who knew there was a heart under all that asshole-ish behavior?”
“Asshole-ish?” He laughs, and the sound is warm and rich, washing over me in waves. “All that private-school education and you resort to making up words?”
I wrinkle my nose at him. “It’s not a made-up word. It’s an informal adverb that means ‘to some extent.’ You know, likeBlack-ish? Kind of Black, or, in your case, kind of an asshole.”
He gives me a questioning look before treating me to a grin that I’m way more attached to than I should be at this point. “Damn. That was kind of sexy. I always hated English, but I could listen to you say shit like that all day.”
Suddenly, I’m blushing again, and a stupid giggle escapes my lips. I take another sip of water and wave him off. “Shut up.”
“I’m serious though. When you say stuff like that or hand James his ass about looking at finishes in an unfinished room, it just reminds me how incredible you are. I haven’t told you that enough, even though I’ve always thought it.”
Even though I’ve always thought it.
I never hated you, Sloane.
Dominic’s confessions ring in my ears, reminding me once again that nothing with him is as exactly as it seems. All these years I thought he hated me, barely tolerated my presence, resented every breath I took, but now he wants me to believe none of that was true.
