“How come you never throw dinners for me?” Dom asked as I climbed onto the kitchen counter and paused momentarily as the room swayed. My heart pounded in my chest and I clutched the cupboard doors. It lasted all of five seconds before Dom pulled me down and I was back on the floor. “Come here, Tarzan. Luc’s going to kill us both if you get injured. What do you need?”
“Double zero flour,” I told him. “I thought we had some left, but I can’t find it.” Dom made sure I was steady before he started to look without the need to clamber onto a higher surface. “And I don’t throw you dinners because you’re here most of the time. Why am I throwing a dinner specifically for you when you eat with us whenever you’re pissed at Rodrigo?”
“You’ve been taking lessons from Luc in how to be charming,” Dom said, pulling things out of the cupboard as he hunted. “No. You don’t have any.”
I clucked my tongue. “Dante will have some. Pasta is the only thing he knows how to make from scratch.”
“I don’t know how he manages to keep a figure like that with the way he eats,” Dom commented, closing the cupboard doors.
“Aren’t you married?” I pointed out, picking Link up out of his seat so I could get him ready for the short trip. No one told you that having a baby added fifteen minutes in leaving the house. Fifteen was on a good day. On one of Link’s bad days, I abandoned all my plans rather than fight with my son who couldn’t even vocalise his argument into something I understood.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t look and appreciate,” he replied cheekily. “And I can’t look at Luc anymore because we all know you’re a little psycho when it comes to things that belong to you.”
“Are you scared of me, Dom?” I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
“You’re picking up bad habits from your fiancé,” he pointed out. “And I’m a little scared of him so, therefore, I’m a little scared of you.”
“If you’re that scared of me,” I said slowly. “You’re not going to want to walk me down the aisle, are you?”
“Woah! Woah!” Dom said, moving in front of me so I couldn’t leave. “I never said that. You want me to walk you down the aisle?”
“Who else would I ask?” I asked. “You let me walk you.”
Carry on like normal. That was what I’d told Luc this morning. In all of the chaos that was unfolding around us, I still had a wedding to plan and with only two months until the big day I needed to get things in order. Tomorrow, I’d call the designer and get the dress finalised. I’d dragged my heels enough and even if no one would turn up at the church, a scenario that wouldn’t be wholly unwelcome, I’d rather not march up the aisle in a potato sack.
The smile Dom wore lit up his face and made my heart lift. “I’d be honoured to, Mia.”
We left the house and took the short walk to Dante’s place, Link comfortable against me in his sling, discussing the happier topic of the wedding and it served well to distract me from the worries that had plagued me all day.
As I unlocked the door, I asked Dom, “Do you and Rodrigo want kids?”
“He does,” Dom answered. “I’m not so sure.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not the most ideal place to have and raise kids.” Dom then caught himself. “Not that I think you made a mistake or anything.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not offended. I’d have waited a little before Link, but life had other plans.” Not that waiting would have made a difference. It was nice to think that once we were done with Xavier, life would be safe. Safer, yes, but not safe. There would always be a threat. With that in mind, still no part of me regretted having my son. He completed me even when he chose to be difficult. I couldn’t imagine life without him.
“Imagine us trying to keep up appearances for surrogacy or adoption,” Dom said to me. “We’d be lying from the start.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure out a way if it’s something you both really want.”
“Maybe.” Dom shrugged. “For now, I’m happy with it just being me and my husband.”
As we walked through the house and into the kitchen, I heard Angelo talking rapidly. Standing in the doorway, I saw that he had his back turned to us and was on the phone.
“For all the work I’m doing, I deserve the rate I’m asking for,” Angelo said. “Double the original offer would be more than satisfactory. Keeping secrets is an expensive business.” When he turned around and saw us, he jumped, and I nervously raised a hand in greeting. “Think about it. I need to go,” he said down the phone and hung up. His next words were directed at me, “Has anyone ever told you that you should wear a bell?”
“Yes. Your cousin said the same thing,” I told him, spooked by how similar Angelo was to Dante when he’d done nothing but prove the opposite since he’d arrived. “Sorry for the scare. I just needed some flour.”
“Was the store closed?”
It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the back of Angelo. Unlike Dante, he had a permanent chip on his shoulder that made him unpleasant to be around. Part of that could be attested to the brash way he’d been dealt with since he arrived but something about Angelo made my skin crawl. Maybe it was time to ask Dante to move in with us so that he didn’t have to suffer in close confines with his family any longer.
“No, but I know my brother always has some,” I said, emphasising the word brother to prove how close we were. Ignoring him, Dom walked into the kitchen properly and searched for what I needed.
“Is this how you function?” Angelo asked. His eyes flicked over to Dom and then settled back on me. “No knocking? No calling?”
