Even after the mayhem, a quick shower has rendered her a messy-haired goddess, her smile causing happiness to try and explode in my chest. Her lips are wry, sassy, and so fucking kissable I could roar out in desire.
“But not as confused as I should’ve been, maybe,” she goes on. “The truth is, I really care about Dom and I think he really cares about me.”
“I do,” I growl, taking her hand and squeezing it firmly, feeling the heat and the passion of our touch firing between us.
“It might not make a lot of sense, fine, but the second we saw each other, I just felt this—I don’t even know how to explain it. Maybe when I’m like twenty years into my writing career I’ll be able to find the words. But I doubt it.”
“I felt like she was mine,” I say, fresh passion steaming in my voice. “The moment I saw her in that alleyway, I felt that claim inside of me. The time for lies has passed, so I won’t sugarcoat this. I knew the second I saw her that she was going to be the mother of my children. And getting to know her, and spending time with her, fuck, that’s just made me about a hundred times more certain. So I’m sorry, Gabriel, I really fucking am. You’re my best friend and I should’ve told you sooner. But there it is. Dallas is mine for the rest of our lives.”
I stop, my words coming out in a rush, my passion getting the better of me and making my voice warble.
In the half-light, Poppet yelps and barks gleefully, chasing a firefly around the garden.
“I was waiting for you to tell me,” Gabriel murmurs. “I saw you two, Skip, the first day we spent here. I knew something was different in you. I could tell. And then it made sense. I saw how you were smiling, both of you, and it just seemed right.”
I stare.
He grins.
“Don’t you get it, Dom, you silly old bastard? I’m glad. I know that there’s no one in this world who’d take care of Dallas better than you. I’ve known you most of my life and you’ve always proved yourself to be a damn good man.”
I feel Dallas shiver beside me. She lets out a moan of surprise and I must make a similar sound, a deep growl because we both look at each other and laugh. We revel in the moment.
All this time—and he’s happy for us.
“You don’t know what that means to me,” I whisper. “Gabriel, Jesus, I thought you were going to go nuts.”
“Look at you two,” Gabriel grins. “How could anybody be angry at that, eh?”
“Mom?” Dallas murmurs, struggling to conceal the glee from her voice.
I can hear it under her words.
We can be together. We can really fucking be together. Guilt-free.
But she can’t celebrate just yet.
Samantha might have different ideas.
“I’ve been thinking about this,” she muses. She’s changed into a glittering dress and put on earrings, as though by dressing elegantly she can erase what happened today. “At first I was shocked and disgusted, of course. And why wouldn’t I be? I’ve spent so long thinking that Domenico DeLuca is the devil. No offense.”
The whole table laughs, including me, and even Samantha herself manages to crack a grin.
“None taken,” I assure her. “I’m sure there are people who’d agree with you.”
She smiles tightly. “But I guess I’m in a little bit of a predicament here because I thought Cillian was a good man. He really convinced me that he was the one, whatever the hell that means.”
“I know what it means,” Dallas beams.
I smirk.
So do I.
“Sorry,” Dallas says a moment later, shooting me a silly-me smile that makes me want to kiss her right here.
“But it turns out Cillian was a killer and even worse, and you, Dom, well you saved my life. I guess what I’m trying to say is things clearly aren’t as simple as I thought they were. So if Dallas is happy, I’m happy. That’s the headline.”
“Really?” Dallas whispers. “That means so much to me, Mom. I know this is crazy, but it just feels so right.”
“It feels like fate,” I growl, shocked at the intensity of my voice, as well as the word.
Fate.
I’ve never invoked it before.
But I’ve never fallen in love before.
Love.
I need to tell Dallas.
I need to ask her, too, ask her the most important question of my goddamned life.
“It sounds wonderful, in a way,” Samantha murmurs. “It sounds so Hollywood.”
I see Gabriel flinch a little at that since her desire for Hollywood is what drove their divorce. But then he sees me looking and grins, and soon Samantha is opening the wine and I pour Dallas and me some soda, and as I slide her glass to her our hands’ touch and I feel the need in her, the desire, the rightness.
She pauses and stares at me, our gazes seeming to become one.
“I’m so happy, Dom,” she whispers, tears sparkling in her eyes. “Thank you so much for saving us. For saving Poppet.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” I whisper, bringing her hand to my lips and kissing it softly, unable to stop myself even though Gabriel and Samantha are sitting right there. “I’ll always be here for you.”
Poppet must be getting jealous of all the attention aimed away from her because with a victorious harrumph she comes leaping onto the patio and up into Dallas’s lap. I laugh and stroke her lovingly, wrestling with her as she laughs and leaps around in my arms.
“You’re going to make an amazing dad, Dom,” Dallas giggles.
Then she flinches, glancing at her parents.
“Sorry, I know we’re getting a little heavy here.”
Samantha laughs. “I’m getting a little jelly, you mean. That’s the only problem.”
Dallas makes gagging noises and Gabriel laughs loudly, slapping his leg, and as I cradle Poppet to my chest I think about tomorrow, a new day, the first day of the rest of our lives.
