“Hoping this will satisfy your mom for a bit?” Rae asked as if she was reading Domi’s mind. Sometimes, their closeness could be a little unnerving.
“Hey, she’s been wanting me to date… I’m dating. She’ll like Mitch. As long as we’re dating, she’ll stop bugging me about dating, and if things don’t work out, I’ll probably still get a break for a while.”
“And if things do work out, she’ll be thrilled.”
“Right.” The little weight of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach grew a little more. If she and Mitch worked out, would they end up with… marriage? More babies? They hadn’t talked about any of that. Did he even want kids?
“What?” Rae asked, poking Domi’s arm. After she repeated her thoughts, Rae sat back with a thoughtful expression. “You two aren’t that serious yet, but you should probably talk about it. Soon. Before you get in deeper.”
“What if I don’t know my answers?” Domi really didn’t know what she wanted. For so long, she’d seen her future as taking care of Ana and making sure her daughter didn’t want for anything. Somehow, she’d always envisioned being here, in this house, with Rae and Ana, while having her a life separate from her daughter when Ana was with Marcus and Julia.
The idea of joining that separate life with her daughter’s life… scared her. So many things could go wrong. She could handle her own heartbreak but wasn’t sure she could handle her daughter’s.
“Then take some time to think about it.” Rae shrugged. “There’s no rush.”
Right. There was no rush. She’d figure it out.
“Mommy, Aunt Rae, come look! All done!”
“We’re coming,” she and Rae chimed together, glancing at each other and laughing. There was no rush. Right now, she had everything exactly the way she’d always pictured it, except better—Rae and Ana at home, and her own life when Ana wasn’t there. A life that included a boyfriend. While she hadn’t pictured that before, she’d grown. Changed. It fit. She and Mitch worked together this way.
She didn’t need to combine her worlds yet, not when everything was going so well as it was.
Mitch
“It was very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz.” Mitch gave Domi’s parents his most charming smile. I’m a totally normal young man. I definitely didn’t spend last night clamping your daughter’s nipples, plugging her ass with an expanding, vibrating plug, whipping that ass, then fucking her raw. Domi’s mom beamed back at him through the computer screen, though her dad seemed a little more suspicious.
From everything Mitch had heard, that was normal. Dads were protective of their daughters, especially when they were dating. It was impossible to tell size on a computer screen, but he got the impression Domi’s mom was petite like her, while her dad was taller and bulkier. Domi definitely got her hair from her mom, who had similar corkscrew curls.
He was relieved his first time meeting the parents was a video chat introduction. It was much less intimidating than meeting in person, though he’d be ready when the time came for that. At least Domi’s mom liked him.
“It was wonderful to meet you, too, Mitch. We’re so happy Domi has such a nice boyfriend. Si, Enrique?” Because of the screen, it wasn’t possible to see exactly what she did, but Mitch was pretty sure she’d elbowed her husband.
“Uh-huh,” Domi’s dad said unenthusiastically. Mrs. Ortiz elbowed him again. “I mean, nice to meet you. I look forward to meeting you in person when we come up to visit in a few months.” He sounded more dubious than sincere.
“Me, too, Sir.” A few months was plenty of time to prepare. Besides, if he wasn’t mistaken, Mrs. Ortiz was the dominant personality in their relationship, and she was thrilled to meet him. Hopefully, she’d be able to convince her husband.
“Alright, adiós mami, adiós papi. Les hablo luego gracias por el video chat,” Domi said, leaning forward. Thanks to the video chat, Mitch could see her bemused expression clearly. High school Spanish had been a long time ago, but he understood enough to know she was saying goodbye and thanking them for the chat.
“Adiós, cariño te quiero!”
“Yo también tequiero.” Domi clicked off the call and leaned back. “Well, I think we can call that a success.”
“Me, too.” Mitch pulled her in for a short hot kiss he had to end far too quickly. “If I didn’t have to get to work, we could celebrate.”
“When you get off work, I could come over, and we could celebrate then,” she suggested, watching him get to his feet. She leaned back, giving him a sassy look, then winced as she shifted her weight on her welted ass. Mitch grinned in appreciation.
“Sounds good to me.” Sliding his fingers into her hair, he tugged her head backward, dropping another kiss onto her lips. Fuck, he loved kissing her, spending time with her, and he was flying high, knowing he’d passed the parent test.
They’d only been official for a few weeks, but it felt good. Easy. Right. Like the other relationships at Stronghold.
Brian had asked if Mitch was worried about Domi not introducing him to Ana as her boyfriend yet, but he and Domi had talked about it, and he understood she wasn’t ready yet. Yeah, sure, there was a part of him that was impatient, but only because he understood what a big step that was. An important step and a necessary one if they were going to have a future together.
She was a single mom doing her best, and he was the first boyfriend she’d had since becoming a single mom. He also had a bit of a track record. He wasn’t going to blame her for being cautious. They’d get there.
Meeting her parents was proof of that. One step at a time.
He was halfway to the hospital when his phone started playing the Imperial March. Sighing, Mitch answered using the car’s system.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hello, laddie, how are ye doing?” His father’s Scottish burr was as strong as
