Lifting the straw to his lips, Mitch took a sip, and flavor burst over his tongue. Sweet, sour, and a bit of a kick that spread warmth through his chest, loosening some of the tension there.
“Damn.” Mitch blinked. Shane’s smile widened. Lifting the glass in acknowledgment, Mitch took another long drink that emptied half the glass in one go. Shane’s smile slipped.
“I’ll be right back.” Shane stepped away, heading down the bar to someone else who needed his services.
That was fine. Mitch wasn’t sure he’d wanted the company, anyway. He was probably better off alone. That was why he’d broken up with Domi tonight, right? Alone. Party of one. The Playboy Dom.
So, why did it hurt so much?
Another long sip of drink. Sure, it had no answers, but it tasted good. All it needed was a little umbrella and a maraschino cherry, and it would be perfect.
A hand landed on his shoulder, making Mitch jump. Turning his head, he met the cool, grey eyes of Mistress Olivia—manager of Marquis, Domme extraordinaire, instructor of all introduction classes, protector of submissives, and ball buster of Doms. Fuck.
He glanced back over to where Shane was standing, pretending to clean glasses behind the bar. Apparently, he’d decided he needed reinforcements.
Sliding onto the barstool next to him, the intimidating redhead gave Mitch a once-over with a scrutinizing eye. Even in a pantsuit rather than her leathers, she was kinda scary. She sent a little finger wave to Shane, who, despite supposedly being completely focused on the glass he was cleaning, stopped what he was doing and went to the fridge to get her a beer.
The second he came over with it, Mitch gave him a dirty look.
“I can’t believe you tattled on me to Mommy.” Not that Olivia was into that kink, but she kind of was the mom of the clubs.
Shane shrugged. “You looked like you needed more focused help than I can give tonight.” A point proven when another patron down the bar clearly needed Shane’s attention, and the man had to turn away.
“So...” Olivia took a sip of her beer. “What’s up, buttercup? Tell Mommy all about it.”
Mitch’s lips twitched. He almost smiled—almost—and then did exactly what she’d ordered and told her everything.
Chapter Twenty-One
Domi
Rae called an emergency girls’ night.
Which really meant asking Marcus and Julia if Ana could go home with them—which they’d readily agreed to. Thankfully, Ana had thought it was a surprise birthday sleepover switch and was thrilled, especially when told she could stay up to watch Frozen. Marcus had even hugged Domi and told her he was sorry, and she’d find someone better. Even Julia had hugged Domi—the first time she’d ever done that. That was how pathetic Domi looked.
Ana noticed she was off but accepted Domi’s explanation that she was sad at how fast her little girl was growing up. Since it wasn’t the first time Domi had said it, and it was true—seriously, how was she six years old already—it was believable.
She was grateful to Marcus and Julia for stepping up and taking Ana home with them. It wasn’t their week, and they didn’t fully understand the situation, but they’d said yes as soon as she’d asked. It wasn’t as if she was throwing up or anything, the way Julia had been when Domi had done it for them. Nope. All her issues were emotional.
She had let her emotions get involved instead of following her head. Breaking off with Mitch the first time was the right thing to do. Not giving him a chance. Not setting herself up when she’d known, deep down, this was the only possible conclusion for them. Seriously, what had she expected?
That she would live happily-ever-after with a commitment-phobe? She could change her ways and stop being a commitment-phobe? There was a reason she had written off dating, and this was it, right here. She couldn’t be a proper mom to her daughter when she was dating. Tonight, she’d handed her kid off to her co-parents. Thank goodness she had those.
Yeah, she would have coped if she didn’t, but she’d been relieved they were there. That they could take Ana with them, so she could wallow. What kind of mom did that make her?
“Oh, good, Avery’s already here,” Rae said as they pulled into their driveway. Avery sat on the front step, a plastic bag in her hand. Her hair was pulled back in its usual ponytail, and she was wearing her Marquis shirt, so she’d probably come straight from her shift.
To Domi’s surprise, she was also happy to see their new friend. Normally, it would be her and Rae cursing Mitch’s name to the high heavens. She hadn’t thought of calling Avery but was glad to see her.
Hey, look at that. She really had made a friend. That was worth celebrating. Maybe she should focus on that instead of all the ways she’d failed.
“I come bearing frozen gifts,” Avery said when they got out of the car, standing and holding up the bag. “I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I brought options.”
“Seriously, anything sounds good right now.” It didn’t matter that she’d just eaten a huge dinner and dessert and brought home Ana’s leftovers, she wanted ice cream. Maybe if she ate enough, her stomach would hurt more than her heart. That had to be an improvement, right?
Avery’s face was sympathetic. “That bad, huh?”
She opened her arms and Domi gave her a hug hello, feeling the first prickling of tears in the backs of her eyes. Pulling away before they could move their way forward, she smiled wryly.
“I’ve had better days.”
“Come on, let’s go in. I want to know all the details.” Rae passed them on her way to the front door, and Domi finally understood why her bestie had let her simmer in silence on the way home rather than demanding to know everything Mitch had said. She’d thought Rae was waiting till they got home, so if she broke down, she could be comforted.
