‘Let’s grab a drink,’ Declan said once we were upstairs.
The guys went to our usual table, but I hurried to the bar to place our order. Tom had his hands full with customers, but as soon as he saw me, he nodded in acknowledgment.
A few seconds later, he came over. ‘I noticed a gentleman who hasn’t been here before.”
Tom had been with us since we opened the hotel. Though he was past the retiring age, he insisted he couldn’t stay home after his wife passed away and spent an inordinate amount of time at the hotel, even when he wasn’t on shift. He knew everything that went on here, including the fact that I’d been single as hell for the past years.
‘Yes, he’s my date. Can you bring us drinks that will keep my cousins from being a royal pain in the ass? Kimberly said something about a new margarita recipe’
‘I’m on it.’
‘Thanks, Tom. You’re a lifesaver,’ I said before heading back to the table.
“I have no intentions—” Dom was saying, and I almost tripped over my own feet at his words, effectively cutting him off.
I cleared my throat, jumping onto one of the high bar chairs. ‘Please tell me you didn’t ask Dom what his intentions are about me.’
Declan stared at me. ‘No, I asked him if Waldorf Fashion intends to open more stores in Chicago. But I was getting to that too.’
Ground, please swallow me whole.
Travis started to laugh, and Dom grabbed my hand under the table. Declan was laughing too.
‘Can we forget the last minute happened and move on?’ I crossed and uncrossed my legs, trying to release some of my nervous energy.
Dom kissed the side of my head before whispering in my ear. ‘You’re adorable, Reese. Relax, we’re just having a drink.’
I didn’t know how to relax. I hadn’t introduced them to anyone I’d dated these past few years, so this was completely uncharted territory for me. I kept waiting for something to go awry.
‘So, Dom,’ Declan said after we got our drinks, ‘I heard through the grapevine that you offered to be Reese’s date the first time you met her.’
‘News travels fast in your family,’ Dom replied.
‘Now, far from me to be a skeptical person—” Declan began.
‘He is a very skeptical person,’ I interjected.
‘—but that makes me suspicious. Why would you do that?’ he finished.
Dom stood straighter. “Malcolm was being an asshole, and even though I didn’t know Reese at all, no one deserves to be talked to like that. And she’d already given me the rundown of what went wrong between them.”
‘Why?’ Declan asked.
‘That’s between Reese and me,’ Dom replied.
I swallowed hard. He was a gentleman for not mentioning my meltdown in the coatroom.
‘All right, fair enough,” Declan said. “Let’s cheers again.’
‘To what are we toasting?’ I asked.
‘Strange beginnings?’ Travis suggested.
‘Oh, that does fit.’
I kept glancing at the flowers I’d set on one of the empty chairs around the table. This was really happening. I was here with Dom and my cousins, and we were having fun.
Twenty minutes later, Kimberly joined us too. We stayed at the bar for two more hours before I called it a night.
‘Guys, I have to unpack, and I want to be at work early tomorrow morning.’
‘And I told Bonnie I’d be home for dinner,’ Travis said.
‘Do you need a ride?’ Declan asked me.
‘I’m driving Reese,’ Dom said, immediately putting a hand on my upper back.
Was I silly for enjoying this so much? I had a man who brought me flowers and was now going to drive me home. My life was good.
Half an hour later, when Dom pulled the car in front of my building, I had to come to terms with the fact that the weekend was officially ending. As he rolled the suitcase into my apartment, my phone vibrated in the pocket of my coat. Just as we stepped inside, I took it out, thinking it was probably from my sister or one of my cousins, maybe even Gran.
I hadn’t expected it to be from Malcolm.
I froze, unable to do anything else but read it. I’d deleted his number. Actually, I’d probably blocked it, but he’d obviously gotten a new one.
I wanted to talk to you, not Declan.
Malcolm
He’d signed off with his name, as if I wouldn’t possibly know who it was from.
‘Reese?’ Dom asked, and I immediately put the phone back into my pocket before looking up at him. He was staring at the spot where I’d been holding the phone before. ‘What was that?’
‘Nothing. Just a message.’
‘From whom?’
‘I… It doesn’t matter.’
‘Then why are you nervous?’
I ran my hand through my hair. ‘I don’t know. Because it’s… Just forget about it, okay? It’s a message.’
“It was from Malcolm. I saw the text, Reese.”
Shit. “Yes, it was.”
‘And you still don’t want to tell me what it’s about?’
I drew in a deep breath. ‘No. I honestly don’t feel like talking about it.’
‘You didn’t tell me you were still in contact with him.’
‘I’m not. He just messaged me out of the blue.’
‘Look at me and tell me you haven’t heard from him at all until now.’
I narrowed my eyes. ‘Why are you reacting like this?’
‘Because I’m starting to feel like a moron. Do you need defending from him, or are you planning on getting back together? Or did you already get back with him, and I’m just your side piece?’
***
Dom
I didn’t want to believe it, but I also couldn’t kid myself. The proof was right in front of me. She’d been so guarded, so careful to hide it from me.
‘What the hell?’ she exclaimed. ‘Why would you say that?’
‘Because of your reaction.”
She crossed her arms. ‘So even after the weekend we had, this is the conclusion you’re jumping to?’
‘What do you want me to think, Reese? You’re obviously in contact with him, and you don’t want me to know.’
‘So one plus one equals fifty? Well, if that’s what you think, then you’re welcome to walk out the door.’
Just leave, Dom. You can’t fall for another woman playing you. Have you learned nothing?
Her eyes turned glassy as she continued to glare at me.
Fuck. This isn’t right. This isn’t Reese. Why am I being such an asshole?
But she was acting so cagey. In my experience, it was never a good thing.
‘Reese, if I’m wrong here—’
‘If? God, I can’t believe you! Just leave, okay?’
‘Tell me I’m wrong. God, I want to be wrong.’
‘Yes, you’re fucking wrong! You’re so off base, you’re not even in the same zip code as what’s happening.’
I stepped right in front of her. ‘Then talk to me, Reese. Tell me why he’s been messaging you and why you don’t want me to know.’
She drew in a deep breath. ‘Because I didn’t want to drag you into the drama with Malcolm. Clearly I was right to do so, because if you react like this just because I’m not telling you about the message, then obviously we’re not as close as I’d hoped we were.’
‘Reese, you know that’s not true. This weekend was amazing.’
She swallowed hard. ‘Then why are you behaving like this?’
I took another step back. I couldn’t find the right words, and they were essential right now. Reese was right on the edge; if I said the wrong thing, I was going to lose her.
‘Because the last time a woman kept secrets from me, my life imploded. That’s all I’ve got. Literally. I apologize for reacting like that, but I don’t have anything else to say in my defense. I just saw you keeping secrets, and I jumped to the worst conclusion.’
Reese was completely still for a few seconds. I knew this was a defining moment for us.
‘I want to know what’s happening in your life, Reese. Judging by what I’ve seen and heard about Malcolm up to this point, this can’t be good news.’
‘Yet you thought I was trying to get back with him? It’s like you don’t know me at all!’
I dipped my head in acknowledgment. ‘Again, I apologize. I should have known better.’
‘Yes, you should have.’ She nodded, and I had the impression that she was having a silent conversation with herself. ‘Fine, I’ll tell you what’s going on.’ She fiddled with her thumbs. ‘It wasn’t how I wanted to end this weekend. I was hoping to go out on a high note, but I think keeping secrets isn’t going to work.’ She still sounded a bit stiff, but I couldn’t blame her. I had acted like a complete ass, after all.
We took off our coats and shoes as Reese said, ‘I’m going to make myself a drink. Do you want something?’
‘No.’
‘Actually, I changed my mind. It’s better to get it over with.’ She sat down on her couch, and I sat next to her. ‘He texted me a while ago. He said he’s going to come after me and my family, that we killed the deal he’d organized to open the spa because we wanted to open the hotel. I’m not getting into all the legal stuff right now because I don’t understand half of it. I’m good with numbers, not the law. Declan is on top of it.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me about it?’
She straightened up, rolling her shoulders back. ‘Because it’s my drama. My baggage.’
‘I’m dating you. I want to know everything that goes on with you, the good things and the drama. And the baggage.’
‘Why? So you can jump to the worst conclusions?’
I took one of her hands between mine. ‘I swear to you that it’ll never happen again. It was a weak moment. But don’t keep things from me, Reese. Even the bad things. We all need support, and I know you have that from your family, but I want the privilege of being right there next to you, no matter what.’
‘You mean that?’ Her eyes searched mine. That fucker obviously hurt her. I had to do a better job showing her how important she was to me.
‘Fuck yes.’
She nodded once. ‘Okay. So, this new message said he wants to deal directly with me and not with Declan. He’s got another think coming if he believes I’m going to do anything without my cousin’s legal counsel.’ She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. ‘Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I realize something like this can rile up your demons. That wasn’t my intention. I didn’t want you to have a front seat to the drama.’
I pulled her onto my lap so swiftly that she gasped, losing her balance for a brief second before I steadied her. ‘You don’t have to protect me from anything, Reese. I want to be right here next to you through all of it. Understood?’
She nodded. ‘He texted me that night when you took me out to the jazz club.’
‘That would explain a few things.’
‘See? In a way, you were right there next to me. You just didn’t know why.’
‘I want to know the why and the when. I’m much better at taking care of you if I have all the information.’
She laughed and relaxed for the first time since I’d started the goddamn fight. ‘Really? Because you’ve been pretty excellent until now.’
I pulled her even closer, kissing up her neck. ‘There’s always room for improvement, Reese. And I’m making you another promise. From now on, you’re only going to get the very best version of me.’
‘See, no, I don’t like that. This is a two-way street. We have to share all of our moments, the good and the bad, for this to work. Do you promise?’ she asked.
I nodded but didn’t say anything. For the first time, I realized why she’d tried to keep me out of it. She wasn’t used to sharing this with a partner, just like I wasn’t. I’d taken vows that included ‘for better or for worse,’ but Kelly never showed up during the worst parts. And yet Reese wanted to do just that.
I felt even closer to her than before, as if we’d just created an invisible tie that bound us together. It was a strange feeling, but at the same time, it was exhilarating.
