Page 110 of Restore Me


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“Oh, yeah.” He chucks his chin at the refrigerator. “There’s stuff for a salad in there if you want to throw it together.”

“I think I can do that.”

Working on dinner with Dom, even on something as simple as pan-seared salmon with a salad, feels nice. Familiar and easy in a way I haven’t had in such a long time. We work in coordinated movements that say everything about the time we’ve spent together over the past few weeks. The mornings making coffee, the evenings spent shoveling take-out onto plates, eating as quick as we can, and loading the dishwasher before ripping each other’s clothes off.

Too bad it won’t last. My heart squeezes at the thought.

But even as we move around each other, doing our parts to finish up dinner, something feels weird. An awkwardness hanging in the air that doesn’t dissipate even as we eat. Dom is still deep in his head, and I’m still feeling self-conscious and vulnerable after my breakdown earlier today.

All of the tears, the weight of my confession, and Dom’s absolution have left me exhausted. Turns out, laying the ugliest parts of your soul at someone else’s feet and being washed clean by their words and compassion can take a lot out of you. None of that tells me why he’s so quiet though. It does nothing to explain the antsy tension rolling off of his body in waves.

Maybe it was all too much for him. Maybe he’s spent the last few hours thinking about what I said and is wondering how to tell me he can’t do this anymore. Because even though he gets where I was coming from, he can’t stand to be with the woman who….

Stop it. Just ask him what’s wrong, and he’ll tell you.

I set my fork down, preparing to do just that, and my phone starts vibrating on the table to announce an incoming Facetime call from Mal. I pick it up and start to press the decline button, but Dom’s voice stops me.

“Don’t. She probably just wants to check on you since you called in sick today.”

He stands up and grabs my plate, stacking it on top of his and moving to the sink. I stare after him. Everything in me wants to ignore this call so I can go wrap my arms around his waist and fuse myself to his body until he makes me believe everything is okay.

“Answer the phone, angel.”

Something in his voice, the quiet reservation in his tone, makes the worry brewing in my soul even more acute. But my phone is still ringing, loud, incessant, and impossible to ignore.

Pushing out a frustrated sigh, I hit the accept button and school my features into something more friendly for Mal…and Mama. Both of their faces are squeezed into the small screen, beaming at me with identical smiles that remind me of Eric more and more every day.

My lips curve into a real smile as I listen to them talk over each other, telling me something about a new dress Mal bought for Mama that she refuses to wear. After setting me up with Ash, Mal has been on a matchmaking spree, and Mama is her latest victim. She’s been nagging her about updating her wardrobe, so she can attract some ‘sexy granddaddies.’ Mal’s words, not mine.

“Just let her see it, Mama!” Mal is saying now. “I’m telling you that you look amazing. Step back a little.”

Mama huffs but backs away from the screen. “I don’t care what neither one of you say. I’m not wearing this little slip of nothing anywhere.”

The camera flips around, and Mama comes into view. Her slender curves are wrapped in a strapless black dress that hits around her knee and hugs every inch of her. My eyes stretch wide and my eyebrows nearly hit my hairline.

“Wow.” I breathe. “Where have you been hiding all of that body, woman?”

“In clothes, where it belongs!” Mama hisses, trying to pull the fabric down her legs and getting annoyed when it reveals more of her cleavage.

Mal flips the camera back around, and I can see her fighting back a laugh. Her amber eyes are shining with amused tears. She’s getting a kick out of this, but I know it’s only a matter of time before Mama starts getting snappy and sends her, and that sexy little dress, packing.

“I think you look incredible!” Mal says as Mama comes back into the screen. “We might have to take you out on the town the next time Ash lets Sloane out of the house.”

Two things happen the moment Ash’s name comes through the speakers: my heart drops into the pit of my stomach as I watch a hint of sadness move across Mama’s face and the sound of glass breaking pierces the air around me. One makes me jump out of my skin while the other breaks my heart in two.

I haven’t mentioned dating to Mama since the first time Mal blabbed about it—mainly because Ash and I were done before we started and there’s no real way to tell my mother-in-law I’m sleeping with her son’s best friend—and she’s clearly caught off guard by it being brought up again.

My panicked gaze finds Dom’s apologetic one, making sure he’s okay before flying back to the screen to see if the two women on the phone heard what just happened on my end. Four amber eyes look back at me—two of them attempting to disguise the sadness shimmering in their irises while the other pair dances with amusement.

“Oh, shit,” Mal whispers. “Is he there right now? So, that’s why you missed work today!”

Mama shakes her head, looking disappointed with her daughter. “Mallory Pearl! That’s none of your business.”

“I—”

Fuck, what do I say? There’s no way I can tell them Ash is here. It’s one thing to let Mal think he’s the reason why I’ve been unavailable lately, but it’s a completely different thing to insinuate it while Dom is standing right there. Things are already weird enough between us, and the thought of lying about us makes me feel sick to my stomach.

What’s the alternative? Telling them it’s not Ash, but Dom, standing in your kitchen right now? Yeah, that’ll go over really well. Look at how devastated Mama is! If she ever finds out about you and Dom, she’ll be outraged.

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