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"In private," I emphasized.
He finally glanced at me, narrowing his eyes. What’s his deal? "Sure. It was nice meeting you, Dominic."
"Likewise." I heard the sarcastic undertone in Dom's voice, and I couldn't blame him.
I took Travis to the back.
"What are you doing?" I asked once we were alone.
"I want to know what's going on between the two of you."
"Yeah, I figured that. But can you be more subtle about it? We met the night of the charity event. He did me a favor."
"Christ, I don't need that many details."
"Not a sexual favor!" Good God, my cousins could drive me nuts. "Why would you even think that? You know what? Never mind, I don't want to know," I said. "Anyway, I ran into Malcolm there, as I told you. Dom pretended to be my boyfriend."
Travis’s eyes bulged. "He what? Why?"
"Because Malcolm was being an ass. One thing led to another, and now we’re not faking it anymore."
My cousin's expression changed instantly, going from belligerent to relieved. “Well, that earns him points. Now come on, let's get back before Gran scares him away."
"Yeah, I don't think Gran’s the problem here," I said sarcastically.
My jaw dropped when we got back to the front. Kimberly and Dom were both behind the counter now, pouring hot cocoa into cups.
"Travis, Dom, Reese, please serve the hot cocoa to everyone waiting, and Kimberly and I will process payments. It'll be faster this way," Gran said.
That seemed like a good plan to me, so I jumped right into my new role.
"How come there's a line?" Dominic asked. I couldn't believe he was just rolling up his proverbial sleeves along with the rest of us.
"I asked Kimberly to post on the Facebook page that we’re serving cocoa," Gran explained. "It’s a real draw."
We put the cocoa on trays that Kimberly had prepped already and started going outside to give everyone a cup. Travis, Dom, and I worked side by side until everyone had their drinks, and then we headed back in.
"You're a good sport for doing this, Dominic," Travis said.
"Sure, no problem. I’ve passed this place many times but haven’t been inside the store or the hotel."
"Want to come upstairs and have a drink at the bar once we finish here?"
Dom narrowed his eyes infinitesimally. I'd bet he was wondering why Travis suddenly wanted to bond.
"That's a great idea," Kimberly said, clearly having overheard us. Then again, we were only a few steps away from the register area.
Gran had been right. Now that she and Kimberly didn't have to pour hot cocoa, everything was going smoother.
"But I don't think I'll be able to join you. Someone has to stay down here with Gran," my sister added.
"Nonsense," Gran said. "I can deal with everything. You youngsters go have fun.”
"What do I need to do?" Declan's voice came from behind us, startling us. The door had opened and closed so often that I hadn’t been paying attention to who was coming in.
He promptly stopped when he noticed Dominic.
Oh, here we go again.
