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"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.
