I could not imagine.
“Alice?”
I blinked. “Sorry, what?”
Ria pressed the back of her hand to my forehead, her expression pinched with concern. “Seriously, are you sure you’re okay?”
Mom joined in on the fussing, gently pushing my hair away from my face. “Honey, you’re drenched in sweat.”
I was drenched in sweat because we were smack in the middle of a muggy September heat wave, I was wearing the thickest sweater I owned, and humans hadn’t invented outdoor AC yet.
“I’m fine.” I tugged at my collar, trying to let some air in. “It’s just ungodly levels of hot.”
“Then take the sweater off.”
“I will. Just… one sec. Stay here.” I peeled away from the group, heading straight for Dominic.
This was a terrible idea. Really, really bad. I actually couldn’t think of a worse time to do what I was about to do, except maybe at Adrien’s wedding or something.
But I couldn’t stop. The speed of my steps picked up until I was jogging, my gaze bolted to my target.
He must have seen me running because he stepped out of the car before I was close enough to make out the license plate.
“Alice? What’s wrong? What are you doing?” He was frantically glancing between my sweat-drenched face and the cluster of Cloutiers I’d left behind.
“Hey,” I panted. The thick humidity wasn’t helping. “Gampy’s fine. He’s… it was just heartburn.”
Relief spread over his expression. He let out a breath, the rough tension in his posture smoothing out a touch. “Heartburn? Are you serious?”
“Yeah. He’s healthier than we are, just can’t eat anything worth actually eating.”
“Then why did you run? You could’ve just texted.”
I nodded, glancing backward. My family had not stayed put like I’d asked. They were approaching, a small, squinting herd of confusion. “Dom?”
“What?”
“Do you trust me? Because if not, you should get back in the car.”
There was a short pause. “We’re doing this? Now?”
“Yeah. Is that okay?”
His mouth twitched. “A little late for that, Lice. I don’t think we have much of a choice.”
I’d have kissed the man had we had more time. Instead, I settled on grabbing his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, and stepping beside him with my shoulders held back.
Mom saw him first.
She stopped in her tracks, shock spilling over her face. “Dominic?”
Dad continued to squint like he still wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at.
And Adrien…
My stomach dropped.
We should have stuck to the plan.
