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A moment passes. Nobody makes a move; nobody utters a sound.
“I was hoping to have a word with you,” Dominic says to me. “In private.”
Lana leans in, eyeing the men with a combination of confusion and cautious suspicion as she holds onto Felicia a little tighter. “Do you want me to stay?”
I chew on the inside of my cheek. This whole situation is weird. A small voice in the back of my head wonders rather dryly if I’m about to be robbed, but for some reason, I know Dominic would never do that to me. Right now, I’m more concerned with the fact that Felicia isright here. Will he realize who she is just by looking at her? Now that I have them in the same room together, their features are strikingly similar. The same nose, same ears, same lips.
Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to notice the girl in Lana’s arms. I tell myself that’s a good thing. I don’t think I’m ready to have that conversation yet.
“It’s okay,” I tell Lana. “Head on home with Felicia and I’ll meet you there later.”
Lana nods, watching the men at my front door warily. She kisses me on the cheek. “Be careful, babe,” she whispers in my ear before shuffling off. The men part to give her plenty of room to leave.
“Bye bye!” Felicia waves at me.
“I’ll see you later, sweetie.” I wipe my hands on my apron, my heart thudding in suspense. “So, um… Who’re you guys?”
Dominic turns to his colleagues, gesturing. “These are my…friends, Elio Bertoneli and Johnny Mancha.”
“Aww,” the guy to his right, Elio, says with a smile. “I’m your friend? That’s a big step for us.”
“Not now, stronzo.” He waves them off. “Wait outside.”
They follow his orders without question. It’s hypnotizing to watch.
And then we’re alone.
Dominic looks at me the same way he did when I walked into his office a week ago. Hungry and dark, but with an undercurrent of something warm and fond.
“What are you doing here?” I ask quietly.
“Not happy to see me, huh?” he replies with a smirk.
A light laugh bubbles past my lips. “I didn’t say that.” I lick my lips, excited beyond belief when I see his eyes dart down to follow the motion. “I’d give you a tour,” I say sheepishly, “but this is pretty much it.”
“Nice place you’ve got here.”
I roll my eyes, but there isn’t any heat behind it. “You don’t have to lie.”
“I never lie.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.” A second later, I ask, “Seriously, Dominic. What are you doing here? Is this about the loan?”
“No,” he says. “Well, maybe a little.”
I glance at him, my interest piqued. “Care to fill me in? Or are we going to have to play a game of twenty questions?”
He chuckles, the sound rich and smooth like brandy. “I was wondering if you make suits.”
“Oh.”
“I assume that’s a no?”
“Not no. I just wasn’t expecting you to ask that. Uh, yeah, I can make suits. I can make anything, actually.”
“And what would your rate be for a full set?”
I run the numbers in my head. Making a suit is very different from dressmaking, although a lot of the same principles apply. “It depends on the quality of the material,” I tell him honestly. “And how quickly you’d want it. I have a couple of customers ahead of you, too, so if you don’t want to wait, it might be better if you go to a tailor and—”
