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“What? Seriously? You guys haven’t talked since you boughtThe Squawkerfrom him, right?”
“Yeah, we hadn’t. I think he was happy to sort of write me out of his life once he realized we were back together. He tried to split us up and torpedo the business and failed on both efforts. Selling to me was a way to wash his hands of it and pretend none of it ever happened. But now articles keep coming out about us. They’re making comparisons about how the son has surpassed the father and how there’s a new king of business. It’s all bullshit, mostly, but it was pissing him off. I guess he called to see if he could talk me down and make himself feel better.”
“What did you talk about?”
“He started off by telling me how our idea was a gimmick that wouldn’t last. Then he accused me of running away fromThe Squawkerwhen I sold last year because he claimed I knew it was going to fail.”
“I’m sorry, Dominic. That must have been hard to hear, even if it was stupid and untrue.”
He shrugged. “Actually, I kind of said everything I’ve always wanted to say to him. It wasn’t much, but I told him how hard he’d always been on Percy and how he never handled it as well as he let on. I wanted him to know how much he put on Percy’s shoulders. He didn’t say much after that, and we ended the call. Fuck. I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, but I did it, and it felt like a weight came off me, like Percy had been wanting me to tell dad for years now. Who knows?” he said, shaking his head.
I hugged him. “That wasn’t easy. I’m proud of you for doing it, though.”
He grinned. “Don’t get all sentimental on me. You’re making it weird.”
I made a smoochie face and hugged him harder, nearly pulling him over as he kept trying to walk. “I’m so proud of my big, strong Dommy-poo.”
When we got back to the rental, I’d managed to get Dominic out of his mood with several minutes of over-the-top swooning and silly voices. He was still the big grumpy man I’d first met over a year ago in a coffee shop. He got frustrated quickly if things didn’t go according to plan. He was notoriously slow to warm up to new people. He also had an irrational hatred of birds that bordered on fear, even if he’d never admit it openly. But he was my big grump, and he was always sweet with me.
When we came inside, a few pairs of our shoes were neatly lined up by the door. A few hours ago, I’d sneakily placed the little baby shoes right next to ours. But Dominic slid out of his sandals and didn’t even notice them.
I’d planned for him being oblivious, though. There were more clues.
We went into the kitchen and he opened the fridge, probably looking for a snack. The man was like a bottomless pit when it came to food. He still took his insane jogs every morning and I had completely given up trying to keep pace. I just brought a bike on the mornings I wanted to join him and pedaled casually beside him.
He actually pushed a baby bottle full of milk out of the way to reach for a bag of grapes.
I put my palm to my forehead. I knew he wasn’t the most observant guy in the world, but I was starting to worry he was going to miss every singlesuper obviousclue.
I followed him as he leaned on the counter, popping grape after grape into his mouth and chewing with a thoughtful look on his face. “Want to get a little tipsy tonight?” I asked.
He pursed his lips as if he didn’t have a strong opinion either way, then shrugged. “Wine, beer, or liquor?”
“Your choice.”
He went to the fridge again, moved the baby bottleagain,then took two beer bottles by the neck and brought them out. He popped the caps and extended a cold, sweating bottle in my direction.
“Sorry, I can’t,” I said, making eye contact.
He narrowed his eyes. “Are you feeling alright, Darcy? Youjustasked me if I wanted to get tipsy.”
“Yeah, you can. But I can’t,” I said, raising my eyebrows and tilting my chin as I stared up at him. At the rate things were going, I considered that neon letters spelling it out might not have been clear enough for him.
Dominic frowned like I was being crazy and then he paused. I could see the gears in his brain finally turning. He was smart when he tried to be. He slowly turned toward me. “You can’t have beer? Why wouldn’t you be able to have a beer? Are you… Wait a second.” He rushed to the fridge and pulled it open again. This time, he grabbed the baby bottle and turned around, holding it up for me to see. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s a baby bottle. And those were little baby shoes by the door that you missed. Dom. I’m pregnant. We’re pregnant. You’re going to be a dad.” We’d been trying for a little over a year now with no luck. Neither of us ever talked about it aloud, oddly enough. One day, I’d told him not to use a condom and we’d been going that way ever since. At the time, I thought I’d wind up pregnant within days somehow. But weeks turned into months and it still wasn’t happening.
I’d taken about ten pregnancy tests anddefinitelymissed my period. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I told him, and yesterday I’d been given the final confirmation by my doctor.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
“A hundred percent.”
Dominic fist pumped, sloshing beer from the bottles in his other hand before rushing over to hug me hard and lift me. A split second later, he set me down carefully and looked at me with concern. “Shit. Sorry. Did I hurt the baby?”
I laughed. “I think it’s the size of a kidney bean right now. You can still lift me and hug me. I’m not that fragile yet.”
“Fuck,” he said, pacing the kitchen and scratching his head. Dominic was as protective as they came, and I could see the instantaneous shift in his brain. He was protectingtwopeople now. That meant he had to be twice as over the top. “We should get back home. You shouldn’t be out here with the baby. Who knows what could happen.”
