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“This is about the dress, yeah?”
Shiloh swallowed thickly and nodded, taking it as an out since it wasn’t a total lie. “I’m scared to show that part of myself, even at a party. I’m scared someone will look at me and know.” He took a breath and stepped away from Dom. “I’m scared to watch all of you move on and be happy with partners while I’m left behind.”
Dom made a soft noise, then reached out and grabbed Shiloh’s hand, tangling their fingers together. “Going on a date to some party with Kellen doesn’t mean I’m proposing to him.”
Shiloh laughed softly. “I know that. But…you might one day. He’s really fit, and he’s nice. He’d be good for you.”
Dom’s face did something complicated, but Shiloh wondered if maybe he was just imagining it. “Trust me, mate. He’s not the one for me. I only said yes because I’ve been spoiling Sarah for years, and I still can’t seem to say no to her.”
Shiloh laughed so hard he snorted. “Bloody hell. Same.”
Dom sighed and yanked Shiloh into his embrace, wrapping his massive arms around him. The feeling was too damn good. “I’ll text Kellen and tell him going to the party together isn’t a good idea.”
Shiloh stiffened. “Domenico, no! I’d never ask you to do that.”
Dom buried his nose in Shiloh’s hair and took a deep breath in. “I know, love. I know.”
Seven
* * *
“Oh. You fuckingdidn’tcancel on Kellen.”
Dom tried not to wince, tried not to look intimidated, but when Sarah got that look in her eyes, he had no power against her. It wasn’t his fault he was soft for his best mate. “Shiloh had a bit of a breakdown last night,” Dom tried to argue. “What was I meant to do?”
“Tell him that you love him, and that you’re there for him but that you also have a date to the bloody party because you’re trying to be happy for once in your life,” she snapped.
Dom gave her a flat look. “Going with Shiloh will make me happy.”
“For a night,” Sarah pointed out. “And then what? You’ll go home alone and unfucked, your sorry little cock ready to pack it in and leave you because you won’t stop neglecting it.”
“Not all of us need to get off seven days a week,” Dom bit out. “And listening to you insult me, Shiloh, and the way I feel about him is getting a little exhausting. And hurtful.”
Sarah’s eyes blazed for a second before she sagged against the counter. “You’re both idiots, and I just want you to be happy.”
“Why do you think your plan is going to make me happy? At best, Kellen and I would hook up, and I’d still go home alone. I’d still wake up and text Shiloh and spend weekends at his house. He might not ever love me the way I love him, but I can still be happy with him so long as he’ll have me around.”
Sarah muttered something under her breath that Dom didn’t catch.
“What was that?”
She blinked owlishly before shaking her head. “It’s nothing. Just…” She let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry. I know I’m a lot, and I know I’m the luckiest woman in the world for finding someone who loves me with all my personality flaws. I guess I just want that for you.”
Dom gave her a look. “Have you tried to meddle with his life too? Or is it just mine?”
“I tried, but I almost lost him,” Sarah admitted. “I’ve never seen him so angry as when I tried to set him up, and it just wasn’t worth it.”
Was that the secret to getting her to lay off? He wasn’t sure he wanted to experiment with it. Sarah had been through enough, had been abandoned enough. He didn’t want to add the threat of that to her heavy heart.
“I just think it’s better this way. Kellen wasn’t even really upset. And it sucked a little,” he admitted because yeah, a quick, meaningless shag would have felt nice after such a long dry spell, “but it wasn’t the end of the world.”
“Did you talk to Shiloh about this?” Sarah pressed.
He shrugged, swiping his hands on his apron. He was making stress cookies—little almond thumbprint ones with jam that was nearly done cooling. “I didn’t really get the chance. We had a massive row out in his garden, and he sort of broke down.” He, of course, couldn’t tell Sarah what Shiloh was really upset about because he’d promised he’d keep it between them.
But he wished he could. He had a feeling Sarah would be a lot more understanding if she had some idea what Shiloh was struggling with.
Sarah scoffed and hopped up on the counter, crossing her legs primly. “So what? You just sat on the porch while he made puppy eyes at you, and then you cancelled all your hard-earned weekend plans?”
