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It’s only once we start taxiing that I realize she didn’t leave me any information about the meeting. I had planned to prepare during the flight, but I guess I’ll have to improvise.
In the cab, Ashley finally gives me a topline bio of the donor—an heir to a chain of candy shops I’ve never heard of—and I feel utterly unprepared for the meeting.
Instead of googling my prospect, I search the other cars, hoping for a glimpse of him. It’s irrational, improbable, and frankly embarrassing, and it pisses me off.
Perhaps it’s good we came here, so I can attack my stupid feelings head on, on his territory, and somehow get over myself. Over him.
The car pulls to a stop on a charming residential street with large brownstones and impressive oaks, with thick tree trunks lining both sides. It’s a peaceful neighborhood with no signs of life.
“Are we meeting him at his home?” I ask Ashley as we get out of the car.
“Looks like it.” She points to a house with white shutters and large windows.
“Okay, Ashley, you’ll have to lead the meeting since you made sure I’m unprepared. Are you ready?” We ascend the steps.
“Mm-hmm.” She rings the bell. She doesn’t sound or look ready. In fact, she looks like she might throw up. For fuck’s sake, I’ll just have to wing it.
Winging it becomes a distant memory when the door opens, and now I feel like I’m going to throw up.
“I’ll see you later,” I hear Ashley’s words and footsteps retreating.
He is even more handsome than I remember. His face is laced with dark signs of exhaustion. His hair is slightly longer, falling over his forehead. It gives him a boyish, ragged look. And while his jaw is clenched, his eyes are soft. I almost wish he was smirking, because I miss that perpetually cocky expression.
“Chils,” Dominic rasps.
I missed you. It’s so nice to see you. My life has derailed without you, and I can’t remember how I lived before.
“You got Ashley to lie to me?” is what I end up saying, because old habits die hard.
A shadow passes over his face. “I was desperate. Would you come in, please?”
I look down at the threshold, picturing quicksand and hot coals in one. Two days ago, I thought I’d run to him, relieved that we could get past our differences.
In the two days of lying in my bed, I cried myself out of those feelings and hardened myself to survive.
The newly-forged walls feel like shackles. I’m scared to trust. Though my heart screams to tear down the walls at the sight of him.
“Chils, please.” Hurt and regret lace his voice, and there are so many feelings in those two words that my legs finally move forward and I step inside the house.
I halt even before he closes the door behind us, because if I thought Dominic at the door was the big surprise of the day, I can’t even describe the level of shock ramming through me right now.
I’m standing in the middle of a very familiar reception area. It’s not identical to the one in New York, but it’s similar in its design, feel and peacefulness.
“What is this?” I don’t look at him, because those dark eyes crack my defenses at the best of times.
“A new hospice, the start of your Chicago expansion.” He is only a foot away, his scent wrapping me in a pleasant embrace.
“How did you get this done in such a short time?” A voice in my head laughs at my question, but I can’t help but avoid the elephant in the room.
All I want is to throw myself at him, but… There are no ground rules. Right now, the only painfully obvious thing is the potential for more heartbreak.
“A lot of bribes,” he tries to joke, but when I whip my head round and glare, he raises his arms in surrender. “Too soon.”
I step away from him, needing to breathe air that isn’t infused with the appeal of Dominic Cressard. “Who owns the building?”
“Me. I used to live here till about three weeks ago, when I tore apart the interior and, well, you see the result.” He puts his hands in his pockets. “Do you want to see the rest of it?”
I don’t know what I want. I want him to tell me what this all means, but I’m afraid because there is a whole lot of hope attached to such a conversation, and I don’t think I can survive having any more of my hopes crushed.
