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Oh. My. God.
Is it hot in here?
A tiny trickle of wetness cascades down my leg, and I’m suddenly grateful that the form-fitting dress goes all the way to my ankles.
Mainly because I’m not wearing any panties.
Freaking hell.
Dominic seems oblivious to my plight as he moves to knock on the door. The second before his fist can make contact, however, it swings open to reveal a grinning Harvey.
“Dominic! Ellie! How lovely to see you both!” He extends his arms, as if he means to pull us into an embrace, but I quickly shove the plate of brownies at his chest before he can get any ideas.
“Thank you for inviting us, Mr. Rollins—” I begin.
“How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Harvey.”
“Harvey.” My answering smile is forced and brittle. “I made some brownies. I hope that’s all right.”
Harvey peels back a portion of the Saran Wrap and inhales deeply to smell the now cold brownies.
“A woman who cooks and is as beautiful as our dear Ellie?” Harvey gives me a slow once-over that makes my skin crawl. “She’s a keeper, Dom.”
Dominic inches a step closer to me, his arm brushing my own, and offers his biological father a tight-lipped smile. “That she is.” This time, when he glances down at me, his eyes are considerably warmer. They radiate nothing but love and adoration, and the sight causes my stomach to tighten into a dozen knots.
“Come. Come. Dana and the boys are already in the dining room.” Harvey waves us forward and then turns away without waiting to see if we follow.
Dominic and I exchange a long, commiserating look. He rolls his eyes, and I make a silly face in return.
Dom doesn’t actually live with Harvey and his family. He didn’t even know about them until recently. He was adopted as a baby by a loving couple who worship the ground he walks on. I absolutely adore his mothers—almost as much as I despise Harvey. When Harvey discovered Dominic’s existence, despite the closed adoption, he took it upon himself to weasel his way into Dom’s life, uncaring of Dom’s opinions on the matter. We discovered at the last dinner that Harvey hopes for Dominic to take over his “legacy,” since his other two kids are shit-brained losers.
Harvey has already taken his place at the head of the table when we step into the dining room. On his left is Dana, looking as immaculate and sleazy as ever in her cheetah-print dress that leaves very little to the imagination and with her dyed hair braided away from her face. Her hungry eyes immediately lock on Dom when he steps into the room, and a surge of possessiveness travels through me.
I lean deeper into Dominic and kiss his cheek, reveling in his smooth skin against my lips. Unlike the others, Dominic doesn’t have stubble or even the start of any. He’s entirely smooth-shaven.
“Father, I’m beginning to believe you have a problem with my girlfriend, since you never let us sit together at these dinners.” Dominic tries to make his voice sound airy and teasing, but there’s an edge of violence to it that’s impossible to miss.
I finally peel my gaze away from Dominic to finish surveying the seating arrangements, only to see that he’s right. There’s a single seat available between Dom’s brothers—Dustin and Doyle—and another one beside Dana.
Dustin leers at me, his gaze hungry, while Doyle simply gives me a strange, indecipherable look before focusing back on his plate.
Harvey chuckles but surprises me when he waves Dana away. “Dana, sit between Dustin and Doyle. Ellie, why don’t you come sit by me?”
Dana and I both look at him in shock. Dom has gone perfectly still from where he stands beside me, his body rigid.
Dana seems to get her wits together first, stumbling out a reply. “I’m not sure that’s appropriate, honey.” She offers him a simpering smile, even as her eyes tighten in anger. “As your wife?—”
“And as your husband, I’m telling you to move.” Harvey’s voice turns glacial, that jovial tone he used only moments ago completely absent. His verdant green eyes—the exact shade as Dom’s—harden nearly imperceptibly. “Don’t make me tell you twice, Dana. We have guests, and you’re being rude.”
Dana looks as if she wants to argue but eventually decides better of it. With a huff, she jumps out of her chair and stalks toward the seat between the two brothers, all the while throwing me venomous, hate-filled looks.
I have to swallow down the bile that suddenly rises in my throat.
Dominic gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and then leads us to the chairs Harvey indicated. Dom helps me into my chair first before claiming his own. I notice that he shifts slightly until we’re even closer together, his thigh only an inch or two away from my own. The heat he emits travels straight through my dress and engulfs me in flames.
Harvey claps his hands together giddily and then turns toward the kitchen. “Marsha! Bring out the first dish!”
The rest of the dinner passes uneventfully, with Harvey asking unobtrusive questions about school and my plans after graduation. He mostly ignores Dana, Dustin, and Doyle, a fact that infuriates them to no end. His entire attention is focused on me and Dominic.
