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“We should go in the office,” she murmured.
“We should not,” I argued. I brushed my thumbs across her lips and felt her tremble.
“Dom,” she whispered, and I kissed her. I started out gently, tenderly. Then I teased her lips open with my tongue, slid my hands around her body, and pressed her close. She responded with equal passion, and I could see her smiling between kisses. When I lifted her into my arms, she let out a tiny squeal, but her arms immediately curled around my neck. A round of applause broke out. That’s when I decided to make the scene even more cinematic.
Melanie and I were both laughing as I carried her through the front door of Esposito’s and out to the street while everyone in the restaurant continued to cheer. A few passersby stared, but I didn’t care who was looking or talking or judging.
“Where are we going?” she asked as I marched toward the silver buildings of downtown Phoenix.”
I stopped walking. “Actually, I’m not sure.”
She jerked her head in the direction of the restaurant. “You realize we’ll need to go back in there at some point, right? I mean, we work there and all.”
“We don’t need to go back yet,” I insisted. “Being the boss comes with certain privileges.”
Melanie giggled against my cheek. “And here I asked your brother yesterday if I was about to get fired.”
I was startled. “Fired? Were you serious?”
“No.” She laughed again. “He told me you had left me something, and I asked if it was a pink slip.”
“It wasn’t.”
“I know. Thank you for the cookbook, Dom.”
“Thank you for staying, Mel.” I paused only for a second and then took a chance. “And thank you for being mine.”
She let out a happy sigh and nuzzled my neck. “Am I yours?”
A fierce kind of possessiveness gripped me, and I held her more tightly. She was so light I could have carried her around all day. But I set her on her feet so that I could look her in the eye more easily and tell her something important.
“That’s up to you,” I said, and moved a loose strand of dark hair from her forehead. “You have my heart no matter what.”
Melanie smiled up at me. “When we first met, I never would have guessed you were so romantic.” Her smile grew soft and wistful. “I’m yours, Dom.” She bit her lip and looked bashful. “If I tell you I’m falling in love with you, will you run away?”
I gently tipped her chin up. “No,” I said firmly. “I wouldn’t run away from you. I’m crazy in love with you, Mel, and I don’t care if cynics complain that it’s too soon or that we didn’t do this right or whatever bullshit reasons people argue about. There are as many ways to fall in love as there are stars in the sky.”
She closed her eyes for a second. “Love conquers all,” she said in a whisper.
“What’s that, a saying?”
“It’s more than that. It’s a fact.” She rose up on her tiptoes. “Come closer,” she urged.
We kissed, and I wrapped her in my arms right there on the streets of Phoenix. I probably would have stayed just like that for hours, but she pulled back and gazed up at me.
“So what happened in New York?” she asked with curiosity.
I thought about how to answer that. “What happened was what had to happen,” I said. “How about I take you to dinner tonight and tell you all about it?”
She poked me in the chest. “We have to work tonight, mister. You’ve got a freezer to fix.”
I shrugged. “A man can’t work every hour of the day. There are bigger priorities at stake. And I heard about this really great pizzeria I want to take you to.”
“I’d like that,” she said quietly. Then she glanced around at the landscape of downtown Phoenix. “So where do we go from here? All the love stories on the big screen never cover what comes after the hero carries his girl off into the sunset.”
I glanced up at the blue sky. “It’s only early afternoon. Sunset won’t happen for hours, so I guess we’ll need to wait around awhile to find out. Maybe we should find a bench.”
Melanie kissed my cheek. “Always the wise guy.”
