Page 123 of Scandalous Lover

“I’m in love with your sister. I know I said some crazy shit at that meeting, but it’s complicated, and we’re going to work it out. If you need me to resign, I accept that.”

There. He has the information now. He can do with it what he will.

Dom’s quiet for a long moment, gaze locked on mine. When he finally starts to narrow his eyes, I brace myself.

He takes two steps forward until he’s standing right up against my desk. He leans over to place both handsflat on the surface, his face now a mere foot from mine. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

The emotion that flares in me is some mixture of annoyance and impatience. He couldn’t just make this easy, huh?

“I understand that my having a relationship with Naomi is unacceptable to you, and I’ll resign my position if needed. I’m not giving her up.”

I can almost see the tremor go through Dom’s body. I wonder briefly if he’s going to headbutt me, but I continue to stand my ground.

“Why the hell would you think I’d want you to resign?”

I shake my head at his arrogant pigheadedness. “I was there at the meeting when you told all the guys that you’d murder them if they touched your sister. I know how you feel about protecting her.”

“Oh, the meeting that you weren’t invited to?” He stands back up, face starting to color as he huffs out his next words. “I was telling all those fuckboy pool cleaners and bartenders that, Sam.” He gestures wildly in what he must think is the direction of the bar or pool. “I wasn’t telling that to you. Are you kidding me? There isn’t a guy on this planet who wouldn’t want you for his little sister.”

He spins to face the door and drags both hands down his face before turning back to me, all composure lost. “You’ve just been sneaking around thinking I was going to run you off the island if you told me?”

My mistake is now glaringly obvious, and I feel more stupid than I ever have in my life. I got so caught up in my people pleasing that I apparently never stopped for a second to consider if the story I was telling myself was true.

“Well, it sounds ridiculous when you put it like that, but yeah. That’s pretty much what’s been going on.”

“How long?” he asks, his voice softer now.

“I ran into her when I was up in Austin. We hung out then, and she’s been all I can think about since.”

He folds his arms and sighs, collapsing into one of the chairs across from my desk. “I’ve been so worried about her. All this shit she’s going through, and she seemed to be going through it all alone, because fuck knows she never wants to spend a second at the house with Reina and me. And she flat out told me that she doesn’t think she’s the kind of person people want to date, not that I gave her much of a chance when I told everyone to stay the hell away from her. When we got home last night, I waited up for her to come back and when she never did, I just about called the police.”

He levels me with an accusatory glare. “I pictured her off on some deserted beach, alone, crying into a bottle of wine or something. Jesus, Sam. You could have saved me a lot of worry.”

“I’m sorry.”

He scoffs. “Don’t fucking be sorry. It’s fine. You don’t need to be sorry. I’m fucking sorry, as a matter of fact. You think I don’t know why people are scared to tell me shit?” He lets out a dark laugh. “I’m working on my ‘demeanor’ as Reina calls it, but I know I'm still an asshole.”

I nod, and he laughs again.

“Jesus fucking Christ man. That’s great. Or, it was great, anyway?” His expression turns questioning. “That can’t have been an easy conversation for her to overhear.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know.”

He pushes up to his feet. “Well, her phone and MacBook are on a table down by the pool, so chances are, she’s coming back.”

I’m on my feet and heading for the door when Dom pulls me in for a hug. “Let me know if I can help, okay?” he asks.

“Sure, man.” I start to slip through my office door into the hallway when I pause and turn back. “There is one more thing, Dom. If I ever hear you speaking to Naomi like she’s beneath you again, we’re going to have a serious problem. Is that clear?”

His eyes drop to the ground as his head bows.

For a long moment, I think he’s not going to respond at all, but then his gaze lifts and meets mine. “I’m sorry, man. Old habits die hard. I’ll tell Naomi I’m sorry, too. It won’t happen again.”

I clap a hand on his shoulder and give him a squeeze to let him know I appreciate his honesty. He nods back, letting me know he appreciates mine.

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