Page 39 of It Started With a Scarf

"How did he find you? What happened?" Thad asked.

"I was on his social media, and I saw a photo of the scarf he posted when he first found it."

"He posted another one today," EJ said.

"I saw that," Thad added, nodding. I looked at Dominic who gave me a quick knowing nod.

Had he posted me on his social media?

"It looked like you were on the ice," Thad said.

"I took it when we went skating at the gym earlier," Dominic agreed, nodding. "It was her first time."

"Ever?" Thad asked. "How'd you do?"

"She did amazing," Dominic said.

"Roller skating's the closest experience I had to that, so I felt like Bambi out there, but…"

"No broken bones?" Thad said.

I smiled and held up my hands to demonstrate that everything was in working order. "All good, I'm happy to report," I said.

"My family lives here, and I got them all memberships to ETC. My brother skates all the time. He played hockey for a few years, and he loves skating. Me, not so much. I find that I take better to cleats and dirt."

"Me too," Eddie agreed. "You will not catch me on that ice. Even back in the day, I couldn't. Management would make us sign a waiver about skating on our off time. They didn't want us breaking a wrist doing something like that when it can be avoided. I know that's still the case."

Thad nodded. "Yes sir, you won't catch me out there on the ice. I have no desire." Thad turned to me. "So, that's how you got the scarf back… you looked at his social media and saw it there?"

I nodded. "I was sitting at the dentist's office a few days ago. The dentist, he must've been a sports fan because he had several jerseys and things displayed in his office. I was staring straight at this football that Dominic's dad had signed and it made me think of Dominic, so I looked him up. I scrolled for a minute or two on his feed, and I was suddenly staring at my long-lost scarf. We met for lunch today so I could get it back. I didn't believe it was real until I had it in my hands."

"She was learning to knit so that she could recreate it," Eddie said. "That one right there was her practicing at replacing it."

"Aw, really? That one? She's close," Thad said.

Dominic readjusted on his stool, and his leg hit mine. It stayed there, touching me. I wanted to glance at him, but it was all I could do to keep my composure and talk to everyone while he was leg-brushing me.

"Thank you," I said to Thad, trying not to skip a beat. "I see all the mistakes—or differences—but I was having fun trying. Those ladies at the yarn store are my friends now. They've been helping me learn techniques and find yarn from photos."

"Are they going to be happy to have the mystery solved?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, so happy!" I said. "It would still be a challenge to recreate the feel of the yarn, even with it in your hand. Speaking of hands… is there a restroom I could use to wash my hands?" I said this because I knew we were waiting on EJ before we ate and that we were about to get started. EJ was currently by the stove, looking into the dishes.

"I'll show you where you can wash your hands," Dominic said. He touched my leg as he stood up. I hesitated just because I liked it there. I glanced at him, and he stared at me with a look of challenge. There was heavy flirting, and no one noticed because they turned their attention to dinner. We walked down a hallway.

"That's the restroom right there," he said, stopping in his tracks like he was going to wait there and let me go ahead. "What?" he asked when I looked at him with a confused expression.

"Nothing, I…"

I didn't finish my sentence, and he said, "You what?"

"I-I guess I just thought or, uh, assumed that you were coming back here with me because you wanted to…" I trailed off again, and he stared at me.

"Wanted to what?"

"I don't know, I thought you might have other intentions besides just showing me the bathroom."

He stepped closer and tilted his head at me. He was taller than me and he looked down, standing over me. He was gorgeous, all perfect lines and symmetry. He smelled amazing, too. I was putty in his hands.

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