Page 53 of Sweets and Sycamores
“Save me a dance, Allie,” Brandon told her with a wink.
Dominic put his arms on Brandon’s shoulders and turned his body around, shoving him away from the sweets table.
“Thanks for the help. Don’t let us keep you from your host activities.” His friend guffawed, and Allie wondered if there was some sort of inside joke she was missing.
They worked around the table in silence, Dominic focusing on setting up the chocolate fountain, and Allie focusing on the way his veiny arms tensed as he strained them, or how closely she could inspect that fascinating tree tattoo, or how tight that white shirt was around his shoulders and back.
Safe to say, Allie was focused on lots of things she should not be focused on. Her boss caught her staring once and did the most unexpected thing that twisted Allie’s heart into a knot: hesmirked. A half smirk, to be more specific, but a smirk nonetheless. The closest thing to a smile she’d glimpsed on him. The temperature in the tent must have been raised with magic.
They finished with the sweets bar a couple of minutes before the ceremony started, so Dominic and Allie rushed to take the seats Mia had saved. Allie had expected to find her next toBrandon, but he was sitting on the other side, looking a lot less cheerful than earlier.
Harper and Tina walked down the aisle hand in hand, Tina’s brother pushing her wheelchair, her mother on the other side, and Harper’s dad proudly holding his daughter’s arm. They both wore cream white satin dresses, and while Tina’s had long lace sleeves, Harper’s was off-the-shoulder sleeveless, revealing her collarbone. They were incredibly beautiful and wore blinding smiles during the entire ceremony.
As soon as it was over, everyone flocked to congratulate the happy couple. When it was Allie’s turn, she didn’t get to say anything before Harper spoke.
“Your dress matches Dom’s tie. Are you here together?” she asked with unreasonably wide eyes while Tina wiggled her brows.
“No—that’s—Mia.” Allie settled on the simplest explanation. The brides exchanged a look before Harper’s eyes darted somewhere behind Allie.
“I wouldn’t say that if I were you,” she said, her eyes still trailing behind Allie. “I mean, just let everyone believe you’re here together. It’s for the best.” Allie glanced behind and only saw a trail of a blue skirt before it disappeared inside the tent.
“I’m not so sure,” Allie said with a small smile. She didn’t think Dominic should be seen with her outside their business, given how the people here felt about her. If anything, she should stay away to prove to them Dominic had nothing to do with her. A sharp claw of painful disappointment gripped her heart, but this wasn’t about her. This was about Dominic, the man who had helped her and who would stay in Sycamore Falls and deal with the townspeople long after she was gone.
“We promise Dominic is a really good guy,” Tina said, tugging at her hand. “He just takes a bit to warm up to.”
What was with everyone trying to convince her that Dominic was a good guy? She knew that. Allie was one comment away from shouting it at the top of her lungs.
“Congratulations. I wish you great happiness,” she said instead, kissing both of them on their cheeks.
Allie left for the tent, where the guests started to gather. She spotted Dominic by the sweets table, inspecting everything and moving the trays one inch to the left or right. The corners of her mouth turned up in an honest smile, one she rarely got to share, as she headed to him.
Her smile faded, and she stopped in her tracks when Anna approached Dominic from the other side. She wore a long, elegant marine blue dress that split around her thigh, and her hair was loose for the first time, flowing around her in a rich dark curtain. Anna leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, resting her hand on his arm. She moved it to his chest as if she was picking lint off his most likely lint-free shirt, then back to his arm.
Allie wished she could touch him like that. It didn’t have to be in public; she’d be content to have this privilege in private. Heat crawled from her spine up to her neck at the thought of her hands on him, and she was sure about the red stains coloring her cheeks. She needed to get a grip, lest someone think she was sick and running a fever. Her breathing labored, and… Was this jealousy? Was she jealous of Anna?
Allie watched her laugh at something Dom had said and guessed that it was a fake laugh. Her boss was not that funny. But why did it bother her?
You need to get a grip!
And she needed something else, too.
Needed to admit it to herself.
Allie had a big, fat crush on her boss.
“You like her.” Brandon sipped whiskey out of his glass and raised his brows at Dominic, who was seconds away from pouring the amber liquid on his friend’s head.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dom sipped from his own glass, scanning the room and avoiding Brandon’s eyes.
“Oh, okay.” His friend put the drink down and fully turned to him. “I’m talking about Allie, the Witch who’s been working with you and living under your roof for the past three weeks. You like her.”
“Mind your business, Brandon.” He didn’t want to confirm or deny, as Brandon would find a way to pester him about both answers.
“You know she’s nothing like the Witch who?—”
“I know.”
“I mean, you weren’t here when it happened, and while she lived here, but I can tell you, Dom, she’s nothing like Miranda.” Dominic hated hearing the name of the Witch who’d brought trouble to his hometown, and even more so since he’d met Allie. She was good and kind, yet everyone insisted on holding a grudge against her for a sin that she didn’t commit.
