Page 71 of Sweets and Sycamores
Allie spiraled into the middle of next week.
After she woke up in Dom’s arms, specifically him lying on his back while she was sprawled over him, Allie quietly left the room before he woke up. She went outside to the forest clearing with practice on her mind, but ended up wearing a path in the grass by the river, shivering and gritting her teeth in the sunless, windy cold.
About two hours into her overthinking session, which she’d surely win a medal for if it ever became a sport, Allie went back to the bakery and found Dominic at the counter, flipping through his notebook, sweat covering his pale skin. It took little effort to coax him back into bed with the offer to read him next week’s schedule aloud.
Allie swept their sleeping together under the rug, at least until Dominic felt better. She wanted and did not want to knowhis thoughts and feelings. If his brain had been hazy with the medicine potion, if his judgement had been inhibited, her heart might break. But if he wanted her there, if he meant the words he’d said that fed her soul...
“You are the best for me.”
So Allie postponed the conversation until the next week.
Mia had come by that same night and teamed up with Allie to convince Dom to keep the bakery closed for the entire weekend. Brandon had brought a jar of honey and some fresh lemons, insisting his friend should rest longer. The three of them managed the feat, so Dom’s Sweets had stayed closed for two days.
At the beginning of the week, Dominic was up and about in the morning as usual. He wasn’t back to his full strength, but he had declared that, “There’s no way in hell I’m keeping this place closed a minute longer.”
The week was busier with the past weekend’s deliveries and orders being rescheduled, and Dom and Allie barely had time to grab a bite, let alone talk about their feelings. On the one hand, by prolonging this, Allie’s heart wassomewhatsafe. On the other hand, it killed her that she didn’t know what Dom thought about the weekend’s…activities.
At the end of their shift on the fourth day of the week, Allie resolved to talk to Dom. Her heart couldn’t take any more uncertainty. She did about a dozen different pathetic pep talks in the mirror before she came looking for him.
“I’m leaving for the night to meet with my parents,” he said in a rushed voice before Allie got to open her mouth.
“Is everything okay?”
Dom sighed. “Mia told them I got sick, and now they want live proof that I’m fine.” He seemed to struggle reconciling the inconvenience of travel with the clear desire to visit his parents, who had recently moved to a small village a couple towns afterRocky Hills. Allie wished she knew such struggles. “Should be back tomorrow morning early enough to open together.”
“No rush,” she said, swallowing all of the words she’d prepared.
Dom came back the next day, an hour before opening time. Allie had baked and prepared everything she could before her boss stepped inside the kitchen.
“Everything okay with your parents?” she asked, giving him an involuntary once-over. Dom had nodded, back to his usual amount of grumpiness. A good sign.
He had paired his deep green turtleneck with dark jeans and black boots, the sweater material so tight that Allie discerned the form of his muscles when he gathered his hair in a bun. When he tied his apron. When he kneaded the croissant dough.
“I want to try a new filling today. For the croissants,” he clarified. “My mother gave me an idea.” That small smile that Allie had glimpsed once or twice twitched around his lips for half a second.
“Is she a baker, too?” A curt nod. “How can I help?” she asked enthusiastically.
“You can taste it when it’s ready.”
Allie fed Ekko a bowl of grapes and pistachios and sent him to their room, then made herself useful by handing Dom ingredients, cloths, and utensils.
He labored around the kitchen with an adorable frown, dedicated to getting this filling right. Ten dirty spoons were scattered around the table as Dominic tasted the cream at different steps in the process.
“I think it’s ready,” Dom said after what felt like an entire day, filling two croissants with the hazelnut cream that smelled divine and made Allie’s mouth water. She had been busy cleaning the worktable when her boss shoved a croissant in her face. “Taste this.”
“What?” Allie looked between his face and the pastry in his hand. She tried to grab it from him, but Dom evaded her, bringing the croissant to her mouth.
“Bite.” It was a command, uttered in a thick, urgent tone.
“Bite?” she parroted, perplexed. Any other time Dom had her taste samples, he’d either offer her a plate, or a piece on a tray, or point to a fork or a spoon. Now he nodded once, narrowing his green eyes at her.
Allie bit into the pastry.
“Mmm,” she moaned, the sweet and nutty cream wonderfully soft and rich in her mouth. Dominic’s eyes were glued to her lips, as if they held a secret he had to uncover to save his life. He took a step closer to her. And another, until his leathery, manly scent enveloped her, and she tipped her chin up to keep his smoldering gaze. “Do I have something on my face?” Allie asked dumbly, incapable of forming another coherent thought.
Dominic scoffed. He lifted his arm and cupped Allie’s cheek, brushing his thumb from the corner of her mouth to the middle of her lower lip, his calloused finger harsh against her soft skin. He was touching her like that again, intimately, setting her nerves on a fire she couldn’t control.
“Dom…” Allie whispered, unsure what to say next. Her mind was blurry with heated emotions and the thousands of scenarios she’d spent all week overthinking.
