Page 45 of Enchant the Dawn

“How many?”

“I don’t know. Five or six, maybe. But I was never serious about any of them. We hung out. We went clubbing.” He shrugged. “Like I said, nothing serious.” His gaze met hers. “I hardly remember any of them. But you . . .” His knuckles caressed her cheek. “You, I’ll never forget.”

She melted against him. A little voice in the back of her mind said things were moving way too fast, while another part whispered they weren’t moving fast enough. Fran, she thought. Remember Fran. Whenever she felt herself moving too far, too fast, Maddy always recalled what had happened to her sister, how she had come home one night, brokenhearted, pregnant, and alone. It usually worked like ice water. Tonight was no different.

With a toss of her head, she sat up. “I think maybe we should go out.”

Dominic looked at her, one brow arched. “Did I miss something?”

“My sister.”

“What about your sister?”

“Fran fell head over heels for a guy when she was nineteen. They dated for about eight months and she got pregnant. He wanted her to have an abortion, and when she refused, he left her flat. She never saw him again. So, whenever I think things are getting out of hand, I think about my sister.”

“Better than birth control, huh?”

“My niece, Melanie, is six.”

Dominic grunted softly.

“Fran’s happily married now. Ryan treats Melanie like his own. And Fran’s expecting again.”

“I’m glad everything turned out all right.”

“Me too.”

“So, where do you want to go? Someplace crowded, I’m guessing.”

“You’re making fun of me.”

“No. You’re probably right. We need to take it slow.” For a lot of reasons, he mused, thinking about those who were hunting him. And that, unlike Transylvanian vampires, he was perfectly capable of getting Maddy pregnant.

* * *

They decided on a movie. Dominic bought a big tub of popcorn and a king-size drink. Maddy watched the screen and he watched her, noting the way Maddy’s hands clenched when the heroine was in danger, the way she smiled when the hero took the heroine in his arms and claimed his reward. It was a romance, and after the requisite breakup, the couple reunited. Dominic didn’t miss the tears Maddy tried to wipe away so he wouldn’t see them.

They went out for ice cream afterward. She ordered a hot fudge sundae with extra hot fudge and marshmallow. He opted for a vanilla malt.

“Just a sucker for romance, huh?” he said as they found a table and sat down.

“So, what if I am?”

“Nothing. I like a girl who’s a romantic at heart.”

“I admit it, I love a happy ending. It seems they’re few and far between in real life.”

“Aren’t your parents happy?”

“Sure. It’s just that most of the girls I went to college with are getting divorces or they’re already on their second or third marriage.”

He shrugged. “Too many people today don’t want to put any effort into it. They want to marry and have everything their parents spent their lives working for. And when they can’t have it all at once, they think there’s something wrong with the marriage and they move on.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I just know that when I marry, I want it to be forever.”

“Me too,” he murmured, thinking he could give her the forever she wanted. Leaning across the table, he licked a bit of hot fudge from the corner of her mouth. “Sweet,” he murmured. “But not as sweet as you.”

* * *

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