Page 123 of The Dominator

I plastered a smile on my face as I went inside because the first person I laid eyes on was Tommy’s father. He was standing in the doorway ready to greet us.

“What’s this?” He smiled at me but his smile twitched almost nervously as he eyed the cake in my hands.

“Lemon Bundt cake,” I said with a sweet smile.

His expression dropped. This was my mother’s cake. Clearly by his reaction he’d had it before. It was the only thing she cooked that didn’t make the person eating it look for the nearest dog or potted plant (some dogs had even looked for potted plants!) and she’d made it for every occasion. It was a just a store-bought lemon cake mix with lemon Jell-O added into the box recipe. Then it was glazed with icing sugar mixed with lemon juice.

“You don’t like lemon cake?” I asked innocently, a mask firmly in place.

He appeared thrown for a split second and then seemed to recover. “Can’t wait to try it. Sounds great. Take it to the kitchen; girls are in there.” He kissed my cheek as I passed him.

The girls were in fine form, laughing, talkative. Luc was the size of a ranch style bungalow and eating cheese as Tessa shredded it on top of garlic bread. Lisa was chopping cucumbers.

“How can I help?” I asked as I stepped in.

They all looked genuinely pleased to see me and bombarded me with questions about Vegas, about where we’d been hiding out, and asking about planning the wedding.

I helped Lisa with the salad and then helped Tessa set the table. We (except Luc) drank a bottle and a half of wine together before Tommy and Dario arrived, which I was thinking was a good idea since I was in need of some liquid courage being around Tommy’s father. The men sat in the family room with all four kids. There was a debate over what they’d all watch. Disney movie or some rugby game.

Luc’s girls were adorable, Katrina and Serena (Luc joked that when she wanted them to come, she’d just holler “Rina!”) and they were dressed exactly the same in little white with red polka dot sundresses with their dark curly ringlets up in pigtails. They sat on the floor playing with the boys’ toy cars.

Tessa’s boys, Antonio and Lucas, sat on James’ lap like angels. Finally, Tom settled the “big kids” down by putting the Disney video on the big screen and giving the dads a tablet to watch together for their game.

Tommy and Dario turned up together, just as the food was being put out. Tommy swept me into his arms and gave me a very amorous hello with an old Hollywood style dip and a long kiss in front of his whole family. They all looked a bit surprised, so I guessed they hadn’t seen this type of behavior from him before. Truthfully, I was surprised, too. Last night he didn’t want to even touch me as we went to sleep.

He was sweet, attentive, and affectionate with me during the meal, which felt light and happy. Tommy didn’t seem at all awkward with his father. I felt awkward, but tried to push it away.

When dessert was served, Tessa, Lisa, and Luc’s hubby Eddy were all going on and on about my cake. When Tommy’s father was served a piece, he stared at it for a long time before taking a bite. I tried not to look at him while he tasted it. I tried, but I couldn’t help it. His eyes, as he chewed, went far away for a second. Then he caught me looking and our eyes locked . I think he knew. I think he knew right then and there that I’d made that cake knowing something about their past. I saw something dark and sinister pass over his expression, and I knew I had to switch gears pretty darn quick to make sure I didn’t give myself away.

“Do you like it?” I asked, giving him a big smile.

He licked his lips. “It’s very good.” He said this softly, assessing me, trying to see through my act. I wasn’t about to let him; I couldn’t mess this up. I nonchalantly leaned over and put a forkful up to Tommy’s mouth. Tommy had been talking to Eddy across the table about a restaurant Eddy managed for the family. He stopped mid-sentence and made eye contact with me and then accepted the bite. I kissed him on the mouth and totally ignored his father. My heart hammered in my chest; I prayed he bought it. I didn’t look back at him for a good minute, just fixed my eyes on Tommy’s eyes and Tommy seemed to totally get that I needed to keep eyes locked with him for as long as possible. When I did glance back in Tom’s direction, he was talking to Lisa animatedly with his hands and paying no attention to me.

I settled down and Tommy must’ve read me. His lips brushed mine and then he whispered in my ear, “What is it?”

I whispered, “Can we go soon? I can’t get into it now but I’m having trouble keeping it together.”

“We’ll finish the coffee and then I’ll get us out of here,” he whispered back. “That okay?” I nodded. He kissed me on the lips again and pulled me closer.

“Fuck, you two; get a room!” That was Luc.

“Oh, jealous bitch,” Tessa told her, then explained, “She’s got Placenta Praevia so orders of no sex from her doc. She’s getting a bit bitchy.”

Eddy started to laugh. “Yeah, and she’s like a big horny cat in heat walking around clawing at everyone who’s getting any. The only thing I can do to calm her down is keep feeding her.”

Everyone started to laugh, including Luciana, and then Luc swatted her husband. “Watch out or this cat’ll act like a praying mantis and gnaw your head off after the next time you get lucky, especially if this isn’t a boy!”

“Notice she said ‘after’ the next time I get lucky? Hey, at least she wants it one more time before she whacks me,” Eddy laughed some more and that got the room roaring with laugher.

A few minutes later, Tommy looked at his phone and then put his napkin on the table and took my hand, pulling us up to stand. “Sorry kids, but something’s come up. We gotta fly.”

“Oh, I wanted to help clean up,” I said innocently. Tommy winked at me. “Sorry, baby girl. Duty calls.”

Lisa waved her hand. “Don’t even worry. It’s covered. You were a great help setting up. But when can we talk about your wedding?”

“We’re postponing it a bit,” Tommy said nonchalantly, swiping his phone as he pulled me along. “Plenty of time for that.”

He made his way around the table, kissing all the girls on their cheeks and shaking hands with back slaps or fist bumping with each of the guys.

---