Page 8 of Yes, Love

Ass. “Oh my gawd! Who hurt you, Dominic?”

Dominic stopped walking completely, and his face turned to stone. “You’ve no idea what you’re talking about, Ava.” Then he pulled his arm from mine and kept walking.

Lucy again? Damn. She really did a number on him.

We stepped out onto the streets of Seattle, and Dominic pointed to a little burger joint across the way. “Shall we?”

I stopped and folded my arms. “I don’t eat red meat.”

Dominic buried his hands in his hair and let out an almost comical groan. “Are you fucking joking, Ava?”

I tilted my chin in the air and squared my shoulders as I prepared to defend myself. “I’m dead serious, Dominic. Humans consume ten times more red meat than anyone ever needs. We don’t need to murder helpless animals just because they taste good! Cows and pigs have feelings! It’s proven!” Also, red meat was extremely fattening.

Dominic folded his arms and paced while I spoke. “Right, so people who eat red meat are monsters then?”

I opened my mouth to deny that I’d said anything like that, but Dominic held up his hand. “Don’t answer that. You pick the food.”

“I don’t care what we eat. The restaurant just needs to be cute for pictures.”

“You don’t—” Dominic shook his head. “Why do women do that? Say what you want to eat instead of rejecting my suggestions!”

I squared my jaw. “Don’t yell at me! You don’t have to be an ass about everything!”

Dominic looked like he was about to stalk off down the street without me but forced a smile when a happy couple exited the parking garage behind us. Recognition passed through the woman’s eyes when she saw him, and then her mouth dropped open. “Ah! Dom! I’m so sorry about you and Lucy! It looked like you guys had such a real connection!”

For a split second, I enjoyed the sour look on his face, and then I remembered why we were doing this stupid date in the first place. I stepped up beside him and slid my arm around his waist. I gave the woman my brightest smile. “Well, her loss is my gain.”

Dominic draped his arm around my shoulder and smiled down at me. “Thanks, love.”

“Ohmygod! Ava! I saw the photos of you two on Instagram! Is this a thing?” She lowered her voice and pointed back and forth between Dominic and me. Her husband or boyfriend folded his arms and glanced at his watch.

I let out my Ava Mills Official laugh and pressed a finger to my lips, signaling that it was our little secret.

The woman mimed zipping her lips and gave us a knowing smile before her man cleared his throat. “Steph, we’re going to be late.”

Steph rolled her eyes at her man — chances were pretty good that he was her husband based on that eye roll. “It was so good to meet you!” She waved over her shoulder as they hurried down the street.

Dominic dropped his arm and stepped away from me the second Steph turned around. “Aren’t you a brilliant little faker? It’s a bit alarming how quickly you can turn that smile on.”

I blinked in surprise. I’d just saved his ass from an awkward conversation with a stranger, and he was still giving me an attitude. “You’re welcome!” I snapped at him and started walking toward the pier. There were tons of cute restaurants closer to the water. The sooner we could get the pics and get out of here, the better.

Five

Dominic

“God! You’re literally the worst, Dominic!” Ava snapped at me.

Our first date was turning into a nightmare. Kitty and Jeanie had planned what was supposed to be a lovely day at a local farmer’s market full of romance and photo ops. The reality of the situation was far different. First, her royal highness, Ava Mills, pushed our date back by an hour and still wasn’t ready by the time I arrived to pick her up. Then she got her knickers in a twist when I suggested burgers for lunch. Apparently, only Satanists ate red meat.

After that, instead of the predicted sunshine, we were caught in a downpour.

Ava hadn’t the foresight to bring her own jacket and was currently giving me shit for not loaning her mine. Yes, that would have been the gentlemanly thing to do, but after she’d been lobbing insults at me all afternoon, I was a little short on hospitality.

“My hair is ruined! How the actual hell are we supposed to get a good pic?” Ava folded her arms across her full chest as we took shelter under the awning of a small coffee and tea shop.

I glanced over at her. She did look a bit like a drowned rat now. I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture.

Ava gaped at me. “Delete that picture right now!”

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