Page 66 of A Beta Protects

"Dom?"

I kiss her and get up. "Wait here.”

I leave her staring after me as I leave the room and head downstairs. Music drifts from Rose’s room. If anyone is going to have everything that Kira needs, it’ll be Rose and her penchant for shopping.

I knock on her door.

She opens it at once, dressed in sweats from our venture out to rescue Kira. “Yeah?”

"Do you have spare girl things for Kira? I didn't realize she needed them until now."

“Girl things?” Rose stares at me. "Like tampons?"

"What! No. Like a hairbrush and... wait. Are there other things I need?"

Rose gives me a look that calls me an idiot and swings around. "Wait here."

She's back in two minutes with a hairbrush, ties, tampons, and more moisturizers and beauty products than I realize she had. My arms are full. "Uh, thanks."

"I have more if she needs it."

More? I hope not. This is overwhelming as it is.

I carry the armful of beauty products into my room and place it on top of the dresser. Kira, who is sitting up in bed, stares at the pile. "Uh, Dom? What’s with the drugstore you suddenly opened up over there?"

"I assumed everything you would need was under the sink in the bathroom. I didn't think about other stuff. Rose has more, but I can take you to the store tomorrow, so I never have Rose look at me like I'm an idiot when she assumes I went to her for tampons."

She flashes me a brief smile. “I appreciate everything you do for me, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. I don’t want to live off your charity, and if there aren’t any jobs…”

I walk over to the bed, sit on the edge, lifting her chin. “There are jobs. None in low season, though.”

“Ah, the reason the job hunt turned into a date?”

I lean close, kissing her. “But not the biggest. I wanted to spoil you.”

She glances at the pile of shopping bags and grins at me. “Well, consider me spoiled.”

“What did you want to do?”

Her expression is thoughtful. “I always thought I would go to college and move away. Then I got married, and I just felt stuck in Palmerston.”

“Maybe you could do that college course you always wanted? We don’t have a community college here, but you could do something online.”

She stares at me. “That costs money.”

“We do okay for ourselves. If you want to go to college, we can afford it.”

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“Then think about it.” I kiss her again. “There’s something else you could do here.”

She looks curious, and I hope I’m not rushing her into something she’s not ready for. “What?”

“You could be my wife,” I say softly, watching her reaction.

Her breathing stops.

“In fact, I would love it very much it if the woman I love would be my wife.” Her eyes are misty as I continue. “We have a jeweler here, and one day, I’d like to go into that store to pick out a ring for you. But…”

---