Page 69 of Worth the Vow

I can’t help the whimper that comes out of my mouth.

A knock sounds on the door, and Dominic mutters, “Fuck.”

“Dom? Your dad wants some help removing the soaked carpet and drywall downstairs,” Sofia calls out.

I scramble to climb out of his lap, but notice the bulge. “Don’t look at it or it won’t go down.”

“What?” I ask, laughing.

“Turn around, and don’t look at it.” Dominic closes his eyes, his hands in fists, as I watch, captivated. “Will you ever do what I ask, Katharine, or am I destined to a lifetime of discipline with you?”

“It’s fun doing the opposite of what you ask — wait, discipline?”

Dominic opens one eye and smiles at me mischievously. “You are the quintessential brat, are you not? Good girls get rewarded. You are rarely ever good.”

“That’s not fair —” I start, but Dominic stands and puts a hand over my mouth.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it worthwhile.” He slaps me on the ass, hard, and the pain zings right to my clit.

“Oh,” I say, my eyes widening in shock.

“That’s what I thought,” he says with a chuckle, before opening the door and strutting out.

I collapse in a heap at Dominic’s desk, my mind reeling. He insinuated forever more than once. He talked about sex. I’m important to him, but he also wants to discipline me? There’s a lot to unpack from today.

“Kate? Do you want to start hanging your clothes in Dom’s closet, or do you want me to?” Sofia shouts from upstairs.

“I’ll do it!” I yell back. She’s already seen my vibrators. I’d prefer her not to go through any sexy clothes I might have in there.

I barely see Dominic the rest of the day. When I’m not trying to get my things organized and see what else is a loss from my basement room, I’m catering to Aspen, who hates the crutches with a passion. Carter chose to help his dad and grandfather with the construction in the basement, especially once Luca came to help. I drove to pick up a pizza order for everyone, and by the time I got back, Sofia whispered that Dominic had fallen asleep on the couch, and ushered me outside with the pizza.

What could have been a very awkward evening with Dominic’s family, turned out to be nothing of the sort … until The Eagle Has Landed decided to publish its most recent article about my marriage. Alex had stopped by with his kids, and while the younger set played in the backyard, even including Aspen in a chair, the adults sat around Dominic’s patio and chatted. I felt like a valued member of the Santo family, until Sienna let us all know a new article had been published.

“Kate!” she shouts. “You’re the top story on the site again!”

“Uh-oh,” Luca drawls. Great. Everyone automatically pulls out their phones to pull up the ridiculous gossip website that claims it’s a city news source.

Trouble in Paradise?

Newlyweds Dominic and Kate Santo were seen exiting a nearby hospital early this morning, both looking much worse for wear. In fact, they were evidenced fighting in public at the Party at the Park performance Friday evening, and Dominic was seen flying out of town alone Saturday afternoon. Has the bloom faded from the rose? Is it possible one of the county’s most eligible bachelors will be back on the bachelor list soon?

Sources also say Kate has been seen cuddling up to Dominic’s younger, and very much taken, brother, Luca. Will the rogue bartender/nanny/assistant move her way through all the Santo men, or will they run her out of town first?

Hand covering my mouth, I look up to find every person staring at me with varying expressions. Dominic’s father looks disappointed, bordering on disgusted. He slams his phone down on the table and crosses his arms with a grunt. Dominic’s mother looks concerned, with a heavy dose of pity. Alex’s eyes bounce between Luca and me, obviously trying to determine if anything written about the two of us is true. When I finally glance at Luca, his mouth is open in shock.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I don’t — I’d never — you know that, right? I love Hannah. I’d never do that.”

“I’m more concerned that your first thought was about Hannah, instead of thinking about how my brother will read into this,” Luca says, crossing his arms exactly like his father.

“Your brother knows his wife,” Dominic growls from the door. His hair sticks up in every direction as he glares at everyone. Walking out, he stands behind me and places both hands on my shoulders. “If any of you believe that bullshit, you can leave right now. I know Katharine, and I trust her. If you don’t, then you don’t trust me either.”

“You don’t have the best track record with women, now do you?” his dad retorts. Dominic snickers indignantly.

“You were the one who told me to marry Savannah, Dad, so quit with this sanctimonious crap like I made this major mistake. I’ll never say that relationship was a mistake because the three best things to ever come out of me are sitting right over there,” he says, pointing into the yard. “I’d marry Savannah again and again if I knew they were the result. I may not have been in love with her, and she may not have been faithful to me, but writing Katharine off because you immediately believe a gossip rag without any concrete evidence? Jesus, Dad. That’s absurd.”

“That’s not what I meant, son,” his dad says.

“It really doesn’t matter.” Dominic’s hands grip my shoulders, and I raise mine to cover his. I look up at him, ready to apologize, but he speaks first. “You don’t owe them any explanation. I told you this the day we were married.”

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