Page 122 of The Blame Game

The SAPs would have welcomed him with open arms and it wasn’t hard to imagine Shea easily making conversation with Antoni and August. He’d do equally well with the team and Dom could picture him laughing at Nico’s shenanigans and throwing out chirps.

And for a moment—despite the fucking headache it would cause him—Dom wanted that.

The loss of privacy almost felt worth it.

But as a string quartet began warming up and Kate called out a “ten minutes, guys!”, alerting them to when the doors would open and the public would come in, Dom thought about Shea’s glum mood and the fact that he’d asked for some time to think.

There was a sinking feeling in Dom’s gut that told him that even if he was willing to open himself up to public talk that would begin if he came out, he wasn’t sure Shea would want to be with him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“So, why’d they seat me with you instead of putting Nico at your table?” Dom asked halfway through his salmon entrée, leaning toward Skylar Hanley who sat to his right.

Each team member and their plus one were seated at a different table.

Probably so they would be forced to mingle with the public and be on their best behavior. They’d done the mingling thing during the cocktail and appetizer hour as well and Dom was glad to sit down for a bit.

Though his back would probably be killing him by the time he stood at the end of dinner.

Skylar grinned. “Because they were afraid if Nico and I were together, we’d get in trouble. I suspect Kate told whoever did the seating chart to put us as far away from each other as possible.”

Laughing, Dom admitted that was probably wise.

Skylar Hanley was Nico’s ex-girlfriend and best friend. Also heir to the largest fortune in the Toronto area.

Her family was wealthy beyond Dom’s wildest dreams—hell, they made Travis Rogers look like he earned a pittance—so it was no surprise that the family was being represented here tonight. The elite of Toronto were here, to give generously to the LGBTQ+ charity the team was raising money for.

Although from what Nico had said over the years, Skylar didn’t get along particularly well with her parents.

“I think Kate is a wise woman,” Dom said.

Skylar smirked. “Me too.”

“How is, uh, baby Nicky doing?” Dom asked. Dom had met her and her husband Julius—who sat on her other side—a few times at team events. Their son had been born last spring. To everyone on the team’s dismay, she’d named the kid after Nico, who hadn’t let a single person forget it since.

Skylar grinned. “Wonderful. Though not a baby anymore! We’re coming up on his first birthday in April.”

“Time flies,” Dom said.

“It does. He’s doing well though and I’m finally starting to feel like I’m not in a fog anymore. Thankfully, Jules has been a huge support.”

The dark-haired man in question glanced up, smiling, clearly as besotted with her as August was with Nico.

God it was weird. Yes, Julius was August’s fraternal twin, but they were just different enough looking that it always threw Dom for a loop.

“Show him pictures, Jules,” Skylar urged.

Julius pulled out his phone and brought up some pictures. “You can flip through the album if you want.” He passed the device over to Dom.

Truthfully, Dom didn’t care.

Kids were fine but he didn’t find them particularly interesting. Still, he politely scrolled through the photos and made the appropriate noises of appreciation. And he did have to admit, the shots of Nico and August playing with baby Nicky were pretty cute.

Dom wondered if the tangled relationship situation was ever weird for the four adults.

Nico and Skylar had dated and broken up about a dozen times before finally calling the romance quits for good.

Skylar had gotten pregnant—by some random dude who’d bailed when he found out—and shortly after, Nico and August had met.

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