Page 161 of The Blame Game

The rest of the team nodded their agreement.

Shea frowned. “I thought it looked good! I’m trying it.”

Elena beamed. “I like him already! You should keep him, Dom.”

Shea grinned and Dom felt a surge of warmth as he pressed his thigh against Shea’s. He could only hope to be that lucky.

“Suck-up,” Nico said, pretending to smother the word with a cough.

Shea picked up the wedge of pickled watermelon, teasingly offering it to Dom again.

He wrinkled his nose. “At the risk of offending the mother-to-be, hell no.”

“Aww, c’mon,” Shea said teasingly. “Just a little bite?”

“No!” Dom protested, laughing. “I don’t like pickled cucumbers. Why would I like pickled watermelon?”

Shea shrugged and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. “It’s good!” he said, glancing over at Elena. “I like it!”

He sounded genuinely sincere. He held it out to Dom again. “You sure you don’t want to try it?”

Dom shook his head. Gross. “Quite sure,” he said with a chuckle. “You enjoy it though.”

Out of the corner of his eye he caught Charlie with his phone out, recording them.

Dom looked away, trying to ignore it. Charlie had offered to get some pictures and videos of him and Shea today that he’d include in a social media post, helping them confirm the story that they were dating.

Dom had agreed. It felt like the most natural and organic way to do it. But ugh, that didn’t mean he’d enjoy the process.

“After lunch, we will talk pickled everything!” Elena said to Shea in a conspiratorial tone. “I will give you the best recipes.”

“Awesome. Thanks, Elena.” He nudged Dom in the ribs. “Hey, does this mean that you’ll share your pickles with me when they come with meals?”

“Well, I normally order them without,” Dom said. “But yes. If you want, I can order them just so you can have extra.”

Shea beamed. “Aww, I knew I liked you for a reason.”

“I always assumed it was the—” August slapped a hand over Nico’s mouth, cutting off his words.

“Ignore everything that comes out of Nico’s mouth,” he said urgently. “Please.”

He glanced at his fiancé warily, dropping his hand. “Are you going to behave?”

“No,” Nico said scornfully. “Why would I do that? Although in this case, I was going to say the condo with the great view. Dom and Shea’s place is like two blocks over from ours but the view is even better.”

“Oh.” August gave Dom a little shrug. “It is a great location.”

“Hey, we should have people over sometime,” Shea said, lifting a forkful of Charlie’s cashew rice salad to his mouth. Yum. “I mean, if you want.”

Dom shrugged. “Well, I don’t cook much.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” Shea teased. “But I do. Or we can order in. I don’t care. I just thought it might be nice if we had some people over to watch a basketball game soon. Travis is playing and I haven’t had much time to keep up with his games lately.”

“Ooh, are you talking about Travis Rogers?” Nico said, leaning closer. “He’s hot. I can’t believe you know him.”

“Yeah, I helped him rehab his knee.” Shea shrugged. “Great guy. And you’re not wrong about his looks.”

Dom scowled, which made Shea laugh. “Aww, don’t get jealous, baby. We never dated.”

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