Page 45 of When Morning Comes Around

“I know. I love that man with all my heart – even though after Nico, I never thought I’d love anyone else again.”

Dominic didn’t know what to say. Love? He didn’t know about that. He was still wrestling with the guilt that he felt over just feeling attracted to Sadie. Luckily, he didn’t have to say anything. Dalton had reached the bar, and he was giving them a puzzled look.

“What’s going on? The two of you look mighty serious. Staring into each other’s eyes the way you were, I could get worried.”

Taryn laughed. “Yeah, right! If you thought that I was about to run off with Dom, you’d be relieved, not worried.”

Dalton scowled at her. “Don’t bet on that, lady.” He turned to Dominic and smiled. “Don’t worry, I know you have more sense than that.”

“Excuse me?!” Taryn asked indignantly. “What do you mean? More sense than what?”

Dalton grinned. “I’m the only one crazy enough to fall in love with you.”

“Aww! I love you, too.”

Dominic chuckled to himself as he moved away to serve a couple of customers who’d come in. Taryn and Dalton were great together, but he didn’t envy their relationship. He frowned as a thought hit him. He didn’t envy the kind of relationship they shared, but maybe he did envy the love that they shared.

He didn’t know what to do with that thought, so he put it out of his mind as he got to work. He hadn’t intended to ever love another woman. And who was talking about love anyway? Talking about friendship with Sadie was a huge step for him. And all he could do was take things one step at a time.

Chapter Eleven

Dominic checked his watch as he left the house on Friday morning. He was going to be early, so he decided to run, rather than drive, to the gym. He and Damon tried to meet there at least twice a week. That way, no matter what else was going on in their lives, they were still guaranteed to get some time together.

They hadn’t known each other until a few short years ago. He imagined that would be tough on any siblings. He felt as though it was even tougher for them, considering that they were twins – identical twins at that.

If he were honest, he knew that it had been harder on him than it was on Damon. Their mom had been a teenager when she had them. She’d known that she wouldn’t be able to raise two boys, and she’d given Damon up for adoption. As it turned out, she’d only kept Dominic until he was three. Then, he’d been taken into foster care. Damon had grown up in a loving family who was open about the fact that he’d been adopted – even if not about him having an identical twin, since they weren’t aware of that. Dominic had bounced around the foster care system. He’d been all too aware that his mom had given him up, and that he had a twin brother out there somewhere.

A gust of wind off the lake roused him from his thoughts. He slowed his pace as he approached the beach. He still had plenty of time, so he ran down to the water’s edge. When he reached it, he slowed and turned to walk along the shoreline. He wouldn’t be able to spot any quartz or interesting stones if he were running.

He frowned. He wasn’t sure that there’d be any point in searching for quartz. If he found any, he’d want to show them to Sadie. And now, he didn’t know if he’d get the chance to do that. He didn’t know what was going on with her. He’d called her on Wednesday, as he said he would, but she hadn’t answered. He’d left a message, and she hadn’t called back.

By last night, he convinced himself that perhaps she hadn’t received the message, and so he’d called again. She still hadn’t answered, and he’d left another message. Still nothing. In his mind, they still had dinner plans for this evening. But if he didn’t hear back from her, he didn’t know what he would do.

It shouldn’t matter to him if she’d changed her mind – but it did. He’d been looking forward to this evening. Now, he was dreading discovering that it wouldn’t happen.

By the time he reached the gym, he’d decided that he was fine with it either way. If she got in touch and confirmed, he’d go over there and have dinner with her and Harvey. The dinner part wasn’t all that important – the part he was hopeful and nervous about was after dinner. They’d said that they could sit out back to talk while Harvey watched his shows.

He was looking forward to talking to her. Looking forward to getting to know her better. He nodded to himself as he entered the gym. He was looking forward to maybe another kiss. Maybe even a real kiss. Their last one had been nothing more than a brief brush of their lips.

“Morning!” Russ greeted him with a grin. “How’s it going?”

“Great, thanks. And you?”

“I’m a happy man.”

Dominic laughed. It seemed that Russ was always happy. If you only went by the way he looked, he might come across as something of a grouch. But the moment he smiled, his features transformed. The thing most guaranteed to make him smile was the mention of his lady, Ria.

“And Ria?”

Russ grinned. “Yep. She’s doing great. Thanks for asking.”

They both turned when Damon came in. “Morning. Sorry I’m late.”

“Not a problem.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask; do you have any clients this afternoon?” Russ asked Damon.

“Only Nate. We should be done by three, why?”

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