Page 71 of When Morning Comes Around

He chuckled. “It’s not so much that I hear it as I can feel it.”

She gave him a puzzled smile, about to ask what exactly he meant by that, but he held his finger up to stop her and laughed when the doorbell rang.

She had to laugh with him. “However you do it, you’re good; I have to give you that. I’ll go and let them in.”

When she opened the front door, the sight of Dom took her breath away. He was a good-looking guy, and he always looked sharp. Tonight, he looked even better than usual.

She only realized that she was gawking at him when his full lips quirked up in a smile, and he winked at her. “Hi.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sorry! Hi.” She turned to Jake. “Hey, Jake. Are you sure you want to be here?” she asked in a quieter tone.

He grinned. “I am. I’m looking forward to it. Harvey’s great. It’ll be fun to hang out with him.”

Dom smirked at him. “And to hang out with Savannah when she finishes work.”

“I’m not denying that, but it doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to spending some time with Harvey as well.”

“Well, come on in. Dad’s in the living room. There’s a pizza for you to put in the oven whenever you guys want to eat.”

“Awesome,” said Jake as he and Dom followed her inside.

Sadie headed straight for the kitchen, intending to show Jake where everything was, but he peeled off and went to see Harvey.

When she turned around, Dom was right behind her, wearing what she could only describe as a sexy smile.

“You look great,” he said in a low voice.

She allowed her gaze to travel over him, taking in the navy blue shirt that was doing its best to cover his broad frame but couldn’t disguise the fact that there was a lot of him to cover – a lot of muscle. She swallowed. He had to be the sexiest guy she’d ever seen. Of course, she’d known that from the first timeshe saw him. Apparently, it’d taken this long for the knowledge – and the effect of it – to sink in. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and felt guilty as hell when he chuckled.

She gave him a shamefaced smile. “In case I didn’t make it totally obvious, you look pretty damn good yourself.”

He came closer and rested his hands on her shoulders as he dropped a quick peck on her lips. “I’m glad you think so. I felt like a nervous teenager getting ready. It’s been a long time since I went out on a date.”

She rested her hands at his waist. “I’m glad you said that: I felt exactly the same way.”

He leaned in closer and rubbed his nose against hers. “I like that; not only are we on the same page, but we’re in it together.”

She liked it too, but didn’t get the chance to say so.

“Are you guys going straight out?” her dad called from the living room.

“Not without coming to say hi first,” said Dom.

Sadie was pleased to see that Jake had already made himself at home. He was sitting on the end of the sofa closest to her dad, who was grinning as he held up a bag.

“Look what Jakey brought me.”

Jake laughed. “Broughtus, Harvey. I love that stuff, too.”

“What is it?” Sadie asked.

“Some kind of English toffee.”

Jake nodded. “It’s called treacle toffee. It’s so good. One of my buddies got engaged to an English chick. She introduced us to it.” He laughed and added, “Got us all addicted to it, if I’m honest. She gets her folks to send care packages from the UK, and when Denny doesn’t hog it all, she sends some of the toffee to the rest of us.”

Her dad grinned at him. “And you’re prepared to share it with me? That’s mighty big of you.”

Jake shrugged happily. “From what I hear, you’re a bit of a toffee addict yourself, right?”

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