Page 39 of Finding the Pieces

Chapter nineteen

Ellie

Dom pops his head into our closet, catching me in my shapewear. Goddammit. Nothing says sexy like nude shapewear I had to jump, shimmy, and shake my way into, but my dress for tonight calls for it, so here we are.

“Hey, Momma,” Dom purrs, his body still hidden behind the door frame, and his eyes rove over my form. “Looking good.”

“Stop,” I say with an embarrassed laugh. Despite my brutal inner monologue about my body, Dom has always made sure I know how much he wants me.

“Couldn’t if I tried. Hey, close your eyes for a second.”

“We don’t have time, babe. We’re supposed to be there in forty-five minutes. I still have to get into my dress, and you know I like to give our parents a rundown of the latest bedtime routine before we go.” Luca’s routine changes all the time. A million small adjustments in a hopeless attempt to get longer stretches of sleep. I think at this point I’ve convinced myself that if we follow every step to a T, Luca will magically become a baby who loves to sleep. Dom’s accepted his fate. He says he’s learned to function as a caffeine-fueled zombie. I’m not giving up.

“I’ll only take a minute,” he says, striding into the small walk-in space with another small brown box in his hand, with a familiar rattle.

“Another one?”

He flashes me one of his perfect smiles, and I take the box and open it.

I’m still digging through the pieces, trying to find the one with his familiar—albeit almost illegible—handwriting.

Cheese.That’s all it says.

“Dom, what does this mean?” I ask.

He reaches above me, grabbing a gift bag I hadn’t noticed off the top shelf of our closet.

“This one requires some new tools.”

“Are you giving me sex toys in our closet while our family is downstairs watching our son?”

“No, babe, you’re a screamer. That would be poor planning on my part to give you something I couldn’t use right away without traumatizing everyone.”

I lightly slap his chest and he smirks in response.

Fucking smart-ass. Ugh, I love him.

“Open it.”

Not one to turn down a present—sue me, a girl can enjoy being spoiled—I toss the tissue paper over my shoulder to find a…

“Oh my god,” I whisper, hand coming to my mouth. I can’t believe it.

I’m holding my dream camera, a Canon EOS R5.

“Aiden thought you could use the upgrade,” Dom says, shoving both hands into his pockets and rolling back on his heels, an amused expression at my shock.

“Why? I can’t accept this.”

“Babe, he’s a professional baseball player. Let’s say thank you and take the camera. Besides, you’ve got a job to do tonight and he’s offering that as payment for his investment.”

“Okay, now I’m really lost,” I say, shaking my head.

“He’s asking her. Tonight.”

“Holy shit…Aiden’s proposing to Bectonight? And you’re just telling me thisnow? At the very last minute? What, does he not think I can keep the proposal plans a secret?” I say, with mock horror, because that’s exactly what he shouldthink.

“Uh,yeah. You and Bec have a hive mind. I tell you something and Aiden is texting me about it two seconds later because Bec’s already running her mouth.”

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