Page 11 of Better Left Unsaid

A phone rang, the noise so loud it couldn’t be ignored. “I’m sorry about that,” she said, clearly thinking it was hers. She dug into her purse and pulled out her phone, only it wasn’t ringing.

Holy hell, Dom, couldn’t you put your phone on vibrate?

“Whose phone is that?” she asked, looking around before her eyes landed on mine.

I cleared my throat. “It must be mine,” I lied, my eyes shifting to my phone on the counter. Maybe she didn’t notice it. . . right next to her purse. Darn was I up a creek without a paddle.

“No,” she replied slowly. “No. It’s right here, and it’s not ringing. It’s loud as shit, but it sounds like it’s far away, like it’s upstairs.”

I puckered my bottom lip and shook my head. If I kept denying it, she’d leave it alone, right? Plus, it wasn’t like she’d ever figure out that Dom was here. It wasn’t possible. “I don’t know what you—”

Then the ringing phone was the least of my worries. A deep, masculine voice boomed as Dom must’ve stumbled into something getting to his phone. I closed my eyes as Jade stared at the stairs, raking her teeth over her lower lip. “I’m sorry,” she immediately said, grabbing her purse and getting up. “You have company. Wait”—she signaled to my robe—“isn’t that your friend Dom’s car outside in your driveway?”

I didn’t say anything. What could I say? I couldn’t very well deny it. Unless I said the television had automatically turned on in my bedroom. Which wasn’t plausible. And didn’t address the car question.

Before turning on her heel, she looked at me, a silly grin on her face. “Oh my—”

“It’s not what you think it is,” I said, trying and failing miserably. I knew I had failed almost as soon as the words left my mouth.

The look on her face said it all. “I take it people don’t know about you two?”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. So much for keeping it our little secret. “No, and we’d like it to stay that way.”

She mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key. “You have my word.”

I had no choice but to take her at her word. So I nodded.

“I should have put two and two together sooner.” Then she turned and walked to the door, her hand on the knob as she threw over her shoulder, “If you ever need someone to talk to, Maria, I’m here. I can’t imagine it’s easy fooling around with your best friend. No judgment here, though. Honestly, I think you and Dom would be great together.”

Before I could respond, she was gone. Which was just as well because I exhaled sharply, releasing the biggest breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. I placed my head in my hands as I leaned on my elbows on the counter.Now what?

Walking upstairs, all I could think of was how I was going to tell him. Then, after opening the door, I saw him sitting on the bed, looking so stinking handsome as he smiled at me. “I’m so sorry,” Dom said immediately. “Jeff called, and I tried to get it to stop ringing, but—”

“Doesn’t matter.” I gave him a shaky smile. “That was Jade.”

“Does she suspect anything?” he asked, coming to stand in front of me, his hands on my arms.

I shook my head because there was no suspicion about it. “Suspect? No. She knows.”

The irony of the situation was what blew my mind the most—all this time and nothing. No one found out. One night. One single night and Jade of all people had to figure it out.

Life.

Chapter Four

Dominic

“I don’t getit. You leave my lunch on your doorstep? What did I ever do to deserve such treatment?” Marco, one of my younger brothers, strolled into my place holding a paper bag—mypaper bag that was just delivered to my doorstep according to my phone’s app.

I swallowed my last sip of orange juice and peered over the top of the glass, watching him.

He gave me a head nod in greeting and placed the bag on the kitchen counter.

“That’s not for you. It’s for Maria,” I said, finally acknowledging his statement.

Marco opened the bag and stuck his head in, inhaling the aroma in a loud, obnoxious way that only he would do. Then he sighed as though an elephant was sitting on his chest. If he didn’t already have a place at my family’s company making and selling caskets, I would have insisted he get an agent and audition to be an actor.

“Is she here?” he asked, sounding incredulous and looking around.

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