Page 26 of Better Left Unsaid

Daphne was a gem. I couldn’t do my job without her. I actually started considering if I’d bring her with me to the editor-in-chief position. I’d need an assistant, and we had a great rapport. It made sense but could also hurt this department. Whoever I brought on to fill this role would need someone with experience to lean on. That was Daphne to a tee.

I pulled out a notepad and jotted a note reminding myself to figure this out later. Besides, let’s be real, it’d all started with a pros and cons list anyway. I hadBellissimato think about, not just myself.

“Who are the flowers from?”

A husky voice filled my space.Dom.My ears perked up, and I looked at him in my doorway.

Tilting his head toward the vase of white roses on the corner of my desk, he probed, “So?”

“Paolo Gicchio. You remember him, right? We collaborated on a collection with him last season for fashion week.” We’d debuted it in Milan, and it had been quite the hit. Minus all the drama with Bianca and Knox, and then Knox’s ex, Rina, who had wanted him back, having shown up with a man on her arm to make Knox jealous. . . it had been a whole ordeal and was definitely a story for another day.

Suddenly Dom had his tongue in his cheek, and his jaw was twitching.

I leaned back in my desk chair and crossed my arms. “All right, what gives? You look pissed.” Pissed would actually be an understatement. If steam could have come out of his ears, it would have. What was his problem?

He scoffed. “Please. I’m not.”Not buying it.

“Tell your jaw.” I rolled my lips and stood up, grabbing my purse. “Anyway, you ready to go to lunch?” As if on cue, my stomach growled.

He chuckled and placed a hand on the small of my back as we walked out together. “Yeah, and I don’t have to ask you. Your stomach spoke for itself.”

I laughed. “We’re going to the food truck by the park, right?”

“Sure. If that’s what you want.”

“What I want is greasy comfort food. I’m thinking mozzarella sticks and onion rings.” My eyes rolled back in my head, and I licked my lips just thinking about the greasy goodness.

“Did you bring a heating patch with you to work today? Because you always forget and then suffer in silence, which is no good. Maybe you should keep some in your desk drawer so you’re never without.”

I gasped. “How did you—” All right, I didn’t know why I’d attempted to ask that. This was Dom we were talking about. He pretty much knew everything there was to know about me. Well, that and the greasy food was probably a dead giveaway, considering I always craved things like onion rings and mozzarella sticks when I was menstruating.

He cocked a brow. “We’ve been friends for a long time,” he said, voicing my own thoughts. “Every time it rolls around, I hate to see you suffer.”

Nodding, I smiled. I lucked out in the friend department, what could I say?

“So, why’s Paolo Gicchio sending you flowers?” he asked as we stepped out of the building and into the New York sun.

Dom slipped his aviators on as I explained, “He’s in town and wants to take me out.”

“Why?”

I inhaled deeply and laughed, my shock and insult obvious. “I don’t know. Is it really that hard to imagine someone like Paolo wants to take me out?” It wasn’t like I didn’t date. And, sure, Paolo wasn’t like the other guys I’d dated—he was famous and successful—but did that really change anything?

Dom shook his head. “I didn’t mean that. I just don’t think he’s your type.”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure I have a type. Except nice. And someone who likes kids, obviously.” One glance at Dom beside me, and I could tell he was suddenly tense, but I had no idea why.

Through gritted teeth, he asked, “What else? You clearly have a list.”

My stomach turned over, which was the biggest sign that I didn’t want to be talking about this. It felt strange. If you could believe it, this was one topic we really hadn’t talked about. And we talked abouteverything. My menstruation, case in point. “I don’t know. Hey, what are you ordering?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“He lives in Italy, you know.”

Narrowing my gaze, I stopped and studied Dom. It looked like Dom. Sounded like Dom. But suddenly this man wasn’t the Dom I knew and adored. This wasn’t my best friend. He was acting off. “I know,” I said carefully, my words measured. He was making it out like Paolo and I were ready to tie the knot. He had simply suggested we go out. I wasn’t even sure it was his intention for it to be a date, that was just a leap Dom seemed to be making.

* * *

Dominic

---