Page 14 of The Secrets We Hide

Dominik squeezed my arm gently. “Lucas and I… we’re together. As a couple.” The silence in the room felt thick enough to cut with a blueprint cutter. Jason just stared at us, his mouth slightly agape. Finally, he swallowed hard. “Together? Like… dating together?”

I nodded, my gaze fixed on the worn grain of the conference table. This was the moment. The moment our professional lives, our carefully constructed normalcy within the firm we’d all built, could shift irrevocably.

Jason leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and the silence stretched, each second feeling like an eternity. My heart hammered against my ribs. Then, he let out a long, slow whistle. “Well, damn. Didn’t see that one coming.”

My shoulders tensed, bracing for… well, I wasn’t even sure what Disappointment? Disapproval? Awkward jokes? But then, a slow smile spread across Jason’s face, a genuine, if slightly surprised, grin. “Huh. Lucas, you sly dog. Keeping secrets, are we?” He looked at me, his eyes surprisingly warm. “And Dominik. Well, you’ve always been the quiet one. Guess you had other things on your mind.”

The tension in my shoulders eased slightly. This wasn’t the explosion I had feared. “So,” Jason continued, leaning forward again, his initial shock seemingly wearing off. “How long has this been… a thing?”

Dominik and I exchanged a look. “It’s been a few months,” Lucas admitted. “We wanted to… be sure. Before saying anything.”

Jason nodded slowly. “Right. Sure. Well.” He paused, then clapped his hands together, the sudden sound making me jump slightly. “As long as you two are happy, that’s all that matters. You’re both damn good at your jobs. What you do in your own time is your business.” He grinned again, a wide, genuine smile. “Though I gotta say, the office dynamics just got a whole lot more… interesting.”

Dominik let out a relieved sigh, his grip on my arm loosening slightly. I felt a wave of unexpected warmth wash over me. It wasn’t the rejection I had braced for. It was… acceptance. “Thanks, Jason,” Dominik said, a genuine smile finally breaking through his own tension.

“Yeah, thanks,” I echoed, the knot in my stomach finally unraveling.

Jason stood up, grabbing the rest of his sandwich. “Just… try to keep the office PDA to a minimum, alright? Some of us are trying to concentrate on blueprints here.” He winked, then headed for the door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a building to design. And apparently, a whole new office romance to subtly observe.”

He left, leaving Dominik and me standing there, a shared sense of relief washing over us. It wasn’t the dramatic coming-out scene I had envisioned. It was… surprisingly okay. More than okay. It was acceptance, from the man who had been like family for years. And in that moment, standing beside Dominik, the future felt a little less daunting, a little more… ours.

???

A few weeks later, Molly called, her voice bubbling with excitement. “Guess what? I met someone.” I smiled, genuinely happy for her. “That’s wonderful, Molly! Tell me everything.”

She launched into a detailed account of a charming lawyer she had met at a legal conference, her enthusiasm infectious. As she spoke, I realized how far we had all come. The initial awkwardness and uncertainty had paved the way for unexpected connections and genuine happiness, albeit in a form none of us had initially envisioned.

The three of us had dinner a few weeks later, Molly beaming as she recounted her blossoming romance. There was a comfortable camaraderie between us, a shared history that bound us together in an unexpected way. As I watched Dominik and Molly laughing together, a sense of contentment settled over me. Our journey had been unconventional, filled with its share of confusion and uncertainty, but it had ultimately led us to a place of genuine connection and unexpected happiness.

Chapter 13

Dominik

The question hung in the air, suspended between the soft jazz playing from Lucas’s speakers and the clinking of our wine glasses. We were on his balcony, the city lights twinkling below like scattered diamonds, a familiar backdrop to our quiet evenings. But tonight felt different. There was a subtle undercurrent of something significant in the way Lucas was looking at me, a warmth in his eyes that went beyond our usual affection.

He’d been a little quieter than usual all evening, a thoughtful crease in his brow that I’d been trying to decipher. Now, he’d finally set down his glass, turning to face me fully, his hands clasped in his lap.

“Dominik,” he began, his voice a low rumble that sent a familiar shiver down my spine. “We… we’ve been together for a while now. A good while.”

My heart started to beat a little faster. I had a feeling where this was going, a hopeful flutter taking flight in my chest.

“Yeah,” I replied, trying to keep my voice even, though a nervous anticipation was bubbling beneath the surface. “It has.” Eight months. Eight wonderful, unexpected months.

He took a deep breath, his gaze searching mine. “And… I love living here. I do. But sometimes…” He paused, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “Sometimes it feels a little… empty when you’re not here.”

My breath caught in my throat. Was this really happening?

He reached for my hand, his touch warm and familiar. “Dominik, I know you have your own place, your own routines. And I wouldn’t want to rush you or make you feel pressured. But… I was wondering… would you ever consider… moving in with me?”

The question, once a distant, hopeful fantasy, was now hanging in the air, real and tangible. A wave of warmth washed over me, a feeling of being truly seen, truly wanted.

A slow smile spread across my face, a genuine, heartfelt curve. “Lucas,” I said, my voice a little thick with emotion. “Are you… are you asking me to move in with you?”

He nodded, his own smile widening, a hint of nervousness still flickering in his eyes. “If you want to. Of course, if you want to.”

“Want to?” I squeezed his hand, my heart swelling with a happiness I hadn’t dared to fully embrace until this moment. “Lucas, I would love to.”

The relief that washed over his face was palpable, and he reached out, pulling me into a close embrace. The city lights twinkled around us, no longer just a backdrop, but a witness to this new chapter in our lives.

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