Page 11 of After Midnight

Chapter four

Dillon

Ifollowed Dominic up the stairs, simultaneously admiring the view of his backside and thinking about the gentle touch we’d shared in the kitchen. I hadn’t even meant anything by it, not really, but hearing his breath hitch the moment I placed my palm on his arm sent a jolt of heat searing through me.

I pushed the visceral memory aside when we reached the top of the stairs, then watched as the girls made a wild dash from the bathroom to their beds. I guessed the house had at least five bedrooms, but for some reason, the girls shared a room.

After they’d crawled into bed and settled down, Dominic sat in a chair and pointed to a second one for me to sit down. I figured I must’ve passed whatever test he’d laid out for me, because he’d let me be a part of this bedtime ritual. Honestly, I felt kind of privileged to be included.

Dominic opened the book to a bookmarked page and began reading. I was amazed at how he read the story like a proper narrator, complete with different character voices. I’d initially thought it strange a girl Olivia’s age would be cool with her big brother reading to her, but now I understood. HearingDominic’s rich, expressive voice breathe life into the story, I was completely enthralled.

When he finished the chapter, he closed the book, got up, and kissed Alli’s forehead, then went over to Olivia, who held her hand out like a princess. My heart melted a bit when her brother took it, bowed, and kissed it. Both girls giggled at him playing along.

“I thought Dominic was the queen,” I blurted before I could stop myself. Good grief, me and my big mouth.

All three of them looked at me wide-eyed before the girls roared with laughter and Dominic gave me a withering look. “That, buddy, just cost you any chance of your own good night kiss.”

That only made the girls laugh harder. “Aah,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t make good on his threat. Even if he did, the look of delight on his sisters’ faces made it worth it.

Dominic shook his head as he walked past me, grabbing my elbow and pulling me out of the room, saying good night to the girls as we went.

I was still smiling when we stopped at the top of the stairs. “You’re good with them,” I said.

He looked at me questioningly. “Good with them? I’ve never thought about it that way. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve worked through plenty of temper tantrums over the years, but it’s not good or bad, it’s just… life.”

“I don’t have siblings, but even I know not all sibling relationships are that sweet.”

Dominic didn’t respond and as we reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned to me and sighed. “I’ve known them their whole lives and I’ve been their big brother for most of it, but I’m more like their parent than a sibling. After our papa died, our stepmother moved us out here, away from any remaining family. Not that I wanted the girls to be raised by my homophobicgrandparents,” he said, letting out an annoyed huff. “But I know Margarette’s motives were about control, the irony being that she also wants very little to do with us. So, besides Miss Rita, who has been a godsend, there isn’t anyone to take care of the girls but me.”

I nodded and fought the urge to wrap him into a hug. I had no solutions, no way of easing the stress or responsibility he felt in basically raising two young girls, but I also got the message loud and clear. Dominic was telling me he was a package deal. I wasn’t sure what I thought about that, but I did respect him for it.

“Enough about my family drama,” he said as we reentered the living room and plopped down on the couch, facing each other. “Tell me, why does Miss Rita hate you?”

And there it was. The question that ruined all the warm, fuzzy feelings I’d been nurturing. “Oh, yeah,that,” I said. “It’s bad.”

He smiled wickedly. “That’s why you’re going to tell me.” Apparently, Dominic liked to watch me squirm.

I sighed deeply, knowing I wasn’t going to get away with saying nothing. “Well, when I was four, maybe five, my dad was asked to perform in London. Obviously, a huge honor. Dad was gone for a month and during that time, my papa flew there and back several times to see him. Not wanting to upset my routine, they hired Miss Rita to be my nanny.”

Dominic hadn’t stopped smiling, which meant he was enjoying this too much and I hadn’t even gotten to the cringy bit. “Being so young, I don’t remember much other than once at the supermarket, I decided to run away from her. When I saw her coming after me, I might’ve started screaming, ‘Stranger danger!’”

“Wow,” Dominic said, his eyes comically wide now. “What did she do?”

“Fortunately, after the store manager threatened to call the police, Miss Rita managed to get my dad on the phone. He smoothed it all over, informing them I was indeed under her care while he was out of town. She was more than a little upset with me.”

“Oh, I bet.” Dominic was laughing. “I’m totally going to give her grief over that.”

“Oh no, leave it alone! Miss Rita is obviously still upset about it, no need to throw gasoline on the fire.” I was mortified enough at telling him the story. I didn’t need to give further cause for his beloved nanny to hate me.

“I can’t imagine a five-year-old being brave enough to do that. How oldareyou now?” I caught the humor in his voice.

I hung my head in embarrassment, and I could feel myself blushing all the way to the tips of my ears. “I’m twenty-two.”

“Only a year older than me. Clearly, you made a lasting impression on Miss Rita. Even after all these years, she remembers you plain as day.”

“I still don’t know what got into me,” I said, trying to justify the actions of my five-year-old self. “I remember feeling angry and confused about both my dads leaving, but Miss Rita was always so nice to me. I must have figured she was the reason they were gone, and if I could get her to leave, maybe they’d come back.”

Dominic didn’t buy the weak justification either and shook his head. “What did your dads say when they got home?”

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