Page 12 of After Midnight

“I have no idea. I just know that after the supermarket incident, she never took me out in public again, and when both my dads returned home a few days later, she left and never came back.”

“Oh, man, that’s too much,” Dominic said. “It’s a wonder she didn’t quit being a nanny altogether after that.”

He continued teasing me about what had to be my most embarrassing childhood memory as we lounged comfortably onthe couch, our knees occasionally brushing. After he’d stopped laughing, he locked eyes with me and smiled.

“You’re cute as hell when you blush, did you know that?” he asked, which of course just made me blush harder. “I look forward to seeing what shade of red you turn when you make amends with Miss Rita.”

I smiled despite myself, the idiot in me resurfacing. “Cute, huh? Does that mean I’ll be getting a good night kiss after all?” I asked. Although my nerves were dancing like a bunch of ballerinas inside me, I managed to sound flirty.

Dominic looked at my lips, then back up into my eyes. “Well, you make an intriguing argument.”

He leaned toward me, and just as our lips were about to connect, I heard giggling, then a girl’s voice whispering loudly, “They’re gonna kiss!”

Dominic’s face fell and sunk back on the couch. “Sorry,” he mouthed to me. Then he turned and yelled, “I know two young ladies who are not going to make it to their first year of high school unless they hightail it back to bed right now!”

I caught a flash of movement near the banister before hearing the girls thunder up the stairs, squealing the entire way. I wondered how they’d managed to sneak downstairs without us noticing.

“I’m sorry, Dillon,” Dominic said as he stood and extended a hand to pull me up off the couch. “We need to call it a night. Text me, though. Maybe we can go out sometime. Like after those two have turned eighteen.”

I smiled. I knew the moment we’d been interrupted that he’d kick me out. As disappointed as I was to miss out on our first kiss, I was surprised to realize getting the boot didn’t bother me. Dominic was only twenty-one, but he was in every way a family man, and I didn’t want to interfere with that.

When we reached the front door, I asked, “Wanna meet me for dinner sometime? Maybe before my next set at the club?”

He shrugged. “It all depends on whether I can get away or not. I’ll let you know.”

Within seconds, I was out the door and sitting alone in my car. I couldn’t stop replaying the evening’s events in my head on the drive home. Despite its abrupt end, it really had been an unexpectedly fantastic night.

Dominic was… God, he was so sexy and I found his protective family man vibe beyond hot. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking about what that really meant. He was my dream guy, and he was also really tied down.

“I’m not ready for that kind of responsibility,” I admitted to myself in a whisper. The idea of being a father, or even just a father figure, at this point in my life had me breaking out in a cold sweat. Hell, I’d never even looked after a pet, let alone two impressionable little human beings.

Then I took another deep breath and let it out on a sigh. I was lying to myself. I’d always wanted kids, a family like my own. Not anytime soon but then again, watching an amazing man about my age take care of his sisters made my heart feel all sorts of funny things.

If I wasn’t careful, it would take less than a minute to fall head over heels for Dominic and his sweet sisters. Was I ready to open up my heart like that and risk having it stomped on? I sucked at relationships. My ex Rodney was proof enough of that. Then I realized I was being ridiculous.

“I haven’t even kissed the man yet!” I said aloud, chuckling. Here I was practically envisioning wedding bells and parent-teacher conferences with Dominic, and we’d only just met. “First things first. Date number two.”

Chapter five

Dominic

As soon as I shut the door on Dillon, I started up the stairs and yelled, “You two are in so much trouble!”

Of course, I only got giggles in response. Both girls were pretending to snore when I entered their bedroom.

“So,” I said in my best Miss Rita voice, “what have you got to say for yourselves?” When they continued to ignore me, I plopped down on the reading chair and waited.

Alli peeked an eye open first, then turned to me and asked, “Do you really like him?”

I shrugged. “Don’t really know, to be honest. I haven’t known him long.”

“But you were gonna kiss him,” Olivia accused, finally dropping the sleeping ruse and sitting up.

“Yeah, I was. Why, do you disapprove?” I asked, not really wanting to have this conversation with my little sisters.

Olivia plopped onto her back and put her hands behind her head. “It’s not that I disapprove, it’s just we don’t know much about him.”

I nodded, once again silently questioning my judgment in having invited Dillon over at all. I really hadn’t expected anything to happen—oralmosthappen—between us tonight. Olivia’s perceptiveness left me feeling wary.

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