Page 54 of Always You
“I missed you, Daddy.”
I wasn’t expecting Dante to run to him, but I’m sure he feels the connection.
Dominic swallows the rock in his throat he replies, “Me too, son.”
God, I’m ugly crying as I watch my son and Dominic together. Dominic reaches for my hand then he wipes my tears.
He whispers, “Thank you.”
I nod. He leans in to kiss the top of my head. I wrap Dante and Dominic in a bear hug. My two loves. With a rumble of Dante’s stomach, he giggles.
“I’m hungry, Daddy carry me inside and don’t put me down.”
He kisses him. “Never, my little man, never.”
* * *
After dinner, the two have stuck together like partners in crime. Watching them interact warms my heart. They are too much alike; the similarities are crazy. A smile reaches my eyes as I take them both in. Dante sits on Dominic’s lap as he tells him about pre-school and what he likes to do. Dante scrunches his nose and frowns.
“Daddy, you okay? You’re not sick no more?”
Dominic turns his gaze toward me, a deflated emotion crisscrossing his face.
I nod, assuring him it was okay.
“No, Dante, I’m good.”
Dante smiles gracefully. “Come on, Daddy, let’s wrestle, or do you want to play Spiderman?”
Dominic chuckles. “I have a surprise for you in my truck. Let me get it, okay?”
“I come with you, Daddy?”
“Get your shoes on,” I tell him, “and you can go with Daddy to the truck and get it.”
He runs upstairs to get his shoes. This has gone better than I thought. I knew Dante would love to see his father, but I didn’t expect him to warm up to him this quickly. I’m cleaning up the kitchen when I feel tree trunk arms wrap around my waist—peppering kisses along my collarbone. I tense at his touch. This is all too new to me.
“I missed you,” he mummers, his hot breath on my neck—liquid heat courses through my veins.
My body heats with his soft touch, my heart beating at a carnal speed. His hands roam to my ass; he grabs and squeezes. Genuinely, I feel like I’m in some dream. They led me to believe he was dead. But here he is, standing before me… kissing me. The pain of his betrayal has me gripping the counter.Give it a chance, Mila. You won’t know unless you try,I say to myself.For Dante,I add silently.
“Been wanting to do this since I walked in.”
I look up, resting my head on his chest to get a good glance at him. He winks with a cocky grin. Dante runs down the stairs breathing heavily.
“Ok, Daddy found my shoes.”
“All right, little man, let’s go to the truck.” Dante’s eyes widen, he looks at Dominic up and down.
“Daddy, you’re so strong; you have lots of muscles. I want to be like you, strong and have lots of muscles.”
Dominic barks a laugh. A light in my heart lights up.
“Oh yeah? Well, you gotta eat your vegetables and exercise.”
Dante scrunches his nose. “Okay, I’ll try, but I don’t like vegetables.” He sighs.
Oh, Lord, they walk back in with bags of toys from Target, like eight, maybe ten bags full.
