Page 37 of The Scandal You Started
“Hi,” Rayna said to River after opening the front door.
River ran a palm over his short, dirty-blond hair and smiled. He held a brown paper shopping bag in his other hand.
“Hi,” he said, his grey gaze slipping past her with a nervous flicker before he slunk his tall, slim frame inside.
She closed the door. “He’s in the kitchen, so head on through.”
River stopped before the stairs and cleared his throat. “I think it would be better if you led the way.”
“Why?” came a rough growl before Dominic appeared in the threshold of the kitchen. “Face me like a man instead of cowering behind a woman half your size.”
“Move back, Dominic,” she warned, heading past River.
“I should rip your head from your body,” Dominic snarled over her.
Reaching him, Rayna jabbed a finger into his broad chest. “You made a promise, Dominic. Don’t you dare forget that. Move. Now.”
He rolled his thick shoulders and rubbed his teeth together before finally dropping his piercing gaze to her. He turned away, and Rayna followed. River’s slow steps tailed her.
Dominic stopped at the edge of the fluffy, pale blue rug that lay between the small dining table and sofa. Rayna stood next to him, and River formed the third point of their triangle.
A tense silence fell between the two men that Rayna refused to break for them.
Eventually, her fellow historian cleared his throat. “I would like to apologise,” River said. “For bringing you here under false pretences, and for the fact that you were in quarantine for so long.” He shifted on his feet. “It’s not ideal for anyone, especially not for you, because you didn’t understand what was going on. And I’m sorry for that. I really regret what you were put through, and I would change how it happened if I could. I hope you can forgive me one day and that we can come to an understanding as we had done before this.”
Silence.
Dominic’s fingers moved restlessly by his sides as his brows pinched and un-pinched like his anger was reluctantly slipping away. Then he let out a heavy sigh.
“I do not appreciate being made to look like a fool,” Dominic grumbled. His glare eased up. “ButI suppose I am not displeased about being here, and that would not have happened without you.” He stuck his hand towards River after a long pause. “I am still disgruntled over what I was put through, but I accept that it had to be done.”
The tension in River’s shoulders melted as he smiled and set his palm against Dominic’s. “Thank you.”
The way Dominic shook River’s hand looked like it rattled the latter man’s bones, and with the way Dominic smirked, it was clear that had been his intention. But it was better than bloodshed, and Rayna couldn’t blame Dominic for wanting a little bit of revenge.
Still, she rolled her eyes as he grinned proudly while poor River flapped his reddened hand around with a grimace of both pain and amusement.
“Now that we’ve got that out the way, how are you?” Rayna said to her colleague as she rounded the breakfast bar into the kitchen. “Also, tea or coffee?”
“Tea, please. And yeah, I’m good. You guys?” River headed towards the dining table and set the brown bag atop it.
Rayna grabbed the kettle on the way to the sink. “We’ve been good. Busy trying to satiate Dominic’s curiosity.”
“She refuses to let me step outside,” Dominic added as he tracked River to the table and peeked into the bag.
“I’ve told you five times already, I’ll show you around outside tomorrow. Then you can bloody live out there for all I care,” she rumbled as River grinned between them.
“Stubborn witch,” Dominic muttered, not exactly under his breath. Rayna glared at him as she set a kettle full of water back on its base in the corner of the breakfast bar and slapped it on.
“Kelly said hi,” River said. “She wanted to come, but one of the boys at the café called in sick, so she had to cover his shift. But I brought everything you asked for.”
“Yeah, she messaged me. And thank you for grabbing the stuff.”
“What is all this?” the curious, oversized cat questioned, his nose still stuck in the bag.
“It’s all for you,” River answered. “You can take it all out if you want to.”
Dominic’s honey-coloured irises lit up, and he stuck his hand straight in.
