Page 78 of Call Me Anytime
I shove on a pair of jeans and a tank top and make a quick stop in the bathroom to toss my brown locks up into a high ponytail before heading for the kitchen.
Hunger is actually a feeling I can tolerate now, and I’m certain, even though I missed eating dinner with Lovie and my mom, we have enough chili and sourdough leftovers to last a week.
Just as I reach the entryway of the house, my ears detect laughter and chatter coming from Lovie and my mom, but there’s another voice present that my brain is having a hard time comprehending. It’s deep and husky and 100 percent male, but there’s no way it’s who my mind wants to tell me it is.
Don’t be ridiculous, Hannah.
I pad into the kitchen, but I stop on a dime at the sight of Dom’s familiar light-brown hair. He sits beside my mother on the sofa, both of them facing the television as an episode ofNCISplays on the screen. Lovie sits in one of the chairs to the left of the coffee table, her fingers busy with her knitting kit.
“Well, hey there, sleepyhead,” Lovie greets me when she looks up from her lap and meets my eyes. “Have a nice nap?”
I nod, but I don’t say anything else because my mind is too busy trying to understand why Dom is here. He glances over his shoulder, and a huge smile crests on his lips when he sees me.
Mere seconds later, he’s on his feet and heading straight in my direction.
Anxiety forms a wall of nerves inside my chest as I watch him stride across the hardwood floor. He pauses to grab something from a chair that sits by the large wooden dining table, and it doesn’t take me long to realize it’s a bouquet of flowers.
Beautiful, vibrant flowers in all colors, shapes, and sizes.
His smile is breathtaking, downright heart stopping, as he holds the bouquet out. “These are for you.”
He brought me flowers?I am so confused.
“Uh ... thanks.” I take them in my hand, glancing down at them for a quiet moment or two before I find the strength to look back into his eyes. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to see you,” he says, as if it makes complete sense.
“But you’re off the case. Shane told me this morning.”
“Yeah.” He nods and his smile morphs from big and bold to soft. “I am. But I’m not here for the case, Hannah. I’m here for you.”
I furrow my brow. “I don’t really understand. I—”
“Technically, I’m here because I wanted to see if you’d be interested in going out on a date.”
“A date?” I blink. “With you?”
“Well, yeah.” He chuckles at that. “I mean, I’m hoping the date would be with me. Can’t say I’d be too thrilled if you left the house with some other bastard.”
He wants to date me?
“And I know this might be a little presumptuous, but since Lovie said you haven’t eaten yet, I figured we could still make tonight work,” he adds, but all I can do is stand there, clutching the flowers in my hands.
“Oh, c’mon, Ziva!” my mom calls from behind us. “Put Tony out of his misery and say yes!”
“Sherry!” Lovie chastises, but she does it through a tickled grin.
“What?” my mom questions, confusion in her voice. “These two belong together. Even Gibbs knows it.”
Dom’s eyes are locked with mine, and my heart can’t decide if it wants to pound erratically or come to a halt. Dom is here, asking me out on a date, and it’s the exact opposite of the scenario my mind has been conjuring up since Shane told me he was off the case this morning.
“Today’s been a bit confusing,” I say honestly but also quietly, so my mother doesn’t try to chime in again. “Shane showed up at work and you weren’t with him, and I haven’t heard anything from you since you left Sunday morning.”
“I know.” He frowns and nods. “And I’m sorry,really sorry, but it was all for a good reason. I needed to make sure we were no longer crossing a line.”
“What does that mean, Dom?”
“I took myself off the case.”
