“Sounds nice. You should write Hallmark cards,” she said and stood. “Why don’t you show me the master bath? I probably should be getting back soon.”
“All right,” he said, not batting an eye at her obvious change in topic.
He took her through the kitchen first and showed her a laundry room tucked behind it—or what would one day be a laundry room. They hit the small room next with a window overlooking the side of the house and the sloping hill. Then they stepped across the hall to the master room.
She’d been right. It did have an amazing view. Even empty and unfinished, Kate could envision what it would look like someday. And for a moment, she let herself imagine what it would be like to lounge in bed in this room. Naked and with Dominic’s warm, tanned skin pressed up against hers, enjoying a postcoital moment as they watched the sunset—or sunrise or rainfall or snowfall—just outside the windows.
The intimacy of it all unnerved her, and she quickly walked out and back to the main room. She stood in front of the fire, her hands raised to its heat. Dominic came to stand next to her, and she forced a smile as she glanced up at him. “Since you’re all about prying into my pathetic love life, I think it’s only fair that I turn the tables on you. Why is it that you’re not already married with a dozen kids tearing this place down?”
“I almost did get married. Once.”
She hadn’t expected to hear that, and she couldn’t keep the surprise from her tone. “You’re freaking kidding me. You?”
And then the surprise turned to another emotion, one that seemed to make her a little queasy.
Dominic had nearly married someone else.
Well, of course. That shouldn’t be a big surprise. As she’d already discovered the past few weeks, he was quite the package, and it wasn’t like he would have been living like a monk for all these years. So this insane moment of jealousy was absolutely ridiculous.
She hoped she sounded perfectly normal when she asked, “What happened?”
…
Dominic considered Kate’s question, the same question he’d asked himself for three years. “Fate. When I had to drop out of the architectural program, let’s just say Melinda was less than thrilled. We’d been dating about four years by then. And when I couldn’t confirm with absolute certainty when and if I was ever going to go back to earn my architectural license, she decided to get out while she could. It was a tough experience, but I’m glad I found out when I did, before we got married, had kids. Now she’s in California and married to some banker.”
“Melinda was an idiot.”
“She was only honest about what she wanted.” He shrugged. “Marriage to a carpenter wasn’t what she envisioned.”
Kate scowled and continued to shake her head, not convinced. She whirled around and stepped into the center of the room and threw her hands out. “This place is amazing. A certificate on the wall wouldn’t change your talent.” She stopped, and her voice softened as she looked back at him. “But I am sorry, Dominic. That was a shitty thing for her to do.”
“Well, like I said, it was a long time ago. I won’t deny that it about broke me once, but with time, I’ve gotten over it and come to realize what a close call the whole thing was. She did me a favor.”
“Even without a degree, you’ve accomplished so much.” She stepped over to the window and looked out. With her face in profile, he studied the soft curve of her neck, the fullness of her lips as she considered her next words. “Do you think you’ll ever go back to school and work on getting your license?”
His hackles raised, which was unfair, he knew. But going back to school had been such a point of contention with Melinda, he couldn’t help but feel weary when he heard the inquiry. “Cruz thinks I should. To get on with my life. He thinks I’ve given up on it because of hurt feelings from Melinda. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. But it’s not like that. I love the freelance jobs I’ve taken on, including yours. And with Benny on my back about this website—Sorensen Restoration, she wants to c
all it—well, I may not pull in as much as if I had an architectural license, but it might be enough for me. It makes me happy.” And it did.
She sighed wistfully. “It would be nice to have that freedom. To do what makes you happy without concern for the financial risk or loss.”
Relief flooded through him as he started to understand why she’d asked. Then he thought of what she’d said. Being happy. Having freedom. It was a curious statement from someone who seemed to have every reason to be happy. Her attention still outside, she watched a bird dive for cover from a branch.
Unable to resist, he took a few steps toward her until he was standing behind her, his breath so close to her neck that she had to feel it. Sense his proximity. Sure enough, he saw goose bumps rise on her skin, and she shivered. He wanted to reach out, wrap his arms around her. Tell her she deserved to be happy. Comfort her. But he kept his hands fisted at his sides.
His voice was thick with emotion when he finally spoke. “Whatever you do, Kate, make sure you never settle for anyone who doesn’t show you in every breath, every word, every touch that he loves and adores you every day of his life.”
She turned then, her eyes gray and dark like the skies outside. But there was a fierce yearning in their depths, and he knew that to take this next step might be dangerous to their friendship. But right at that moment, he didn’t care.
He needed to feel those lips under his again. Feel her give way to the pressure of his own mouth as she had that evening at his parents’. When it was hard to miss the heat and attraction that burned like fire.
When her gaze dropped to his mouth, he was lost.
…
The moment Dominic stepped close enough she could feel his breath on the sensitive skin of her neck, it was as if every nerve ending in her body was sizzling with heat and wanting. Now, as he stood just inches from her, studying what felt like every breath she took, she felt like she was going to burn up with the heat that seemed to surround him.
She looked into those brilliant blue eyes that held a promise in them that she was almost afraid to ask for. Then she studied him with the same intensity, and she longed to reach up and touch the strong curve of his jaw, already peppered with bristly hair, just to see what it felt like. To feel the fine lines around his eyes and his mouth that she looked to next. Lines that told her Dominic smiled more times in his life than he’d frowned.