Page 25 of Masters of Pleasure
ChapterEight
Domi
“That was Mitch.Mitch.Your… our Mitch.”Rae quickly changed the pronoun, shaking her head as she pulled away from the hospital’s roundabout.Ana was strapped into the backseat behind Rae, and Domi couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder every couple of seconds to make sure she was okay.Mostly she looked tired but didn’t seem to notice what Rae had said.
Considering Domi had never so much as mentioned Mitch’s name around Ana, she wouldn’t have been surprised if her daughter was curious, but she was either too exhausted or overwhelmed to take notice.Hopefully, she hadn’t noticed the little moment between Mitch and Domi right before they left.
Domi wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or worried about Ana’s distraction.She didn’t want Ana thinking too much about Mitch—or Murse Mitch, as he’d told her to call him, which had made her giggle—but she didn’t like to think that Ana was in too much pain or anything, either.
“Did we know he worked at the hospital?”Rae asked, giving her head a little shake of disbelief.Domi knew just how she felt.
Seeing Mitch in the emergency room had thrown her for a loop.On the other hand, she’d found his presence incredibly reassuring.He’d taken charge immediately, letting her focus on Ana and trusting him to tell her what to do.Not her normal position anywhere exceptineither Stronghold or Marquis, but she’d been grateful for it.For him.
Argh.Which did not help her feelings towards him.Watching him charm Ana… yeah.And he hadn’t treated Domi any differently after finding out she was a single mom.
“No, no, we did not,” she answered Rae, keeping her emotions out of her voice.“He’s a nurse there.”
“He called himself a murse,” Ana chimed in from the back seat, proving she actually was listening.She giggled.“For ‘man nurse.’”
“It’s okay to call him that, but only him,” Domi reminded her.“Others might not find it funny.”That Mitch not only embraced but encouraged the term was probably the least surprising thing about today.
“He would,” Rae said, echoing Domi’s thoughts.
“He stayed with us almost the whole time,” Ana said.“And helped Mommy.”
“Oh, he did, did he?”Rae asked, sending Domi a look as if she wasn’t sure she approved.Considering how tangled Domi’s feelings were over the man, she didn’t blame her bestie for being dubious.
“He was very helpful,” Domi said.She sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest.“It was nice having someone there I could trust to explain everything to me.”Even though she couldn’t see Rae’s expression, she could feel the other woman soften.
“Yeah, I can see that.”Rae glanced.“Weird to see him there, though.”
“Very.”
They drove in silence the rest of the way home, neither she nor Rae able to really gossip about Mitch while Ana was in the car.Not to mention, Domi was completely spent, as though she’d been put through the wringer.She heard Ana yawn.Today might be a nap day, which was not Ana’s usual anymore.
When they pulled onto their street, Marcus was there waiting for them, standing next to his car in front of their house.Domi blinked.It was almost weird to see him without Julia.She felt a little guilty, being relieved Julia wasn’t there, though that was nothing compared to the sick feeling filling her stomach at having to actually face her co-parent after letting their daughter get hurt.She knew it was an accident, and Marcus hadn’t sounded angry on the phone, just worried.He’d told her he was going to try to get out of work and meet them at home, but she hadn’t heard from him after that, so she’d assumed he hadn’t been able to leave work yet.
“Daddy!”In the backseat, Ana perked up when she saw Marcus standing in the driveway.As soon as Rae parked the car, Ana scrambled out of it, wincing when she moved a little too quickly, causing all the adults to wince too.“Daddy!”
“Hey there, who’s my brave girl?”Marcus asked, giving her a huge hug and picking her up in his arms.“I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to be at the hospital with you.”
“That’s okay.”Ana leaned her head against his shoulder, yawning again.“Mommy was there.And Murse Mitch.”
Rae snickered as Domi winced.Marcus just looked amused.Hedidn’t realize the significance of Ana’s statement.Ack.She wondered how long it would take for Ana to reveal Murse Mitch was Mommy’s ‘friend.’
Why did that make her feel guilty?
“Let’s get you inside, peanut,” Domi said, reverting to the nickname they’d used for Ana when she was a baby.Revealing just how tired she was, Ana didn’t protest the endearment.She stayed cuddled up against her Daddy, who carried her in.
Turning, she saw Jordan and Karen peering out of their front door.
“I’ll go update them,” Rae said, giving Domi a little push to follow Marcus and Ana.“You go talk to Marcus.”
Sighing, Domi did as she was told.They got a yawning Ana settled into her bed, where she fell asleep almost immediately, then Domi took Marcus to the kitchen to explain exactly how everything had happened and what the doctor had said.She glossed over Mitch’s presence, causing Rae to give her a look since she had joined them by then.
Whatever.
She didn’t feel like explaining Mitch to Marcus.It wasn’t as though he was going to be around, anyway.The encounter with Mitch was probably the only one Ana would ever have.
