Page 54 of Masters of Pleasure
Which, of course, was when Domi and her family walked in.
Domi
Meeting up with Marcus and Julia in front of the restaurant, Domi was trying not to seethe.For some reason, Ana was completely invested in finding Domi a boyfriend and was convinced the purple dress was the way to do it.Ana had dressed up in her fanciest dress as well—her Elsa costume—so Domi wouldn’t feel so alone.Which was very sweet.Rae thought the whole thing was hilarious, and Domi could tell from her bestie’s significant looks, she thought Domi should tell Ana about Mitch.
But it was Ana’s birthday, which was definitely not the right time.
“Daddy!Mama Julia!”To everyone’s surprise, rather than running to her father’s arms, Ana went straight for Julia, stopping in front of her and pushing her face up close to Julia’s stomach.“Hello, baby!”
From the expression on Julia and Marcus’ faces, Domi wasn’t the only one who melted at the sight, and she could hear Rae let out a soft little sigh beside her.Damn, the kid was cute.She was going to be such a good big sister.
Wedging herself between Marcus and Julia, Ana grabbed both of their hands, pulling them forward.
“Come on, come on!Time for my birthday dinner!”
“Wow.”Marcus’ eyebrows went up in surprise when he saw Domi’s outfit, and Julia looked a little stunned.They were both dressed nicely but far more casually, Marcus in slacks and a dress shirt, while Julia wore a long-sleeved blue dress with a belted waist to emphasize her curves.It also hid any sign of a bump, if there was one yet.Rae had also gotten away with a dress and a sweater for when the evening got cooler.“You look nice.”
“Thanks,” Domi said, smiling with a smile that wasn’t really a smile.“Apparently, this is how I get a boyfriend.”
“Yes!Mommy is dressed up.”Ana did a little happy dance that killed some of Domi’s ire, though it brought up a whole host of other emotions.
Marcus’ brows drew together, but Julia lifted the hand that wasn’t holding Ana’s and covered her lips, sudden mirth filling her eyes.
“Oh, dear,” Julia said, clearly trying not to laugh.The expression on her face was friendlier than it had ever been, though, which was something.“I think something might have gotten a little lost in translation.One of the characters on a show we were watching got all dressed up to go on a date, and Ana had some questions.”
The anger Domi had been fighting drained away when she saw the pair’s reactions.Ana hadn’t been very clear on exactly how the topic of Domi getting a boyfriend came up.Obviously, it hadn’t.Her daughter had gotten theideaof a boyfriend in her head and decided Domi needed one.
Great.Was this a good segue to talk about Mitch?
No.Not tonight.Later.When she’d had some time to prepare what she was going to say and how to explain to Ana, she shouldn’t get too attached.Just in case.As if that was optional.
Sighing, Domi looked down at her daughter with loving exasperation.
“Yes, well.Let’s go inside and get dinner.Who knows?Maybe I’ll pick up a boyfriend while we’re here,” she joked.
Famous last words.
The moment they walked into the dining room, something—she didn’t know what—drew her eyes to the left of the room, even though the hostess was walking to the right, and she met Mitch’s blue gaze.Something about his expression was veryoff.Shocked, Domi ground to a halt as the man sitting across from Mitch turned to see what he was looking at.At the same time, Ana grabbed onto Domi’s waist, looking around her mother to see whatshewas looking at.
“Murse Mitch!”Ana squealed gleefully and was off and running before Domi could react.
“Ah, the famous Murse Mitch,” Marcus joked, sliding around Domi.
He didn’t seem to realize anything was wrong, though Domi could hear Rae muttering behind her, her words reflecting Domi’s thoughts exactly.
“Oh, shit.”
With Ana already at Mitch’s table and Marcus and Julia following right behind, there was no choice but to join them.A helpless glance at Rae didn’t provide any answers.Her bestie looked as nonplussed as Domi felt.She shrugged at Domi, dark eyes filled with sympathy, but it wasn’t as if there was anything she could do.
Groaning internally, Domi followed the train to Mitch’s table, where Ana was holding introductions.
“This is my Daddy and my Mama Julia.She has a baby in her belly that’s going to be my little sister or brother!”
Mitch smiled at Ana, but it wasn’t his usual smile.It didn’t light up his face.Was he worried about seeing her now when he knew Domi wasn’t ready to introduce him to Ana as her boyfriend yet?Or had something been going wrong before she’d even walked into the restaurant?The way he’d looked had been weird, but that might have just been surprise at seeing her.
The man across from Mitch was beaming down at Ana.He was a total silver fox, complete with a grey beard.
“Well, aren’t ye a cute wee one?”
