Gwen laughed because there was just no way not to when Mia was in one of her hyper moods, spewing sentences one after another. Plus, if she could manage to put off answering questions about Dominic for a few hours, then she’d happily agree to lunch. “All right, sounds good. Meet you in the lobby at noon?”

“Yep, sounds good. And don’t even think about sending me some brush-off text either because I’ll come find you,” Mia warned before grimacing at her watch and hurrying out much as Dominic had done.

Gwen turned to her computer to begin her morning and try to block out the pangs of loneliness that were already hitting her at the thought of Dominic being gone for a few days. How in the world was she supposed to deal with not having him in her life at all? Surely that was just around the corner.

He had acted so strangely last night at her apartment. She’d thought it was cute that he had been so involved in the movie they were watching. Most men would avoid a romantic comedy, and even though he hadn’t seemed thrilled with her choice at first, he’d completely gotten into it after a while. She had thought him completely adorable when he’d been so angry at the mother-in-law for all of the tricks she’d been pulling on her future daughter-in-law.

After the movie, though, it was as if his mood had taken a nosedive. Unlike other nights, he had been more than ready to leave and had made no moves toward spending the night. Heck, it wasn’t as if she’d never dated a guy in a hurry to leave so she certainly knew the signs when their eyes suddenly looked a million miles away and they started shifting on their feet as if there were ants in their shoes. It was a first, though, for Dominic to act that way. He always seemed to have nowhere else he’d rather be than with her. She got the feeling at the end of the evening that he’d rather be anywhere else—or maybe just with anyone else. The worst part was that he’d made a point of asking her when she’d know if she was pregnant and had even suggested taking an early pregnancy test. The warning bells of his imminent departure from her life had begun going off like sirens.

Gwen planned to buy a test after work today. She knew her body, though, and she was almost certain that she wasn’t pregnant. She’d also had that one instance of spotting. She could have already taken a test, but a part of her just wanted to pretend that she was happily involved in a new relationship with a wonderful man because they liked each other—and for no other reason. Was a condom mishap the only way that she could have a man like Dominic in her life for more than one night? What a depressing thought.

She was still brooding when her boss called a few moments later to ask her to work on a new project. Gwen tried to interject some small amount of professionalism into her tone as she asked him questions and made notes. If her mood was any indication, she should be grateful for her job today. Otherwise, she was certain she would be staring at the walls of her apartment and bemoaning yet another relationship. How pathetic; she’d barely dated the man for more than a few weeks, but she knew it would take so very much longer to get over him. God, she hated men—she really did.

*   *   *

“I’m telling you, Crys, you should have been in Gwen’s office this morning. Dominic came in to deliver her morning coffee, which by the way is so freaking sweet, and then he was all, ‘I know you want to high-five me, but I’m kissing you.’ And, boy did he ever. My lips were practically tingling as he locked his mouth on hers. After that, if I hadn’t had meetings stacked up, Seth Jackson would have had a surprise visitor this morning. The whole thing made me seriously horny.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and knew she should be mortified, but she giggled anyway. Crystal’s face was the color of a tomato as she fanned herself. “Like that’s anything new—you get that way from walking by the produce stand down the street.”

Wiggling her brow, Mia grinned. “Hell, yeah, I do. All those cucumbers just waiting for a new home.”

At Crystal’s puzzled look, Gwen started to choke on a bite of food and almost asphyxiated before getting herself under control. “Mia, geez, get a grip on your body. You don’t really use those . . . No, don’t answer that!” Gwen added quickly.

“You can use them for—that?” Crystal asked with rounded eyes.

“Crys, don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” Gwen warned while shaking her head. The last thing she wanted to hear was an in-depth explanation of Mia’s experience with produce.

“Whatever, you prude,” Mia smirked. “Since you don’t want to talk about me, let’s get back to you. What is going on with that military stud of yours? You seemed upset this morning, but he certainly walked into your office and laid claim to you as if nothing was amiss.”

Gwen felt the smile that had been on her face begin to drift at Mia’s question. A part of her just wanted to brush the whole topic off and act like everything was fine, but the other part needed the support of her friends so she found herself on the verge of tears in the blink of an eye as she admitted, “I think he wants out.”

Mia blinked in surprise before asking, “Out? As in breaking up?”

“That’s the one,” Gwen said shakily.

Looking confused, Crystal asked, “But I thought you said he was—you know, affectionate this morning in her office?”

Before Mia could answer, Gwen said instead, “He was just coming by to tell me he was going out of town. A few things happened yesterday that lead me to believe that he plans to move on—soon.” Mia motioned for her to continue. “Well, yesterday morning I decided to take Dominic coffee since he always brings me one. I was almost to his office when I saw him speaking with Gage outside the doors. I didn’t want to be rude so I took a few steps back and waited around the corner for them to finish talking.”