*   *   *

Dominic had been by Gwen’s apartment more times than he could count after getting home from Charleston Friday night. On his second round of knocking at her door, Shannon had come out of her apartment and told him that Gwen was visiting her sister for the weekend. He’d stood there with his mouth hanging open, shocked that she hadn’t told him she was going out of town. Suddenly, another voice said, “Does Gwen not love you no more, Domino?”

He tried to hide his wince when he looked up to see Megan standing beside her mother. He hoped that Shannon would come to his rescue, but the only thing she said to her daughter was, “Honey, it’s Dominic, not Domino.” He guessed he should be grateful she called him something close to his name unlike poor Baxter, or Bastard as Megan called him. Now both females stood apparently waiting for him to answer the original question.

“Er—you’d probably have to ask Gwen that question,” Dominic finally said as he started edging backward.

Relentless as always, Megan moved closer as he tried to put some distance between them. “Did you do something stupid and make her mad?”

He looked over the little girl’s head, silently beseeching Shannon for help, which she ignored. Dammit, what was this, “give Dominic hell” day?

Finally, Shannon said, “Megan, we don’t call people stupid, remember?”

Megan put her hands on her hips, full of attitude, as she huffed, “I didn’t say Domino was stupid. Grandpa says that people do stupid stuff sometimes like Daddy. It’s not like calling them dumb or nothing, Mommy.”

Shannon raised a brow, but otherwise didn’t comment, leaving the burden of conversation once again on Dominic. He felt a moment’s sympathy for Shannon’s ex because apparently he wasn’t the most popular man in the world if Megan’s recollections were any indication. “I try really hard not to do um—stupid things, Megan, and I really hope that I haven’t upset Gwen in any way.” Crooking his finger and motioning the little girl closer, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Because she’s really pretty and I want to be her boyfriend.”

Megan started giggling, bringing a smile to both her mother’s and his face. He was still smiling when he walked back toward his apartment before he heard Megan throw over her shoulder, “Good luck, Domino.” Somehow, those three words sounded almost ominous.

He had his cell phone out and was dialing Gage before he got his door shut behind him. When the other man answered, he blurted out, “She went to visit her sister this weekend and didn’t even let me know.”

Sounding puzzled, Gage asked, “Who?”

“Gwen! Who else would I be talking about?” he snapped impatiently.

“Ohhh, gotcha. So, what’s the big deal?”

“Didn’t you hear me? She just took off without telling me anything. Finally, our neighbor let me know when I was pounding on her door for the second time in an hour.”

“Dude,” Gage sighed, “I thought we talked about this? You were supposed to let her make the moves for a while. I mean, you know there is no reason that you have to stay glued to her side since the baby scare is resolved, so you can chill out and see where the chips fall. You feel me?”

Dominic dropped onto his couch, fighting the urge to fling his phone. “I know this may come as a surprise to you, but I actually like being with Gwen. I’m in love with her, and I don’t want to lose her.”

“Oh, come onnn,” Gage groaned. “You barely know her. It’s really not like you to lose it like this.”

“Exactly. Doesn’t that tell you that she’s different for me? I’ve never come close to saying those words to a woman I was dating before. I was gone on her before we even got together and nothing’s changed that.”

“All right, all right.” Gage hastened to adjust his plans. “We’re still on the right track here with the whole giving-her-space thing. If she took off without letting you know, then she’s probably trying to tell you that very thing, right?”

Dominic pondered his words before reluctantly saying, “You might have a point. Otherwise, she surely would have told me that she was going away. I mean I’ve had my phone on me, and she hasn’t called or texted.”

“Please tell me you haven’t been blowing her phone up?” Gage sounded as if he was bracing for the answer and expecting the worst.

“Just once,” Dominic admitted. “I didn’t want her to be trying to answer her phone if she was driving.”

Sounding relieved, Gage said, “Okay, that’s good. We can work with that. Now you know that she’s not home, so you sit back and relax. Let her come to you when she gets back. Don’t leave like a thousand sticky notes on her door or tons of texts on her phone. If she didn’t call your ass, then there’s a reason, and you just need to respect her wishes. I know this is a tall order, but try to get it together. Women like a little bit of a challenge, you know, just like men do.”

“Makes sense, I guess. I just sit here and do nothing. Maybe I better make a beer run,” Dominic added as he got back to his feet. He wasn’t sure if a Corona—or twelve—would help, but it sure as hell couldn’t hurt. He’d always been a man of action and this sitting around shit was going to be torture.

Chapter Fourteen

As if her legs were a complete traitor to the rest of her body, Gwen paused outside of Dominic’s door when she got home Sunday evening. Her phone was still broken so she hadn’t talked to him all weekend. Even though she missed hearing his voice, there was some relief in knowing that there was no reason to stare at her phone every five minutes, hoping he’d called or texted. Maybe life was better before cell phones.