Chapter 26

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"Are you sure we aren't lost?" Amila asked, peering out the window of the all-black Mercedes G-wagon gliding down the two-lane road.

It felt like they were lost. Yellow, orange, and red leaf trees surrounded them; had been engulfing them for the last thirty-eight minutes. She felt like Little Red Riding Hood venturing deeper and deeper into the woods only she wasn't going to Grandmother's house nor did she have a red cloak. But there could be a big bad wolf in those woods. The woods were vast as an ocean with stories of their own.

She didn't know much about Connecticut. Only the spare facts she learned in school, some of the facts she'd forgotten after taking the test. It was a New England colony. A colony that birthed one of her mom's favorite actresses. Katherine Hepburn. She could recite the lines of Bringing Up Baby better than any nursery rhyme taught to preschoolers before the age of nine. And it was the home of her sister's favorite show she loved to hate-watch, Gilmore Girls.

"We're not," Dominic affirmed, his hand went to her legging covered thigh drawing her sight away from the window and back to him. He nodded to the screen in the middle of the SUV's console supplying them with navigation. "Google Maps got our backs."

She grinned withholding the fact that Google Maps got her lost once, in her own town; She ended up in front of constructions signs and a road that was dug up but that was three years ago and technology was almost advancing at the speed of light so maybe those miscommunications were fixed with the new satellite docked in space.

Her eyes went to the console, discovering the eta. In eleven minutes she'd be at the estate with all of the people that Dominic called his close family.

"So, let me make sure I remember correctly...your oldest brother is Daniel and he's a middle school teacher with two kids; boys and a wife that's a manager of Stamford Bank." She held up another finger and tilted her head trying to call back the memory of last night when he told her about his family. "You're sister, Danielle, is a nurse and her fiance is a pharmaceutical sales rep and they have a daughter that's seven."

"Correct." He briefly glanced away from the road.

"Don't do that." She slapped his arm. "Keep your eyes ahead. Bambi's mom could skip out here."

"We wouldn't want that." He said, sitting up straighter. He tightened his hand on the steering wheel and gently squeezed her thigh with his other. "You know they're not going to quiz you at the door. My family is laid back. My parents are cool. Hell, my mom might treat you like her second daughter."

He started to laugh then it faded leaving a gleam of sadness in his eyes. His Adam's apple rose and fell as he peered ahead growing silent.

She wondered where his mind went. What thought or memory streamed across his cranium from the words he uttered? She sat her hand over his letting her touch be the salve to aid the emotion that rendered him silent. His chest expanded beneath the cream cable-knit sweater as if the feel of her gave him the ability to breath deep. The corner of his mouth quirked up as she began to brush her thumb over his fingers absentmindedly while returning her vision back to the scenery around them.

"How's the pie?" He inquired, resuming the conversation between them. "Did it survive that sharp turn?"

She glanced over her shoulder remembering the windy turns that made her grip her seatbelt and the door. She wasn't going to tell him that he didn't drive as great as his chauffeur but it was true; the unfriendly overly professional man wielded the car down the road like every terrain was as smooth as buttercream.

"It's perfect." She told him, done inspecting the pie neatly in its container buckled in snuggly. "You think they'll like it. Not everyone favors pecan pie."

"They'll devour it. My dad will probably engulf all by himself." He smiled to himself and she knew the memory that filled his mind this time was a happy one. Last night, she learned that the man he called his 'dad' was his stepdad but since he was the only father figure he knew it was easy for him to claim the man that came into his life at the age of seven as his only dad.

"You didn't have to do that though." He said sliding his hand further up her thigh and he tapped the brake and turned into a driveway that appeared out of nowhere. "You didn't bring anything."

She shook her head as the SUV came to a full stop in front of a wrought-iron gate. "My mom told me to never show up to someone's house empty-handed."

"You could've just bought some wine or flowers." He fed the engine gas as the gate opened.

She shifted in the seat, turning towards him causing his hand to inch further up her thigh closer to her middle that was already damp; something she no longer got worked up about. Being near him, around him, in his presence always made her wet. It was Dominic's effect on her. Keeping her stimulated.

"You're telling me you didn't have fun making pie, last night." She eyed him waiting to see if he would twist his lips to lie.

After he came back to the kitchen with boxers on they got to work making pie. She put on his dress shirt since the robe kept undoing itself as she whisked. Silk didn't belong in the kitchen. He was a good boy, keeping his hands to himself while being an exceptional sous chef. He read her the steps of the recipe as she dumped ingredients in the bowl. He poked holes in the pie crust as she poured pecans in the syrupy mixture. He slid the pies in the oven and she set the timer. With a wait time of forty plus minutes, they decided to see how dark corn syrup tasted on skin. Apparently, it was delicious since her moans of titillation almost drowned out the timer's cry.

"I just mean, you didn't have to go through all that work." He informed, shifting the SUV into park in front of a massive manor.

"It wasn't a hassle." She leaned closer to him with a smirk. "I love baking with you."

"Same." He said giving her a quick kiss then caught the front door of the house opened being her head. "Let's keep that between us because my family thinks I can't cook and I want to keep it that way. I'd rather be on clean up duty. Holiday cooking is too damn stressful."

Her jaw dropped. "You deceitful little man. Lying to your mama." She playfully slapped his arm as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Call it what you want..." He started as he pulled the key from the ignition. "But my holidays are always relaxing." He opened the door and slid out and exclaimed. "The favorite has arrived!"

"Bullshit!" A man that looked like Dominic but was a little hefty boomed back as he made his way around the car.

Amila wore a smile as she pulled back the food's handle saying a small prayer to herself. She exited the car and before she could fix the hem of her black swing, midi skirt she was being hugged by a tiny human.

She smiled down at the little girl that gave her a toothy grin, sans some front teeth. "Hi, there."

"Hi!" The girl gleefully responded. "You're pretty. Are you a princess? Are you my new aunt?"

"Ah..." The question rendered Amila speechless.

"Candace, don't scare her away. She just got here." A woman that was the same shade as Dominic said as she plucked the girl's arms from around Amila's waist. "She's in the question phase." She held the child at her side. "I'm happy you could join us." Her eyes went to her brothers filled with love and contentment. "Really happy for you and him."

"Dani, what are you doing? " Dominic asked, lifting the little girl in his arms as she told him how much she missed him and what she had for breakfast because she saved him some.

"Nothing," Danielle said. "Just being hospitable."

"Just keep your hospitality to a minimum." He replied. "You know how you get."

Dominic and his siblings carried on as if they didn't live in different states or that they were in different tax brackets. He was still easy-going and down to earth even though he was a billionaire. Amila loved that.

"You coming?" Dominic asked, holding his hand out to her.

Amila hadn't realized she was frozen by the car or that her hand was resting against her chest with the steady beats of her heart thumping against her palm.

"Yeah." She softly said. "I'm coming."

Her hand fell from her chest and she took his extended hand remembering one of the questions the little girl asked trying hard not to dwell on what she hoped the answers could be. 





Why do you think Amila's hand rested on her chest?

What do you think she prayed for before getting out of the car?

Why do you think Dominic's sister is happy that Amila is there?

Do you think Dominic has the right idea to fake not being able to cook so that he doesn't have to help with the holiday feasts? 


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