Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 356

Chapter 356

I stared at the spread. “Did you buy out the entire hotel kitchen?”

“I bought out the entire city.” He grinned, setting down a container that smelled like heaven. “I already had a quick breakfast at home, so this is all for the two of you. Eat. I will speak with the doctor about Pat’s discharge.”

Pat slid off the bed, steadying herself on the rail. “I will use the patient’s bathroom.”

“I will use the visitor’s.” I grabbed my bag and got ready.

In the visitor’s bathroom I brushed my teeth, freshened up and changed into the outfit for the day: a deep pink jumpsuit that fell in one clean line from a fitted camisole top to a wide leg that pooled at the ankles, the color warm against my skin. I slipped my feet into nude heels, and pinned my hair up in a low knot, the way I wore it when I meant business. When I stepped out, Dominic’s eyes traveled from my heels to my face, and he smiled.

“Radiant,” he said, like a verdict. “Absolutely radiant.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” I waved him off, but I was smiling.

Pat emerged from the patient’s bathroom in her hospital gown, looking ten years younger than she had an hour ago. As we sat and ate, Pat questioned Dominic and Dominic told her about the proposal, the garden full of roses, the emerald-cut diamond, and I watched the light come back into her face. She asked a hundred questions, how he had done it, what I had said, whether I had cried, and every answer made her laugh a little more.

By the time we finished, the doctor returned and confirmed that Pat would be discharged in the afternoon. Dominic promised we would be there to pick her up.

Pat waved a hand. “Do not bother, Dominic. I can arrange my own ride. You two have a life to get back to.”

“It is not up to you to decide.” His tone left no room for argument. “We will be here.”

Pat opened her mouth, closed it, and shook her head with a smile that was almost her old one.

When it was time to go, I found I did not feel like leaving. I lingered by the door, adjusting the blanket at the foot of her bed, straightening the water pitcher. “I am sorry I have to leave you, Pat.”

“Leave.” She shooed me with both hands. “I want to sleep anyway. Go and be happy, godmother.”

The word hit me in the chest. I laughed, hugged her and walked out of that ward on air, Dominic’s hand warm in mine. I was going to be a godmother. Pat was going to keep her baby. After the pills and the blood and the cold floor of her apartment, that tiny life had held on, and now I was part of it. I could not stop smiling. I must have looked like a woman who had won the lottery.

Dominic noticed. “Your face is radiant,” he said as we crossed the lobby. “Your happy mood is rubbing off on me.”

“With a man like you as my own,” I replied, “it would be crazy if I was not insanely happy.”

He smiled, that slow devastating smile, and opened the car door for me. I slid in, and he closed it, walked around, and got in beside me. The engine had barely turned over when his phone began to ring.

He glanced at the screen, and something in his face shuttered. He stared at the number, thumb hovering, and let it ring until it stopped.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Someone close to my grandmother.” He set the phone face down on his thigh.

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The silence lasted three seconds. Then the number called again.

“Answer it,” I said. “It might be important.”

He hesitated, jaw tight, and then he pressed the button and put the phone to his ear. His grandmother’s voice came through the speaker, crisp and authoritative, so clear I could hear every word from where I sat. “I want to see you immediately, Dominic. It is urgent.”

“I only answered this call because I respect the owner of the number, Grandmother.” His voice was flat, polite and frozen. “What do you want?”

“I will go straight to the point. I saw the video of Celeste’s husband online. Now I understand why she gave up on. her husband and chose you.”

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