Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 376

Chapter 376

“Because every second I spend with you only reinforces my conviction that there is no better man than you out there.”

The smile that spread across his face was slow and pleased, as he leaned over to kiss my forehead while the driver pulled out of the driveway.

“I don’t trust granny anymore,’ he said quietly. “And I will not give her a chance to bring chaos into our lives. It is better I take care of the Imelda issue as soon as possible.”

I nodded, and he reached for his phone, and dialed a number. The call connected, and a man’s voice came through, bright and eager.

“Dominic! What a pleasant surprise. How are you? Is my Imelda treating you well? I hope you are taking good care of her.”

“About that.” Dominic’s tone turned careful. “I need to have a very important conversation with you, and it has to be today.”

The pause on the other end was brief. “Today? Well, we can meet over lunch. If you are serious, I will clear tny schedule.”

Dominic hesitated, his eyes flicking toward me, and I mouthed the words. “It’s okay.”

I knew why he was hesitating. He had promised me lunch every single day, and breaking that promise, even for this, would sit badly with him. But I would rather he deal with the Imelda issue and take it off his plate completely than let it keep gnawing at the edges of our lives.

“Lunch it is,” Dominic said into the phone. “Send me the location.”

He ended the call and let out a breath, then turned to me with an apologetic look. “I had planned for us to pick up Pat from the hospital and have lunch together before taking her to my house. But now…”

“To your house?” I cut him off.

He nodded, a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. “I know what you were up to. You had Pat’s house cleaned, and you were planning to move in there with her.”

“It’s just for two days.” The words came out quickly, defensively. “Pat is still shaken up. I am worried about her mental state, Dominic. That is why I wanted to stay at her place for two days. I cannot bring her to Helix until she is fully recovered, and I don’t want her to be alone.”

Then he added, “If Sparrow was not having his wedding in three days, I would have set our engagement party for that date.”

My breath caught. “Three days?”

“He has the earliest date.” Domhaic continued. “So we will have our engagement party a week after his wedding, and our wedding will follow a week after the engagement. Are you okay with that arrangement?”

“No.”

He looked at me, surprised.

“As much as I am very excited to marry you,” I said carefully, “that date is too close. How can the wedding be a week after the engagement? There is so much to be done. Perhaps we can keep it a month apart. The wedding happens a month after the engagement party, and that way, we have time to breathe.”