by A. K. Evans
“How long?” I blurted before I could stop myself. I quickly followed up with, “I’m sorry. That was rude. You don’t have to answer that.”
“Since the night I saved you,” he answered immediately.
That was more than six months ago. And he was Dom; he was beautiful. He probably could have had any woman he wanted.
“What?”
Dom’s arm that was draped across my body gave me a bit of a squeezed before he replied, “I knew from the minute I laid eyes on you that you were the girl for me. I can’t explain it; it’s just something I felt about you that was different than anything I’ve ever felt before. As time went by and I watched out for you, I grew more and more attracted to you.”
I stared at him, completely shocked.
“Just so you know,” Dom continued. “You were absolutely worth the wait, Ekko. I don’t regret waiting all that time for you.”
“Stop,” I ordered. “I can’t cry again. You can’t keep doing and saying all of this sweet, wonderful stuff. I don’t know how to deal with all of it.”
“You’re going to have to get used to it, fun size. After everything that’s happened over the last few weeks and especially after what happened last night, you’re mine now. I’m not going to hold back on giving you all the sweetness you deserve.”
He was a dream come true.
And that scared the living daylights out of me.
Before I could respond, Dom went on, “Speaking of being mine, I need to ask you something.”
“Okay,” I replied, nervously.
“Two things, actually. First, as you already know, Levi and Elle’s wedding is coming up. I’d love to take you with me. It’s the second Saturday in December, so you won’t have to worry about needing to work since you will have started your new job. Will you be my plus one?”
I wanted to go with him. I wanted to go so bad, but I’d seen Levi and Elle’s home. I had to believe that they had family and friends that were very well off. I wouldn’t fit in and I definitely didn’t have anything nice enough to wear.
Despite all my negative thoughts, I didn’t want to disappoint Dom. “I’d love to be your plus one,” I responded.
Dom grinned at me, pressed a kiss to my chest, and rested his head back on my shoulder.
“What’s the second question?”
“It’s a two-part question. For starters, is the diner open next Thursday?”
“No. Jerry and Christie closed it for the holiday.”
His arm tightened around me. “What were your plans for the day?”
It was Thanksgiving. I didn’t have anywhere to be and nothing was open, so my plans had consisted of sitting home and reading a book.
“Reading,” I rasped, the feeling of embarrassment creeping back in.
Dom lifted his head again. There was a look on his face that I couldn’t read, but he ultimately pushed past it and asked, “Are you willing to give that up for part of the day to spend it with me?”
With the way I felt about him and, perhaps more importantly, the way he made me feel, I would have given up reading for an entire week to spend Thanksgiving with him.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
My throat got tight. “I’m going to cry,” I warned him.
Dom shifted his body and slid up so his face was closer to mine. His hand came up to cup the side of my face and his thumb stroked along my cheek. Then, his voice was soft when he spoke, “Don’t cry.”
It was too late. A single tear had fallen. After he swiped it away with the pad of his thumb, he pressed a kiss to my lips. “You break my heart sometimes, Ekko.”
“I break yours?”
His eyes searched my face a moment before he responded, “The simplest things mean the world to you. It blows my mind.”
Of course, they did. How could he be surprised by that? When you had nothing, when you came from nothing, having anything meant something. And having someone meant everything. I didn’t tell him this. Instead, I whispered, “I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving with you.”
A satisfied smile broke out on his face, complete with dimples. He rolled to his back and reached out to the bedside table. Seconds later, his phone was at his ear. Keeping his eyes on me, he waited for someone to answer.
Suddenly, he spoke, “Hey, Mom. I’m just calling to let you know I’ll be bringing someone with me next week for Thanksgiving.”
He was silent, and I was mortified.
Mom?
He was planning to have me meet his Mom?!
I started panicking. I sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet up to cover my naked body.
“Yes, she does exist. I don’t know why you didn’t believe me before,” he argued, his tone teasing.
He told his Mom about me already. I didn’t know what to do with that information.
“Okay. See you next week. Love you.”
My heart.
Hearing him tell her he loved her.
“Did you just call your Mom and tell her I was going there with you for Thanksgiving?” I questioned him.
“Yes,” he started. “You said you were looking forward to spending it with me.”
I raised my brows. “Yes, I know that. I was looking forward to spending it with you. You made no mention of your mom.”
“It’s Thanksgiving, Ekko. We’re going to go to my parents’ house and spend the holiday with my family.”
“Your family?”
He nodded.
“Who would that be? Mom and Dad?” I worried, unsure if I could handle this kind of pressure.
Dom nodded again and added, “Among others.”
“What others?”
“Colton, Memphis, Kendall, and Jojo.”
My eyes widened. “Who?”
He smiled at me and said, “My brothers and sisters.”
My jaw dropped. “Your parents had five children?!” I asked, disbelievingly.
“Colton and Memphis are my older brothers. Mom and Dad wanted another baby and ended up having my older sister, Kendall. They didn’t want her to grow up without a sister, so they tried for another girl and got me. Jolie, or Jojo as we call her, is my baby sister.”
Wow. My father never even met me and my mother never wanted anything to do with me. Dom had two parents who wanted their children and cared so much about them that they made sure their daughter didn’t grow up without a sister. I couldn’t even begin to imagine a love like that.
“You want me to meet your family?”
Dom reached his arm out to me and wrapped it around my waist. After he tugged me toward him and I fell to my side, facing him, he answered, “Yes, I do.”
“Will they like me?”
His face dipped close and his voice was low, “They’ll love you.”
Warmth and longing spread through me. My arms went around his neck and I held on tight. Dom kissed me for a bit before he got up, with me in his arms, and announced, “Breakfast time.”
“Yay,” I cheered.
Dom chuckled and carried me out of the room.
Then, he made French toast for breakfast while I tried not to get too excited about his family loving me.
“I’m a little nervous,” I admitted.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about, Ekko. This is supposed to be a night of fun. There will be a lot of people there, but everyone is just looking to have a good time,” Dom reassured me.
It was Thanksgiving Eve and we were in his truck on the way to see Elle perform at Big Lou’s Restaurant and Saloon. Big Lou’s was in Windsor’s neighboring town, Rising Sun.
The last several days had been so busy and flew by.
I ended up thoroughly enjoying the day after my birthday because Dom decided to take the day off. He hadn’t originally planned it, but when he realized I didn’t need to go into work he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. It was so nice to have an entire, care-free day with him. We even snuck in a trip to the bowling alley.
On top of tha
t, I also got a call from Elle. She told me that she was going to be performing once more before her wedding and was hoping I’d be able to make it out to see her. Luck was on my side once again because Jerry and Christie let all of us know that we’d be closing early today. They wanted to make sure that the staff had plenty of time to spend with family and friends for the holiday. Normally, this wouldn’t have made a difference to me one way or the other, but now that I had someone to spend it with, my perspective had changed.
Dom and I were both back at work on Friday. I had to work the weekend, but he came over to my place on Sunday since I only ended up working through the lunch shift. I gave Jerry and Christie my two weeks’ notice. They were sad to see me go but completely supported me. To top it off, they told me that I’d always have a job there if I found myself in need of one. While I hoped I never had to take them up on it, I appreciated their kindness tremendously.
Monday was another full day at work. Dom and I didn’t get to see each other; though, we managed to connect that evening over the phone. On Tuesday, I went in to meet Alice at the library to sign all of the necessary paperwork to start my new job. Completing that paperwork felt so good. I felt like I was one step closer to living my dream, a dream that only a few short weeks prior I had just about given up on. That afternoon, after a quick stop at the mall for something, I was back at the diner and worked until close.
And finally today, I worked nearly the entire day. It was so busy at the diner. I hadn’t expected it to be as busy as it was, but the consensus was that nobody wanted to cook the day before they had to prepare Thanksgiving Day feasts. I didn’t mind because by the time we closed tonight I had had one of my best days ever for tips at the diner. I wasn’t sure if it was the holiday spirit or something else, but whatever it was I was grateful.
In fact, ever since that first night I stayed at Dom’s, my financial situation had improved. I had managed to get two months’ worth of rent payments put in the bank plus a little extra. My kitchen was stocked, and I was no longer worried about where my next meal was coming from.
“It’s just…well, I’ve never really done this before. I don’t know what to expect.”
Dom reached across the center console, wrapped his fingers around my thigh, squeezed, and said, “To enjoy yourself. That’s all you need to do tonight. It’s going to be fine.”
I covered his hand with mine, stared straight ahead, and tried taking a few settling breaths to calm myself.
A few minutes later, Dom had pulled into the parking lot. Big Lou’s was a two-story building with a massive deck on the first level that wrapped around three sides of it. There was an outdoor staircase that led up to the second-floor balcony. We got out of the truck and Dom began guiding me toward the staircase.
“The first floor is the restaurant,” he explained, putting his hand to the small of my back as we climbed the stairs. “The saloon is upstairs. That’s where Elle will be performing.”
Dom and I came to a halt at the entrance, where he stopped to chat a minute with the bouncer. Dom was a big man and the bouncer rivaled Dom’s size.
“Can it be?” the bouncer asked.
Dom laughed as he shook the bouncer’s hand and replied, “Hey, Cliff. How’s it going?”
“What’s it been? Six, seven months?” Cliff asked.
Dom shrugged as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in toward him. “Cliff, this is my woman, Ekko.”
Cliff looked down at me and offered a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you, Ekko.”
“You too.”
His eyes went back to Dom. “Now it makes sense.”
Dom didn’t try to fight the grin from spreading on his face. “We’ll catch you later, Cliff.”
At that, Dom ushered me inside as Cliff called out, “Have a good night!”
“What makes sense?” I asked, looking up at Dom.
He gave me a gentle squeeze and answered, “I used to come here regularly. That stopped after I met you. There was no point in me coming here to find a lousy hook up when I already met the woman I wanted to be with.”
His words melted my heart.
Dom held my eyes a moment before looking across the saloon. “Come on,” he urged, nudging me. “Levi, Elle, Cruz, and Lexi are all here already. I’ll introduce you to Lexi.”
We made our way over to Dom’s friends, but before he could say anything, Elle walked right up to me, pulled me in for a hug, and exclaimed, “Hey, Ekko! I’m so happy you could make it!”
“Me too,” I responded, hugging her back. “I’m so excited to watch you perform.”
I had to be honest. It was such a new experience for me to have someone approach and greet me the way Elle had. She was such a bright and fun-loving woman with a carefree attitude. Even though I was a little out of my element, I had to admit it felt good to be welcomed like that.
When Elle pulled back from me, she turned and greeted Dom. After acknowledging Elle, Dom turned back to the group and went about making introductions.
“Ekko, I think you might remember Cruz,” he started.
I had.
And it was nothing short of embarrassing. Twice now I’d been around Cruz and both times I’d been in rather awful predicaments.
“Yeah,” I responded, directing my attention to Cruz. “It’s nice to see you now when I’m not needing someone to rescue me.”
Given what happened at Ryan’s a few weeks ago and adding that to me being nearly abducted a few months ago, he very easily could have made judgments about the kind of person I was. Instead, he chuckled and never made me feel bad about the fact that I was who I was.
“It’s good to see you again, darlin’. Happy to see you’ve healed nicely, too.”
There was that as well. Cruz had also seen me with blood pouring down my face. I didn’t have an opportunity to let myself get too caught up in that because the other woman that was there cut in, “It sounds like all the ladies in this group have been in trouble at some point.”
My brows pulled together as I looked at her, waiting for further explanation.
“I’m Lexi,” she introduced herself as she held her hand out to me. “I’m Cruz’s girlfriend.”
I extended my hand to her and shook. “Hi, Lexi. I’m Ekko.”
“Don’t feel bad about needing their help. Elle and I have both already been there,” she pointed out.
“You have?”
She nodded. “I was kidnapped and nearly thrown into a sex-trafficking ring. Thankfully, some quick thinking on my end mixed with this group of very determined men made it so before anything bad could happen, I was found along with many other women.”
I gasped. My eyes darted back and forth several times between Lexi and Dom before ultimately settling on Lexi. “The same one he was working?” I asked, pointing to Dom. “The same one that he and Cruz made sure that I didn’t become a victim to?”
Confusion washed over her face as she looked to Cruz. His face softened, and he leaned in. “Ekko was the girl in the attempted abduction I told you about,” he explained.
Realization dawned in her features and her head snapped back toward me. Apparently, she knew about what had almost happened to me.
“Are you okay?” she wondered.
“Me?” I shot back, disbelievingly. “I should be asking you the same question. I was fortunate enough that these guys showed up before it was too late.”
Her expression changed as she leaned back into Cruz. “I am the best I’ve ever been…in more ways than you can imagine.”
That was good to hear, and I was in awe of Lexi’s resilience. I couldn’t even begin to think what I would have done if Dom and Cruz hadn’t been there that night.
Before I could respond, Elle spoke. “I’ve got to head back and get ready to go on stage in a few minutes. I’ll catch up with all of you afterward.”
We waved her off as she turned to walk away. Levi was right by her side the entire time.
“Isn’t he going to watch
her show?” I asked Dom while he pulled out a chair for me at the reserved table in the front of the room.
“He will,” Dom began. “Just offstage, though. Ever since things went down for her with her stalker, he doesn’t like to be more than a few feet away when she’s performing. The threat is no longer there, but I think it’s still in the back of his mind.”
“Wow,” I marveled, completely blown away. I thought that it was just Dom who was protective, but it was evident he kept good company.
Dom sat down to my left and Lexi sat off to my right. While we waited for Elle’s performance to begin, Lexi and I made conversation. To start, she asked about what I do for a living. It felt great to be able to share the news about my new job with another person. What made it even more special was the fact that she seemed truly interested in learning about me.
Of course, I wanted to know more about her and what made her the strong woman she was. I wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about it, but I asked her about the details of what happened when she was kidnapped. If it bothered her to talk about it, she didn’t let on. She gave me the story, and when she finished, I was in complete shock and amazement. Truthfully, I didn’t think I would have had the courage to do what she did. Recalling my own experience, I remembered feeling helpless as I kicked and screamed and wanted to know how she found the courage to save herself.
That’s when she shocked me even further.
Lexi told me that years ago she had been raped. It happened when she was in college and she never fought back then. Healing from that took her years, so when the opportunity to fight for herself arose again, she took advantage.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, unsure if that was even enough.
“Thank you. I’m doing great now, so please don’t worry.”
My discussion with Lexi ended at that moment because Dom tapped me on the shoulder and pointed in the direction of the stage. “That’s Lou. Elle’s about to start.”
For the next hour and a half, we listened to Elle. She was phenomenal. I’d heard about her, but there was nothing quite like witnessing it with your own eyes. Her voice was exquisite. After her set, Elle and Levi joined the group again. The six of us hung out together for a while and I learned a bit more about everyone.