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I’d ruined everything, I thought, as I watched as he got up from the table and went inside the play area to get Lillian. She jumped out of the ball pit in to his arms and he carried her over to a bench to put her boots back on. He was so good with her.
I should have done something earlier, touched his hand, said something, anything! I had worked so hard to hide it the past couple weeks, but the time had come for me to admit that I liked him. Very much. In fact, I was falling for him. Hard. He was kind. He was funny. He worked hard. He cared about other people. And, okay, he wasn’t that bad to look at either.
I’d lost my chance, though. He came out of the play area with Lillian, and I threw our trash away, and we went out to the car to take her back to Hartley House where eventually she’d meet her new reality.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” I told him, when we pulled into the driveway. “Lillian and I are going to have a sleepover tonight, right, Lillian?”
“Yeah!” Lillian was so excited about playing in the little kid’s area and her chicken nuggets and a sleepover that she didn’t even ask about her parents.
“Okay then. Goodnight.” He looked dejected, but I had to take care of Lillian.
I gave him a bittersweet smile and waved regretfully as I turned to carry Lillian inside.
Upstairs, I helped Lillian into her pyjamas and brushed her teeth. We read a couple of stories together sitting next to each other on the bed, and then I tucked her in. “Are you gonna sweep here too?” she asked me, reaching out to hold my hand. “Where’s my mommy?”
“Your mommy had to stay at the hospital tonight,” I said. “So yup, I’m going to stay here with you tonight. You’ll see your mommy in the morning.”
“Okay,” said Lillian, trusting me completely. Playing after supper must have worn her out, because it was only a few minutes later that I heard her breaths become deep and regular, and her arm lolled against me as her body went heavy with sleep.
I carefully wriggled out from under her arm. I was still wearing the clothes I’d worn all day. In one of the storage closets downstairs I knew I could find a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to sleep in, and I could grab a toothbrush out of the drawer of brand-new ones Teresa kept on hand just in case. I gently closed the door behind me and tip-toed down the hall.
Downstairs, lights were still on, and I could hear the TV in the living room. Probably one of the other families, I decided. I went to the office and grabbed a toothbrush and sweatpants, then stopped by the employee bathroom to change and brush my teeth. When I was done, I stopped by the living room to say goodnight to whoever was in there before I headed up to bed.
Whoever it was, they were watching sports highlights instead of the Law & Order reruns the moms had preferred when I had stayed late before. Three guys in suits were talking about football on the screen, and while part of me was hoping Rachel Stewart had suddenly become a football fan, the other part of me wasn’t surprised at all to see Dominic sitting there on the couch.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him. “I thought you left.”
“I know,” he said. He patted the couch next to him. “I was going to send you a text. Then I realized I don’t even have your number. So I came back.”
I walked slowly towards the couch. “What would you have done if I hadn’t come downstairs?”
“Well, I imagine I would have gotten tired and left eventually. Maybe I’d have gone looking for you. I don’t know. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to wait and see if you came down. Right?”
“I guess not.” I sat on the couch next to him. My heart was beating fast. I’d sat next to him tons of times. Here on the couch, at the table, in the car. But this felt different. I took a deep breath. “So why did you come back?”
“I just said it. To get your phone number.”
“No, I mean, for real. You could have done that tomorrow. Why did you come back tonight?”
He leaned back against the couch and looked at me. A smile slowly played over his face. “I think you know,” he said. “I think you felt it too, didn’t you? Back at McDonald’s. I felt something there between us. And I wanted to see where it went. I wanted to give it a chance, at least. I didn’t want to wait till tomorrow.”
His eyes were so warm, even in the dull light from the TV. I took a deep breath, and jumped off the cliff in my mind with both feet. “Yes,” I said. “I felt it, too. And I think we should give it a chance. I want that very much.”
And then I leaned forward and kissed him. In my mind, the water was deep and crystal clear, and I wasn’t worried about jagged rocks or hungry crocodiles. I knew I’d remember this moment forever. He was irresistible, and I was amazed that he felt like I did. Libby had been right. He had a thing for me.
His arm went around me, and he pulled me closer. I pulled back and looked into his eyes again. I couldn’t hide my smile. “That was nice.”
“It was. Let’s see if the next one will be sweeter.” He dropped his lips to mine and I melted into his strong arms.
I felt like I’d found my place. The very place I was supposed to be. It seemed fast. How could I be sure? But it was right. And I was sure. I felt a peace I’d never felt before. Ever.
He pulled back and looked at me. “So, can I have your number? I might need to get in touch with you about all the good works I’m doing around here. Or something like that.”
I laughed out loud and clapped a hand over my mouth. I held out a hand. “Let me have your phone. I’ll put it in for you.”
He gave me his phone and I entered my contact information. When I handed it back to him, he covered my hand with his. Then he took his phone and put it aside.
“Do you know I wanted to kiss you the first day I saw you? In Teresa’s office. That wouldn’t have been proper.” He smiled and raised an eyebrow.
“So you hit me in the head instead of kissing me? From now on, let’s go with the kissing. That okay with you?”
“Very okay. More than okay. I’m in.”
I suddenly felt blessed beyond measure. This man was more than he seemed. He had a giant heart and a big purpose. Being a baseball player was only part of who he was. God had given him a talent that he’d worked to make the most of. But God had also given him compassion and love for people in need. At this moment, I loved all of that—even the baseball part.
I looked at him and smiled my brightest smile. I wanted him to know I was all in, too.
“Hey, do you think you’ll ever like baseball? Not that you have to, but that would be a plus, you know.”
“I starting to like it more and more each day. By opening day I think I’m going to be the Tigers biggest fan.” He laughed and shook his head.
Society looked at sports figures as heroes. I understood that. But most of the time people didn’t get to see the whole person inside the athlete. I now had a front row seat and I was going to make the most of it. The way I felt about Dominic Rosetti, I wanted that seat for the rest of my life. He could only get better and I wanted to see all of that unfold.
He brought me back to reality as he kissed me again and gently ran his fingers down my cheek to my chin. Yes, I was more than glad I’d taken the plunge and jumped off that cliff into the inviting, scary water below. It was all I’d hoped it would be and more.
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