“Ohhh, gotcha. So, what’s the big deal?”

“Didn’t you hear me? She just took off without telling me anything. Finally, our neighbor let me know when I was pounding on her door for the second time in an hour.”

“Dude,” Gage sighed, “I thought we talked about this? You were supposed to let her make the moves for a while. I mean, you know there is no reason that you have to stay glued to her side since the baby scare is resolved, so you can chill out and see where the chips fall. You feel me?”

Dominic dropped onto his couch, fighting the urge to fling his phone. “I know this may come as a surprise to you, but I actually like being with Gwen. I’m in love with her, and I don’t want to lose her.”

“Oh, come onnn,” Gage groaned. “You barely know her. It’s really not like you to lose it like this.”

“Exactly. Doesn’t that tell you that she’s different for me? I’ve never come close to saying those words to a woman I was dating before. I was gone on her before we even got together and nothing’s changed that.”

“All right, all right.” Gage hastened to adjust his plans. “We’re still on the right track here with the whole giving-her-space thing. If she took off without letting you know, then she’s probably trying to tell you that very thing, right?”

Dominic pondered his words before reluctantly saying, “You might have a point. Otherwise, she surely would have told me that she was going away. I mean I’ve had my phone on me, and she hasn’t called or texted.”

“Please tell me you haven’t been blowing her phone up?” Gage sounded as if he was bracing for the answer and expecting the worst.

“Just once,” Dominic admitted. “I didn’t want her to be trying to answer her phone if she was driving.”

Sounding relieved, Gage said, “Okay, that’s good. We can work with that. Now you know that she’s not home, so you sit back and relax. Let her come to you when she gets back. Don’t leave like a thousand sticky notes on her door or tons of texts on her phone. If she didn’t call your ass, then there’s a reason, and you just need to respect her wishes. I know this is a tall order, but try to get it together. Women like a little bit of a challenge, you know, just like men do.”

“Makes sense, I guess. I just sit here and do nothing. Maybe I better make a beer run,” Dominic added as he got back to his feet. He wasn’t sure if a Corona—or twelve—would help, but it sure as hell couldn’t hurt. He’d always been a man of action and this sitting around shit was going to be torture.

Chapter Fourteen

As if her legs were a complete traitor to the rest of her body, Gwen paused outside of Dominic’s door when she got home Sunday evening. Her phone was still broken so she hadn’t talked to him all weekend. Even though she missed hearing his voice, there was some relief in knowing that there was no reason to stare at her phone every five minutes, hoping he’d called or texted. Maybe life was better before cell phones.

Her hand was literally twitching and wanting to knock on his door. She stood there for a few moments, chewing her lip before squaring her shoulders and moving down the hallway to her apartment. She had put the key in and was pushing the door open when she heard a commotion behind her. Whirling around, she saw Dominic burst from his apartment, causing his door to fly back against the wall with a loud whack. She stood gaping at his disheveled appearance. His short, spiky hair looked as if he’d slept on it the wrong way. His clothes were rumpled, and he had a crease in the side of one cheek. Yep, from the looks of it, he’d been sleeping and woken abruptly. “Hey,” she croaked out, and then wanted to cringe at how high her voice was. Ugh, if saying one word could make you sound desperate, then she’d nailed it perfectly.

“Hey . . . babe,” he replied softly, as he seemed to drink her in. She’d noticed his hesitation over the use of his usual endearment and tried not to make a big deal out of it. He’d been asleep, and probably wasn’t thinking too clearly yet. “Did you . . . um, have a good time at your sister’s house?”

Blinking in surprise, she tried to figure out how he knew where she’d been. She didn’t think he’d ask Mia or Crystal, so it had to be Shannon. Was it evil that she hoped Megan and Maddy gave him hell? “I did.” She nodded. “Wendy and Peter are great. She’s a bit bossy, but you never have to worry about her holding back.” Gwen hadn’t really meant for that last line to be a dig at him, but when he flinched, she had to wonder if he’d taken it that way. Maybe a guilty conscience.

Looking very unlike the usual confident Dominic that she knew, he stuck his hands in his pockets and studied the floor before abruptly asking, “Have you had dinner yet?” When she shook her head no, he asked, “Can I . . . I mean, do you want to go—with me to get something?” Looking at his clothes with a grimace, he added, “I can change clothes in just a few minutes.”

Gwen was tired and still hurt over his week of silence, but he was making an effort. Wasn’t that what she wanted? If he hadn’t wanted to see her, he could just as easily have stayed in his apartment, but he hadn’t. And dammit, he looked so adorably hopeful that she didn’t have the heart to play hard to get tonight. Her stomach, which always seemed to betray her, growled loudly right before she agreed, causing them both to laugh. “I guess that’s a yes then,” she joked. “Just let me take my suitcase inside and freshen up. I’ll come to your place when I’m ready, okay?”

Maybe it was her imagination, but he looked thrilled as he hurried toward his door. “Great, I’ll hurry, babe.” As he disappeared through his door, Gwen followed suit more slowly. She couldn’t help but marvel at how much things had changed between them in a short amount of time. The old Dominic would have kissed her senseless by now. God, she missed that easy connection that they’d had from the beginning. Now it was almost as if they were going on their first date. Had things changed that much because there was no longer the possibility of a baby? And what about the conversation she’d overheard between Gage and Dominic about Kandi?

Running a hand through her hair, Gwen fought the urge to knock her head against the door until either her thoughts had cleared or she passed out. One day at a time, right? She’d promised herself and Wendy that. So now, this was day one and it was time to sit back and see where things were going to go.

*   *   *

Oh my God, I’m a complete failure at this, Gwen thought as she listened to the door close behind Dominic. Slumping back against her pillow, her mind wandered to the previous night as she tried to figure out where she’d lost control.

Since they both loved Italian food, Dominic had taken her to a new place in North Myrtle Beach called Nino’s. They’d ordered the lasagna for two and after that . . . things had gotten strange. Gwen had been at her bungling best, and Dominic hadn’t been much better. Between them, they had managed to knock over a glass of wine, and then the bottle before Dominic stuck his elbow in his antipasti salad followed by Gwen dropping a huge bite of her lasagna onto her white top.

When they left, they were both splattered in food and wine, and she was certain the restaurant hoped they’d never come back again. She didn’t know if she’d ever felt that socially awkward before. She should have known it was a sign of the evening to come when she rolled her silverware from her napkin and directly onto the floor where it made a loud bang.

Even the conversation had been sweet and shy. They had each talked more about their families and their teenage and college years. He had opened up about his time in the military with Mac, Gage, and Declan. He had said that it had been very hard being away from his family, but that he’d mostly enjoyed the time he’d served and the brothers that he’d grown to love. Gwen came away from the meal with new insight into the man who had come to mean so much to her.