Boy, what she wouldn’t give to answer that question honestly. He probably wasn’t expecting her to beg him to never leave when he asked, so instead she smiled and shook her head. “I’m good. Have a great day.”
Dropping a kiss on her upturned lips, he replied, “You too, baby. I’ll touch base with you later on.” As he walked out of her office, she knew that unlike other men that she’d known, he would contact her at some point during the day. Dominic didn’t make false promises. Her head slumped back against her chair. She had a few weeks to form a relationship with him that didn’t involve the prospect of a baby. Maybe giving up now before she was further under his spell would be better, but she couldn’t. She had tried to keep some distance between them, but it had proved futile. She was just too drawn to him and was powerless to deny herself his company.
She was still wallowing in misery when her office door slammed and she jumped in her seat. Mia stood with her hands on her hips and a concerned expression on her face. “For someone getting laid on a regular basis now, you sure do look miserable.”
“That’s because I want to keep my new amazing sex life,” Gwen groaned.
Mia perched on the chair in front of Gwen’s desk, giving her a questioning look. “Has something happened between you and Dominic?”
Rubbing at the headache that was beginning to form at her temples, Gwen said, “No, he’s more perfect every day.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Mia asked quietly.
She couldn’t hold the truth from her friend any longer, and she was in dire need of support. “He’ll leave when he finds out that I’m not pregnant.”
Mia had nodded once before her eyes bugged out as Gwen’s words sunk in. “Why would he think you might be pregnant? You’ve only been together for what, a few days, haven’t you? Unless . . . ?”
“No, we didn’t have sex before that.” Feeling strangely embarrassed, Gwen told Mia all about the condom mishap, as she had come to think of it.
Mia put her hand on her chest. “Oh, my God, he brings you decaf coffee and folic acid? Where in the world did this man come from? Don’t get me wrong. Seth is usually beyond thoughtful, but I can’t imagine him thinking of vitamins.” Noticing Gwen’s despair, she added, “And now you’re afraid that he’s only Mr. Perfect until he finds out you aren’t pregnant, and then he’ll turn into an asshole?”
“I don’t think Dominic has the asshole gene,” Gwen defended him. “I’m just scared that he’ll take all of himself and his awesomeness and move on to someone else when there is no longer anything holding us together.”
“Gwen,” Mia said gently, “no matter what you want to believe, it was the attraction between you two that brought you together in the first place. If he hadn’t felt the same way he would have shown you the door. You might have had some liquid courage that night, but he’s the one you went straight to. I’ve got a strong hunch that he has been hoping something would happen between you two for a while—and maybe you have as well.”
“It was just sex—men never turn that down,” Gwen argued weakly, afraid to get her hopes up. “And I was dating Mac until very recently.”
“Honey, don’t be dense,” Mia snapped. Gwen braced herself for the tough love she knew was coming. “I’ve seen you and Dominic together a couple of times now and trust me, he doesn’t act like a man just going through the motions until he can move on. He looks at you like there’s no one else even on the planet but you two. I’m not bragging or anything, but I consider both Crystal and myself at least glance worthy, and he only gave us the barest bit of polite interest. We could have been naked and fondling each other’s breasts and the man wouldn’t have noticed or cared. He was centered on you completely. Plus, if Mac was really thinking of Ava while you two were together, I’m pretty sure you were thinking of Dominic as well.”
Ignoring her comment about Mac, Gwen said, “He did take me to dinner with his sister, but we had made plans to go out already when she contacted him. I think he hated to cancel on me.”
“Oh, bullshit.” Mia snorted. “A man just killing time would not have cared about canceling plans with you, and he damn sure wouldn’t want you meeting any family members. Men guard that like some national security secret. He is showing you in every way possible that he’s more than interested in you so don’t go running scared. Nothing has to change between you if you aren’t pregnant.”