Page 19 of Reclaimed Dreams
“But I’m really not the person you’re meeting tonight.”
“You lost.” His brain still hadn’t moved past stating the obvious, but he was desperate to keep her talking.
“Ah, but you didn’t win.” She looked over his shoulder and smiled. “And my actual date just walked in. Thanks for the game.” She pulled her hand from his and racked her cue.
“This isn’t over.”
“It is, judging by the daggers Elena is staring into your back right now. Who’s the redhead?”
Dom glanced over his shoulder to where his brother and his irate girlfriend were sitting with a pissed-off stranger, who was likely his blind date. He’d been wrong. Or maybe he’d been very, very right. “Shit,” he muttered. He turned back to tell Jo he’d ditch the blind date if she bailed on hers. But she was already gone, walking toward the door of the bar and pulling her actual date into a hug.
This couldn’t be right. This wasn’t how fairy tales were supposed to end.
Dom frowned. That could only mean one thing. This wasn’t the end yet.
Josephine Bertelli climbed the stairs to her dorm slowly. Her feet hurt from the stupid boots she’d worn to impress Daniel. Her hair smelled like cigarettes, and between Daniel’s uninspiring kisses and the cheap red wine, she couldn’t wait to brush her teeth.
The bad wine she’d been prepared for. The bad kisses had been a disappointment. She and Daniel had been friendly for months, gradually moving closer to more. She’d been looking forward to tonight for weeks. Their first date.
But all it had taken was one pool game with Mr. Tall, Dom, and Handsome, and she’d lost interest in Daniel’s kisses. His pissy reaction to being beaten three games in a row had killed any residual attraction. The memory of Dom grinning as she’d run the table on him just made letting go of her hopes for Daniel even easier.
Dom had captured her imagination. She had no idea if the reality of him would live up to the fantasy she’d crafted about him over one game of pool. But the potential had been high enough to bump Daniel right out of the running.
This was crazy. She didn’t even know where to find the guy. That girl from her dorm had been draped all over a guy who had to be related to him. Broad shoulders, trim waists, dark haired, and cocky. She’d bet they were brothers. Maybe she could go back to the bar next weekend…
Jo rounded the corner of her hallway as she walked to her dorm room, still toying with plans for running into the man who was taking up serious mental real estate. Her steps faltered when she realized “that girl,” Elena, was lounging against her door, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
“Uh, hi.”
“Hi. Good date?” Elena asked, her voice carefully neutral.
“Not really. Yours?”
“It was great until Dom came back to the table all grouchy. What did you do to him?”
“I just kicked his ass at pool. I swear.” Jo held her hands up in defense.
“Well, you sure made an impression. A fact that did not go unnoticed by his actual date, Peggy. I spent the whole evening listening to her bitch at Dom for watching you instead of having a good time with Tony.”
“I’m sorry, but I truly didn’t do anything.”
“Oh honey, I’m not mad. I think you’re the key.”
“The key?”
“The key to the mystery of the perfect date for Dom. Here’s the deal. Tony and I have been going together since high school. Now that I’m here at college, he’s got to drive up to see me. He’s got no car, so his brother Dom gives him a ride in return for a date setup. Peggy is the fourth friend I’ve lost over this. But he seems to like you, probably because you’re the first girl who isn’t falling all over him. So what do you say?”
“Was there a question in there?”
“Come on. You said your date was a bust. Dom will be back in two weeks. Be his blind date. It’ll be fun.”
Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to find him after all.
“I’ll think about it. You can tell him I said that.” Jo shared a smirk with Elena before she slipped into her room alone.
2 years ago
Dom walked through the build site where Million-Dollar Starter Home was filming that week. He generally tried to stay out of the way, keeping the builds that weren’t being filmed running smoothly. After his brief stint on camera, never to be repeated—thank God—he wasn’t needed on set. Who knew he’d have stage fright?
