LOGINPOV: DominicThe room fell silent...I could hear my own heartbeat. For the first time, I was saying aloud what I had been trying to avoid admitting to myself. I wanted her, I want her so bad. And it’s not just physical attraction, although the thought of kissing her was never far from my mind.But I wanted more than that. I wanted the conversations, the laughter, the mornings together, and the quiet moments when she leaned against me without thinking about it. I wanted to know what she was thinking when she went quiet. I wanted to be the person she called when she had a terrible day. I wanted to make her happy, not because our arrangement required it, but because her happiness mattered to me. And I wanted to stop pretending that I didn't."You mean..." Her voice was barely above a whisper."Like dating, real dating?Not acting, and not fake?" I nodded slowly."Possibly. Yes." She stared at me for a moment."Oh. Okay."That was it...Two words...I had spent half the morning worrying
POV: DominicI wasn't willing to take that risk. But keeping the truth from her didn't make what I had done the night before any less hurtful. I took another sip of coffee and grimaced. It was cold, too cold.Perfect...Even my coffee had given up on me. I pushed the cup aside and leaned back in my chair. The problem wasn't only that Ava had seen me with another woman. The problem was that I cared whether she had seen me with another woman.I cared that she might think I was playing with her feelings. I cared that she had gone home believing our relationship was nothing more than a convenient arrangement. And I cared that the thought of losing her made my chest feel uncomfortably tight.For weeks, I had told myself I wasn't ready for another relationship. My divorce wasn't finalized, and there were too many things happening around me for me to consider starting something new. But somewhere along the way, the situation had changed.I no longer wanted Ava only when it was convenient. I
POV: Dominic"You idiot! You hurt her, didn't you?"Mia's voice stopped me in my tracks just as I watched Ava disappear through the entrance of the engagement party.I turned to find her glaring at me, her hands resting on her hips. Caleb stood beside her, looking equally unimpressed, while the others around the table watched me with curious expressions.I frowned."Now, why on earth would you think that?" I retorted."Because I know you, Dominic, and I know you're an asshole," Mia replied firmly.I stared at her, wondering how someone so sweet could be so insulting when she wanted to be."Excuse me?""You heard me." Caleb cleared his throat, probably trying to hide his laughter, but one look from Mia shut him up."Don't look at me like that," she warned him before turning back to me. "Ava was perfectly fine earlier. She was laughing, smiling, and enjoying herself. Then she went to the bar, and suddenly, she couldn't wait to leave. Even a blind man could see something happened."I rub
POV: AvaI held back the tears and kept a straight face as I returned to my seat. When I returned to the table, Mia looked at me curiously."Where's Dominic?""Coming." I said as I placed the drinks on the table and sat down. A minute later, he appeared beside me.He took his seat, but instead of reaching for my hand as he had done all evening, he remained unusually quiet.I kept my eyes on my drink, I could feel him watching me. Several times, he seemed ready to say something, but each time, he stopped himself.Normally, I would have teased him about his silence. But right now, I couldn't find the energy.I had spent the entire evening pretending that I wasn't falling for him, and now I was beginning to understand how badly I had failed because if I truly didn't care about him, seeing him with another woman wouldn't have hurt this much.I wouldn't have felt that awful twist in my stomach when she gave him her number. I wouldn't have watched the hallway, counting the minutes until he
POV: AvaEveryone at the table greeted us warmly. Most of them were familiar faces from the pool party, and the conversation quickly turned lively.There were jokes, laughter, and plenty of teasing. What I noticed most, however, was how often people looked between Dominic and me.They weren't looking at us with suspicion. They were looking at us like they had already figured everything out.And honestly, I couldn't blame them. The way Dominic leaned toward me whenever I spoke, the way he touched my hand while listening, and the way he kept stealing kisses whenever he thought nobody was paying attention made us look like a real couple. Perhaps we were beginning to look too real."How's the casual thing going?" Mia asked, rolling her eyes. Dominic groaned."You're as bad as my mother, you know that?" Mia grinned."Thank you. I take that as a compliment.""It wasn't one.""Want a list of reasons why nobody believes you two are casual? I could give you one." I looked between them, curious
POV: AvaOur first real date had started out perfectly, and that was exactly what worried me. It was just too perfect.Dominic had been flirting with me from the moment we left his house. He held my hand while we walked to the car, opened the passenger door for me, and kissed me before I could even settle into my seat."What's that for?" I asked, touching my lips as he pulled away."Can't I kiss my woman before taking her out?" I raised an eyebrow."Your woman?" He smiled, looking far too pleased with himself."Do you want me to call you something else, sweetheart?""No, thank you. Your woman is fine.""Good. I like the sound of that." Before I could respond, he leaned over and kissed me again. Honestly, what was wrong with this man?We hadn't even left the driveway, and he was already behaving like a man who couldn't keep his hands off his girlfriend.The worst part was that I didn't want him to stop. I liked his kisses. I liked the way he looked at me afterward, as if I were the mos







