Watch Over Me (Danvers #7)(46)
Chapter Eleven
Dominic was still perplexed by Gwen’s odd behavior by the time he made it home later that evening. He had replayed the scene in her office over and over and still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had been off, yet he knew something had changed since they had parted less than an hour before. First, there was her avoidance of his kiss. He might have believed that her turning just as his lips closed in on hers was a coincidence, if not for the moments afterward. She had kept all eye contact to a minimum and had bounced her pen around her desk as if she was on some kind of speed.
Yeah, he’d been around enough women to know when something was wrong, and she might have said the right things, but her body language was saying something else. What could have possibly happened in the hour that they were apart? He’d barely had time to check his e-mail and say a few words to Mac and Gage before hurrying out to get her coffee. Could it be that Gage was right? Was she beginning to get pissed off at him because she thought he was avoiding the “baby” subject? To him, it didn’t change his feelings for Gwen either way. Sure, if she was pregnant, they’d need to make plans for that, but he wanted to be with her regardless. He had assumed that she knew that, but maybe that hadn’t been wise. Men were just naturally less vocal than women about their feelings.
He looked at his watch and knew that she should be home by now. He hadn’t wanted to risk inviting her to dinner in case she refused so he’d picked up some Chinese on his way. As luck would have it, when he stepped from his apartment to go to Gwen’s, he saw Shannon standing in her doorway. As he drew closer, he heard her say, “Sorry about dinner. Any other time the girls and I would have loved to go out, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to meet Cameron, with them at my parents’ house tonight.” As the other woman pulled the door shut behind her, she turned and almost plowed into him. “Eek!” she squeaked before recognizing him.
“Sorry about that, Shannon,” he apologized. “Didn’t mean to startle you.” Pretending he didn’t hear what she’d just said to Gwen, he asked, “Where’s Maddy and Megan?” He couldn’t resist throwing in, “They aren’t visiting with their friend, Bastard, are they?”
Shannon dropped her head before giggling softly. “Oh God, I have no idea where they get half the stuff they say. I thought I’d lost the ability to be embarrassed by them long ago, but they just keep proving me wrong.”
Dominic reached out to pat her shoulder as he said, “Don’t ever try to change them. They are hilarious. If only they could stay that innocent all their lives.”
Shannon raised a skeptical brow, saying, “I wouldn’t exactly call them innocent, but I know what you mean. I may cringe sometimes, but I know I’ll remember those moments forever.” As he smiled and nodded his agreement, she suddenly looked over her shoulder at Gwen’s door before lowering her voice. “Did you . . . mess up or something with Gwen?”
He felt his stomach clench as she gave voice to the same question he had asked himself throughout the day. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had noticed something was amiss. He pondered just making some joke and brushing it off, but instead he found himself saying honestly, “I have no clue why, but I think I have. Did she . . . say something about it to you?” Damn, that question sounded so high school. He couldn’t believe he was pumping Gwen’s friend for information. He tried to console himself with the fact that she had started the whole thing.
Checking to make sure they were still alone, Shannon moved closer to him, saying, “It’s not so much that she’s said anything to me. It’s just that since you two have been together, she’s been all about you in her spare time. Tonight she was waiting for me when I walked down the hallway and seemed almost desperate to have a reason to get out of her apartment. I asked her if she wasn’t seeing you tonight, and she started fidgeting like the girls do when they’re guilty of something. I felt really bad when I told her that I already had plans. I would have canceled them since Gwen does so much for me, but I really want to see Cameron. Crap,” she sighed, “I’m a horrible friend, aren’t I? Shouldn’t I put her before some guy?”
“No,” Dominic blurted out quickly, before adding, “I mean, I know that she understands. And you’re doing me a favor because, apparently, I screwed up somehow and I need to fix it. I think Gwen was hoping to avoid me tonight, which she tried to do earlier today, and now she won’t be able to. Hey, do you think you could knock on her door? She might not answer for me.”
Shannon held up her hand, waiting expectantly for him to fist bump her. He chuckled as he made a new ally before rapping knuckles with the cool single mom. Megan and Maddy were lucky to have her. Knocking on Gwen’s door, Shannon whispered to him, “You know, you’re all right, Dominic.”
He was on the verge of returning the compliment when Gwen slung open her door saying, “I thought you had plans . . .” before she noticed him standing to the side. “Dominic, what’re you doing here?”
Shannon pointed to the food bags in his hand. “I saw he had his hands full, so I volunteered to knock for him.” Before her friend could reply, she gave a jaunty wave and walked off—quickly.
Dominic pushed past a bemused Gwen and walked straight to her kitchen. He set the bags on the table and made himself at home, pulling out plates for them. “Hey, baby.” He smiled as she once again started moving around nervously as she drew near. “I hope you’re hungry. I got a little bit of everything. I even made them throw in some extra fortune cookies since I know how much you love those things.” He moved to drop a kiss on her lips as he normally would, and he was relieved when she let him without moving away. That was a good sign, right?