Page 96 of Laced With Secrets

When we finally broke apart, both breathless, we settled back into the nest. Dominic’s arm tightened around me, and I draped myself across him, mindful of his injuries.

For a while, we just existed—skin against skin, heartbeat against heartbeat, the bond between us humming with contentment and love and bone-deep satisfaction.

Then, because I couldn’t help myself, I said: “There’s one thing I’d like to know.”

“What’s that?” Dominic asked, his voice drowsy with pain medication and exhaustion and post-traumatic relief.

“Speaking of the night we met…”

“Mmm,” he murmured against my hair.

“How did you break your shoe’s heel?”

I felt him tense slightly, felt a spike of something through the bond that felt suspiciously like embarrassment.

“Dominic?” I prompted, lifting my head to look at him.

His ears had gone red. Actually red. I stared in fascination—I’d seen my alpha blush before, and it was possibly the most endearing thing I’d ever witnessed. But was nothing likethis.

“I…” He cleared his throat. “I was outside Mrs. Henderson’s flower shop.”

“The flower shop,” I repeated, waiting.

“I saw you,” he admitted, the red spreading to his cheeks now. “Through your shop window. You were working on something, completely focused, and I just… stopped. Stood there staring like some kind of creep.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. “And?”

“Blake and I had just finished a meeting,” he said. “We were reviewing documents I’d copied from Vertex’s files—property surveys, timeline projections, evidence of the bribery tactics they were using. I was passing him intel about which buildings they planned to demolish first, but I couldn’t risk being seen with Blake anywhere someone from Vertex might see us. If Vertex discovered I was feeding information to my cousin, they’d have cut me out immediately and probably sued for breach of contract. The Historical District was ideal—right under their nose. Perfect for a dead drop.”

That made sense. Dominic had been playing double agent, and secrecy would have been paramount.

“Anyway,” he continued, his embarrassment bleeding through our bond despite his attempt at a casual tone, “I was walking backwards, still staring at you like an idiot, and I didn’t see the planters behind me.”

“Planters,” I echoed, delight bubbling up in my chest.

“The flower shop had set up a rather intricate display—multiple large planters with some kind of ornamental… I don’t know, flowering shrubs or something.” He groaned. “I stumbled over three of them and fell directly into the largest one. A huge ceramic thing with some kind of expensive-looking plant arrangement.”

I pressed my face against his chest, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

“The plants probably didn’t survive,” Dominic said grimly. “My heel snapped clean off when I tried to extract myself.”

I couldn’t help it—I giggled. I managed to muffle most of it against Dominic’s warm skin.

“Is that how Mrs. Henderson’s prized Persian Carpet Flower got damaged?” I asked, remembering the community gossip from months ago. “She was furious, thinking it was vandalism!”

“Not vandalism in the traditional sense,” Dominic said, his tone pained.

“It did survive,” I said. “The grandis.”

Dominic sank into his pillow, the soft material yielding beneath his weight. “Oh, thank god.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “If you repeat this story to Blake, I will deny it to my last breath. He can never know I destroyed municipal property because I was too busy ogling an omega. He’d never let me live it down.”

I lifted my head, grinning at him. “Your secret is safe with me, my silly, brave, infuriating, wonderful alpha.”

Then I kissed him again, softer this time, tasting his smile against my lips.

“I love you,” I whispered against his mouth.