Page 22 of Sweets and Sycamores

CALL ME DOMINIC

Allie was buzzing with excitement on the first morning of the weekend.

She had found everything she wanted at the market the night before for her lunch with Dominic today.

After hours of deliberation, she’d settled on a spinach salad with smoked duck, figs, cherries, and red onion, and a cream of mushroom soup with shallots and fresh portobellos.

She had prepared all the ingredients last night and agreed with Dominic that she needed about half an hour today for the food to be ready.

Three hours into the day, Allie felt like time was mocking her.

She could have sworn at least five hours had passed since she had woken up, yet they were still not open for customers.

Dominic was busy baking the weekend special, salted caramel apple pie, and had shooed her away from the kitchen twice after she finished helping him set up.

He said all his weekend specials were secret recipes, which only made her more curious.

Allie hovered by the kitchen entrance and tried to peek until she caught one of her boss’s glares that pierced through her soul.

She bolted to the front and decided to make a second coffee to calm her nerves.

Tea might have done the trick better.

She picked up the hot coffee cup and started for the door, hoping the morning chill would help her get a grip on her agitation. It was just lunch. Food, and nothing more.

With her handsome, protective boss, who was also a powerful Mage.

She decided to channel all her thoughts on the “boss” part to avoid her mind slipping in other directions. Which happened more and more often. Midway to the door, Allie felt the cup in her hand grow hotter, so much so that the skin on her palms was burning.

Allie dropped the cup on the closest table and looked at her hands when the pain did not subside. The skin was red and swollen, but not blistering.

“What…” A glimmering thread of light lined one wrist through her fingers. Another one appeared on her other palm, and then more and more threads came to life, lighting her skin up. The fire web brightened until the pain became impossible to bear, the throbbing climbing up her arms to her elbows.

The fire was out of control, and it burned her alive.

Her hands trembled, and with each breath her body shuddered harder, pain searing through her muscles and bones.

“Mr. Ranford!” Allie screamed without another thought, suffocated by sheer panic. Not only had she promised to tell him if this happened again, but the fear that she could ruin something or harm someone shoved its ugly claws into her heart, sending her into a frenzy.

Dominic came out of the kitchen like a hurricane and was next to her in a second, another type of panic shining through his green eyes.

“What’s—” He stopped when he saw Allie’s upturned palms, the strings of live fire digging into her flesh.

Dominic grabbed her wrists, and she hissed when the movement intensified the pulsating pain.

Even her own breathing made the pain worse.

He dropped her hands, his eyes moving from her to her palms, brows furrowed. “Come with me.”

Allie followed him blindly to the kitchen, her vision clouded by unshed tears gathered there from the sizzling pain. Dominic pushed his palms out and sent a strong current of air to the sink that turned on the cold water while he grabbed ice from the freezer and poured it into a bowl.

“Put your hands here,” he said in a painfully gentle voice.

She placed her hands in the ice bowl, cold water pouring over them.

A whimper escaped through her clenched teeth, her tears now free to streak her cheeks.

Allie hid her face into her shoulder, embarrassment making its way through the stream of emotions drowning her.

A warm, wide palm came to rest on her back, and Allie hoped she had suppressed her flinch of shock in time.

Dominic kept his hand there and drew lazy circles between her shoulder blades.

His touch was strong and comforting, and she leaned into it, shifting her focus away from the excruciating pain and into the steady movement of his hand.

She had no idea how much time passed before she was able to take a breath in and not feel like her flesh would split.

Slowly turning her hands, she saw the fiery threads on her palms had faded, leaving behind reddened and swollen skin.

She pulled her hands out of the bowl, and Dominic leaned in to turn off the water, his hand still on her back.

He watched her with raw intensity, his green eyes roving around her face, waiting, searching. She wondered if he was Reading her, magic that was just another thought for a Mage, and she hoped he did. Allie found it impossible to put into words what was going on with her or what was in her heart.

“I know you’ve been practicing. What did you learn?” he asked. Allie scoffed.

“Not much. I only got to the part where I’m looking for the source of the power in my body, but I couldn’t even do that,” she confessed.

Dominic went quiet. His green eyes trembled, a hidden conflict brewing behind them. Allie let him gather his thoughts, wondering what sent him into a spiral.

“Do you trust me?” His voice was hoarse, like the words were thorns in his throat.

“Yes,” Allie answered on instinct, not surprised to discover it was true. “I trust you.”

Dominic’s eyes softened and his features relaxed as he exhaled a long breath.

“Let me take a look.”

Allie had no idea what he was talking about.

She nodded, too exhausted to question him.

He took a step closer, his cedarwood scent wrapping around her like a soft blanket, grounding her.

Dominic had saved her life and helped her now without the slightest hint of hesitation, so whatever he wanted to take a look at, he was more than welcome to do so.

Allie tipped her chin up to watch her boss, one of his hands still on her back, the other one coming to rest on her belly.

His long fingers splayed around her core, and Allie held her breath.

Dominic’s hands were on her, still and wide and warm.

Her heartbeat jumped to a frantic rhythm, and she hoped her boss couldn’t feel it under her skin.

His eyes closed, and he frowned deeper and deeper, while doing…whatever he was doing. Allie had no idea about the limitations of a Mage’s power, but she was confident she was in good hands.

Literally.

Dominic’s eyes snapped open, and he rushed out the words, “I’ll be right back,” before fleeing from the kitchen, leaving Allie with a dumbfounded look on her face, running hot for various, unrelated reasons.

Dominic stormed out of the bakery and crossed the street in long strides, ignoring the “Closed” sign and barging into his sister’s bookstore. The door flew open and hit the wall, sending some of the chatting books back into their place.

Mia stood at the register, flipping through a catalogue, unfazed by his intrusion. She raised her big brown eyes to her brother, not even slightly bothered by his state of uneasiness.

“Yes?” she said in a calm voice that irked him, half a smile tilting her cheek up.

“I need a book on power seals,” he barked. Mia studied him for a moment, taking in his rushed breathing and the look of concern that twisted his features. She rounded the counter and went looking through the shelves without a question.

Dominic waited by the door, calming his breathing and his galloping heart. He wished he was wrong more than anything, but his Assessments had never failed him before, and he doubted they would start now.

Mia’s hissing at the naughty, loud books filled the space while she looked for the one he needed. It was lucky the bookstore was still closed to customers, not that Dom would have cared enough to alter his behavior.

“This is the only one I could find on the floor,” Mia said and handed him a book titled Sealing: The Line Between Right and Wrong.

Dom kept the comment about sealing never being right to himself and nodded at his sister.

“Let me know if you can’t find what you need, and I’ll look through the storage, too. ”

“Thanks, Mia.” He turned to leave but stopped with his hand on the doorknob at the sound of his sister’s voice.

“Is this about Allie?”

Allie.

The feeling of his magic hitting a scorching hot brick wall that tried to suck the power out of him came back rushing and made his head spin. Dom looked at Mia over his shoulder.

“Yeah.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Mia asked with deep concern in her voice.

One of the many reasons Dom loved her was this pure heart of hers.

She barely knew the Witch, and yet she was worried about her.

Dom wanted to reassure her, wanted to reassure himself, but he couldn’t be sure, so he settled for the best he could offer without lying.

“I hope so.” His knuckles went white gripping the book. “Do me a favor, will you?” His sister agreed without blinking as he detailed what he needed.

Dom flipped the book open and skimmed through the first pages on his way back to the bakery. With his eyes glued to the text, he knocked into someone on the sidewalk.

“Sorry,” he muttered, not bothering to lift his eyes.

“Morning, Dom,” a chirping voice greeted him. Anna smiled at him, ponytail swishing, her hands on his arms to steady herself. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Let’s have coffee together,” Anna suggested, although she saw him every time she walked into the bakery, which was…every day.

Dom avoided seeing her alone. He didn’t want to give her any false hope as he did not share her feelings. He had not felt like that about anyone in a very long time.

“Maybe another time.” He nodded and went around her, his mind reeling over the details about power seals.

“Dominic.” He halted at the sound of his full name and faced her. “Are you sure you’re keeping the best company at the bakery?”

“What?”