Here Comes the Bride (19 page)

“Did he ever touch Dominic?”

She shook her head. “Never. Keeping our son away from me was the best way to hurt me.”

“Did you try to see Dominic again?”

“Of course. I didn’t care if my husband came after me. I went straight to Dominic’s school after my husband threatened me, but he’d already set his plan into place by telling the principal he was worried I would come back to kidnap our son. He had everyone on full alert—the school, the neighbors. Nobody would listen to me when I showed them the pictures and told them what happened. Keeping me away from my son became my husband’s sole purpose in life. I worried night and day. Thanks to one of the neighbors, Mr. Krisko, Dominic got involved in extracurricular activities and eventually discovered acting. He was just starting high school when he landed his first role, and as they say, the rest is history.”

Sam straightened. “I think if you come to the house for dinner and explain everything, Dominic would at least be able to begin the process of healing. I have to believe he would understand why you left.”

“I don’t know. I’ve tried to talk to my son before. His father brainwashed him into thinking I was evil. Two years ago, I went to a fundraiser because I knew Dominic would be attending. There were hundreds of people in the room and he saw me. The hatred I saw in his eyes told me what I needed to know. He wasn’t ready to hear what I had to say.”

“And yet you continue to call the house.”

“Every once in a while I just need to hear his voice.”

Sam couldn’t let this happen to either of them. Whether Dominic decided to forgive his mother for leaving or not, he needed to hear the truth. “If you could do it all over, would you do things differently?”

A warm smile curved Beverly’s lips. “After the first time my husband struck me, I would bundle my baby tightly in my arms and disappear in the middle of the night.”

“If I set a date and time, will you come to dinner?”

“Dominic would never agree to this.”

“He needs to hear the truth. He needs to know that you never wanted to leave him.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

A smile pulled at Sam’s lips as she watched the two elderly dogs sunbathe. Winston, always energetic, chased after his own tail.
If life could only be that simple
.

Today was Saturday. Dominic, his sister Linda, Sam’s mom, and her niece Emma were all cleaning and fixing up the ranch. Dominic painted the fence while Sam and her mom painted the doghouses. Linda and Emma made sure each and every dog got plenty of attention. Caesar and Rex were busy making new friends.

Mom wasn’t going to win any race. She daintily dipped her brush into the paint can, making sure to get just the right amount on the tip of the bristles before slowly swiping paint onto a board. At this rate, they would be here all week.

“Are you and Dominic ready for the interview next week?” Mom asked.

A feeling of trepidation settled within. “We don’t have much of a choice. We
have
to be ready. I really can’t wait for it all to be over.”

Mom dipped the bristles into the can again. “Your dad called the other day to ask me on a date.”

“He did?”

“Don’t play coy with me. I know you put him up to it.”

Sam laughed. “I’ll admit Dad called me to ask if I thought it was a good idea. I told him it was a start. But it was his idea, not mine. Are you going to go?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“I love you, Mom, and I don’t want you to feel pressured to make a decision. No matter what you decide to do, I’ll respect your choice.”

They hugged and Sam accidentally got paint on her mom’s chin. Her mom laughed and then swiped her brush over Sam’s already dirty T-shirt, leaving a stroke of white paint across her chest.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Sam swiped her mom’s arm with her brush.

It was full-out war after that as her mom chased her across the yard. The dogs joined in the fun, barking and following in circles around the bushes and to the back fence behind the house where Dominic was making much better progress than the two of them.

Sam attempted to hide behind Dominic, but ended up making matters worse when she got paint on the back of his neck. “Oops. Sorry.”

Dominic carefully set his brush on the top of the paint can, stood, took the brush from Sam’s hand and held her trapped in front of him. “Go ahead, Mom,” he said. “Get her.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Sam said. “This isn’t fair.”

But he would dare and she could feel his strong solid body pressed against her as he held her prisoner. She closed her eyes as her mom came toward her, brush in hand.

Sam felt the brush touch the very tip of her nose.

“There,” Rebecca said. “We’re even.”

Sam opened her eyes, relieved to see Mom walking the other way, especially since she could already feel Dominic hard against her.

“Somebody’s happy to see me,” she teased.

He turned her around so they were facing each other. He used the clean corner of a rag to wipe the paint from her nose before he kissed her on the lips. “I’m always happy to see you,” he said.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and wondered if she would ever tire of holding him tight.

“I love you,” he said.

She pulled back slightly, enough so she could gaze into his eyes, stunned to hear him say the words. “I love you, too,” she said, her eyes welling.

“Get back to work, slackers,” Linda shouted from across the yard. “If you don’t finish the fence,” she told her brother with a wink, “we won’t have time to practice your lines.”

Sam grabbed her paintbrush and headed off with a smile on her face and love in her heart. She looked over her shoulder, glad to see that Dominic was watching her walk away, his smile working its way to his eyes.

Sam returned to the doghouse where her mom was still laboring away on the same wood plank.

It was hard to believe how much her life had changed in just a few months.

Dominic was in love with her.

The next few hours passed quickly. After painting for most of the day and then eating hot dogs and potato salad, Sam entered Linda’s kitchen in search of a glass of cold water.

“Here,” Linda said, slapping a script into the palm of Sam’s hand. She pointed to the line on the middle of the page. “Start here and don’t let Dominic take a break until he gets to the end of the scene. He needs help…badly.”

Confused, Sam look at Dominic. “Did you finally pick a movie?”

“Not yet,” he said, “but acting is like anything else. You have to practice. Acting takes technical discipline of the voice and body.”

After Linda disappeared, Sam looked at Dominic. “You don’t really need help with this, do you? I mean, I couldn’t act if my life depended on it.”

“You heard my sister.” Dominic leveled her with a no-nonsense stare. “I need help.”

“You can do it,” Emma said from the kitchen, startling Sam since she hadn’t seen her niece standing in the shadows.

“Shouldn’t you be helping Grandma?” Sam asked, feeling the pressure.

“I’ll help you out by saying the first line.” Dominic took the script, read silently for a moment. He lowered his chin and dropped his gaze to the floor. “We’ve been through this before.”

Sam’s mom entered the house and went to the kitchen to wash her hands. Sam had an audience now and she didn’t like it one bit.

“Umm…” Sam read half of the first line, and then pushed the hair out of her face and tried to look serious as she started over. “Please, you can’t mean it. I
love
you. You love me.”

“I know you’re not an actor but neither is Linda,” Emma said, “and she was doing a pretty good job before you showed up. You need to put some feeling into it, Sam. Make us believe you at least like him a little bit. You married him, didn’t you?”

Sam frowned.

“Take two,” Dominic said, easily stepping into character. “We’ve been through this before—”

“Please, you can’t mean this. I love you. You love me.” Determined to put an end to Emma’s chattering, Sam stepped closer to Dominic, reached out and put a hand to his chin, forcing him to look at her. “I can see it in your eyes. You still love me,” she said with as much feeling as she could muster. “I know you do. And I love you.” And it was true, she loved him and had never loved anyone the way she loved Dominic. “I’ve loved you since the first day we met. If you leave me, I won’t be able to go on. I won’t. I’d rather be dead. Kiss me and tell me you love me, too.”

“Marry me,” he said.

She looked closer at her script, didn’t see anything at all about anyone getting married. She looked back at Dominic, her expression questioning. “I don’t see that anywhere in the script.”

“That’s because it’s not there.”

It took her a few seconds to understand that she’d been set up. The script was only a ruse. Emma, her mom, Linda. They were all in on it. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

He nodded.

“You want to marry
me
?”

“I do,” he said, his eyes sparkling. And then he kissed her, his lips warm against hers, tender and loving. Sam forgot all about the stupid script, letting it fall to the floor so she could wrap her arms around his neck, angling her head just so. She’d already told him she loved him, but the truth was she was madly in love with Dominic DeMarco. She loved the way he looked at her, the way he treated her family. She loved his lopsided grin and his easy laughter. She especially loved being held in his arms and if she could spend the rest of her life kissing this man, she’d be the happiest woman in the world.

Clapping pulled Sam out of the moment.

“Wow,” Linda said, standing just inside the door. “You made your mom cry.”

Mom reached for a tissue. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She wiped the corner of her eye and then daintily blew her nose.

Everyone gathered around, congratulating them both and for the next fifteen minutes, it was a great big love fest.

***

Sam smoothed out her crisp white summer dress, stood back and admired the table setting. She looked at Maria with tears in her eyes. “It looks beautiful. Thank you for your help.”

“Anything for you and Mr. Dominic,” Maria said. “I’m going to pack a few things and disappear.”

“You are an amazing person,” Sam told Maria. “Dominic is lucky to have you.”

“I can’t lie,” Maria said. “I am worried about this plan of yours. Mr. Dominic is a very loving and generous man, but he’s been hurt badly and the wounds are deep.”

“Dominic will never be whole unless he finds a way to forgive his mother.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

After Maria left, Sam paced the room, and then straightened the tablecloth and wondered if it was too early to light the candles. There were four place settings. She’d invited her mom, too, hoping that might help Dominic’s mother feel more comfortable. The table was set in golds and creams, complete with crystal stemware and fresh flowers.

Relief flowed through her when she heard the door open and close. Dominic was home. Both of their mothers would be arriving shortly.

He called out her name, surprised to find her dressed up and waiting for him in the dining room.

The dogs circled his legs, begging for attention. He scratched each of them on the head before handing Sam a bouquet of red roses.

“What are these for?”

“For being you. For agreeing to be my wife. For making me happier than I ever imagined I could be.” He sneezed. “I guess you haven’t found a new home for the cat yet?”

She shook her head. “I’ll think of something, I promise.”

“I guess you don’t love me that much?”

She leaned into him and held him close, enjoying the feel of his jaw against her cheek.

Dominic’s gaze fell on the four table settings. “Are we expecting guests?”

“Two very special guests.”

A look of concern crossed his handsome features.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

“Where’s Maria?” he asked.

“I gave her the night off,” Sam said as she went to the front entry to greet their visitor. “She’ll be back tomorrow.”

Dominic followed her halfway across the front entry, stopping when Sam opened the door.

His mother stood there, her eyes bright, a nervous smile playing on her lips. She wore a pale green suit that set off her silver hair perfectly. She looked fragile and nervous and beautiful.

“Come inside,” Sam said. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

The moment Beverly stepped inside, Sam felt the tension crackling between mother and son.

“What’s going on here?” Dominic wanted to know.

“I invited your mother to dinner.”

“Hello, Dominic.”

Dominic stared at Beverly DeMarco as if an alien had just walked into his house. “Excuse us just for a moment,” he said before taking hold of Sam’s arm and guiding her to the kitchen. “Do you remember what we said about no more secrets?”

Sam smiled. “Yes, I do. This isn’t a secret. This is a surprise. A gift, actually.”

“You’re kidding me, right? Who do you think you are?”

“I’m the woman you love,” she said cheerfully. “You owe it to your mom, but more importantly to yourself to hear what she has to say.”

There was another knock at the door.

“I need to get that.”

“You can go ahead and have dinner without me.”

Sam stopped at the archway leading to the other part of the house and looked back at Dominic. “One dinner with your mother. That’s all I’m asking.” Then she headed for the front entry.

***

Dominic went the opposite way. He marched into his bedroom, and then proceeded to pace in front of the gas fireplace before finally going to the bathroom sink where he splashed cold water on his face. Glaring at his reflection, he didn’t know what to say or do or think. He was angry. Angry with Sam. Angry with himself.

As the moments passed, he calmed, but he also began to question his relationship with Sam. The fact that she would invite his mother to his house without talking to him about it told him she didn’t know him at all. And he knew little about her. Was he truly in love with Samantha Johnston or had he made the age-old mistake and confused lust for love?