To Love & To Hold

Chapter 11

"Oh God." Dominic buried his face in his free hand.

“Well, your mother isn’t much better,” Erick said, “after all, our mothers are friends and well, when we went Christmas shopping, she joined us about ten minutes in to see how things were going.” She paused again, “She kept offering to buy me clothes and other items to get you to wake up. The shopping bags are still in the corner. I still have to unpack them.”

Dominic's head snapped up, his eyes darting to the corner of the living room where, sure enough, several shopping bags sat tucked behind the armchair. He'd walked past them a dozen times without registering what they were.

"My mother bought you clothes to... seduce me?"

"She didn't use that word exactly," Ericka said, her cheeks flushing. "She said something about 'helping you see what's right in front of you.' There's this blue dress she insisted would 'bring out my eyes.'"

Maxwell was laughing so hard he nearly knocked over his coffee. "Oh, this is too good. Both our moms have been running a coordinated campaign, and you two were completely oblivious."

"I wasn't oblivious," Ericka protested. "I just thought your mom was being nice, Dom. She's always been sweet to me."

"She's never bought clothes for any of my other friends," Dominic said slowly, a horrified realisation dawning. "Oh God. The dinner invitations. The 'accidental' drop-ins when she knew you'd be home. She's been matchmaking this entire time."

"For three years," Maxwell added gleefully. "Probably longer. Mom said Mrs Anderson called her the week after Ericka moved in to discuss 'the situation.'"

Dominic groaned. "They have a group chat, don't they?"

"Almost certainly," Ericka confirmed. "Your mom showed me a photo album on her phone once. She has an entire folder labelled 'Dom and Eri.' Pictures from every holiday, every barbecue, every time we were in the same room together."

"She's been building a wedding slideshow," Maxwell said. "I guarantee it."

Dominic looked at Ericka helplessly. "I am so sorry. I had no idea she was..."

"Don't apologise." Ericka squeezed his hand, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I thought it was sweet. Annoying, but sweet. Besides, she has good taste." She nodded toward the shopping bags. "That blue dress really is gorgeous."

"I'd like to see it," Dominic said before he could stop himself.

Maxwell held up both hands. "And that's my cue to leave the room. I'm going to take a shower, a long one, and when I come back, we're going to have a normal conversation that doesn't involve my sister's wardrobe or my mother's scheming."

He retreated down the hallway, and a moment later, the bathroom door clicked shut.

Ericka turned to Dominic, biting her lip. "So... you want to see the dress?"

"I want to see everything," he admitted. "But not right now. Right now, you need to finish eating and then rest."

"You're no fun."

"I'm extremely fun. I'm also extremely concerned about your blood pressure." He nudged her plate closer. "Eat. The dress isn't going anywhere."

Ericka picked up her fork, but her eyes kept drifting to the shopping bags. "There's other stuff in there, too. Your mom went a little overboard. There's this silk nightgown that I was too embarrassed to even try on..."

"Ericka."

"And these heels that she said would make my legs look..."

"Ericka." Dominic's voice had dropped an octave, and when she looked at him, his eyes had darkened in a way that made her breath catch. "You're going to be the death of me."

She grinned, unrepentant. "Just giving you something to look forward to. You know, for when I'm feeling better."

"The doctor said a week of rest."

"A week is a long time." She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Think you can wait that long?"

Dominic cupped her face in his hands, his thumb tracing her cheekbone. "I waited three years. I can wait a week." He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "But you're not making it easy."

"I don't intend to."

From down the hall, Maxwell's voice echoed over the sound of running water. "I can still hear you, and I'm deeply uncomfortable!"

They broke apart, laughing. Ericka leaned her head against Dominic's shoulder, feeling lighter than she had in months. Maybe years.

"This is going to work, isn't it?" she asked quietly. "Us, I mean. It's not going to fall apart?"

Dominic wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. "We've already survived a ridiculous contract, a hospital scare, and your brother's interrogation. I think we can handle anything."

"Even our mothers?"

He considered that for a moment. "Okay, that might be the real test. But we'll face it together."

"Together," Ericka repeated, liking the sound of it. "I could get used to that."

She smiled up at him, a genuine smile that reached her eyes and made them sparkle in a way Dominic hadn't seen in months. The warmth of her body against his side felt right, like the final piece of a puzzle slotting into place after years of searching. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, inhaling the faint scent of her shampoo mixed with the antiseptic smell that still clung to her from the hospital.

From the bathroom, the water shut off. Maxwell would be back soon, bringing with him his particular brand of brotherly concern disguised as sarcasm. But for now, in this brief moment of privacy, Dominic allowed himself to simply enjoy the feeling of holding Ericka without restraint or guilt.

"You should finish eating," he murmured against her hair.

Ericka sighed but picked up her fork again. "Yes, doctor."

As she ate, Dominic's mind wandered to the future stretching out before them. No more pretending, no more careful distance. Just them, together, figuring it out one day at a time. There would be challenges, of course, their mothers' expectations, Maxwell's protective instincts, and the adjustment from friends to something more. But none of that seemed insurmountable anymore.

In her room across campus, Dominic's doctoral advisor glanced at her watch with a frown. He had missed their meeting, something completely out of character for her usually punctual student. The text he'd sent earlier about a family emergency had been vague, and she wondered briefly if she should be concerned. But she had other students waiting, so she made a note to follow up with him tomorrow and turned her attention to the stack of papers on her desk.