Helena
Spending the morning on my hands and knees pulling out weeds was hardly my idea of a good time. All the same, I could hardly just let Dominick do all the work by himself while I sat and watched.
No matter how much I had enjoyed the watching.
Even if cleaning out the yard had never been my intention, at least I'd gotten to learn a few things.
Such as, for example, the fact that I had a flower bed.
Oh sure, I'd seen it before. I knew that it existed, on the same abstract level that I knew helicopters existed. I'd simply never imagined being in a position to use one, or that I might be the sort of person who had the time and energy—not to mention the ability—to grow a bunch of flowers.
But then Dominick had pointed it out to me, and said he couldn't get at it with the mower, and I'd found myself volunteering to clean it out. Because apparently, all it took for me to radically change my outlook on life was a pretty face.
I was a hopeless romantic after all, it seemed.
Or, you know, a complete and total sucker.
I wondered if there was even a difference.
So there I was, dripping sweat and bent over in my summer dress, futilely trying to figure out what was a weed and what wasn't—at least until Dominick had sheepishly pointed out it was all weeds. That made sense, given that I'd never actually seen a single flower in my alleged flower bed.
After a while, I was starting to get the hang of it.
Particularly after I realized that platform sandals were less-than-ideal footwear for gardening, and kicked them off. After that had come the revelation about simply kneeling, which helped even more.
Dominick finished up with the rest of the lawn and began on the other side of the flower bed, working towards me at an impressive speed. By the time we met in the middle, I felt exhausted but weirdly content. Feeling Dom's presence right next to me left me with a kind of glow, a warm feeling that I couldn't quite explain.
Dominick, on the other hand, had no trouble explaining the glow.
"Oh shit," he said, looking at me with some horror. I nervously looked down, half expecting this to end up like one of those dreams where you're in the middle of a school play and suddenly realize you're naked.
Yet, even though my dress had gotten very dirty, it was still attached to me. Besides, Dominick wasn't looking at my chest.
"Oh shit!" I repeated, following Dom's eyes to my shoulders. They were bright pink, and radiated heat when I put my hand near to them. "I forgot to use sunscreen!"
Climbing back to my feet, I turned to run back inside. Halfway to the door I stumbled as a stab of pain shot between my toes. With a loud yelp, I dropped back down to my knees.
"Are you okay?" Dominick yelled, rushing to my side and looking quite concerned.
I nodded, clenching my teeth hard as I looked down and saw a large stinger lodged in my foot. "Stepped on a bee," I said, gasping a bit.
"Let me look," he said. "Can you walk?"
I opened my mouth to say I think so, but Dominick shook his head and kept talking before I had a chance.
"Stupid question. Here, let me help," he said, and before I knew what was happening he'd scooped me up into his arms. "Hold tight," he said.
This seems excessive, I wanted to say, but Dominick was already carrying me effortlessly back into the house. I felt more than a little ridiculous, but I had to admit that this was far easier, not to mention faster and less painful, than trying to walk on the stung foot. He took me into the living room, gently placing me onto the couch.
"Thanks," I said after taking a deep breath. Dominick was already across the room, turning on the light before he hurried back to my side.
"Are you allergic? Do you have any tweezers?" he asked.
"Not allergic. Tweezers are in the bathroom, with the first aid kit, but you don't have to—"
Dominick was gone before I could finish my sentence. He had no trouble finding his way, and within moments he was back with the metal box. "Show me?" he asked softly, already kneeling down by the couch.
I lifted my foot for him and he began looking it over closely. The pain was still throbbing, but it was nothing compared to the mortification I felt when I realized the compromising position I'd put myself in. This man, this gorgeous, sexy man that I'd been flirting with was kneeling practically between my legs. It would've been incredibly easy for him to take advantage, to steal a peek up my dress and pretend it was an accident. Hell, it would've been incredibly easy to actually take a look by accident. There was nothing to stop him.
I bit my lip and stared down at him, waiting for it to happen.
His eyes never went above my foot, not even once. Instead, all of his attention was focused on removing the stinger as painlessly as possible. When it was done, he gently applied an antihistamine cream to the site before wrapping the whole thing in gauze.
"There," he said quietly. "Now, let's do something about that sunburn," he said, motioning with his hand for me to turn around. He went back to the bathroom, returning quickly with a couple of washcloths he'd dampened with cold water.
I shivered as Dominick placed the cloth on my shoulders, feeling a little ridiculous that he was taking care of me like a child. I was still shaken from the bee and the near-miss wardrobe malfunction, however, and Dominick's orders seemed so sincere and commanding that I couldn't help but comply. Besides, I had to admit that the cool material felt good against my overheated skin, and that the stinger removal had gone much better than it would have had I been stumbling around the house on my own.
"You're really burnt. I can't believe it happened so fast," Dominick said, rubbing some lotion on his hands. His voice was low and full of concern.
"That bad?" I asked.
"Well, let's just say I've never seen anyone react like that since my cousin visited from Ireland. We took him to the doctor, but you're not as bad as that, I think," he said, sounding distracted. I winced, convincing myself that I'd embarrassed myself enough today to last us both a lifetime.
I cringed inwardly a little, convincing myself that Dominick must be rethinking this. The yard upkeep for sure, maybe more. He had every reason to think I was a major goofball after this. Dominick had this glamorous, take-no-prisoners lifestyle that involved models and parties and adoring fans that apparently included my landlady. The last thing someone like that needed was having to coddle a dweeb like me, taking care of booboos caused by my own incompetence.
Of course, usually I wasn't quite so erratic or scatterbrained. It's not like Dominick could know that, though, given my increasingly regrettable decision to hide the pregnancy and the fact that I always seemed to act klutzy whenever he was around. It wasn't, after all, like he could see how I acted when I was alone or with Ali.
"I'm sorry," Dominick said finally, and I winced. Certain that his next words were going to be this was a mistake or I should go, I was shocked when he said something else entirely. "This is all my fault."
"I," I began automatically, pausing as the words sunk in. "Wait, what?"
"You warned me that you had bad luck with the outdoors, and like a jackass I pushed you anyway. None of this would've happened if I'd just kept my mouth shut."
"No," I said after I'd had time to process the unexpected words. "It's not your fault. I'm the one who let the lawn get so out of control, and I'm the one who forgot the sunscreen and stepped on a bee. All you wanted was to help out. I appreciate that. Thank you."
"It's nice of you to say that," Dominick said, his voice sounding unconvinced. "But I'm sure you had other plans for your morning than yard work. And I did show up early. Even if you hadn't gotten hurt, I still messed up your day."
"Dominick," I said, feeling touched that he seemed to take the minor injuries so much to heart. "It's really okay. I was actually—uh…I was actually kind of enjoying it, right up until I went all Inspector Clouseau on you."
"Who?" Dominick asked.
"From The Pink Panther," I explained. "He gets himself hurt. Frequently."
"Oh," he said. "Really? You were enjoying it?"
"Yes," I admitted. "Actually, if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to have that lemonade outside after all. Would that be okay?"
"That sounds absolutely wonderful," Dominick said enthusiastically.
I smiled, in a way glad that I'd gotten so sunburned.
It did, after all, help hide the flush of crimson red excitement that was covering my face.