Page 65 of Disavowed

“Uh, yeah.” She cleared her throat, then set the table with glasses, plates, forks, and napkins.

While she poured the milk, he extracted the cake from the box and stuck a pink candle in the center. He surprised her even more by pulling out her chair for her. Before sitting, she looked up into his eyes, confused and delighted by his unexpected thoughtfulness.

“You didn’t have to do this.” She sat as he pushed in her chair.

He gave her a pensive look, then sat in the adjacent chair. “I wanted to.”

“Why?” She crossed her arms. “And how did you know it was my birthday? For that matter, how did you even get into my building without being buzzed in?”

Dom had pulled a small butane lighter from his pocket. “You wanna interrogate me or eat cake?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Both.”

“Fine.” He set the lighter on the table. “I wanted to do this for you because you deserve it. Everyone deserves DiFonzo’s triple-chocolate mousse at least once a year.”

Triple-chocolate mousse cake? Daisy’s mouth watered so much she had to swallow. “And?”

“And I knew it was your birthday because I looked at the calendar on your desk.”

“Which you just happened to notice while you were ravaging me against the wall?” As much as she knew she shouldn’t, Daisy grinned.

“Nope.” He shook his head, grinning back. “Trust me, you had my full attention while I was ravaging you against the wall.”

“And?” she prodded, wanting to know how he’d gotten in.

“And my powers of persuasion are so finely honed that getting into your building was a…piece of cake.”

She burst out laughing. This was totally not how she’d expected to spend her birthday or whom she’d expected to spend it with.

“No more questions.” He picked up the lighter and lit the candle. “Make a wish, birthday girl.”

She set her palms flat on the table and leaned in, about to wish that the rest of the cake tasted as good as the frosting.

Dom rested his hand on one of hers, squeezing it. “Make it a good one.”

She glanced at their hands, then looked into his eyes. So blue, like the ocean. Her heart thumped a little faster. Don’t. Just enjoy the moment. She closed her eyes. I wish…things could have been different. She leaned in and blew out the candle.

Beside her, Dom clapped. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

She sliced off two mega-hunks of the rich cake. “How did you know to get chocolate cake?”

“You told me you loved chocolate.” He held out a plate while she slid the slice of cake onto it.

“When did I say that?” She slid the spatula under the second slice and plated it.

He set the plate down and locked gazes with hers. “A year ago.”

“You remembered that?” She raised her brows.

“I remember a lot of things.” His eyes lowered to her mouth. “Plus, it was written on your calendar. Speaking of which, when do I get my first paycheck? As you so snarkily enjoy reminding me, I do work for you.”

“Ahh.” She nodded, holding up a finger. “So that’s what the cake is about. Sucking up to the boss.”

“No. I can tell you’ve been down lately and thought you deserved something nice on your birthday.” The humorous look on his face suddenly faded as he picked up a fork. “Try the cake.”

She’d been about to, but his comment stopped her. That he’d done something so thoughtful on her birthday was almost too hard to believe. She swallowed a bite and moaned in pure ecstasy. “This is the richest, most chocolaty chocolate mousse cake I’ve ever had. It’s better than sex.”

Dom huffed. “Then you’ve been having sex with the wrong guy.” He stuck an enormous forkful into his mouth, chewed, then swallowed. “This cake really is kick-ass.”