Two Doms for Christmas by Kat Barrett Page B

to take my sons some day. Will you
go with me this weekend? We can do one each night and see the street shows on
the way.”
    “I didn’t know Connecticut had that
many.”
    “There is one in Meriden, one in
New Haven, and One in Hartford. I would like to do that. Maybe if you wouldn’t
mind, we could invite Med to go with us. He just recently broke up with his
latest girlfriend. It really sucks because he was thinking of asking her to
marry him and she pulled the plug.”
    He was right, that would suck. “Did
she at least give him a reason?”
    His smile was slow forming and
filled with guilt.
    “What? Did you have something to do
with it?”
    “No, well I suppose kind of. It’s
in with that thing I didn’t want to discuss earlier.”
    Raising her eyebrows, she tilted
her chin down to look at him skeptically. He was being so vague. “Will you tell
me now?”
    He opened his mouth, inhaling
sharply as if going to spill it, and then shook his head. “No.”
    “Why? You keep giving me cryptic
little hints and then refusing to tell me. What can be so horrible?”
    “I didn’t say it was horrible. It
is a matter of personal taste and curiosity. I don’t know if I’m ready to tell
you, and I have yet to establish if you want to hear it.”
    “How do you establish that?”
    “By getting to know you better.”
    She was extremely intrigued. What
was the big secret between him and Med? Would she meet Med? Did he have to be
around for Austin to talk? He was going to kill her with curiosity. Staring at
him suspiciously, and almost hoping that maybe she could read something in his
expression, Haley went back to eating her meal.
    He did the same, watching her
thoughtfully as she watched him back. He really did have the sweetest, most
caring eyes. They had lost some of their sadness as if being with her had
brightened his entire personality. Was it really possible that she could build
a relationship with a man who was thirteen years younger than her? If nothing
else, they were from two different decades. Did they really have enough in
common to stay together?
    He scraped the last from his plate,
and then got up to get a second helping. “Do you want more?”
    She wanted more, but food was not
the primary issue. “No, thank you.”
    Haley wanted more information and
she wanted more of him. The kiss had been completely stunning, but it had
brought old, neglected feelings and sensations back to life. Maybe he was
right. Together they could put the pain of their pasts into a distant place in
their minds and start over. “I know what would make me happy. To feel alive
again.”
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Once the meal was finished, he had
gone down for her clothing. Austin had come up with a full laundry basket full
of whites. He fed the dogs and let them out, playing with them for a short
while out in the snow so they could get a bit of exercise. He had explained
that they loved to run really fast and vigorously, but that they were
relatively short on stamina. As she watched him out the kitchen window, she
washed the dishes and crockpot. Austin had told her to leave them, but she was
bored and it was good scenery.
    When he came in with the two snowy
dogs, he leered at her. “I said to leave those.”
    “I know, but I was standing here
watching you anyway. They are really cute.”
    “I agree. I love them dearly.”
Austin walked into the living room and she joined him, watching as he opened
the glass door to the fireplace and stirred the small amount of flames down
into the base of the hearth. He scooped ash up around and over the coals and
then shut the door. The two dogs had rearranged the cushion on the floor and were
now lying on top of it. He threw a blanket over them, giving them both a hearty
pet before smiling. “I guess any time you are ready. I’m sure your pups would
like to play in the snow for a bit before the sun goes completely down. I
really dislike the short days of winter.”
    Another thing they had in