Sophie Bennett was standing in the middle of a Russo family celebration, arguing with a man she assumed was an unusually arrogant businessman. “No,” she said. The word landed with enough confidence to make two nearby men stop talking. Dominic Russo looked at her.
Sophie looked right back. He was easily the most intimidating man she had dealt with all week. Tall, broad-shouldered, impeccably dressed, and so calm that his silence somehow felt more demanding than another man’s shouting. Unfortunately for him, Sophie had spent the last six hours arranging flowers, managing deliveries, correcting a supplier’s mistake, and preventing an anxious assistant from crying.
She had no patience left for handsome men issuing impossible requests. Dominic glanced toward the arrangements her team had nearly finished. “I need those moved to the other room. The dinner begins in forty minutes.
”
“I know. And moving them properly will take at least two hours. ”
“I’ll pay for the additional work. ”
Sophie folded her arms.
“That’s generous, but unless your money has recently developed the ability to manipulate time, the answer is still no. ”
A man standing several feet behind Dominic abruptly coughed into his fist. Dominic turned his head. The man looked away.
Sophie narrowed her eyes. Everyone around this particular customer behaved strangely. Nobody interrupted him. Nobody contradicted him.
Even the event coordinator, who had spent the entire afternoon criticizing everything from ribbon colors to table spacing, had suddenly discovered a passionate interest in remaining silent. Dominic returned his attention to Sophie. “Do you always argue with customers? ”
“Only the ones who think money changes how many hours exist in a day.
”
The coughing man lost his battle and laughed. Dominic slowly looked at him. “Something funny, Luca? ”
“Nothing at all.
”
Luca was still grinning. Dominic faced Sophie again. Most people would have recognized the warning in his expression. Sophie saw only another wealthy man who had probably spent his entire life hearing yes.
“You could move half of them,” Dominic said. “That would make the rooms look mismatched. ”
“Then move the larger arrangements. ”
“That would make them look worse.
”
“You have an answer for everything. ”
“I own a floral design company. It would be worrying if I didn’t. ”
For several seconds, Dominic said nothing.
Then something unexpected happened. The corner of his mouth moved. Not quite a smile, but close. “Fine,” he said.
“Leave them. ”
“Wonderful. We’ve defeated the laws of time by accepting them. ”
Luca turned away, shoulders shaking.
Sophie went back to work. What she did not notice was Dominic watching her for another moment before leaving. Later, when the final arrangements were finished, Sophie found Luca near one of the tables. “You survived,” he said.
“Barely. ”
“You know, most people don’t talk to Dominic like that. ”
Sophie glanced across the room. Dominic stood with several men listening while an older gentleman spoke to him.
Something about the scene bothered her. The older man had the polished confidence of someone accustomed to being important, yet he seemed almost careful around Dominic. Sophie shrugged. “Maybe that’s his problem.
”
Luca grinned. “I like you. ”
“That makes one Russo today. ”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure.
”
Before Sophie could ask what that meant, Dominic approached them. Luca’s grin widened. Sophie immediately distrusted it. “Dominic,” Luca said casually, “Sophie and I were discussing your personality.
”
“We absolutely were not. ”
“What was the conclusion? ”
“That you have one,” Sophie said. Dominic’s eyes settled on hers.
There it was again. That almost smile. Luca looked delighted. Then, with the enthusiasm of a man deliberately walking toward trouble, he asked, “Sophie, would you ever date my cousin?
”
Sophie stared at him. Then at Dominic. Surely they were teasing her. Dominic was absurdly handsome, clearly wealthy, and carried himself like someone who expected entire rooms to reorganize around his preferences.
Exactly the kind of man her mother would claim was out of Sophie’s league. Sophie had heard versions of that judgment for years. Be realistic. Don’t expect what Madeleine can expect.
Give a nice man a chance if he shows interest. As though being plus size meant male attention should be treated as charity. She had stopped accepting that bargain a long time ago. So Sophie studied Dominic once more.
He raised an eyebrow. She smiled. “I’d rather stay single. ”
Silence.
Complete, unnatural silence. Luca’s mouth fell open before he started laughing. Sophie looked around. Nobody else was laughing.
One of the men behind Dominic stared at her as though she had just stepped off a building and had not yet noticed gravity. Sophie’s smile faded. “What? ”
A woman nearby leaned closer and whispered, “Do you have any idea who you just rejected?
”
Sophie glanced at Dominic. “Apparently not. ”
“That’s Dominic Russo. ”
She waited.
The woman lowered her voice further. “The Dominic Russo. ”
Understanding arrived slowly. Then all at once.
Sophie looked at the men surrounding him. At Luca, still laughing. At Dominic. The Russo family.
Russo. Oh. Her stomach dropped. Oh, no.
Dominic finally laughed. Not politely. Not cruelly. Genuinely.
Sophie wanted the floor to open beneath her. “I’m going to assume,” she said carefully, “that apologizing and leaving the country would both be excessive. ”
“Probably. ”
“I can still apologize.
”
“For rejecting me? ”
“For doing it before realizing apparently everyone in the room was going to react like I’d committed a federal offense. ”
Dominic stepped closer. Sophie expected anger.
Instead, his expression held something far more unsettling. Interest. “At least now,” he said, “I know your answer wasn’t influenced by my name. ”
Sophie stared at him.
For Dominic Russo, curiosity had just begun. For Sophie Bennett, disaster had acquired an extremely handsome face. Three days after Sophie rejected Dominic Russo in front of his family, an order arrived at her shop. Two dozen white roses for his mother.
Sophie stared at the name on the invoice. Dominic Russo. She told herself it meant nothing. The following week, another order arrived.
Centerpieces for a business dinner. Then flowers for an employee’s anniversary. Then an arrangement for someone recovering from surgery. By the fifth order in less than three weeks, Sophie stopped pretending.
When Dominic walked into her shop that afternoon, she was waiting for him. “Do mafia families genuinely require this many flowers? ”
Dominic stopped. One of his men immediately became fascinated by something outside the window.
“Apparently,” Dominic said. Sophie placed the latest order form on the counter. “Flowers for a retirement dinner. ”
“Yes.
”
“For an accountant. ”
“He’s retiring. ”
“After eleven years. ”
Dominic paused.
Sophie smiled triumphantly. “I checked. ”
“You investigate all your customers? ”
“Only suspicious ones.
”
“I’m suspicious because my accountant is retiring. ”
“You’re suspicious because last Tuesday you ordered flowers for a man’s promotion, and when I delivered them, the man looked surprised to discover he’d been promoted. ”
Dominic considered this. “I like to encourage ambition.
”
“You’re inventing occasions. ”
“Can you prove that? ”
Sophie stared at him. Dominic stared back.
His expression remained perfectly serious. That made it worse. She laughed despite herself. And Dominic smiled.
It was the first time Sophie realized how different he looked when he did. Less like a man whose name could silence a room. More like someone she might actually want to know. That thought was dangerous enough that she immediately reached for another order sheet.
“What do you need? ”
“Flowers. ”
“Remarkable. We’ve narrowed it down.
”
Their arguments became a routine neither acknowledged. Dominic ordered. Sophie accused him of inventing reasons. Dominic denied everything.
Then he returned. But somewhere between the teasing, Dominic began noticing things. One afternoon, he arrived while Sophie’s assistant, Emma, stood near the work table fighting tears. A large corporate arrangement had been ruined because Emma had misunderstood the refrigeration instructions.
“I’ll pay for it,” Emma said. “No, you won’t,” Sophie replied. “It was my mistake. And mistakes are part of what I pay for when I employ human beings instead of extremely talented robots.
”
Emma gave a nervous laugh. “We’ll redo it together. Next time, ask if you’re unsure. ”
No humiliation.
No performance of generosity. Sophie simply solved the problem and moved on. Dominic remembered it. A week later, Sophie reviewed one of his invoices and discovered her supplier had accidentally billed a premium flower at the standard rate.
She corrected the price downward. Dominic glanced at the revised total. “You know I wouldn’t have noticed. ”
“I would.
”
“You could have kept the difference. ”
“That sounds suspiciously like stealing. ”
“I’ve been accused of worse. ”
“I’m sure you have.
” She handed him the invoice. “I still don’t steal from customers. ”
Dominic looked at her for a second longer than necessary. Sophie noticed.
“What? ”
“Nothing. ”
“People usually say nothing when it’s definitely something. ”
“Then perhaps I’m becoming predictable.
”
“You? Never. ”
But his attraction was no longer based on novelty. It was becoming admiration.
The final shift came on a Thursday evening. Dominic arrived shortly before closing and found Sophie loading several modest arrangements into her delivery van. “No Russo emergency? ” she asked.
“Not today. ”
“Are you feeling well? ”
“Where are those going? ”
Sophie hesitated.
“A hospice. ”
“An order? ”
“No. ” She continued loading.
“We sometimes have arrangements left after events. Perfectly good flowers, wrong quantities, canceled orders. I hate throwing them away. ”
“So you donate them.
”
“They make the rooms feel less clinical. ”
Dominic watched her secure the last arrangement. “Does the hospice know they come from you? ”
“They know.
”
“Anyone else? ”
“Why would anyone else need to? ”
That answer stayed with him. Sophie did not know that Dominic had spent much of his life surrounded by people who made certain their generosity had witnesses.
She did not ask what he could do for her. She did not even seem particularly impressed by what he possessed. She simply did what she believed was right when nobody important was watching. And for a man accustomed to questioning everyone’s motives, that was becoming difficult to resist.
Sophie, meanwhile, had begun discovering contradictions of her own. Dominic Russo frightened powerful men without raising his voice. Yet he remembered his mother’s birthday without an assistant reminding him. He noticed when Emma became nervous around his security and quietly asked one of his men to wait outside.
He listened when Sophie spoke. Actually listened. And beneath that impossible confidence was a dry sense of humor that appeared mostly when Sophie was insulting him. One evening, as Dominic prepared to leave with yet another arrangement, Sophie called after him.
“Dominic. ”
He turned. She looked at the flowers. “What’s the occasion this time?
”
He considered his answer. “Dinner. ”
“With whom? ”
“My mother.
”
Sophie narrowed her eyes. “You already sent your mother flowers twice this month. ”
“She likes flowers. ”
“You’re running out of excuses.
”
Dominic’s gaze held hers. “Then I’ll have to find better ones. ”
For once, Sophie had no immediate reply. Dominic walked out.
She watched him leave, annoyed by the warmth spreading across her face. The problem was no longer that the mafia boss kept ordering flowers. The problem was that Sophie had started looking forward to seeing who needed them next. Madeleine found out about Dominic the way she found out about most things in Sophie’s life.
By asking a question that sounded casual and listening too carefully to the answer. “You’ve been doing a lot of work for the Russos lately. ”
Sophie kept sorting invoices. “They like flowers.
”
“So I’ve heard. ”
Something in Madeleine’s voice made Sophie look up. Her younger sister was beautiful in the effortless way their family had always celebrated. Slim, polished, socially confident, the kind of woman relatives described as a catch before mentioning anything she had actually accomplished.
Madeleine leaned against the counter. “Dominic Russo has been coming here personally. ”
“Sometimes. ”
“How many times?
”
Sophie frowned. “Why? ”
Madeleine gave a small laugh. “No reason.
I’m just surprised. ”
There it was. Sophie knew that tone. “Surprised by what?
”
“Nothing. ”
“Madeleine. ”
Her sister hesitated just long enough to make the next sentence feel reluctant. That was one of Madeleine’s greatest talents.
She could make an insult sound like concern. “I just don’t want you misunderstanding what this is. ”
Sophie’s hands stopped. “What exactly is this?
”
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing. ”
“Then this conversation is going wonderfully. ”
“Sophie, come on.
Dominic Russo could have practically any woman he wanted. ”
The words struck exactly where Madeleine intended them to. Sophie smiled anyway. “Thank you for that fascinating update.
”
“I’m trying to protect you. ”
“From excessive flower orders? ”
“From embarrassing yourself. ”
Silence.
Madeleine softened her voice. “Men like him are surrounded by women constantly. Beautiful women, models, socialites, women who know that world. ”
“And apparently florists are prohibited.
”
“You know what I mean. ”
Unfortunately, Sophie did. She had been hearing what people meant her entire life. Madeleine sighed.
“Maybe he likes that you don’t throw yourself at him. Maybe you’re different. A novelty. ”
A novelty.
Sophie laughed because the alternative was admitting how much the word hurt. “Good news. I’ve always wanted to be a limited edition floral experience. ”
“Sophie, I have work.
”
Madeleine left believing she had offered useful advice. The problem was that her voice stayed behind. Two evenings later, Dominic arrived without ordering anything. Sophie noticed immediately.
“No funeral? ”
“No. ”
“Birthday? ”
“No.
”
“Unexpected promotion? ”
“No. ”
She leaned against the counter. “You’re losing your touch.
”
“I came to ask you something. ”
“That sounds dangerous. ”
“Have dinner with me. ”
Every joke disappeared from Sophie’s mind.
Dominic waited. She had imagined this possibility more times than she cared to admit. And now, Madeleine’s voice supplied the answer. Beautiful women.
Models. Socialites. Novelty. “No.
”
Dominic’s expression barely changed, but Sophie had learned enough about him to notice the slight tightening around his eyes. “No. ”
“I’m busy. ”
“Tomorrow.
”
“Also busy. ”
“Friday. ”
“Astonishingly busy. ”
“You don’t know what time I was going to suggest.
”
“I’m busy at that time, too. ”
Dominic stepped closer. “You’re avoiding me. ”
“I’m standing directly in front of you.
”
“You know what I mean. ”
Sophie reached for humor, because humor had always been safer than honesty. “Maybe I’m worried dinner will turn into another floral emergency. ”
He didn’t smile.
“Why won’t you have dinner with me? ”
“I already rejected you once. I have a reputation to maintain. ”
“Sophie.
”
Something about the way he said her name stripped the joke of its usefulness. She looked away. Dominic waited. That was almost worse than pressure.
Finally, she said, “Men like you don’t choose women like me when everyone is watching. ”
Silence. When Sophie looked back, Dominic was no longer amused. “Men like me?
”
“You know exactly what I mean. ”
“No. Explain it. ”
She hated that he was making her say it.
“You’re Dominic Russo. You walk into a room and people notice. Women notice. You could date anyone.
”
“And? ”
“And look at me. ”
“I am. ”
The answer came so quickly that Sophie lost her next sentence.
Dominic stepped nearer. “You’ve decided what I want without asking me. ”
“I’m being realistic. ”
“According to whom?
”
Sophie’s jaw tightened. “That isn’t fair. ”
“No, it isn’t. ” His voice remained quiet.
“You’ve spent weeks judging me for assuming money can get me whatever I want. Now you’re doing the same thing from the opposite direction. ”
Sophie stared at him. Dominic continued.
“You think because of who I am, I must want a particular kind of woman. You’ve made an assumption about me based entirely on other men’s failures. ”
That hurt because it was true. Sophie crossed her arms.
“You don’t understand. ”
“Then explain it to me. ”
“What happens when the novelty wears off? ”
Dominic went still.
Sophie regretted the question immediately. There it was. The ugly little fear Madeleine had given a name. Dominic’s expression hardened, but not with the anger Sophie expected.
“You really think that’s why I keep coming here? ”
“I don’t know why you keep coming here. ”
“Yes, you do. ”
Her heartbeat stumbled.
Dominic looked at her for another moment. Then he nodded once. “Fine. ”
He turned toward the door.
Sophie felt something inside her drop. “Dominic. ”
He stopped. She could have let him leave.
That would have been safer. Instead, she crossed the space between them. Dominic turned. For once, neither of them made a joke.
Sophie saw the question in his eyes. She answered by reaching for him. The kiss was not dramatic. It was not reckless.
It began carefully, almost cautiously, as if both of them understood that crossing this line would change something neither could pretend away afterward. Dominic’s hand settled at her waist. Sophie moved closer. For a few seconds, every argument she had constructed against wanting him disappeared.
Then fear returned. She pulled back. Dominic let her. Sophie’s breathing was unsteady.
“That was a mistake. ”
His eyes stayed on hers. “No. ”
“Dominic, I can’t–”
“Being afraid of it doesn’t make it a mistake.
”
She had no answer. He didn’t kiss her again. He didn’t pressure her. He simply stepped back, giving her the space she had asked for without pretending the moment had meant nothing.
“Good night, Sophie. ”
He left. Sophie remained where she was. She had spent years becoming strong enough not to need anyone’s approval.
But somewhere along the way, she had confused protecting herself with refusing to believe something good could be real. And now the most dangerous part of Dominic Russo had nothing to do with his name. It was that Sophie was beginning to believe him. Madeleine knew something had changed before Sophie admitted anything.
It was the way Dominic looked at her. Not like a powerful man temporarily entertained by someone unexpected. Like a man who had made a decision. At the next Russo family event, Sophie was speaking with Luca when Madeleine approached.
Dominic stood across the room in conversation with several guests. Madeleine followed Sophie’s gaze. “So, this is serious now. ”
Sophie turned.
“What is? ”
“You and Dominic. ”
Luca suddenly became interested in his drink. Sophie’s expression hardened.
“This isn’t the place. ”
“I agree, which is why I’m worried. ”
The word worried immediately put Sophie on guard. Madeleine had used concern as a weapon too many times.
“Don’t. ”
“I’m your sister. ”
“Then act like one. ”
Several nearby conversations quieted.
Madeleine noticed. Instead of stopping, she smiled faintly. “I’m trying to keep you from getting hurt. ”
“I didn’t ask you to.
”
“No, because apparently nobody is allowed to say anything now that Dominic Russo is interested in you. ”
Sophie felt eyes turning toward them. Across the room, Dominic noticed too. He started toward them.
Madeleine continued before he arrived. “You know how this looks. ”
Sophie’s stomach tightened. “How what looks?
”
“You suddenly spending all this time around him, coming to his family events, letting everyone think–”
“Think what? ”
“That you belong here. ”
The words were quiet, cruel precisely because Madeleine had made them sound reasonable. Dominic reached the edge of the gathering.
He said nothing. Sophie saw him. Madeleine saw him, too. And perhaps that was why jealousy finally pushed her beyond the point she could retreat from gracefully.
“Sophie knows what men normally see when they look at her,” Madeleine said. “Don’t pretend she suddenly believes a man like you wants her for nothing. ”
The room went silent. Sophie felt the humiliation before she understood it.
Heat rose into her face. For one terrible second, she was sixteen again, then twenty-two, then twenty-eight, listening to relatives explain why Madeleine could be selective while Sophie should be grateful. She looked at Dominic. He was furious.
She could see it in the stillness of his face. But he did not speak. He waited. Not because he would not defend her.
Because this was Sophie’s wound. And he was giving her the first choice of how it would close. Sophie turned back to her sister. “You spent years convincing me I should want less because I take up more space.
”
Madeleine blinked. “That’s not what I–”
“It is. ” Sophie’s voice did not rise. “You just learned to say it nicely.
”
Madeleine’s face changed. “Sophie. ”
“You told me to be realistic. Mom told me not to expect what you could expect.
Every warning sounded like love, so I kept accepting it. ”
Nobody moved. Sophie swallowed. “But that’s your belief.
” She looked directly at Madeleine. “It doesn’t have to remain mine. ”
For once, Madeleine had no prepared response. Then embarrassment turned defensive.
“You’re twisting this. I’m not the one obsessed with Dominic. ”
Sophie almost laughed. Madeleine looked toward him.
“She’s the one chasing you. ”
That was when Dominic finally stepped forward. His voice was calm. “Is she?
”
Madeleine hesitated. Dominic looked at Sophie. “Tell them you don’t want me. ”
Sophie stared at him.
She knew that expression now. There was something dangerous behind the calm. Not dangerous to her. Never to her.
“Dominic. ”
“Tell them. ”
Madeleine folded her arms, almost relieved. Sophie understood what Dominic was doing approximately one second too late.
“Fine. ” She lifted her chin. “I don’t want you. ”
Several of Dominic’s men froze.
Luca covered his mouth. Madeleine smiled. Dominic stepped closer to Sophie. “Then why did you kiss me?
”
Sophie stopped breathing. Somebody behind them made a choking sound. Her face burned. “You kissed me first.
”
Dominic’s mouth curved. “Good. Now that we’ve established you’re a terrible liar. ”
A few people laughed.
Even Sophie nearly did, despite wanting to murder him. “You are unbelievable. ”
“So I’ve been told. ”
“Not as a compliment.
”
“I assumed. ”
The laughter released the tension for one brief moment. Then Dominic’s expression became serious. He turned toward Madeleine, and the room quieted again.
But before he could speak, Sophie touched his arm. Dominic looked at her. She did not need him to rescue her from what Madeleine had said. She had already answered that herself.
What she needed now was something different. Not protection from being seen. The courage to remain visible. Sophie met Dominic’s eyes.
For the first time, she did not look away because other people were watching. Dominic understood. His gaze softened. Then he faced the room.
And Sophie realized whatever he said next would not be about proving that a powerful man could want a woman like her. It would be about making everyone understand something far more important. She had never chased Dominic Russo. Dominic Russo had been chasing her.
Dominic looked at Madeleine. “She never pursued me. ”
His voice was quiet, but nobody interrupted. “The first time Sophie met me, she refused to do what I asked.
”
Luca smiled. “The second time,” Dominic continued, “she was no more cooperative. ”
“That sounds like Sophie,” someone murmured. “She rejected me in front of my own family.
I asked her to dinner later. She rejected that, too. ”
Sophie folded her arms. “You’re making me sound difficult.
”
Dominic glanced at her. “You are difficult. ”
A ripple of laughter moved through the room. His expression softened for half a second.
Then he looked back at Madeleine. “I kept going to her shop. I invented reasons to order flowers. I found excuses to see her.
Sophie did not chase me. ”
A pause. “I chased her. ”
Madeleine’s face flushed.
“I wasn’t saying you were. ”
Dominic did not raise his voice. That somehow made the interruption absolute. Madeleine looked around, suddenly aware that the hierarchy she had relied upon had reversed.
She had expected Sophie to be embarrassed by wanting Dominic. Instead, Dominic Russo was publicly admitting that Sophie had been the one with the power to say no. Madeleine tried again. “I was worried she would get hurt.
”
Sophie answered before Dominic could. “You already said that. ”
Madeleine looked at her. “And maybe part of you believed it,” Sophie continued.
“But concern stops being concern when you keep using it to remind someone where you think their place is. ”
Madeleine’s lips parted. No answer came. A man Sophie barely knew attempted to break the tension.
“Well, whatever happened, Sophie certainly got lucky. ”
Dominic turned toward him. The man’s smile faltered. “If anyone here is wondering which one of us got lucky,” Dominic said, “you’re looking at the wrong person.
”
Sophie went completely still. Dominic did not look at her when he said it. That somehow made it more powerful. He was not flattering her.
He was correcting the room. Someone nearby smiled and said, “She must be quite a florist. ”
“Just a florist? ” another guest joked.
Dominic’s gaze shifted. Sophie almost felt sorry for the man. Almost. “She built her company herself,” Dominic said.
“From nothing. ”
The joking stopped. “She employs people who are loyal to her because she treats their mistakes differently from most executives I know. She refuses to overcharge clients who would never notice.
She gives away work she could sell because she thinks dying people deserve something beautiful in their rooms. ”
Sophie stared at him. She had never told him the hospice mattered that much to her. She had certainly never realized he had been paying such close attention.
Dominic continued. “She works harder than people with ten times her resources. She says no when saying yes would be easier. And she has more integrity than many businessmen who expect me to respect them simply because their names are on buildings.
”
Nobody laughed now. Sophie felt something tighten in her throat. All her life, compliments about her had come with qualifications. She had a pretty face.
She was funny. She had such a good personality. Praise had often felt like compensation for whatever people believed she lacked. Dominic had not mentioned her body.
He had not announced that she was beautiful as though his attraction were evidence in her defense. He had described her work, her choices, her character. He knew her. That was what nearly broke her composure.
Madeleine looked at Sophie differently now. Not with sympathy. Not even entirely with jealousy. For the first time, there was uncertainty.
The old hierarchy between them had depended on one assumption. Madeleine was the sister who got chosen, and Sophie was the sister who learned to be grateful. Dominic had destroyed that assumption without humiliating Madeleine in return. Sophie stepped beside him.
“You didn’t have to give a speech. ”
Dominic looked down at her. “That wasn’t a speech. ”
“You addressed an entire room.
”
“I was correcting inaccurate information. ”
Sophie’s mouth twitched. “Very efficiently. ”
“I value efficiency.
”
“You ordered flowers for an accountant retiring after eleven years. ”
“A valued accountant. ”
“He wasn’t retiring. ”
“He might someday.
”
Sophie laughed. The sound finally broke what remained of the tension. Dominic extended his hand. He did not grab hers.
He simply offered it. Sophie looked down. This was the choice that mattered. Not whether Dominic Russo wanted her.
She finally believed that he did. The question was whether she could accept being wanted without searching for the hidden insult inside it. She placed her hand in his. Dominic’s fingers closed around hers.
Across the room, Madeleine looked away. Sophie did not. For years, she had mistaken independence for never allowing another person enough importance to hurt her. Now she understood something harder.
She could remain independent and still choose someone. She could love her business without making it her hiding place. She could want Dominic without becoming smaller beside him. Dominic leaned toward her.
“Are you still rejecting me? ”
Sophie considered him. “Publicly or privately? ”
His eyebrow rose.
“There’s a difference? ”
“There might be. ”
“Should I be concerned? ”
“Absolutely.
”
Dominic smiled. Sophie squeezed his hand. For the first time in her life, being chosen did not feel like winning a competition against another woman. And choosing someone did not feel like surrender.
Madeleine had tried to make Sophie ashamed that a man like Dominic could want her. Instead, she had accidentally forced Sophie to confront the last person who still doubted it. Herself. Several months later, Dominic Russo was still inventing reasons to order flowers.
Sophie had simply become better at catching him. She looked at the order form on the counter, then at the man standing across from her. “Flowers for a Tuesday? ”
Dominic remained perfectly serious.
“It’s an important Tuesday. ”
“What happened? ”
“It arrived. ”
Sophie stared at him.
“You know you’re allowed to visit me without purchasing inventory. ”
“I like supporting local businesses. ”
“You’ve been supporting this one aggressively. ”
Dominic’s mouth curved.
Some things had changed between them. Others, thankfully, had not. Sophie’s company had grown, but not because Dominic bought it for her, invested in it, or placed her under the protection of his wealth. She would never have accepted that.
New clients had come because people recommended her work. Emma had taken on more responsibility. Sophie had hired another designer and finally begun considering the second location she had once dismissed as too ambitious. Dominic occasionally offered advice.
Sophie occasionally ignored it. Their relationship worked remarkably well. Madeleine had taken longer. Her apology came without an audience.
For once, there had been no carefully disguised concern and no explanation of what Sophie had misunderstood. “I was jealous,” Madeleine admitted. “And I think I needed you to stay in the place I’d gotten used to seeing you. ”
Sophie appreciated the honesty.
She accepted the apology. But forgiveness did not mean returning to the old arrangement. When Madeleine slipped back into old habits, Sophie stopped her. When their mother made another comment about being realistic, Sophie no longer laughed it away.
She had learned that boundaries did not destroy relationships worth keeping. They revealed which relationships could survive honesty. Months after the Russo confrontation, Sophie and Dominic attended a Bennett family celebration together. By then, Dominic’s presence no longer caused Sophie to wonder whether everyone was staring at them.
If they were, that was their problem. A relative who remembered the story of their first meeting laughed over dinner. “Wait, didn’t you once say you’d rather stay single than date him? ”
Sophie slowly looked at Dominic.
Dominic folded his arms. “Yes, Sophie. Tell them. ”
The challenge in his expression was unmistakable.
She smiled sweetly. “I made an administrative error. ”
Dominic raised an eyebrow. “Administrative?
”
“A serious one. ”
Laughter moved around the table. He leaned closer. “Anything else?
”
Sophie pretended to consider the question. Dominic waited. She let him. The head of the Russo empire could make powerful businessmen nervous with a glance.
He could command rooms without raising his voice. But Sophie Bennett had discovered one of life’s smaller pleasures was making him wait for an answer he desperately wanted. Finally, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’m reviewing my decision.
”
Dominic looked genuinely offended. “Still reviewing? ”
“These things require due diligence. ”
“You’ve had months.
”
“I’m very thorough. ”
Everyone laughed again. Dominic shook his head. Then, beneath the table, his hand found hers.
The comedy softened. Sophie looked at their joined hands and remembered the woman she had been when they met. She had believed she was independent because she expected nothing from anyone. In reality, part of her had simply learned to reject hope before someone else could reject her.
For years, people had told her to be realistic about the kind of man who might choose a woman with her body. Dominic had never asked her to be realistic. More importantly, he had never asked her to become smaller. Not physically.
Not emotionally. Not professionally. He did not love Sophie despite the space she occupied in the world. He loved the way she occupied it.
The way she challenged him. The way she refused easy money when it violated her principles. The way she protected her employees without making them feel weak. The way she could walk into a room full of people impressed by Dominic Russo and remain completely unimpressed when he deserved it.
Sophie squeezed his hand. Dominic glanced at her. “What? ”
“Nothing.
”
His eyes narrowed. “You taught me that means it’s definitely something. ”
She smiled. “Maybe you’re becoming predictable.
”
“That sounds unlikely. ”
“It’s happening. ”
Dominic leaned closer. “Should I order flowers to celebrate?
”
Sophie laughed. Of course he would. The most powerful man she had ever met had fallen for her precisely because she was the only person who refused to shrink around him. And the mafia boss, who could command an empire, discovered there was still one woman in America he could never order around.
Fortunately for Dominic, that was exactly the woman he wanted beside him.
