“Of course.” My mind involuntarily drifts to Joe. I think about his words. About that kiss. It still lingers on my lips, an unspoken secret.

I need to tell Dom. I can’t plan a wedding with this man without coming clean about everything.

I need to tell him that this is too soon, too much. That we don’t have to tell people, but the engagement needs to be on hold. Otherwise, we’re just going to hurt more people. And ourselves.

When I try to pull away, Dom hugs me tighter and says, “Put Loki in his carrier, grab a few clothes, and hurry up. I need to be inside you.”

The proof of his desire for me is nestled between my legs, through our clothes. It twitches against my groin, demanding to be taken care of.

“We need to talk first,” I say.

“About what?” He pulls away, scanning me. “You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”

I chuckle, feeling extra dead inside. “We just need to smooth some things over.”

I can tell he is unhappy about this, but he nods. “All right. I’ll wait.”

“I might take a second. I need to get some tampons.”

Actually, I don’t. I don’t have my period. But there is no way I can have sex with Dom, even on the off chance that he’s okay with what happened with Joe.

Dom kisses my forehead. “I’ll buy ’em. You go pack for the night.”

“It’s just on the way,” I protest.

“The Walgreens is right across the street.” He laughs. “And you’re taking my car, remember? So it’s not like I’m at risk of driving into a wall or something.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t even joke about that.” And then, before I forget, I say, “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

He sends me off with a pat on my ass. In the car, once it’s quiet, I replay tonight’s scene with Joe in my head over and over.

I loved you.

Joe used past tense, while I’m still here in the present, pining for him.

It occurs to me that after I tell Dom about my kiss with his brother today, he’ll almost certainly break off the engagement. What frightens me even more is the feeling that’s tethered to it. Of relief. Not because I don’t love Dom, but because I’m in love with his brother too.

Maybe taking a step back from the entire Graves family would be a good thing. I could tell Nora to move in with Colt, anyway. Living by myself for a while would do me good.