Dominique yawned as she looked at her watch. It was 11:30 and she had a full, busy day tomorrow. Earlier, Aaron and Faith had dropped off Justin and after staying for only half an hour or so, had continued home to Inglewood. She’d offered to order in a pizza, but Justin had said that he wasn’t hungry, that he just wanted to go to his room. So she’d gained a little info about his weekend (as exciting as pulling teeth) and then allowed him to retire to his room at eight-thirty. Her hopes that he’d gotten over being angry with her were dashed, and tomorrow she planned to have a heart-to-heart and apologize. By the time she’d left the house at ten-thirty, Justin was sound asleep. She’d set the alarm and, breaking yet another one of her rules, had risked leaving her baby home alone for the must-have meeting that night with Jake McDonald.

A car turned the corner and the headlights shone into her rearview mirror. Dominique’s heartbeat quickened as she recognized Jake’s SUV made visible by the streetlights. He slowed, turned into his driveway, and shut off the motor. Knowing he’d seen her car and therefore hadn’t pulled into the garage, Dominique hurriedly reached for the door handle, got out of the car, and met Jake just as he was opening his car door.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he walked to the back and retrieved his carryon.

“I need to talk to you.” Jake walked to his front door and Dominique followed him. “I want to apologize for undermining your and Justin’s relationship, and for becoming angry and distant because you wouldn’t tell me what at the time I thought I needed to know.”

They reached the front door. Jake inserted the key but turned to face Dominique before opening the door. “Couldn’t you have called to tell me this?”

Dominique looked Jake squarely in the eye. “No. I wanted to tell you in person.”

“Okay, you just did.”

“But I want to explain.”

“It’s late, Dominique.”

“This won’t take long.”

Jake looked at Dominique a long moment. He unlocked and opened the front door, then stepped back to allow Dominique to enter in front of him. He closed and locked the door, and then, after setting his carryon by the steps leading to the home’s second floor, joined Dominique in the living room. She was standing in the middle of the floor, waiting to have Jake’s full attention.

Jake also remained standing. He looked at Dominique and when she didn’t begin talking immediately crossed his massive arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. “Well?”