Page 27 of Miss Treated

Dominic, dressed in a tux. Damn, if I’d thought him gorgeous before, him wearing a tux was like throwing gasoline on a flame. I remembered he’d said something about going to a charity event for his mother.

Why would this beautiful man ask me out on a date? Ugh. That sentiment was one step forward, one giant leap back for my self-esteem. Why was I questioning it? The answer was simple. Because I was afraid. Afraid of trusting again. But what did it say that I so wanted to? Looking at him made me physically ache for some sort of contact, and badly wish I could quell my inner demons and take a chance.

What if, instead of doing the cautious, responsible thing, I did something out of my comfort zone? I gulped in a breath. Okay. I would do it. I’d say yes to a first date for the first time in over a decade. I’d take an important step in reclaiming my new life, right this instant before I changed my mind.

After closing the SUV hatch, I turned to walk toward him, halting when I spotted a beautiful blonde dressed in a barely there, red knockout of a dress greet him. He leaned in to kiss her cheek and take her arm. If I’d imagined they were only friends, that was negated when Shauna stepped out, and the other blonde put her arm around Dominic as if to say “mine.” Although the sales manager had been less than friendly toward me, I felt a smidgen of sympathy as she hurried to her car after the exchange, her head down. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one to have fallen for the Dominic effect.

Oof. I was stupid. Did I think just because he’d asked me out, that meant he wasn’t dating other women? Men like Dominic were out of my dating league. I needed to wade in the shallow end of the pool rather than go diving headfirst into the much more experienced deep end.

I decided to skip the meal and head home. The traffic would take over four hours at this point, but suddenly I had no appetite, and rush hour sounded like the best penance for my stupidity.

I spent all night and the following day hanging with Daisy. And on Sunday morning, I met with Ruby, my therapist.

I was first introduced to her at the wellness resort in Malibu, the place I’d checked into after the “incident.” The incident where I’d taken too many pills and had to be rushed to the hospital to have my stomach pumped. I tried not to think about the time period during which I’d left Joel, flown to California, and holed myself up in my brother’s Newport Beach house. If I did, I spiraled into reliving every detail as if I had the power to change it all these months later. For all intents and purposes, the wellness center was a rehab center. My rehab took the form of recovering from an abusive relationship. I’d spent four weeks there, but the recovery was ongoing.

Ruby greeted me with a smile, her signature red hair tied up in a bun. “Hello, Kelsey, lovely to see you again.”

“You too. Thanks for accommodating me on a Sunday.”

“Happy to. On the other hand, if you don’t want to haul yourself up here every other week, we could do video conferences.”

“Appreciate it.” It would save me some time to do so.

“How is the job in San Diego?”

“Good.”

She raised a brow. “This is a blast from the past, you using single words to answer my questions. What’s going on?”

After the incident, I’d been so ashamed I’d barely spoken at all. But those days were behind me, and I needed to be more open now. “I was asked out on a date. Someone who works at the company. And I fumbled it because I’m inept when it comes to all of it. Flirting, dating, all of it.”

“You’re not inept. You’ve only been in one long-term relationship, so perhaps you’re simply out of practice. Did you accept?”

“No. I was too stunned.” I related my conversation with Dominic to her, and told her about seeing him on Friday night with the beautiful blonde on his arm.

Her expression was sympathetic. “I’m sorry to hear it.”

“I should’ve known better. He’s gorgeous and nice and rescues dogs and is just way out of my league.”

She frowned. “How do you perceive he’s out of your league?”

I blew out a sigh. “Everywhere we go, women flock to him. It’s clear he’s a player with more experience than I’ll ever have. Sometimes I’m not aware if he’s flirting or not. I think the whole situation is confirmation I should wait the full year before I consider dating again.”

“What if this had happened after one year, or two? Would it have made a difference?”

I saw where she was going. “No. I don’t suppose the time frame has much to do with it. It was stupid to have thought about dating someone like him.” Not only because of our different dating skills. There was also my job. Dating my client’s son? Stupid. It was shortsighted to chance compromising my professional position for a pretty face.

“I think it’s important for us to examine what you mean when you say ‘out of my league.’ What I’m hearing is he’s much different from you in the way he approaches casual dating, is more outgoing, and flirtatious. It’s okay for you to say he’s not your type. But, Kelsey, it doesn’t mean he’s any better or worse than you. No one is out of your league. He’s simply a different personality which may or may not be compatible with yours.”

“You’re right.” Ruby always had a way of reframing things so I didn’t put myself down. What I didn’t share with her was that I wished we were more compatible. I wished I was more confident and carefree and more Dominic’s type. “I still find myself intrigued by him.”

“Nothing wrong with some intrigue. He’s asked you out, and you have a decision to make about whether or not you accept the date. But it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. You could tell him you’re not ready to date, or you don’t wish to date someone you work with, or you would like to be friends for a while and get to know one another better.”

All of those suggestions sounded reasonable and safe. “Thanks, Ruby.”

Chapter Twelve

Dominic