Chapter 13 - THE MAN WHO LEARNED TO ASK
A year after Ethan's birthday, the estate felt different.
The security remained professional.
But the atmosphere had changed.
Dominic no longer treated every problem like a battle.
He listened to Ethan.
He asked questions.
He apologized when he made mistakes.
And slowly, the little boy who had once been afraid of disappointing his father began laughing again.
I continued working as head housekeeper.
But I also began studying hospitality management.
Dominic offered to pay for the program.
I declined.
He looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because I want to do it myself.”
He nodded.
“Then I'll cheer for you.”
I laughed.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“The most feared man in New York?”
He smiled.
“I can be very enthusiastic.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I'll believe that when I see it.”
Over time, Dominic and I became friends.
Real friends.
We talked about books.
About parenting.
About the strange things children said.
About the mistakes we'd made.
And about the people we'd lost.
He told me about Ethan's mother, Isabella.
She had died when Ethan was two.
Dominic still kept her photograph in the family room.
I never asked him to remove it.
He never asked me to stop talking about Michael.
We understood that love didn't have to erase grief.
One evening, Dominic invited me to dinner.
I hesitated.
“As your employee?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“As Ethan's caretaker?”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Then as what?”
He took a breath.
“As a man who would like to know you outside this house.”
My heart began racing.
“Dominic…”
He stepped back slightly.
“You can say no.”
I studied him.
He looked nervous.
Not powerful.
Not untouchable.
Just nervous.
I smiled.
“Then yes.”
His face changed.
“Yes?”
“Yes.”
He laughed.
A warm, surprised sound.
Our first date was at a small Italian restaurant in Brooklyn.
No private room.
No expensive champagne.
No guards standing beside the table.
Just pasta, candlelight, and two people learning how to be honest.
Dominic told me he had been afraid to ask.
I laughed.
“You?”
He nodded.
“You're the only woman I've ever met who tells me when I'm wrong.”
I smiled.
“Someone has to.”
He laughed.
Then reached across the table.
“May I hold your hand?”
I looked at him.
Then placed my hand in his.
May you like
“Yes.”
And something beautiful began.
