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I will not cry, Lani told herself. I will not. She wiped at any tears that dared escape her eyes.
So Dom blamed her, just like Jason did. Well, she'd had it. Let them blame her. It wasn't her fault the defense had faltered tonight and allowed a season-high number of shots, any more than it was her fault that Jason had been hit with an errant stick during the scrum in his game. Next time, she told herself, she'd find a guy that had nothing to do with sports. Not even card games.
Dom caught up with Lani, although he was slightly winded when he did. She was shorter, but moved pretty quickly when she was upset.
"Lani, wait," he called. She jumped slightly but didn't turn around. She paused at the corner, debating whether to cross the street or just turn. In the time it took her to decide, Dom reached her and put a hand on his arm.
"Lani, please," he said. When she spun around his stomach twisted at the look of hurt on her face. He tried again. "Please, wait. I want to talk to you."
"It's not my fault," she said. He blinked.
"What isn't?"
"The game, the loss," she said, dark eyes blazing. "I heard you, and I'm sick of being blamed for things like that. First Jason, now you. I didn't have a damn thing to do with how many goals were scored or not."
"Of course you don't." Dom realized she'd misunderstood his comment to Karl. "That's not what I said."
"I heard you," she repeated, but now she was uncertain. He gambled and stepped closer; she didn't move away.
"You didn't hear everything," he said, gambling again and taking her hand. "I was telling Karl that I know people think I'm upset because of how things have been between us. But I wouldn’t blame you. We didn’t play well, we were out of sync, but that's not your fault, not at all."
"Oh. Well. Good." Lani felt awkward. She wanted to be mad, but he'd pulled that out from under her.
"I'm sorry, Lani," he said, moving closer. She swallowed as she felt the warmth of his body next to hers. She'd missed it. "I should have told you. Come back with me, please, and I'll tell you anything you want to know."
"Why?" she asked. She wasn't even sure what she meant. Why now? Why didn't you tell me before? Why should I?
"I was trying to keep you out," said Dom. "I know that. I don't let many people through; you probably have an idea why." She nodded mutely. "But you," he said, running a hand along her cheek. "You got through. It scared me when I realized it. I can't keep you out."
Relief and happiness swamped through Lani's body. She wiped at her eyes and gave a small smile. "Well, I'm not a puck," she said.
"It's much easier to keep those out." He pulled her to him. "I'm sorry, Lani, so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you."
"I'm sorry, too," she said, burrowing into him. "I let myself get too worked up. I should have just talked to you, but I was just so . . . surprised. I didn't know what to think."
"Come on," he said, turning so they could walk back to Karl and Dee. "The others are waiting. Let's go say hi and then we'll go to my place, okay?"
"Okay." Almost absently, she added, "I'm going to have to find another roommate. Cherie is leaving."
"Why?"
"I think she's joining some kind of nudist colony. She'll fit right in." Dom laughed.
x-x-x-x
Dom waited long enough to close and lock the door and help Lani out of her coat before he swept her up into a kiss.