GRACE

"Grace. Get up. There's something you need to see." That whispering stirred me out of my barely-adequate sleep. And when I opened my eyes, the gorgeous blues of Dominic's orbs stared back at me in a way that made me aware that he was very close to me.

His eyelids failed to blink for a couple of seconds and I found that somewhat creepy. If he were someone else, I would have probably kicked his ass off the bed.

"Hey there." I threw him a lazy smile.

"What were you thinking about?" His hand grazed my cheek.

"How I could have kicked you out of my bed."

He frowned as he helped me sit up. "What?"

"Dude, you were staring right into my eyes. It was creepy."

"It is nice to know that I can be good-looking yet creepy."

I playfully stuck my tongue out.

"Why did you wake me up? I have not exactly gotten much sleep."

"I know. And I am sorry I haven't been around to help with Ruby."

My eyes followed him as he reached for a strand of my hair and began to play with it.

"Well, you are a busy man."

A loud sigh escaped his lips. "Actually, that is it. I need to lessen my attention on work so that I can be more around my two favourite women. And... crazy enough, even though we have been in the same house for the past two days, I have been very absent and the fact that you were the only one taking care of Ruby makes me feel guilty."

"Isn't that what you pay me to do?" It's funny that I forgot that I am being paid to babysit Ruby. I take care of her like it is a natural thing for me.

Dominic looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a while. "Now, that you mention it, you are right. But still, I should have been around to help."

"Where are you going with all of these?"

He reached for my right hand and planted a kiss on it. "I have a surprise for you." Unresponsive, I stared back at him, awaiting his next words. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes. You said you have a surprise."

"Aren't you supposed to ask what it is?"

"I am meant to do that?" I must look confused. "Sorry, I am so tired, I am not thinking straight." His eyes narrowed and his lips scrunched as though he was in deep thought.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he jumped off the bed and grabbed my hand. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Just come with me," he urged.

I kicked off the sheets around my legs and found my stance on the cold tile.

As we walked out of the semi-cold room, a thought flashed in my mind and I looked up at the only part of him that was in view- the back of his head.

"Did you say- my two favourite women- earlier?"

"What are you talking about?" He walked down the stairs and I jogged along.

"Earlier, when you were giving your I need to be around more often speech. I heard you say- my two favourite women."

He released a low grunt and no words followed. He opened the door and led us out and still said nothing. So, while he made sure that he locked the door, my lips formed a little pout in protest.

"I am pretty sure I did not say that," Dominic finally replied after we entered the elevator and trusted it to take us to wherever it was he was taking me to.

"But..." He pointedly threw a dagger stare in my direction and I surrendered and didn't push the question any further. "So... A surprise uh?"

The only response I got was from the elevator which tinged to throw us out of its metallic walls.

Dominic's shoulders swung with ease, a little smile rested on his lips, and he finally let go of my hand after he took a few steps forward.

I instantly felt the sudden loss of his contact, so my eyes flickered away from his tallness and towards wherever it was he had sashayed me to.

Partial darkness draped over the area, so it took me a while to realise that we were at their upstairs swimming pool. Darkness sure has its way of altering the reality of... anything.

A few steps forward and I was able to admire the blueish pool. The water had streaks of white lines dancing over its surface thanks to the little source of illumination in the room and I took some seconds to admire how peaceful the pool was at that moment.

Moments later, as my hands stretched over the pool for whatever reason, I asked a very important question.

"Dominic, what exactly are we doing here?"

His slow footsteps tickled my ears and I smiled as I imagined him hugging me from behind.

"Hmm..." He began to speak. "I woke you up," a click followed, "for this."

Dark blue, dancing lights swiftly spread across the room and added more beauty to the space. The view made my heart dance with joy, it took some strength to stop myself from squealing. My smiling face focused its attention on the pool which had gotten pretty and seconds later, I looked ahead and saw that there was a little setup at the other end of the pool.

With sleep vanished, excitement settled in my soul and I finally faced Dominic who broke out a grin upon seeing my face.

"What is going on?" I asked.

He gently tugged at my arm until it was linked with his. Then, we started to approach the other end.

"This is my little way of making it up to you."

Soft, mind-relaxing music followed his response and I rested my head against his arm.

"I like this," I confessed without hesitation. "But don't you think this is a little weird? I mean, it is past midnight and Ruby is downstairs, alone."

"Grace, Ruby is fine. I have eyes watching her as we speak."

We finally made it to the end of the pool. The round table in that space carried a tiny globe in its centre. Those lights, with their firefly-like graceful rotation, made sure to give the table a beauty, unlike anything I've seen.

And the more I stared at the sight, the more my heart warmed.

"This is lovely, Dominic." His brows cocked in response, and his hand played with his ruffled hair. "Did you do this alone?"

He shook his head. "I had a little help. Come. Have your seat." He hurriedly shut me up before I could ask my next question.

Once I sat down, I bit into my lip to contain my excitement. At the same time, I watched as he moved with sleekness until he was seated opposite me.

Then, we sat in total silence. His eyes drilled into mine and I started to feel shy as time flew.

After a while, I let out a worried sigh and I used that chance to tear my gaze from his. Then I voiced a thought that was continuously piercing my mind.

"Are you sure Ruby is going to be fine? She is alone."

"Grace, there are some perks to being a rich man. And that includes being able to employ the services of very professional security men. So yes," he shifted closer, a little lift on his lips, some intensity in his eyes, "she is very safe."

"Huh." I nodded. "Sometimes, I forget that you are a billionaire. You don't act like one."

"And how does a billionaire act?"

"Exactly!" My hands swept off a strand of hair from my face as I grew comfortable with the atmosphere. "A billionaire should not act in a particular way. All billionaires ought to act like the normal people they are. They are ordinary people with a little more money than others. But some have all their wealth causing sparks in their head and it makes them feel like they are really superior or something. They never fail to flaunt their wealth, and most times, carelessly. It is very crazy."

Dominic let out a hearty short laugh after my unexpected outburst. "I guess it is good that I don't flaunt my wealth, uh?"

His question made me feel goofy so I flashed him a grand smile.

"So... Why exactly are we having a late-night dinner where there is no food?"

"Well, one, there is food." I watched as his hands searched beyond the white table cover. When he brought out two boxes, I gasped happily.

"Pizza! And champagne! Wait, you didn't bring cups?" He made a whoosh sound with his mouth which indicated that he had forgotten. "It is fine. Sharing the bottle will do."

"Great. And the reason for this abrupt pizza dinner is because of the conversation we had two days ago. About me having flings and all."

I pushed my hands to my face to guide his teasing glare away from me and I cried, "You don't have to remind me of my silliness."

He chuckled. "It just got me thinking. And I decided to do this so you can get to know me better."

"So, like a getting-to-know Mr. Powers segment?" I asked. He gave a brief nod. "Yay! This is so much better than forcing myself to sleep."

"So, what do you want to know about me?"

"Anything I am not aware of." I grabbed a slice of the barbecue chicken pizza and settled for the tale ahead.

"Uh..." His deep voice boomed across the room as he tried to reason out an answer. "What do you know about me so far?"

"I am pretty sure I am meant to be the only one asking questions," I pointed out, but his persuasive look got me answering his question in no time.

I downed another bite of the pizza and said, "I know you are Dominic Powers. A billionaire, a businessman, and a father. You were once married and you had a girlfriend. Uh... you are a very serious-looking man. And uh... I uh... guess I have reasons to believe that you like me."

"I do like you," he abruptly replied and caused a shy smile to erupt on my lips.

"Well, I guess that is all I know."

"I see." After adjusting his seat, he also reached for a slice of pizza and held it for a while before interrupting the silence between us.

"I grew up in the countryside. My father is a farmer." My jaw dropped. "And I have three siblings, two brothers, and a sister. They are all older than me."

"You grew up... Your father is a farmer? Here I was thinking you probably took over your family's business." I finished the crust in my hand before saying, "Please continue."

"Yes. My father is a farmer. And I could have walked in the path of his profession but I was never interested in driving a tractor or tilling a bare soil. Not to toot my horn, but I was an exceptional child. I always wanted more out of life.

No, I actually wanted to be great, and being the best in school wasn't great enough. So, at the age of thirteen," he looked on thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Yeah, thirteen. I began to visit the town's library. It was there I came across some business-related articles."

As I grabbed another slice, he largely bit on the untouched pizza in his hand and he did not continue until he had chewed it down satisfactorily.

" I came across reputable businessmen and instantly I wanted to become one because it had the scent of greatness all over it. Immediately, I started to read introductory books related to the business world and with God helping me, everything I read that day was so fun and it pointed out my career path. So, I began to aim at getting a scholarship to a business college here in New York.

At the age of fifteen, I was already preparing to write the entrance exam. It happened so fast, but I was glad that nobody complained. My father knew from the onset that I had no interest in farming so he didn't stop me."

I resumed munching on my pizza. His story's fascinating, I forgot to eat.

"At the age of sixteen, I was off to New York. I was a very young boy in college who was schooling with people that were mostly older than him by many years. At first, it was rough, but I soon learnt how to adjust.

I made friends that connected me to bigger, affluent friends and that did me a lot of favour after I graduated four and half years later. I got my first job immediately and I worked my way to the top gradually, making sure to imprint my name wherever I went and the rest they say is history."

"Wow. That was..." In all truthfulness, I didn't know what word to use. "That was very..." I threw my hands up, and Dominic's brows quirked. "At the age of thirteen, I was most probably digging my face into muffins and putting on embarrassing gowns. You are phenomenal. Now I know where Ruby gets her studious lifestyle from."

"I missed out on having a fun childhood though."

"Well," I sat up, " as they say, it was a little price to pay for salvation." He hummed in response and we both took a moment to take in that moment. "So, how did you meet Ruby's mom?"

"I met her through Doctor Lumber." A little questioning frown formed on my face as I pictured the face of the doctor. "I met Mark at a conference, we became friends from there."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I liked Diane. She was beautiful, free-spirited, really fun, and freakishly good at making cookies." My face lit up with surprise. I never pictured Diane as someone who would dig her hands into flour and all. "Unfortunately and fortunately, after a year or so of dating, she got pregnant with Ruby. And since I liked her and was well to do, I decided to marry her."

"You liked her? You didn't love her?"

"I... sort of loved her. I guess I held back when it came to showing her my love because, at one point after marriage, I started to doubt if she loved me. Shortly after giving birth to Ruby, she filed for a divorce. According to her, she married me because of the child. But she couldn't do the marriage thing anymore."

The manner in which Dominic spoke, you would think he was narrating a tale that happened to someone he knows. He showed no emotions that would make you want to pity him. He was so monotonous.

"After some years, she came back. It was then I got to know that she filed for the divorce because of the fraction of money she would get from it. So, after four years of separation, I finally signed the divorce papers and she got her share. One thing I don't get is why she became intent on coming back into our lives. Though thanks to you, she is now gone for good."

I smiled and he reached for my free hand that was uselessly laying on the table. Dominic held it lovingly and said, "I am truly glad that you are in our lives, Grace. I truly am."

I dismissed his body-warming statement playfully. "Well, it is not as if I am doing anything huge."

He released his hold and reached for the champagne.

After uncorking it, he raised the bottle slightly.

"A toast." I abruptly raised the pizza slice in my hand in response and we both chuckled at how funny it was. "To you, Grace," he softly uttered into the night. "And to the hope that nothing and no one takes you away from us."

We jammed our toast materials together and downed them. As his fingers brushed mine while passing the bottle, I blushed and decided to enjoy the moment. Hence, I pushed back all approaching questions that were itching to be asked.

I did not want to stain the homely feeling that kept embracing my soul.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

It feels good to be back. Thank you to everyone who checked up on me while I was gone. I appreciate you'